A Collie in acrylics

I can't believe 26 days have passed since my last post especially when I made a promise to myself to update it more regularly. This promise does still stand and I fully intend to update my blog on a regular basis from now on.

So what have I been up to in the last 26 days? I would like to say lots and lots but as I have had the builders up converting my garage I haven't done as much as I'd planned - again!!! What is it with this year?? I could go into detail giving you an insight into the mess, stress and upheaval I have been subject to but suffice to say I don't work well amongst chaos and am easily distracted. Definately a disadvantage to working from home. But I can't complain (now that it's all over) as we now have the space for a dishwasher! It arrived this afternoon and I can honestly say it will be one well loved bit of machinery. One less thing to do around the house can only mean more time behind the easel.

Despite everything going on around me I have completed 2 portraits, one of which I can't show just now thanks to my camera. The other is an acrylic painting of a Collie called Bonnie, pictured below. The photograph I had to work from was taken over 20 years ago and was not clear but despite this I am happy with the results and more importantly my client was too.

I am always on the lookout to try something new be it pencils, paints, paper and enjoy seeing what results I can get from them. For Bonnie's portrait I used Golden Fluid Acrylics that have a consistency similar to heavy cream making them an excellent choice for detail work.

I did have my reservations about this paint - mainly its consistency - would it would be thick enough to use on canvas board and would I get complete coverage? But I needn't have worried there as you get the same richness of colour offered by the Heavy Body Acrylics but none of the 'gloopiness' - the consistency of the paints gave a pleasantly smooth brush stroke. I really enjoyed using them and can't wait to try them on paper and other supports.

Like all good things though there was a downside and with these paints I felt they dried a lot quicker than the Heavy Body Acrylics both on the palette and on the canvas. I found myself having to mix the same colour several times and having difficulty with blending. They do say practice makes perfect and I'm sure with more practice I'll find ways to overcome these problems.

Busy busy

Four or five months ago I was complaining to my husband how I had no time to draw 'my things' as I was fully booked with Xmas orders (which is great of course) and how I really missed it. He told me not to worry as I would have plenty of time come January onwards. How wrong he was!!

Surprisingly (I say this going on previous years at this time) I have been really busy with commissions and now taking orders for May. Obviously I am really pleased with this as people are finding me some way or other and like my work enough to commission me.

So while I miss not having the time to do my own work for the time being I can't complain as I'm doing something I love and get great enjoyment from. Saying this, I intend to find that extra hour here and there to update my website (long overdue in my opinion), draw something for me (can't wait) and brush up on my photography skills (more about this in another post).

Now for a portrait........ this is my latest, completed using colour pencils, of a Golden Lab called Wallace. I have to say he was sooooo good and sat there all the time while I snapped away with my camera!

Aches and pains

Once again I find myself running behind schedule and Zara is not to blame - at least I don't think so.

Every Wednesday evening my daughter and I take Zara to puppy classes which, by the way, she loves. Unfortunately she spends the majority of the hour pulling and ends up on her back legs trying to get to the other puppies (I'm sure she was a meerkat in a previous life!) and she is STRONG. By the end of the classes I feel like I have done a round with Mike Tyson and literally ache all over in my efforts to keep her from jumping enthusiastically over the other dogs.

For some reason I haven't felt well in the days following. Two weeks ago my arms ached enough for me to take painkillers and last week I ached from the hips up like I had flu of the trunk!?!?!? Of course it could just be coincidence that I happened to have aches and pains after puppy classes that's why I'm keeping an open mind.

Whatever the reasons it stopped me from putting in the hours behind the easel. However, I did finish this portrait of a Great Dane that I had the pleasure of meeting called Meg.

I visited Meg to take photographs to work from and she was HUGE - compared to Zara she was like a horse!

Meg was to be completed in pastels and therefore my first choice of paper would have been velour but not with this portrait. Unfortunately there are not a lot of colours to choose from in the velour and I wanted it to be on blue paper. So Meg has been drawn on Canson which always leaves me wanting to use colour pencils with the pastels - I like the results you get with this combination.

German Shepherds

Zita and Sulley
12 x 10 Pastel

As mentioned in my last post here is the completed portrait of Zita and Sulley, the German Shepherds - or Alsations if you prefer to call them that. I never know what to call them and chop and change as the mood takes me although I do know that they were called German Shepherds first and Alsation came after the 1st World War but dont ask me why - I think I might Google it and find out.

