Society of Feline Artists 2008 Exhibition

'The Aristocrat'

Original sold by the Llewellyn Alexander Gallery

On Tuesday I travelled down to London to attend the Private View of the 2008 Exhibition of the Society of Feline Artists. Still jet lagged I did wonder if this was a good idea but I had a fabulous time.

I first met up with Katherine Tyrrell of the Making a Mark blog for lunch and a good chat. Katherine is excellent at finding nice places for lunch so we had a thoroughly enjoyable time.

Katherine went into the Gallery slightly ahead of me, and imagine my delight when she came back to tell me 'Aristocrat' had the coveted red spot to mark it sold. I later found out that it had been one of the first paintings to be bought.

We got time to speak to some of the other SOFA members and I found them a really friendly set of people. (Denise if you read this I have been showing off your business cards and have ordered some of my own).

The exhibition continues until the 20/09 so if you like feline art and can travel to London then it is really worth a visit.

Links:-

Denise Laurent - The Painted Cat

The Llewellyn Alexander Gallery

The SOFA blog

Home Again to Exciting News

I'm now back from my American holiday although I think part of me remained on the plane, hopefully the jetlag will soon pass.

We travelled almost 4000 miles and I probably shot the same amount of photographs. I was lucky enough to get some lovely close up shots of various creatures and some spectacular early morning shots in Yellowstone. This one however sticks in my memory, "The one that got away"

I have also received some exciting news.

In early August I submitted a portfolio for consideration by the Selection Committee of the Society of Feline Artists, when I arrived home I found that I have been accepted as a full member. I consider this a huge honour as the standard of work produced is consistently high.

I don't think it's really sunk in that I can now add the letters S.O.F.A after my name.

Some other exciting news is that I have been approached the Snow Leopard Trust and I am going to be supporting them as part of their artist program, more details to follow.

The Arte y Pico Award

While on holiday I had the honour of having my blog awarded the Arte y Pico Award by Karen Hargett.

Karen is an artist working mainly in graphite or pastel, have a look at her blog to see some lovely work.

Thank you Karen.

As part of the ongoing process I would like to pass the award on to the following five artists, I get a great deal of pleasure reading their blogs on a regular basis.

Making a Mark by Katherine Tyrrell - for me simply the best all round source of art information on the net.

Tracy Hall - a brilliant watercolour artist.

Laura Hardy - beautiful coloured pencil portraits of animals.

Sheona Hamilton-Grant - animals in graphite, always a pleasure to see new work

Nicole Caulfield - stunning still life and portraits in coloured pencil

Just a note to explain the origin of the Art y Pico award and the "rules" for accepting:-

The Origin of The Arte y Pico Award and Rules are:
The Arte y Pico Award has arisen from the daily visits that are made to many blogs, by you, which nourish and enrich you with creativity. In them, you must see dedication, creativity, care, comradeship, but mainly, ART, much art. You want to share this prize with all those bloggers that entertain and enrich you day to day. Doubtlessly, there are many and it will be hard to pick just a few.
The Rules:
1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award through creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter of language.
2. Each award should have the name of the author with a link to their blog.
3. Award winners have to post the award with the name and link to the blog of the person who gave them the award.
4. Show these rules and the paragraph (above) explaining the awards origination.

Thank you again Karen for nominating my blog.

Yellowstone Morning

I've had two wildlife firsts while staying in Yellowstone National Park. First we watched a Grizzly Bear feeding on a Bison carcase, then I saw a pair of Beavers building a dam. I got some photographs of the Bear but it was too dark for the Beavers.

Here is one of my early morning in Yellowstone photographs.

I'm now in Utah and finding the heat very tiring, I prefer the mountains and forests to the Canyonlands.

Rain, Snow and Extreme Heat

The flight to Denver was long but uneventful, and the first day in Denver was hot, sunny and enjoyable.

However we got up on the second day to rain, rain and more rain. As we drove through the Rocky Mountain National Park this turned to snow and visiability was almost zero so the Rangers suggested everyone went down the mountain as quickly as possible. On reaching Estes Park there was a flood watch in force so looking round was somewhat restricted.

South Dakota was hot so we visited Mount Rushmore early in the morning, it was fascinating to see it in real life so to speak.

We are now back in Wyoming in the scorching heat but at least I can take photographs of the wildlife.

This was the first wild animal that got its photograph taken, I've no doubt it will appear in a painting some time in the future.

Going on Holiday

I will be having a blogging break as I'm going on holiday tomorrow until the beginning of September.

We're visiting some of the National Parks in Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah. If technology works I'll try to post some photographs.

Otherwise I'll see you in September.

The 2008 Exhibition of the Society of Feline Artists

Yesterday was the selection day for the Society of Feline Artists 2008 exhibition at the Llewellyn Alexander Gallery in London.

I met up with my friend and fellow artist Katherine Tyrrell and we both had all our work accepted. I had a slight hiccup with one of my frames but Katherine has kindly sorted everything out for me.

I sent in three of the images earlier in the year and 'Aristocrat' was one of the images selected to feature in the 2008 Private View Invitation.

I will be going back to London on the 2nd of September to the Champagne Private View at the Gallery. It will only be 2 days after I'm due to fly back from America so I'm not sure how alert I'll be!

Kingfisher and Bilberries

I wanted some reference photographs of tree trunks with ivy growing up them. Whilst out tracking down suitable subjects I remembered that it was Bilberry season. In fact as I discovered I remembered a bit late. There was plenty of evidence of Bilberries having been there, but they were now obviously residing in someone else's freezer. I did find enough for a couple of pies after a lot of searching in places not designed to be searched.

