What's new, pussy cat?

A quick pic today - a pencil drawing of a lovely little cat. Sadly the circumstances behind the drawing are heartbreaking. I was asked to draw this by a lady whose daughter's cat was run over and killed a few weeks ago. Needless to say I wanted to draw something that would give her daughter some happy memories.

Badger, bee and rabbit from me

I don't do an awful lot of painting or drawing these days. My 'get up and go' got up and went a while ago. However, I drew a few pieces a couple of weeks ago and they have been on Etsy for sale. Sorry for the bad photos. My scanner has been playing up and refuses to give me nice graphite images. I suspect a few hours of tinkering with the settings is needed.

Of foxes and tigers

For those who do not know, I live with my 93 year old Grandmother. Until recently she was pretty much fit and able to do things for herself. However, last December she took a number of health issues including a small stroke so things have had to change. I don't get the chance to do a lot of drawing and painting these days with doctors, nurses and carers coming in regularly, not to mention visits from family members. So the house is a bit hectic. In the last few months though I have managed to draw these two 1.5x1.5 graphite drawings. Being so small they don't scan too well but I think they are pretty cute. 

On the subject of foxes, last night we had the most amazing evening sun. It made the whole countryside glow. During the sunset a fox looking for a meal trotted through the field in front of the house. It was a stunning sight - and wouldn't you know it, by the time I'd grabbed my camera the fox had gone. Typical.

Art update

I have been wondering all week what I was going to post about today. Should it be my wire insect, the new cards I have been working on, some crochet or the art I have been creating. The only way I could decide (being a libra and terribly indecisive) was by realising I've posted most of my art on Facebook so I might as well post it here too. So, what do we have? Pencil drawings. Part of a raccoon (it still needs to be finished but I had to start on new work for the local exhibition next month), a bee, a hungry rabbit and some cuddling doves. Why do I have so much art to post at once? A new drawing board. It's fabulous - smooth, solid, tilts at four different angles and means I don't have to hunch over my desk. With a little luck it will mean more drawing for me.

Challenge Gillian - September

Yes, once again, I failed to get four pieces painted in one month. If one thing has become clear it's that it isn't that easy to stick to a challenge like this. For along time I have had difficulty sitting down, getting on and drawing or painting. I really have to be bashed round the head with inspiration before I sit down. Or, alternatively, I'm get paid for what I am producing. That's always a good motivator ;o) However, I did manage to get this guy finished in September and several other pieces started. The other pieces will be finished up this month (hopefully), one is actually listed in my Etsy store (Hide and Seek), but considering I have signed up for another ancient history course with the Open University I feel that my time is going to be spent studying more that drawing. Still, it's nearly the end of the year. Can you believe it? Just three more months of Challenge Gillian left.

Challenge Gillian - July

Only three photos of my July art this time. I drew a little rabbit then gave it to someone without scanning it first. Doh! I did the same thing this week with a dotee doll for a swap. I was so busy trying to get the packet packed and sent out on time that I forgot to photograph it. Double doh! If this is what my mind is like at 37 I dread to think what I will be like at 67 or 87.

Anyway, the pictures are of a mouse called 'The Nibbler' (he sold quite quickly so I am pleased someone liked him so much as I wasn't sure about him), the elephant with no name (also sold) and a crested tit among the ivy.

Challenge Gillian - again

Well, the challenge is still going well. At this rate I will actually have a choice of things to put into the Summer exhibition. This is the first fox I have drawn in a long, long time. The last time I painted one was for my number one fan who later died tragically young. Although I always wanted to do another one I never found the right circumstances where I could do it justice. In short my heart just wasn't in it. I am hoping this one would go down well with my biggest fan.

This woodpecker is actually taken from a book written an illustrated by one of my favourite artists - Elaine Franks. I trawled her book, The Undercliff, hour after hour, dissecting her illustrations and marvelling at her work. My one is a combination of graphite (for the black areas) and coloured pencil. It hasn't scanned quite as well as I had hoped though.
The squirrel is still work in progress and the cat beneath is actually a reworking of an earlier piece I did for Challenge Gillian. I just thought the flower pot and grass added enough to make it a proper picture.