A cat and a dog

'Mollie'
16 x 12 Colour Pencil

Proof that I am now back on track and working on my portraits, even if running a bit behind schedule.

Mollie is my latest commission and she reminded me a lot of our cat who we sadly had to rehome a couple of years ago (a long story). Next up on the easel are 2 German Shepherds in pastel. Both are nearing completion and I should have a picture to show you early next week.

Still trying to find that spare time to draw and paint Zara - I have lots of things I want, and can't wait, to do with her. In the meantime I am camera happy, clicking away while out on our walks hoping to catch the perfect photo to work from .............. and to proudly show anyone who isn't bored by now! Here are a couple of my favourites taken last week.

Gorgeous or what!

Confessions

Ok, I have a confession to make - I've been somewhat 'lazy' behind the easel and haven't done very much since the holidays. The reason?

Well on the one hand I could 'blame' Zara. Being the only one working from home I find myself, on the whole, her sole carer. Thankfully she is almost fully toilet trained so don't have to follow her every move but now I have a problem with guilt. I feel I should be spending more time with her - those eyes of hers get to me every time - and do feel guilty working on my drawings. When I get a chance to that is as I am forever having to stop to attend to her needs for one reason or another.

On the other hand I could blame myself and lack of motivation (post holiday syndrome I like to call it). I had work to complete the week beween Christmas and New Year and decided to take the following week as my holidays. My promise to start work 'tomorrow' changed daily and all of a sudden it is the 21st January! Whatever my reasons it is not a good start to the year and, whether Zara likes it or not, it's back to normal hours tomorrow.

I haven't been all bad and finished updating my website galleries with my Christmas commissions which included pencil drawings of Seonaid, a lurcher and Italian spinone cross....

And, staying with lurchers, 2 brothers named Miller and Fynn.....

I am never happy with how my graphite pencil portraits scan or photograph but it gives you an idea.

So what's next? Looking forward to future commissions which include 2 German Shephards, a Great Dane, Greyhound and a colour pencil montage of a beautiful Spaniel. First up though is Mollie the cat and I will be adding her to my WIP pages tomorrow.

The story so far

With the Christmas rush over things have calmed down a bit behind the easel giving me some time to update my website - well that was my plan. My computer had other ideas and decided to 'crash' on Christmas Eve. The timing couldn't have been worse with nowhere open to take it to be fixed - if it could be fixed!!

I spent all that week convinced I had lost all my data. That worry combined with my severe lack of sleep (thanks to Zara) didn't make me the greatest company to be around. But it is only a computer I hear you say - this is true but I have EVERYTHING stored on my computer, pictures, website, client details to name but a few. As it turned out I needn't have worried as I was, and I quote, "very lucky I didn't lose everything on my harddrive". I have learnt a valuable lesson after all this however and that is to back-up all my data and updates on a regular basis.

So with my computer back I have made a start on updating my website with my Christmas commissions beginning with the colour pencil portraits. The portraits I will be adding to this gallery include.......

Amber, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier

Lenny, the Collie

and Millie, the Chocolate Lab

All beautiful dogs, don't you think?

Our new addition

Now that Christmas has come and gone (hope you had a good one) and all the chaos that goes with it I'd like to introduce you to our new addition to the family in the form of a 12 week old gorgeous boxer puppy we have named Zara.

Zara was a surprise present for my daughter who has been desperate to have a dog for more years than I care to remember but couldn't due to her dad's allergy to cats. However, the lady we bought her from kindly agreed to take her back if it turned out he had any reaction to her. Thankfully, almost 2 weeks down the line, all is going well which is probably just as well because we couldn't part with her now even if we had to and would probably end up getting a room somewhere for my husband instead!

Although we love her to bits I don't think any of us were prepared for the amount of work involved in looking after her. I have had 2 children and can honestly say they were a lot easier - at least you could stick them in a nappy and leave them happily in their chair or whatever and not move. Zara is happily peeing and pooing her way around the house so find myself following her every step - not easy when I have commissions to finish.

To top it all she is not letting me sleep through the night and will howl to get out. Now on night 12 I have never felt, or looked, so tired. I have to keep reminding myself that it will get easier and we can start to take her out for walks come Tuesday - if she'll go that is! On the few occasions we have had her out in our driveway with her leash she just sits there and wont budge no matter what we do so Tuesday could be interesting. One thing I am sure of though is that she will be well loved and the subject of many a drawing and painting for years to come.

