Almost finished, just a few tweaks needed.

I have lost a little around the edges by adjusting to lose the background tone in photoshop, I'll post a corrected image tomorrow.

Patchings Art Exhibition 2011

Anyone who saw me at Patchings will recognise the cat. I am almost finished and I will post the finished drawing on here within the next couple of days, honestly.

I had a good time at Patchings apart from the horrible weather on the last day. One of the best parts is the socialising, I had a laugh with several artists, some old friends, some new. In particular Darren, Vivienne, Cheryl, Paul and Bob. You are all fantastic artists and great people, and I hope our paths cross again.

Thank you to all the people who bought my work and to those who stopped to say hello, I enjoyed meeting all of you. I hope I was able to help some of you move forward with your drawing.

I had to laugh at some of the comments we got and can assure you that concentrating on drawing or painting does not affect your hearing. Most of the artists I spoke to could relate a funny comment each day.

My most memorable comment was from an individual who walked up to me and asked why I draw cats, because they are nasty, dirty animals that destroy gardens.
Without giving me time to reply they sighed deeply and walked away.

I was very impressed with how Pan Pastels worked on my hot pressed watercolour paper and I will be doing a little demonstration on my blog later this week.

I also couldn't resist splashing out on yet more supplies that I probably didn't really need but couldn't resist.

Coloured Pencil Techniques Number 2

Just in time for Patchings I have completed my second coloured pencil step-by-step. This time it's Lenny the tri colour Rough Collie dog.
It is exactly the same format as the guide to drawing Poppy.
The booklet consists of 16 A5 pages (approx 5.75 x 8.25 inches) printed on a heavy bright white printer paper.
For the colours used I have included a pencil comparison chart for Polychromos and Prismacolor pencils. I have not always found an exact colour match but have suggested a similar colour.
Anyone who purchases the guide can email me for help if they get stuck.

You can purchase direct from me by clicking the link in the sidebar.

If youy are planning on visiting Patchings Art Exhibition please come and say hello.

Lenny Part 3

I saw a Roe Deer on my early morning walk. Much to the dogs dismay I hid behind the hedge until it came close enough for me to take some nice photographs.
He will be making an appearance in a drawing very soon.

Lenny - Part 2

Lenny the Rough Collie Step-by-Step

I'm working on my second tutorial, this one is a step-by-step drawing Lenny a beautiful tri colour Rough Collie.
Hopefully it will be finished and printed in time for Patchings exhibition next week.

Borzoi - Part 2

In between getting ready for Patchings Art Festival, working on the pastel tiger and printing I've been making slow progress on the Borzoi.

I've added some acrylic washes to add depth and then worked over the top with coloured pencil.

Painting A Borzoi

I've been given permission to paint this stunning Borzoi.
I met him at a dog show over a year ago and took some photographs. His owner then sent me some better ones that show his beautiful coat blowing about. The photograph I'm working from shows much more character than the ones I took at the show.
I'm working in coloured pencil and watercolour on Strathmore Bristol Smooth paper and the size is about 14 x 10 inches.

Border Terrier

The Border Terrier is more or less finished, I just need to add a hint of shadow to ground him.

Coloured pencil with a hint of graphite, approx 12 x 8 inches.

More Birds

A big thank you to all the people who have purchased my step-by-step of Poppy.

I decided to have a break from printing last night and went to see if the hares were about. The crops in the fields are now quite high and all I saw were a couple of pairs of ears in the distance.

However the place I go to see them is the haunt of several pairs of Red Kite.

Last night there were at least seven gliding over the trees and swooping down low.

I also got some nice photographs of a Yellowhammer, a bird I haven't seen for years.

Step by Step Guide to Drawing a Tabby Cat Available Now

Sample Page

My step-by-step guide is now available, I will be adding a buy it now button on the sidebar and it will be available from my website.
The booklet consists of 16 A5 pages (approx 5.75 x 8.25 inches) printed on a heavy bright white printer paper.
For the colours used I have included a pencil comparison chart for Polychromos and Prismacolor pencils. I have not always found an exact colour match but have suggested a similar colour.
Anyone who purchases the guide can email me for help if they get stuck.
I will also be offering prints of Poppy at a reduced price for anyone buying the guide.
The cost of the booklet will be £5.00 plus £1.50 post and packing.

I'm ready to start drawing my next subject. I'm thinking it will be a tri colour Rough Collie dog. That will include canine features and black, tan and white long hair so will be quite different to the tabby cat.

Step by Step Guide to Drawing a Tabby Cat Completed

The draft version of my guide to drawing Poppy is complete and I am proof reading before printing starts.
Hopefully the first copies will be ready by Tuesday.

