Finished

Max
10.5" x 10.5", Coloured Pencil
Copyright Laura Hardie 2011

Still having problems with my computer and wishing that I was friends or living with a technical genius who could fix everything for me. Why, when something goes wrong with them does it have to be so complicated and frustrating to figure out and put right! But enough about my computer and onto the real reason for this post – Max and the final scan showing him all finished and ready for approval. Loved drawing this old boy.

Last portrait for 2010

Tino
10'x8' Coloured Pencil
Copyright Laura Hardie 2010

Hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas and Santa was good to you. I don't have a big family unfortunately (though some people may say that is a good thing:)) so it was a very quiet, but enjoyable, one for us at the Hardie household this year - just me and my kids! Spending time now relaxing and making the most of what's left of the holidays before I throw myself back into drawing and painting - first portrait of 2011 is going to be a painting so looking forward to that. Thinking a lot too about my goals for next year and what I want to achieve but more about those hopefully in my next post.

I have one more portrait to share with you before the year is out as you can see above. I actually finished this one back at the end of November but couldn't show you at the time as it was to be a surprise present for someone - delighted to say they were very happy with it. Vizslas are another breed that I love drawing but I can struggle with their colouring before I'm completely happy - reds are always difficult to get just right with coloured pencils (or is that only me:)) I did take a couple of in-progress scans while working on it...........

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has followed and supported my work throughout the year and I hope you will continue to enjoy my art here in 2011. Wishing you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR - here's hoping it's a prosperous one for us all!

Saluki

Teruh
12'x10' Coloured Pencil
Copyright Laura Hardie 2010

Has it really been that long since my last post!?! Top of my goals for 2011, which I will be thinking more about over the Christmas break, has to be better time management and to stop procrastinating so much. In my defence I have had a lot of unnecessary 'things' thrown at me this year, not art related, that has unfortunately (and frustratingly) taken up far to much of my time than I care to think about. As has all this snow we've been having recently - I've had a shovel in my hand more times than I have my pencils I think!

So while I've been a bit quiet here on my blog dealing with 'things', I have been working away at the drawing board when I can and completed a couple of portraits. One is of the Saluki you see at the top of this post, called Teruh. Normally I would have blogged the stages as I worked on it but, as time got the better of me, will show them together here incase they are of interest to anyone.

Farley finished

Farley
12'x10' Coloured Pencil
Copyright Laura Hardie 2010

The portrait of Farley is now finished and has been for over a week but thanks to Blogger having a wobbly I couldn't upload any images at the time. And then of course it slipped my mind later!

I am currently trying out new papers for my coloured pencil drawings as, after years of using Fabriano Artistico hp watercolour paper (and shouting its praises to all who asked), I've decided it is too 'off white' and cream coloured for my liking - I want a paper that is a lot whiter. I probably would have quite happily carried on using the Artistico paper had it not been for my wanting to try Mellotex. Mike Sibley, who needs no introduction and whose work I greatly admire, uses this paper as do more and more pencil artists it seems.

Mellotex did take a bit of getting used to as it was so smooth but what I liked straight away was the whiteness of the paper and the fact that this in turn made getting prints of my drawings so much easier - made my Artistico look yellow in comparison! I encourage any artist who hasn't tried this paper to give it a go - you wont be disappointed. The range of darks you can achieve with this paper is reason alone - lots of lovely blacks:)

Unfortunately it is just too smooth for my coloured pencils hence my search. Farley has been drawn on Fabriano 5 described in Jacksons catalogue as 'a very white paper ideal for botanical work'. Sounded ideal, and still being a hp watercolour paper I knew it would have enough tooth to take all my many layers of pencil. But, for some reason or other, I didn't enjoy working on it and found it hard going. I still got the results I was after only I had to work harder to get them. I'm not an expert on papers but did wonder if the fact it was mould-made using 50% cotton rag as opposed to 100% in the Artistico could make a difference. I'm probably way out and clutching at straws but it is the only difference between the two papers, besides the colour, that I can see and it would be interesting to know. Maybe I got paper from a bad batch, who knows.

I will try it again but for my next portrait, which I'm currently working on, I'm back to the Artistico this time in extra white. No problems to report with this paper so far (still not as white as I'd ideally like but thats being picky) and there are a few more out there I'd like to try. Especially one from a fellow coloured pencil artist that I hadn't come across before and, thanks to him, have small samples of to scribble on and play around with.

I am working hard on my next portrait but unfortunately can't show you how this is progressing (yet) as it is going to be a present for somebody and it could ruin the surprise. I will of course post the stages as soon as I can.

Farley

A quick post as I have lots to do this afternoon/evening, but wanted to show where I am at with the Rough Collie portrait I'm currently working on. Meet Farley, or at least some of him ........

Farley
A Work in Progress
Copyright Laura Hardie 2010

I could have got a better scan looking at it now on screen but it'll pass - better ones in next post!

