Sitting Hare

Since I cannot show you any secret pet commissions I've been working on lately, heres some old photos I found that a couple kindly sent me of my 'Sitting Hare' hanging in their living room.

Kiedis

Hello, so sorry for the lack of posts recently, i've been keeping busy with a few secret christmas commissions- which I cant wait to share with you!

For now here is a dog I recently drew, sadly she is no longer with us.

Initially I started off thinking I was just going to draw the head, then blend outwards, this ended up looking like it was floating! So I drew in the legs and body which looked much better, although I wish I could of fit all the legs on. Anyway Im happy with the finished piece it really shows off the dogs impressive age

Hopefully I can share some more dogs soon

Bye for now xx

Jura & Skye

Another double commission complete :)

These two lovely dogs, Jura the Lab and Skye the Spaniel are owned by a lovely gentleman from my home town, who owns Waltons of Hawes check out his website

'Jura'

'Skye'

Jura & Skye

A lot of hours went into these especially the Spaniel, those ears were a struggle I could even see curls when I closed my eyes! It is important for me to get the eyes just perfect as thats what brings the dogs to life, I was particularly pleased with Jura's left eye you can see his emotion and personality through it. 

My next two commissions are both Spaniels so bring on the ears! I will try and keep you posted although I have gone back to Uni now, so finding the time is a bit of a struggle hopefully I'll be able to fit a few hours drawing in when I can

Bye for now xx

Lifespan

Im happy to announce the charity auction for Lifespan went really well and raised just over £19,000! How impressive!! My original Highland cow sold for £220, I'm very happy to have donated to such a deserving charity.

Lifespan Charity Art Auction

Lifespan Art Exhibition and Auction 4^th October 2012

Lifespan is holding it’s 6^th Art Exhibition which will culminate in an Auction at The Biscuit Factory, Stoddart Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne at 7 pm on Thursday, 4^th October 2012. 

The charity Lifespan, is a small North East charity providing a range of services to bring ease and support to people with serious and life-threatening illness and to the family members and friends who care for them. 

The patients are often nearing the end of their lives, suffering from such illnesses as cancer and motor neurone disease. 'At the heart of our work are the needs of each individual patient and family. We see seriously ill people in the comfort of their own home or other appropriate setting.'

I have donated an original pencil drawing entitled 'Highland Cow' to this great cause, it can be viewed in the catalogue at slot 9. 
I wish the charity the best of luck- let the bidding commence!!

http://www.lifespanteam.org.uk/events/events/136

Red Squirrels

With my new camera I went to a small place in the woods called Snaizholme, a lovely couple who own The White Hart, Hawes kindly let me into their house, to watch them from their living room window. 

They had a nut feeder right outside the middle window which attracted loads of wild red squirrels 

I managed to get the window open and a few sunflower seeds sprinkled onto the nearest stone wall

I couldn't believe my luck when a squirrel stood and stared right into my camera, this squirrel was an older one as it has hair on the ears.

Once I got home and got the images put onto my laptop I was shocked to see a close up of their hands, just like humans with knuckles and finger nails!

Pebbles

Finished another Lab portrait off earlier today, Pebbles is at the incredible age of 14!! 

Meg & Boris

Just finished this pencil drawing of two lovely labs, Meg and Boris, they were a joy to draw. 

I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing these two playful dogs, a few weeks ago. It was nice to get to meet and photo my 'models' in person, Meg especially loved the camera and posed wonderfully.

This is the first time I have done a joint portrait, Meg on the left looks quite playful and Boris has a  serious look on his face, I was unsure if the two different photos of each dog would work, but when the owner said the photos captured both their personalities brilliantly, I had to use them.

After a challenging few weeks working on them, I'm happy with how they developed and came to life. The two photos definitely work together and show off there personalities. I LOVED drawing them and am very happy with how they turned out.

I've finally found the time to make progress on Meg, Im really happy with her eyes and mouth they really bring her to life!! I am going to make a start on Boris next which will be to the right of Meg. 

I found it difficult blending Meg's coat into the background as I didn't want to go too dark until I have seen what she looks like next to Boris, I will then finish off both their coats and see how far to blend outwards.

Meg

I recently went to photograph two adorable Labradors named Meg and Boris, I will try my best to keep you updated on the progress although sometimes I get carried away and forget to stop to take a photo.

Here you can see I have made a start to Meg