Border Collie in Graphite

This is Tilly who is a very sweet little Border Collie. I dontated a portrait as a prize to a local dog show and this little girl won 'Best in show'. This is her prize.

Graphite pencil on Mellotex paper
Size A4.

Elephants in the Dust

A family of elephant wander across the dusty plains looking for water. 

My second one done on cradled board using Faber Castell coloured pencils. The texture is very obvious in the photo but it looks much better hanging on the wall. It is quite small, measuring 15" x 7". Now that I can buy these cradled  (boxed) boards here in the UK I will probably be doing more of them. I do like the unusual finish that the texture brings to coloured pencils, just something a little different.

Alfie in coloured pencil

Sweet Alfie, a commission I have recently completed. He looks like he was a special chap, now passed over the Rainbow Bridge and is sadly missed by his family.

I have chosen coloured pencil for Alfie and decided to concentrate on him only and keep the background clean, which I think suits him. Sometimes, and I use gut instinct here, I think a pet will look better with a soft coloured background and other times I feel that a clean background serves the purpose better. I don't know what it is that steers me in one direction or the other, but it does seem to work if I just go with the flow.

Size: A4

Medium: Faber Castell Polychromos

Support: Fabrianno Artistico HP

Lovely Willow in pastels

Meet Willow, a very laid back Golden Retriever, well aren't they all? She wasn't bothered that she was supposed to be co-operating for her photo shoot, just lay down or came up to me for a cuddle and a kiss, and wasn't interested in showing her 'best side'. We finally managed to get some interest from her when the treats were brought out and at last I managed to get one or two suitable shots to work from. This is the result.

Medium: pastels, sticks and pencils.

Support: Fisher 400 sanded paper

Size: A3

Dino -Black Cat in Coloured Pencil

This is a commission I have recently completed of Dino, a handsome black cat. As is often the case with black animals the photos were not very clear and as Dino has passed over the Rainbow Bridge, it was not possible to get any more taken, but I am happy with the end result and feel I have done him justice. I particularly like his bright eyes.

Medium: Prismacolour pencils

Support: Clairfontein Pastelmatt

Size: A4

Dartmoor Trees

I was immediately attracted to these lovely trees on Dartmoor, all covered in moss and with their trunks all twisted and gnarled.  It almost looks as if the moss is flowing over the base of the trees and the rocks.

Because I usually get bogged down in the minute detail in a landscape I decided to use a different support which would help me to work a little looser. I got a friend to make me up a box using MDF and some 2"x2" struts on the back for support, rather like a box canvas. I then primed it with lots of coats of Gesso which I sanded down until I got a surface I was happy to work on.

I like the way the texture shows through the pencil marks, and I was not able to draw in every little  detail as I usually do. I am very happy with the results and have already got some ideas for more similar pictures.

Title: Bark and Moss. 

Measures 15" x 15" and I used Faber Castell Polychromos pencils.

This is my accepted entry for the 2014 Annual UKCPS exhibition to be held at the RBSA in Birmingham from 28th April to10th May. If you have a chance to visit you will see some amazing coloured pencil art on show.

Daisy - French bulldog

Meet my latest commission, Daisy, a 6 month old French Bulldog, and as cute as they come. I love her pugnacious expression. Of course she is spoiled rotten by her family. I loved drawing her, the wrinkly face, the brindle coat, her cute little pushed in nose, and of course great reference photos made it easy.

Size: A4
Support: Fabrianno Artistico HP
Pencils: Faber Castell Polychromos