Update: Not so good image removed and better one put in its place - feel a lot better now:)

'New' blog!

A Work in Progress
Coloured Pencil on gessoboard
Copyright Laura Hardie 2010

Couldn't resist playing around with templates in Blogger and give my blog a bit of a make over. I'm happy with this template (for now:)) but may make a few small changes here and there over the next couple of weeks. I know you can add pages for example, and I want to see if I can do this - hopefully it should be simple enough! Staying on the subject of my blog I'd like to draw your attention to the link to my Facebook page (on the sidebar to the right) and encourage anyone interested to follow my work and goings on there too - I tend to update this page slightly more frequently than I do my blog for some reason.

I've made a start on my next portrait, which is of a Rough Collie - not enough to warrant a photo for my blog just yet but those will follow over the next couple of days. I always find the start of a drawing takes the longest time as I find my way around and get to know my subject. I prefer the middle stage when everything seems to 'flow' a lot better.

The image in todays post is my Lab on gessoboard started back in September and currently still a work in progress. I'm still deciding what exactly I want to do with the background and if I should be brave and go for silver leaf in places. Need to give it lots more thought as I'd hate to ruin it at this late stage.

Holly

Working away happily on a commissioned portrait of a Cocker Spaniel by the name of Holly and thought I would show you where I am at with it (looks a bit strange without her nose:)).

Holly
A Work in Progress
Copyright Laura Hardie 2010

It's been a while since I have accepted commissioned work, having taken time out for the majority of the year, but I'm delighted to say that I am now taking orders again from anyone that is interested in having a portrait or looking for an original work of art. Contact details etc, are on my website.

On the drawing board

Zara
21cm x27cm, Coloured Pencil
Copyright Laura Hardie 2009

I work from photos (as if you hadn’t guessed:)) – I have to as I've yet to come across a dog, or any animal for that matter, who will happily pose for up to 30 hours or more while I complete their portrait. But I have to admit to being very particular when it comes to choosing those that I will work from, as I’m sure those who have worked with me in the past will testify. I’m not saying I haven’t worked with bad photos because I have, many in fact when I first started out, but ultimately this shows in the finished portrait hence my ‘fussiness’ and insistence on good photos to start with.

This week I had planned to start a portrait of four Collies but on printing out the agreed reference photos I really wasn’t completely happy with two of them so decided to ask for more. I do find it hard if I continually have to ask for more photos when they’re unsuitable – I almost feel as if I’m being a pain – but it’s so important to get this stage right and hopefully the finished portrait makes all the extra effort worthwhile.

So with the Collie portrait on hold until next week I had the chance to work on my own portfolio, which I’m slowly trying to build up between commissioned pieces, but was disappointed to get next to nothing done – too much procrastinating and not enough action. I had the perfect opportunity too as my daughter was off to London on a school trip for the week giving me plenty of me time. Sadly the only thing I managed to do was to finish the above drawing of Zara. I started this back in February and you can see a couple of work in progress shots here and here.

At this stage I’m undecided what to call this piece but I do have a few ideas running round my head that I’ll no doubt spend some time pondering over.

Chocolate Lab

It’s been some time coming but at last we are getting some nice weather with, importantly, lots of sun. Only problem is I want to make the most of it, which means time away from the drawing board. It’s a good opportunity however to look for and take some much needed reference material for future drawings so don’t feel too guilty.

Here are the first stages of my next portrait as mentioned very briefly in my last post. Ideally I should be further along than where I am now but staying hopeful that it will be finished by Sunday, otherwise I'll be playing catch-up. When completed this will be 16x12 inches in size so quite big for coloured pencil.

A couple of updates

Zara
A Work in Progress
Copyright Laura Hardie 2009

Not a big update but an update all the less, which shows a bit more work has been done to her body. Quite a bit more needs to be done in this area but it will have to wait as I work on my next commission of a chocolate lab – you can see my reference for this in the sidebar. I’ve made a start but it’s still in the early stages and there’s really not enough on paper just yet to warrant a progress shot.

Work still continues with my prints after encountering yet more unforeseen problems over the weekend – not that I should really be surprised. While I had hoped at this point to excitedly tell all that my prints were now ready I instead have to console myself that it’s not to be, at least for the time being. I am progressing; I am getting there and I am learning – it’s just taking (a lot) longer than I’d planned.

Prints and a new coloured pencil portrait

Something I have wanted to do for what seems like forever now is to turn my artwork into prints so I thought I would spend time this week working towards finally completing this goal. It certainly feels like it has been one long journey getting to the stage I'm at, believe it or not, with there always being something or other to sort out – anything from problems calibrating my computer to simply finding space to house my (huge) printer. I’ve been scanning, sizing, photoshoping and tweaking these past few days to get things set up and ready for the printing stage. Tomorrow I’ll spend the day printing proofs and making sure everything looks good – like the colours, image size, etc. At last I feel I’m getting somewhere.

