Its been a busy summer....

Where has the summer gone? I realize that I have not posted since June...have been a bit busy I think:)  Several of my immediate family members moved this summer, one starting university out of town, another a new teaching job (Yay!) in another city,  senior parents moving into a retirement home and one grown child coming home to roost temporarily has occupied me with helping to pack, unpack and physically move multiple possessions.

My days at the new studio have been opportunistic and I have met and chatted with many summer visitors to the market. The opportunity came along to move into a larger unit at the end of August and I have enjoyed having a bit more space to work in.

I have worked on a few pieces over the summer...several entries destined for the fall fair in our town. I was given the use of a wonderful photo of a cheetah taken by a photographer friend, Paul, and thought it would make a great  subject for a black and white drawing.

Here is my finished piece, a fun challenge with a lot of detail in wood and fur;

     "Afternoon Nap" graphite on bristol 18 x 22

As the Fair entry requirements allow 3 entries I also entered "Pretty Lady in a Hat";  I loved working on those sunglasses:) and "Angelic" - my impression of my 2 yr old grandson, Liam.

"Pretty Lady in a Hat" graphite on bristol 16 x 20

 'Angelic' graphite on bristol 9 x 9

I also found the time to do a pair of draught horses; what a great time I had getting all the tack detail sorted out...there were times that I didn't even know what I was drawing...a great exercise for the right brain in only drawing what you see!

     "In Tandem" graphite on bristol 11 x 14

Oh and btw, I came home with first prize from the Western Fair for "Angelic" :)

Emma; 'Good morning!'

I have recently been enjoying my new 'studio' space at the downtown London Covent Garden market...it has been great to be in that bright happy environment; I even was able to sit outside and draw last saturday amongst the other saturday vendors. One of the pieces I worked on this week is this one of a friend of my son's...a lovely young lady with wonderful expression. Hope you enjoy it!

Stars!

I've gone on a bit of a movie star kick...so for those of you who love the old stars, here are Marilyn Munroe, James Dean and Audrey Hepburn.

Colleen

 Today I thought I would show you how a drawing progresses. First the initial sketch layout is pencilled in. I like to work on the eyes first. Some artists start at one corner and work to completion each portion of the drawing as they move across the paper. I like to get the whole face on the page and then go back and 'fine tune' it. I almost always do the eyes first as, to be honest, it 'creeps me out' to have a face with no eyes:)






Here the face is 'roughed in' with basic shading. I will do the hair last as
 it must frame the finished face.

The basic face is complete, with some fine tuning still to be done, and I start on the hair.

Peripheral body parts and clothing come next...









I go back over the portrait and touch up where needed...and here is the finished portrait of "Colleen" - about 15 hours

My Dad...at 21

I spent the better part of my day at Trails End Market last Saturday working
on a portrait of my dad from a photo taken about 1956. The small snap shot
is the one my mother carried with her the whole 2 years he spent in N. Africa 'dong his bit'
 for Britain. I really enjoy doing portraits from old photos; there is something
 rewarding about making those little tiny, sometimes damaged pictures into
a larger, clearer portrait.

( I've attached a copy of the reference photo here for, well, for reference :)

a little colour for a change:)

This is graphite on white paper...the fur effect is done by applying the graphite to the paper in large sections and then erasing the graphite off, leaving white fur  effect behind. I used a little coloured pencil on the eyes,..this kitty had such lovely violet eyes it was a shame to only do them in black and white. I really enjoyed this 'reverse drawing' and adding just a touch of colour. It's about 10 x 7in.

Not Everything Goes Smoothly...:)

Already March!:) We here in southern Ontario practically count the days to spring, and sunny warm weather, even when the winter is as mild as this one has been! I have been in my studio drawing up a storm..... it is a great place to spend dull dreary February days.

I had in mind to do something for my husband, Ted who has been in the trucking business for over 30 years and has a passion for anything large on multiple wheels. I dug up a photo of one of his favourite trucks, a 2003 Peterbuilt sleeper cab and thought I would do a "technical" sketch for him to hang in his office. I was going along quite well and was pleased with the effort,  when I did an artists' no - no!  : never leave drawing work on the easel while messing about with paints.  I had taken a break from the eye-straining detail of the drawing to dabble a bit in watercolour and - alas - splashed blue watercolour paint on the drawing which I had left on my easel behind a "protective" (ha) paper. The paint had landed right on a highlight area.....couldn't have been on a black wheel well area.....ah no.....

Needless to say, I was a tad disappointed. At that point I was about 12 hours into the drawing. Now, for anyone who is not familiar with drawing paper you need to know it absorbs anything liquid you put on it, unlike paint papers where the paint sits on the surface. Not knowing what to do - how does one get paint pigment out of a graphite drawing? - I put it aside, seriously considering trashing it.

The next day, I posted it to my online artist group and asked for suggestions on how to repair it. The responses were very helpful and encouraging although no one had ever actually dealt with this specific issue, but, inspired, I decided to employ coloured pencil - white, grey and silver to try to cover up the blue.

Check out the finished picture! I am pleased with the repair and Ted is pleased with his drawing....just shows a little perseverance pays off!