Checking in......

And catching up!! Have started work on a pencil drawing of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier but it’s still very much in the early stages despite my good intentions of aiming to have it half finished by today. What started out as being a couple of ‘busy’ days away from the drawing board turned into more and simply means I’ll need to work that bit harder next week – still remain positive that I’ll have it finished in time so not panicking yet. Should definitely have some in-progress shots to show early next week.

One of my busy days was spent at the Royal Highland Show, which I always try and go to each year mainly because it’s now tradition but it’s also a great, if somewhat expensive, day out. I like to call it a mixture of work and pleasure and one year I hope to, no, will have my own stall there. I always go laden with my camera (the work part) looking for suitable reference photos of the animals on show for later use in my drawings. This year they (as in officials) made it difficult as for some reason lots of areas were cordoned off to the public unless you had a white wrist band – not sure how I go about getting one but have made a note to self to find out! So lots of zooming in with my camera was needed and only highlighted the fact that I want/need a better lens. I did manage to get a few good photos of Clydesdale horses that I really liked and can definitely see me using in the future but can’t help thinking how many more I could have had if I had a new lens……... obviously:)

'Morgan'
Coloured Pencil, 32cm x 18.5cm
(With mount: 46cm x 31.5cm)
Copyright Laura Hardie 2011

As of last Monday there is a new drawing up for offer in the Dutch Auction with ‘Curiosity’ now sold and currently on its way to the US. It’s a coloured pencil drawing this time of a Morgan horse titled, believe it or not, ‘Morgan’. Drawn on Fabriano Artistico paper the image size is 32cm x 18.5cm and with mount (it comes double mounted/matted) the overall size is 46cm x 31.5cm. Regular readers of my blog will know by now how the Auction works but for anyone new and for those who can’t quite remember it basically works as follows ……

1. One drawing at a time will be auctioned here on my blog.
2. Every Monday the price will drop by £20 until it is either sold or reaches a predetermined and undisclosed reserve price and taken out of the auction.
3. Purchases will be made on a first-come-first-serve basis. Notifications should be made by way of email (see my contact details on sidebar).
4. Payments are accepted by credit/debit card via PayPal or cheque (UK bank accounts only).
5. Postage is an additional cost and will be determined by your location.

The starting price for ‘Morgan’ was £250 and as I’m going to be too busy drawing tomorrow to find the time to do anything else, including blogging, will drop the price by £20 a day early to £230.

Stella

Stella
10"x8" Pencil on Fabriano Artistico paper
Copyright Laura Hardie 2011

And she’s finished! Now just needs to be approved and she can be on the way to her new home. Always feel a bit sad when a drawing goes as I get used to whoever I’m working on looking out at me from the drawing board every day – will have a Staffordshire Bull Terrier followed by a Jack Russell Terrier to do that soon.

With it being Monday I can’t forget the Dutch Auction of ‘Curiosity’ which is now in it’s seventh week already. Where has the time gone! As of today the price has dropped by another £20 down to £80. This really is a great chance to take advantage of my ‘spring clearout’ and get an original, signed pencil drawing at such a low price. It won’t be up for auction much longer and, if it doesn’t sell, will be taken out and will only be available to purchase from my website at the original cost. So if you've perhaps been wondering 'should I, shouldn't I' for the past few weeks take advantage now before it's too late.

I’d like to finish this post by welcoming all the new followers to my blog as I noticed I now have 900! I honestly didn’t believe I’d get anywhere near half that when I started blogging and I'm delighted you like my work enough to come back and see what I’m up to next. A very happy artist indeed:)

Stella update

Stella
A Work in Progress
10"x8" Pencil
Copyright Laura Hardie 2011

Working my way slowly across Stella’s body and you can now see the star-like marking on her chest. Next update should see her finished.

Stella

Stella
A Work in Progress
10"x8" Pencil
Copyright Laura Hardie 2011

Have been busily working away on this drawing as it needs to be finished, approved, mounted and posted by Thursday of next week at the latest. My lovely model is Stella, a Lab/Boxer cross, and she got her name because of the white star-like marking on her chest. Not sure if you can make it out at this stage of the drawing but it is there and should be more clear in the next update.

I took the image below before I worked more on her face and neck and thought I would post it for anybody who is interested in how my drawings come together.

Dutch Auction Week 6

Curiosity
24.5cm a 19cm, Pencil
Copyright Laura Hardie 2011

Pencils are busy and not a lot of time so just a very quick post to say that ‘Curiosity’ is now down to the bargain price of £100. Get it now before it goes!