My pencils haven’t been forgotten in all the excitement over my prints and I have been picking them up now and again to work on a portrait I started a while back. The subject for this drawing is very dear to me as she was our dog and, although no longer living with us, I still love her to bits. She was the model for this portrait, which reminds me – I originally wanted to make this into a print too.

Here are a couple of ‘in progress’ shots.

Patience - finished

Patience
16x12 Coloured Pencil
Copyright Laura Hardie 2009

It’s been a while coming but here she is, finished and waiting for approval.

An update

Patience
A Work in Progress
Copyright Laura Hardie 2009

The work continues and Patience is starting to come together. I think I can honestly say that from the many portraits I've had the pleasure of drawing that this has been one of the hardest coat colours to get right – every hair seems to be a different shade of grey. Luckily I have enough pencils to choose from.

Scanner or Camera?

Patience
A Work in Progress
Copyright Laura Hardie 2009

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about photographing and/or scanning artwork trying to decipher which method gives the best result. I’m assuming this would be a matter of opinion amongst artists with arguments for and against both. I personally always scan my drawings simply because I’m not very good with the camera, get lost when it comes to setting the right exposure and get better results with my scanner – although, as explained in my last post, I’ve never been totally happy with the finished images, despite playing around with them in Photoshop.

As it is about time I stop moaning about this and doing something about it I thought (to avoid personally emailing you all:)) I would start with a poll on my blog to see what your preferred method is. I’m interested to know how you get good images of your artwork - the kind that you would be happy using for such things as prints to sell, for use on marketing materials, website or for entries into exhibitions. In other words, good, clear images that remain true (as possible) to the original.

I’ll leave the poll running for a fortnight in the hope of getting as many replies as possible and hope you will participate. I also welcome any comments you might have on the subject.

The image in todays post is what I am currently working on. I’m really excited about this drawing as, although not my first horse, it is my first to commission. Here’s hoping it leads to more. This is the first stage and I should have another update soon.

Finished

Jed
Coloured pencil on paper
Copyright Laura Hardie 2009

I’m calling Jed finished before I end up overworking him with my ‘touch-ups’. Next stage, providing the finished portrait is approved of course, is a visit to my framers to choose a mount.

I’m still undecided how big this portrait will end up being – the height is definitely 18 inches, it’s the width I’m not sure about. I can’t help feeling there should be quite a bit of space on the left (as we look at it) to give him space to ‘turn into' but its how much I’m having problems with. I’ll play around with mounts at my framers and get her valuable input before I make a decision.

The pic above has been cropped and only required me to paste two scans together in Photoshop but I thought I would give you a better idea of the final composition and how it will look below, even though it involved stitching (not sure if that’s the correct term) four scans together – not that easy for a technophobe like me.

Copyright Laura Hardie 2009

Getting there

Jed
A Work in Progress
Copyright Laura Hardie 2009

Jed is starting to look more complete now that he has all his legs and paws in. All that’s left to do now is the neck area – which I deliberately left to the end – and more work on his shoulder. He will of course be ‘grounded’ and not floating in air like he is at the moment as it is my intention to add a bit of sand here and there where necessary.

Something on my to-do list lately has been to move my Feed Burner account over to Google. As you know Feed Burner is merging with Google and I am led to believe that everything will be finalised at the end of this month (I could be wrong so don’t quote me). With the end of the month fast approaching I thought I’d better not put it off any longer and have now made the necessary changes, which I’m relieved to say was very simple. There shouldn’t be any problems with subscriptions etc, but do let me know if there are and I will do my best to investigate.

Greyhound - Stage 2

Jed
A work in progress

I’ve not spent as much time as I would have liked on Jed this week thanks to the schools being closed for the mid term break. For some reason or other I never seem to get as much work done when they’re closed and yet I never take this into account when planning ahead in my diary. Typical.

Thankfully I’m not falling behind with commissioned work but I am with possible exhibition pieces and I’ll really need to get my finger out and do something about this if I want to meet my goals for the year. A couple of days out and about with my camera should give me some much needed inspiration and hopefully great reference material to work from.

Labradors finished

Raven and Sam
16X12 Coloured Pencil
Copyright Laura Hardie 2009

Here they are, Raven and Sam together, albeit a day later than promised - blogger was playing up yesterday and wasn’t letting me upload any photos as it does periodically.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working on this portrait and will miss looking at their faces every day. Next up on the drawing board is a greyhound with a difference.

Labradors - stage 3

Raven

Raven is now finished, minus some whiskers that I will add at the end once Sam is in the portrait. Talking of which - this is the stage I am at just now with him.

Sam - stage 1

I am just loving their faces and the longer I look at them, the more I want one.

Labradors - stage 2

Raven - stage 2

How could you refuse those eyes? I don’t know what captured his attention or what he was patiently waiting for but I’m sure he got it looking like that.

Not much more to do – all going well I should have Raven finished tomorrow and I can make a start on Sam.