More Garden Birds

I'm trying out various custom settings with my camera in the hope that I get more successful shots than disasters.
This male house sparrow has been very obliging in posing for me more or less constantly. He and his mate have a nest in the beech hedge just outside my window and he acts as guard for minutes at a time.
I have everything crossed that the local cats don't destroy the nest.

Regular readers will also notice I've given my blog a make over. The current trend seems to be for white backgrounds with no borders so I decided to give it a go.

Poppy the Cat Continued

This is where I'm up to with Poppy the cat, just about to start on the ears.

Step-by-Step Continued

Here's a sneak peak of a page from my forthcoming step-by-step.
I'm drawing Poppy the cat using Polychromos pencils but I will supply a list of Prismacolor pencil colours that can be used instead for people who prefer to use that brand.

Updated Cover for my Step-by-Step Guide

After some excellent advice from two of my artist friends I have completely revised the front cover for my step-by-step. Of course it might change again but I'm much happier with it now.

Step by Step Guides to Coloured Pencil Techniques

I've just realised that the Patchings Art Festival is fast approaching and I haven't made much progress on my step-by-step guides.

So for the past couple of days I have been spending time working in Microsoft Publisher on the first one, a guide to drawing a tabby and white cat.

The guide will include detailed instructions on drawing tabby and white fur, ears, nose, eyes and whiskers.

The cat I'm using as my model is 'Poppy' who lives nearby and takes great pleasure in tormenting my dogs while doing a spot of bird watching from under the hedge.

I'm trying to have a similar guide on drawing a dog and one on more general coloured pencil techniques ready for the festival. Guess I'd better get back to work.

I did have time to complete this ginger cat, 'Do Not Disturb' in between working on Poppy.

Back to the Tiger

For some reason I can't get the colour right in this photograph, it is slightly too red, I'll have another go in photoshop later.
I decided it was time to work on the pastel tiger again even working on the missing bit on his nose.
I really want to get this finished and framed as pastel is not the best medium to have unframed with several dogs playing chase round the easel legs several times a day.

Little Owl Part 2

I'm continuing to work on the owl. I tend to work on one area at a time building the depth by glazing thin layers of paint.
The great thing about using acrylics is that adjustments can be made as and when necessary. For me this removes the hesitation in getting started because I know if when I go wrong I can correct the mistake.
I try not to add any white to the colour I'm glazing with to keep it as transparent as possible. For the feathers I'm using a lot of burnt and raw umber with touches of paynes grey and alizarin to vary the colour.
I glaze over the white feathers with burnt umber then add more white etc until I'm happy with the result.

Little Owl in Acrylic

I wanted to try a small version of the Little Owl before attempting one with a full background.
This is a captive bird that I photographed at a game fair. I can see the plumage much better in this photograph than my wild owl one so decided it would be good to practice the feather structure.
It is 8 x 10 inches, acrylic on MDF.

Local Birds 17/04/2011

A selection of birds I saw yesterday either in the garden or on my walk.

I'm not sure what the first bird is, I think it's a Willow Warbler but if anyone thinks differently please let me know.

The second is a Pied Wagtail which is one of my favourite birds.

The third is a Goldfinch, one of several that visit the garden each day.

The last bird is a Little Owl, which is one of a pair that I see when I walk the dogs down a lane near home. I got up especially early yesterday hoping to photograph the owls before most other people were about. It isn't the best photograph but I was pleased with it, I managed to snap it just as the sun was rising.

I can now paint a Little Owl from my own photograph which is great because I want to paint an Owl series.

How Permanent are Your Prints

'Blue Boy' 2.5 x 3.5 inches

Mixed Media on paper.

When I started producing my own prints I was very concerned about their longevity.

I bought a printer that uses Epson UltraChrome K3 pigmented inks and I always use an archival paper but I still had no definitive figures on permanence.

However I have now discovered that Henry Wilhelm has researched the longevity of different inks and surfaces.

The website is an absolute mine of information for anyone wanting to find out how permanent combinations of ink and surface are.

The website is http://www.wilhelm-research.com/

There are different ratings depending on how the prints are stored, for example:-

Prints framed under glass

Printsframed with a UV filter

Displayed prints not framed

Album/Dark storage

Tests have also been done on the following:-

Unprotected resistance to ozone

Resistance to high humidity

Resistance to water

Are optical brightners present

There is a lot of information how the tests were carried out and a note that in some cases they are ongoing.

The pdf file for my printer was 9 pages long.

I'm pleased to say that it very much looks like my prints will not fade for very many years however they are stored.

Persian Kitten Part 2

Very slooow progress.

I have a pair of Bluetits going in and out of my new nest box ( at least I assume it's a pair).

