Horse

12''x 10'', Pencil on Strathmore Bristol Smooth

Copyright Laura Hardie

Please do not use without permission

So here it is, the commission that has kept me busy, amongst other things, for the past couple of weeks. I have just finished carefully packing him up ready for posting to Canada tomorrow ..... will miss seeing this one on my drawing board!

Copyright Laura Hardie

Big Ben 2

Work in Progress
Coloured Pencil on Pastelmat
Copyright Laura Hardie 2014

I do LOVE drawing horses! Still working on my latest (horse) commission and another day, or two, should see it finished but loving every minute and pencil stroke of it. Then it’s back to the Clydesdale drawing I mentioned in my last post …. LOTS of hours have gone into him so far and my goal is to have him finished by the end of the week before my motivation to do it completely goes.

Big Ben

Big Ben
52cm x 44cm, Coloured Pencil on Pastelmat
Original sold
Copyright Laura Hardie, please do not use without permission

I was looking at my blog stats the other day and noticed that last year was my worst year for posting since I started blogging back in 2006 – only 17 posts for the whole year! That's not good and if I keep it up I’m not going to have any readers left, so I have decided, in an effort to be more organised, Sundays will be my ‘blogdays’! And I may even manage to fit extra posts in during the week if I surpass myself :)

Was also looking at what drawings I haven’t got round to posting on here and Big Ben is one of them ……. finished him at the end of last year. As with most of my Clydesdale drawings I got the reference for Big Ben at the Royal Highland Show and I have to say he was definitely a favourite of mine and stood out from the other Clydesdales. He was such a character, oh so handsome, and very interested in me and my camera – he just had to see what was going on! 

And I couldn’t do just one drawing of him now could I ……. nope, had to do another which is currently on my easel waiting to be finished. Commission to do first though.

Copyright Laura Hardie, please do not use without permission.

Border Terrier

Myrtle
10''x 8'', Pencil on Strathmore Bristol Smooth
Copyright Laura Hardie 2014

So with the Christmas holidays now over it’s back to the drawing board for me and looking forward to what 2014 brings. I have some great commissions lined up and my head is full of ideas for drawings which will hopefully make it onto paper and canvas - definitely going to dust my brushes off this year and do some painting. Just need to make my mind up if I want to do watercolours, acrylics or oils …… or all three! If time (and money) allows, I’m hoping to have a trade stand at a couple of horse shows. This will be a first for me so a lot of organising there but I’ve got my application forms all ready to go. And then of course there are the exhibitions I want to enter work in to, so it’s going to be a busy year. I may also have some exciting news to share with you all but more about that at a later date if all my finger crossing has worked.   

Started the year off drawing this little lady, a Border Terrier called Myrtle, and what a character. Her wiry fur certainly kept me very busy for a while! Back to the smooth, short hair of a horse next.

Copyright Laura Hardie 2014
Please do not use without permission