Christmas countdown

Where has November gone? December looks like it is going the same way - far too quickly - I can't believe it is only 2 weeks and a bit to Christmas!

With my nose stuck in front of my easel for the past so many weeks (lost count) completing Christmas orders I pretty much haven't had time for anything else. I haven't bought any cards, presents, decorations, i.e. Christmas essentials, and my kids are starting to get a bit worried while my husband moans about being an artists widow. I have planned to take Sunday off to, amongst other things, put up our tree so hopefully that will spur me on to buy presents to go under it (at least that's what my kids are hoping).

So what has been taking up all my time and flying off the easel? Unfortunately I can't show you as it has all been Christmas orders so have to be careful that I don't ruin someone's surprise. I can, however, show you this border collie cross saluki as the recipient is not a fan of the Internet or computers and stays well away.

She really is a beautiful dog, especially her eyes - it's almost like she has dark eyeliner on. Anyway, she was a pleasure to draw and more importantly my client was delighted with the finished portrait.

The singing cat

You know the saying about buses how none appear and then 3 come all at once - or something to that effect? - well it feels a bit like this at the moment with my Christmas commissions. Not that I am complaining - far from it, I love what I do and it is great to see people are finding my website out there in cyberspace. So I am now fully booked with orders for Christmas and it looks like I'll need to work day and night from now until then - not easy working nights if you are a soap and 'I'm a Celebrity' fan!(sad I know).

One of my latest commissions was of a cat named Tom and I thought I would share it with you, being that little bit different from usual.

Tom is sadly no longer with us and what's more, the majority of the photographs with him in them were lost when my client's computer crashed. As a result I was shown 3 photographs that showed enough of him to work from and as soon as I saw this pose of Tom it made me laugh. Tom, I learned, was a big friendly cat, very vocal and strong in character. My client decided to go with this pose as it brought back lots of memories - if he was not asleep he was being vocal so it was very typical of him. I love the picture and although I never met him felt I knew him by the time I had finished his portrait.

The portrait is currently sitting in my lounge ready to be mounted before being delivered and it really does make me smile every time I look at it.

Keeping track of time

I am often asked how long it takes me to complete a portrait and my answer is always an approximation as I never physically take a note of the time I spend on a painting/drawing and more often than not I work on more than one portrait at a time making it difficult to be precise.

To satisfy my curiosity (I secretly wanted to know) to how long exactly it took me to complete a portrait I decided to keep a time sheet for my latest commission. So everytime I picked up a pencil I would 'clock-on' and note my start time and 'clock-off' when I stopped for whatever reason - even if just for a few minutes. This exercise was a bit of an eye opener for me as although I would spend all day working on the portrait, once I had added up all the hours minus my breaks for checking emails, telephone calls, taking photographs, website updates, paperwork, lunch, washing dishes - the list goes on (note I didn't mention surfing the Internet!!) - the actual time spent drawing wasn't as long as I had thought.

Obviously each drawing is different and some take longer than others - brindle coats spring to mind - so I can't say 'yes, it takes me ?? hours to do a colour pencil portrait' but as I said it satisfied my curiosity. So without further ado here are a few stages of my latest commission, Poppy and Misha, and the time taken to reach each stage.

Stage 1 and 7 hours 55 minutes later - to which my husband replied 'so it takes you nearly 8 hours to do two eyes, an ear and a bit!!' - Men.

Stage 2, 12 hours 5minutes - Poppy (cream and orange coloured) is near completion.

Stage 3, (hope you're not bored - had considered missing a stage here but thought I've started so I'll finish) and 15 hours 5 minutes later.

And finally Stage 4 taken after 17 hours and 35 minutes.

At this stage I normally sit on (not literally) it for a few days and finish of anything I feel needs finishing. With Poppy and Misha I darkened areas here and there and worked more on the fur around Poppy's eyes. Total time spent, including touch-ups, 18 hours 40 minutes. And yes I kept a time sheet for the next portrait I did - no reason really, just for me because I wanted to.

Absent - but still here

It's been a while since my last post but there are good reasons for this and not because I've been glued to the Internet. I have been very busy, and at times extremely frustrated, working on my Christmas commissions. Extremly frustrated because I've not been happy with the results I've been getting on an adorable Westie I have to draw - I have started it 3 times now and 3 times it has ended up in the bin! I've had challenges, don't get me wrong, and challanges are good but I always get there in the end and it just wasn't happening with my Westie. So to avoid all my hair being pulled out he has been temporarily put to one side where I can see him, hoping that when I look at it again properly it will all fall into place (whatever it is that's not working).