Challenge Gillian - belated

In March I finally fell off the challenge wagon. Despite trying to fit a completed painting or drawing into each week I had a rather rough week where I did nothing. Yes, absolutely nothing. I lolled around. Since the start of the year I have been very busy and I needed to take a break and let my brain relax. Therefore no painting or drawing was done. I did manage to finish the two dog portraits I started in February throughout March. The pencil drawing turned out OK but the watercolour isn't so great. In fact I hate it. By the time I got to finishing it I was fed up with it, having drawn the same image in pencil. I'm not very good at drawing the same thing over and over - I get bored.

However, my garden has become a bit of a haven to some new wildlife. The bank voles are back, pheasants come daily to be fed and some red legged partridges come every now and then. The partridges are particularly fun to watch. They remind me of little rugby balls on legs. So I just had to sketch a few.

We are already into April though and I have missed the first of my Sunday deadlines. I will need to try and catch up. Unfortunately my tax return arrived this morning and that will be the first thing that has to be done this week.

Ta-da!

At long, long last! I've done it! Some of my paintings are on Etsy with more to come - once I actually finish them. At the moment the art I have up is the mouse in a tea cup and the panda from my earlier posts. Unfortunately the art exhibition wasn't as successful as it usually is. I can only assume it was done to the current financial climate. I also added the pencil drawing of the coal tit that I also posted a while back. It has been sitting on my desk for weeks so I figured I might as well show it off on Etsy and see if anything comes of it. In the pipeline are some cute bunnies but I actually have to sit down and finish up their landscape. At the moment they are sitting in mid air, just floating on blank paper. They look like the first rabbits in space. A swish or two of a paintbrush should sort that out for them. Anyway, I hope you will take a look at them. At the moment their viewing figures are kind of low so a few visitors would cheer them up.

Out of the Dark

Here is my first drawing that will go into the local Christmas art exhibition. I wanted to call him Spandex the panda but someone pointed out there might be copyright issues over the name 'Spandex'. I bet the panda is very glad about that. Not sure too many pandas would like to be named after a synthetic fiber. The picture is three inches square and done in graphite.

What's new, pussy cat?

This is my latest attempt at pencil work. My neighbour's cat dutifully posed for me, really getting into the act my stretching, sleeping, looking in every direction and generally being a fabulous model. Although I would love to say it was done from life, it was actually from a photo. Hope that butterfly is safe from tiny teeth.

Greyhound

I have been practicing with my graphite pencils recently. Although I have been using watercolours for twenty years I have often neglected pencil work, using it only as a way of transferring shapes onto blank watercolour paper. However, all of a sudden I have had the urge to draw. This guy is the result of my latest experiments. Greyhounds are often found needing homes after their racing days are over. I hear they make great pets and do not need as much exercise as you might think. So if you think you might like to take one on have a look in your local animal shelter. At the moment there are a lot of cats, dogs and small animals in desperate need of new homes. People cannot afford to keep them due to the financial crisis but they all need a little TLC. Not only that but many animal shelters are in terrible need of support. Their finances are slowly dwindling due to rising costs and more animals needing homes. One of the shelters near me, Arthurshiel Rescue Centre, might have to shut its doors if they cannot get more funding. That would be terribly sad, not only for the volunteers at Arthurshiel but also the animals who need their help, people who have no choice but to try and re-home their pets, the local council who rely on the service and those who want to take on a homeless animal.

Kiesha

This is my latest commissioned drawing. She is Kiesha, a rottweiler but no ordinary one. She was badly abused by her first two owners which is why there is so much white on her. A friend of my sister found her at a dog shelter and took her on, doing a wonderful job of rehabilitating her. Kiesha is a wonderful dog, calm and friendly and a joy to be around. She is also Stanley's mother so if her personality is anything to go by Stanley is from a grand bloodline. She is drawn in graphite pencil with coloured pencil collar.