Pastel cat on Pastelmat

I wanted to compare pastel and coloured pencil on Pastelmat. I also wanted to see how colours worked on the black as I always feel that black Stonehenge has a deadening effect on colours.

Here's a few stages in a little demo I did.

I like the pastel, the colours stay vibrant, at least for now, I'll revisit in a few days

Back to the Mallard and a Goal Achieved.

Earlier in the year I mentioned that one of my aims this year was to enter more competitions and/or exhibitions. So far I've entered three and I've been successful in the first one. One of my pieces has been shortlisted for Wildlife Artist of the Year. It will be on display at the Mall Galleries in London in June, more details later.

I've done some more work on the Mallard, mainly the boring bits, the background. The photograph isn't very good as today has been a day of really heavy showers so the light is poor. The little bit of colour I've added isn't showing up very well so I'll do a scan tomorrow.

Maine Coon Cats Continued

I'm working on the cats and the mallard so I'll show you thye update on the Maine Coon Cats today.

I'm painting an undercoat in watercolour then using the coloured pencil on top.

More Tabby Cat on Pastelmat

This morning we took all the dogs on the moor just as the sun was rising. I walked along the moor road looking for birds, I saw a couple of Curlews and then met the hounds going for their early morning walk.

Here are a couple of photographs.

Juno waiting for the ball to be thrown andthe hounds.

Macro Cat on Clairefontaine Pastelmat

I have been wanting to try my new Clairefontaine pastelmat. I cut a small piece and drew a macro tabby cat as I wanted to try the surface more than worry about drawing. So far I'm really liking it, it feels like a cross between velour and colourfix. It takes layers well, you can blend and burnish and the fur has a soft look to it.
I'll be doing a more detailed review when I finish the piece.

Avocets and the Mallard

The Avocets are back at Martin Mere so we decided to have a trip to see them. First though we visited RSPB Marshside which is a mile from Southport to see if I could spot the Black Tailed Godwits. I've never seen Godwits but had been told that they were easy to see at Marshside. Not only did I see the Godwits but right in front of the hide were two Avocets posing for the camera. We also saw a Snipe and 2 Little Egrets which made up for the extremely cold wind blowing in our faces the whole time at Martin Mere. The hide at Marshside was nice and warm, with comfortable chairs and windows at a really convenient height for photography.

I'm continuing working on my female mallard but will post an update on the cats soon. I've added the touch of blue on the wing and a little colour on the breast feathers.

I'm still not sure if Roxie is in whelp but I am leaning towards thinking she is, she certainly thinks she is.

Mallard in mixed media

After my graphite and coloured pencil Woodpecker I decided to do another bird using the same technique. This time a Mallard, 16 x 12 on Arches. It is the first of (hopefully) a trio of Mallard drawings.

I've used a combination of two photographs that I took last year at Martin Mere.
I will post an update of the cats tomorrow.

Maine Coon Cats

I've been working long hours the last two days so not much time for art.

I have done a little bit though, here's a bit more of the three cats.

Crufts dog show is taking place over the next four days. I'm going on Sunday, Juno and Roxie are both entered but Roxie is staying at home just in case she is in whelp. I'm having doubts though, she's not really showing any signs so I think she's fooled us this time. I might have to resort to plan B, I just need to decide what plan B is.

The 2009 Cat Series

I decided I'd better make a start on my cat series which will be aimed at the SOFA exhibition in September.

This is watercolour and coloured pencil on Arches, approx 18 x 14. The finished picture will be a mother and two Maine Coon kittens. You can only see the bit that fit in my scanner.

I ordered some Fisher 400 paper today together with some Clairfontaine pastelmat in three colours. Artists who use pastelmat describe it as being in between colourfix and velour to use, so I thought I'd give it a try.