If they do rear a brood the baby birds will be sitting in comfort because the adults are lining the box with dog hair. Roma has decided to cast her coat so I've been putting handfulls of soft undercoat in the hedges for the birds. It seems to be popular because it soon gets taken. Roma makes sure there is plenty to go round, she helpfully leaves huge amounts all over the carpets which manages to spread everywhere.

Persian Kitten in Watercolour

This is part of my newest cat painting, a Persian kitten with tons of attitude. The kitten has a great deal of very soft coat so I decided to use watercolour to portray it. I thought that I could build up layers leaving them pale and indistinct in the areas where the fur is very soft and fluffy. I seem to have cropped the left side in the scanner but the whole body will be on the finished painting. I'm using Arches hot pressed watercolour paper as I wanted a very smooth surface that I am used to working on.

Spring Walk

I had a nice walk this morning. The sky was black in the West but blue in the East and there was a beautiful rainbow. Apart from a drop or two the rain never materialised. The birds were out in force including several species of tit, a fleeting glimpse of a Green Woodpecker and several Curlews. The best photograph I shot was this Dunnock because I like the colours in the blurred background. I haven't touched up in photoshop, just cropped in on the bird. There were plenty of lambs and rabbits in the fields but I'm still looking for the elusive hare. I really want to paint a hare from my own reference material but so far I've only spotted them in the distance at dusk. At least with the lighter nights there is more time for searching.

Tuxedo Cat in Coloured Pencil and Acrylic

ACEO size 2.5 x 3.5

To bid click here.

A small one today done in coloured pencil and acrylic on Stonehenge paper. I really enjoyed working on something small and uncomplicated for a change.

Two Ragdoll Kittens in Coloured Pencil and Acrylic

'Cuddled Up'

To bid click here

This is 6 x 4 inches, coloured pencil and acrylic on cream stonehenge paper.

I need to decide what I'm going to submit for the Society of Feline Artists exhibition this year. I've never painted Ragdoll cats before( I did start one on pastelbord but it remains a work in progress) and I have a nice image I want to use, so I decided to do a small piece to work out the colours.

I used a piece of cream Stonehenge paper that I'd been sent to try. I'm not a big fan of Stonehenge as I find it a little bit too soft but this time I really enjoyed using it. I did quite a lot of blending with French Grey and Peach Beige Prismacolor pencils and the paper behaved perfectly. I also added acrylic highlights and again found the paper worked well. I was going to do the full size piece on Arches watercolour paper but I think I might use the Stonehenge again.

Amur Tiger - Part 2

I'm slowly but surely working on my second Amur tiger. There isn't quite so much contrast in real life but at least you can see the progress.
I can't quite work out the fur direction/light on his nose so it's incomplete until inspiration strikes, or I run out of other areas to work on!

Featured Print - Siberian Husky

"Siberian Spirit"
Limited Edition Giclee Print Image Size 6 x 8 inches

You will notice that I am changing 'Print of the Week' to 'Featured Print' so that I can leave the print available for longer than a week without feeling I should be changing it.

This featured print has been taken from an original graphite drawing of a Siberian Husky.

The print has been professionally produced on Hahnemuhle German Etching Fine Art paper using Epson archival ink.

It is limited to 350 prints worldwide.

It will be mounted/matted in white and the mounted size is 10 x 12 inches.

I will sign and number each print and it will be sent direct from me.

The usual retail price of this print is £18.00 while it is 'featured' it is available for £10.00

I have included a Paypal button in the sidebar for you to purchase this print or you can contact me direct if you prefer:-

gayle.mason@gmail.com

Cat on Drafting Film

'In Deep'

Acrylic and Coloured Pencil on drafting film, approx 7.75 x 6 inches

The new tiger is making slow progress because I'm having trouble with my shoulder. This makes standing at my easel for long periods with my arm raised rather painful.
So I revisited drafting film and used coloured pencil and acrylic. I haven't used drafting film for a while and found the process enjoyable.
But tomorrow I need to get back to the tiger.

Another Amur ( Siberian) Tiger in Pastel

I've started another pastel of an Amur Tiger.
I took the photograph earlier this year at the Highland Wildlife Park in Scotland.
I'm using a mixture of soft pastels and pastel pencils on Fisher paper, the size is approximately 24 x 20 inches.
I'm beginning to dislike the CarbOthello pencils made by Stabilo because I'm having real difficulty sharpening them. No matter how carefully I handle them some of the colours break really easily. White is the main culprit followed by the cream colour which is a shame as I do like the way they work with the Fisher paper.
As far as sharpening is concerned I'm finding the Pitt pastel pencils far easier to work with.

Pastel Tiger Completed

"Bad Fur Day"
20 x 16 inches, pastel on Fisher paper.

Although the tiger was completed without any issues, getting a colour corrected image was incredibly difficult. This was due to both my desktop and laptop computers dying at more or less the same time.