In the meantime I worked on something completely different - a family portrait - which is now finished but I can't show until after Christmas as it is a present - it's a small world after all and it could ruin the surprise. So no pics to show you in this post - not even an ACEO - as I can't find the time at the moment to do my own work. However, next up on my easel are Poppy and Misha, 2 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and Tom, a tabby cat with a difference - not forgetting my Westie of course so should have something to show you soon.

On a different note, I decided to join ArtWanted.com last week and currently have 4 drawings on my portfolio page. It is still a work in progress and intend to add more work and categorize things better but it's a start. To visit my portfolio page go to www.ArtWanted.com/laurajean.

My 1st ACEO

The Huntress

2.5 x 3.5 colour pencil on drafting film

It has been my intention to try my hand at ACEO's for quite a while now but for some reason or other just never got round to it. Well, if I am being honest selling on Ebay had a lot to do with it as I haven't a clue how to set up as a seller, and that's just to start with - no point doing ACEO's if you don't try and sell them on Ebay and to do so it helps if you know what you are doing. Readers of my blog will be aware of my issue with time and lack of it so hence my delay in jumping on the bandwagon as it were.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with ACEO's let me enlighten you. ACEO's or Art Cards, Editions and Originals are a very popular way to collect art that is affordable. They can be drawn/painted on any surface using any medium with the only rule being they must measure 2.5 x 3.5 inches - the size of a trading card. Both originals and prints can be sold on the Internet.

As it turned out 'The Huntress' did not start out life as an ACEO but as an experiment using colour pencils on drafting film (will talk more about this in another post). Again, this has been something I have wanted to try for a long time with my excuse this time being I could not track down drafting film. Although a small drawing to begin with, 5x8, I decided half way through to crop it down to the size of an ACEO, preferring the crop to the original. All I need to do now is figure out Ebay and how it works - yes there are still some of us about - while I work on more ACEO's.

2 more make 4

Leaving 1 still to do. Yes, I am talking about the guinea pigs. So without further ado here are Raffles (2nd time around - different pose)

And Ailsa (my favourite, I think)

Atten - shun

Something else I have started working on after being pencil sharpnerless and thought I would share with you.

And a close-up

This is taken from a photograph I have been wanting to use for some time of 3 beagles (all related to Bru - you may remember the oil painting I did of him chewing a stick). I just loved the way they are all sitting to attention waiting for that certain order.

Wanted to try my hand at watercolour again (it's been a long time) and thought this would be a great one to start with. It was/is my intention to loosen up more and not be so detailed and had to stop myself a few times from getting out my 000 size brush!! Still got quite a bit to go on this when time permits.

Scratchboard Cats

With one thing or another it has been a busy last few days but not so much on the art front. To start with my trusted electric sharpner suddenly died on me - no sharpner, no colour pencil drawings - and as it turns out everything I have on the go at the moment is using colour pencils. Yes I have 2 children who I am sure own a pencil sharpner of some description somewhere but, as with paper and sad as it may sound, I guess I am fussy when it comes to sharpners too!

Anyhow with school shows and all the duties that go with being a mother I couldn't find the time to go out and purchase a new one straightaway so, while the colour pencil commissions took a back seat, I thought I would work a bit more on my scratchboard cats.

Scratchboard cat 2, if you remember, was finished waiting to be 'painted'. Now managed to get this done but I'm really not happy with it.

I obviously have loads to learn when it comes to this stage as nothing seems 'vibrant' enough next to the black. I think that I'm perhaps not scratching enough and leaving too much black but am always wary of overscratching and losing the tones and form.

Colouring Scratchboard cats 1 and 2 has put me off doing the same to 3 which is now nearly finished and I am therefore going to leave it as it is for fear of disliking it. I like having just the eyes in colour anyway - more striking - and not really sure why I added colour to cat 2 in the first place. Here is where I am with cat 3 (feel much happier with this one)......

Oh, and by the way , I now have my new sharpner so it's back to my commissions.

Horse on Black

Well here she is in all her glory and what a joy she was to do too.