I had an old edition of Photoshop running on the desktop so when that computer ceased to function I wasn't too worried as I have the full CS4 suite running on my Mac Pro Book.

I decided I couldn't justify the expense of buying the windows version for my desktop and I would manage with Photoshop Elements.

So my son went ahead and rebuilt my computer. Within hours of wiping the hard drive my laptop got stuck in an update sequence and of course I couldn't find the system disc to reboot.

So I am currently waiting for new discs to be shipped to me so that my son can (hopefully) repair the laptop.

I needed an accurate image of the tiger because I wanted to submit it on line to a competition.

I couldn't scan because it was far to big for the scanner so I had to photograph it. The light was so poor the resulting image needed correcting which I found incredibly difficult using Elements. I need to add that the version of Elements I had is really, really old, I'm sure the newer versions are far better to use.

I did manage but what would have been a small tweak in Photoshop became a huge task.

Fingers crossed that my laptop is soon operational.

Three Kittens in Graphite

'Three Little Kittens'

To bid click here.

I had a short break from the tiger to create another cat ACEO. This is graphite on watercolour paper, 2.5 x 3.5 inches.

Pastel Tiger Part 4

Almost there, just a little bit more fur and then I'll look at the whole to see if anything needs lightening or darkening.

Pastel Tiger Part 3

Continuing to work on my tiger with a mix of hard and soft pastels.

Print of the Week (2) - Long Haired Tabby Cat

'Fluffy'

Image size 7.5 x 6 inches

Limited Edition Giclee print (350 worldwide)

Thank you to the people who bought 'Pretty Kitty' the first print of the week. Pretty Kitty has now reverted to the usual retail price of £18.00.

This is the second in my print of the week series, although the first ran for rather longer than a week.

This print is printed on Epson Archival Matte paper using genuine Epson Archival inks.

It is mounted/matted in white and the mounted/matted size is 10 x 12 inches.

In line with all my other feline limited edition prints of a similar size the normal selling price is £18.00.

For the next few days it will be available for £10.00, I have included a paypal button in the sidebar or you can contact me if prefer.

The print will be sent direct by me and each print will be signed and numbered in pencil.

I painted the original in oil pastel on ampersand claybord and really enjoyed tackling the long fur in a different medium.

The cat herself is one of our friends beautiful Norwegian Forest cats. To see more of the cats them visit Tiganlea Norwegian Forest cats website.

Note; As I had no sales of this print I decided to make it an open edition and the price will remain £10.00 rather than reverting to £18.00

Pastel Tiger Continued

A little more work done on my tiger. I will add more whiskers later because I will need to do more work on the background once I finish the head.

Pastel Tiger on Fisher Pastel Paper

I decided to work a little bit larger with this tiger so returned to pastels as I work faster with them than any of the other mediums that I use.
This is 20 x 16 inches on Fisher pastel paper. I'm using a mix of soft pastels and pastel pencils. I put down a layer of soft pastel as a base and then work over it with the pencils to add the detail.

If this goes smoothly I'm planning another tiger with a full background that will be around 26 x 20 inches.

Pen and Ink, Pointillism and Patience

Pen and Ink 2.5 x 3.5 inches, to bid click here.

When I've finished a fairly long project like 'Stolen Moment' it takes me a couple of days to decide what do do next. The eagle is one of the pieces I work on while I sort out my next painting.

Several months ago I started the bald eagle using pen and ink and a pointillism technique and I do a bit more every time I have a break between large pieces.
Pointillism is defined as a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of pure colour are applied in patterns to form an image.
I find this technique relaxing, just aim the pen and place the dot.
I decided to try something with colour using the technique so I bought some Pitt Artist pens in various shades of grey and green (only the lightfast colours) and did the small cat above. I added a little acrylic ink with a small brush to create the pink nose.

Print of the Week - Long Haired White Cat

" Pretty Kitty"

Limited Edition Print (350 worldwide), image size 6 x 8 inches, mounted size 10 x 12 inches

Each week I am going to offer a 'Print of the Week' For around seven days the featured print will be available at a discounted price, reverting to the normal retail price once it is no longer featured.

This print is printed on Epson Archival Matte paper using genuine Epson Archival inks. It is mounted/matted in white and the mounted/matted size is 10 x 12 inches.
In line with all my other feline limited edition prints of a similar size the normal selling price is £18.00.
For the next week it will be available for £10.00, I have included a paypal button in the sidebar or you can contact me if prefer.
The print will be sent direct by me and each print will be signed and numbered in pencil.

I picked this image as I loved drawing the huge blue eyes and the challenge of creating the colourful 'white' fur.

Amur Leopard finished

'Stolen Moment'

45 x 21 cms

Finally finished my Amur Leopard.

I'm ready for a little colour in my life now.