As I have already mentioned in another post I have really enjoyed working with colour pencils on black paper even if this would not be my ideal choice of paper (Daler Rowney's Canford). So I am now making it my mission to find that perfect black paper to work on which could prove a bit of a problem as, you will soon find, I am soooooo fussy when it comes to paper.

I wouldn't have this problem if Fabriano did the decent thing and produced one in their hot pressed watercolour range! Until that day I will continue my search and keep you posted on my findings.

I've been Googled!!

3 months and 12 days my website has been floating out there in cyber space fighting to get noticed and it has finally happened. To say I am happy is an understatement - after all I am competing with thousands of portrait artists out there trying to get a top spot in the search engines and I've done it - well for the time being - you can never tell with Google can you? Couldn't tell you under what search my website comes up in as in my excitement I forgot to ask. Ask? My potential client who phoned to enquire about completion dates. Fingers crossed it - my website - keeps getting noticed.

Anyway enough of my euphoria. Made a start on my guinea pig commission and managed to complete 2 this week - 3 more to go but in the meantime here are Raffles and Iona.

While working on the guinea pigs I have started a colour pencil horse on black paper that was shouting "Please do me, please do me..." from amongst my 'must-do' pile. Having given in I actually found working on the black very enjoyable and something I will be doing a lot more of I am sure. Here is where I am with it at the moment, probably 3 hours work later.

To do this on white paper would probably take me twice as long (if not longer) so really likeing the 'quickness' of it. Mind you I would know instinctively what pencils to use on white but they don't look the same on black so a big learning curve here. Next time I will try the colours out first instead of jumping straight into the drawing!

Colour Pencil Week

Spent this week working on two colour pencil portraits with nothing inbetween - no oils, graphites, scratchboard - just colour pencils. Oh, and many hours on the Internet of course.

Don't know about anyone else but I've come to the conclusion I spend too much time on the computer/Internet. It's all relevant though - she says convincingly - and all art related. I'm not doing online shopping or playing games so it's not all bad right? Maybe I'm nosey as I generally like to see what other artists are up to in the world - I read their blogs, websites, check out art forums and even sites on SEO (not forgetting keeping my blog and website up to date). You should see my favourites list, my daughter actually commented on it's size the other day!

I often come away really inspired, which is a good thing, wanting to do this and that (also have a large must-do list) but there never seems to be enough time in the day to do everything I want. I know, I know - I am trying to spend less time on the Internet (need to at this time of year anyway as the Christmas commissions come in) and have an aim of trying to complete one non-commissioned picture a week. Think I'll keep them small to start with.

Anyway - back to the two colour pencil portraits. Angus the Bitsa/Sheltie is finished and I am waiting word back from my client.

Also completed a drawing I've titled 'Arabian Grace'.

This was done on mountboard - a first for me and probably the last (well on that particular mountboard anyway) as I found it hard to get complete coverage with the pencils despite finding the smoothest mountboard I could. I found I had to blend with a cotton bud after 2 or 3 layers and then work on top of this to get the look I was after, i.e. no white 'dots'!

Want to try colour pencils on black paper next and looking forward to it.

New Work on the Easel

Thought I would give you an update of new work I currently have on the easel starting with the next commissioned portrait I will be working on. This is Angus who is a Bitsa (a bit of this and a bit of that) although I am told he is very much like a Sheltie. I had the opportunity to meet Angus on one of his morning plays in the park and take a good number of photographs. The weather was perfect and I managed to get a number of good shots, including these all important close-up head shots, or so I thought.

Sitting eagerly infront of the computer to see the great pictures I had taken my enthusiasm was soon lost as I realised there was not one good photograph amongst them! The majority were all too dark and seeing features or details in the fur was near impossible - and this was with my new, top of the range, expensive digital SLR! So I am working from a photograph originally given to me by my client, which he is happy with of course, and using the best of my bad lot for reference. Anyway, here are a couple of progress shots...

I have also been commissioned to do 5 guinea pig portraits - a first for me (drawing guinea pigs that is), which I am looking to make a start on over the coming week. The photographs I have been given to work from are unusually good, couldn't have asked for better, making my job a lot easier.

I will of course continue to work on my own artwork - I have a list of drawings and paintings I really want to do as long as my arm which seems to grow on a daily basis! Have started on a couple from this list but both are no more than outlines at the moment and not worth showing but will keep you posted.

Finally, for this post anyway, an update on Scratchboard Cat 3 (I really will have to give them all titles).