I have also made progress with the Kingfisher, he has at least an undercoat all over now. I am enjoying the small paintings for a change, although I'm not sure my eyes have the same enthusiasm.

Kingfisher in Miniature

Staying small I've started another miniature painting, this time acrylic on polymin, 2 x 2.5 inches.
Polymin is sold by Polymers Plus and is described as the modern base for miniatures, a dimensionally stable, chemically resistant, translucent, surface treated plastic sheet. The colour I use is similar to ivory, but there is also Polymin White which is obviously white in colour.

Polymin is totally smooth and very nice to work on, I find it easy to correct mistakes although it does take me several layers to achieve rich colours.

Polymers plus supply a wide range of supports, brushes, frames and other accessories for painting Miniatures

Robin Finished

I've now finished my Robin, I'm reasonably happy with it.

There is a bit more all round so I am still thinking about the crop. I also want to adjust the tones on the bird, but I'll let it rest for a couple of days and then look at it with fresh eyes.

The biggest challenge was getting the acrylic to behave itself in such a small space. I found working with a tiny brush ( a 10/0) and applying the paint in tiny drops worked best, that way I could blend the colours quite easily. I did however use tiny lines to represent the feathers.

Going Small - Miniature Robin

I'm trying to get two or three miniature paintings together to submit to an exhibition later in the year.

I've had one or two false starts and realised in the process that my eyes are are not as good for close up work as they used to be. I have an optivisor, but when I put it on my dogs disown me, sure I must be up to no good. Today they were too hot to care, I just got one or two strange looks from Clinton when he popped his head out from under my drawing table.

Fingers crossed third time lucky. This Robin is from my own reference photograph, it is 3 x 2, acrylic on Arches HP Watercolour paper.

I might decide to crop a bit tighter when I can see the whole thing.

Tomorrow Roxie is at a show but I hope to be home in time to finish my monochrome cat as for once it is fairly close to home.

Most of the other dogs have dropped their coats and I can see Roxie looking at them enviously so I expect to be having a forced showing break soon.

Monochrome Cat with a Splash

I have abandoned everything else to complete another cat.
This is mainly coloured pencil with touches of acrylic on Arches Hot Press Watercolour paper. It will be about 16 x 8 inches.
It has more colour than the ones I've done in French Grey, but I am sticking to the monochrome colour scheme.

There will be a surprise addition to the picture once the cat is finished.

Watch this space.

Snow Leopard continued.

It was a sad day today as we collected Saskas' ashes from the Vet's. They had been put in a very nice little casket but we are going to scatter them on the moor where she loved to run.

We plan on just taking Clinton with us when we do it as he was her special friend.

Once we've done it every time we take the dogs for a run on the moor we will feel she is close to us.

I've done a bit more work on the Snow Leopard including adding a dark background.

I also went out to take some photographs of flowers, foliage and walls today, dodging the rain showers which were torential. Here's one of a Foxgloves which I plan on drawing at some point.

National Exhibition of Wildlife Art -NEWA

Last night I attended the private viewing of the 2008 National Exhibition of Wildlife Art at Gordale Garden Centre on the Wirral.

Earlier in the week I had been delighted to find that 'The Hunter' had been selected by an independent panel of judges for inclusion in the exhibition, so I was once again looking forward to seeing my own work in such prestigious company.

'The Hunter'

As with last year the organisers of the exhibition are to be congratulated for the professional way everything runs. Once again handing in day ran like clockwork, it only took minutes for my work to be checked in, labelled and carried away. This is not as easy as it sounds with high volume of submissions expected each day.

There is plenty of parking at Gordale and there are plenty of signs directing people to the exhibition.

The exhibition itself is a delight to wander round, and the on line gallery means that anyone unable to visit can still view and purchase work.

As well as simply enjoying looking at the diverse work on show, I wanted to use the opportunity as a learning experience.
After an initial look round I went back to study some of the work in depth.
My first impressions were:-
There were an awful lot of Lions and Tigers, all well done and different, but I might work on a more unusual animal or bird for next year.
Birds were popular, from simple graphic designs to paintings including detailed habitat.
To catch the eye from across the room a picture had to either have an excellent and different design, or be strong colour wise. There is so much art of a consistently high standard that to stand out is a real achievement.

On more careful study of images that particularly appealed to me, I found they all had one thing in common, a really strong design. Those artists had obviously put a lot of thought into how best to present their chosen subject.

Some of the ones I liked were close crops of animals, in each case the crop had obviously been chosen to reveal some part of the personality of that particular species.

Although I liked a lot of the work I had two favourites:-

'Achromatic' by Darryn Eggleton

and

'Pheasant' by Wayne Westwood

If you get time have a look at the gallery even if you can't get to the exhibition in person.

Links

Home page for NEWA

Continuing the Snow Leopard

I started to draw the features of the Snow Leopard and realised that:-
1. I didn't like the right ear position
2. the eyes were crooked.

Therefore I used the ear from the next photograph as the Leopard had flicked it forward, and alsoadjusted the eyes. The grid lines made this an easy task, they also enabled me to see that the nose and mouth would line up correctly.

I then painted the eyes in acrylic and started working the fur using a mixture of coloured pencil and acrylic.

It is the scan that is crooked, not my lines!

From the Photograph to the Paper

I want to do a study of a Snow Leopard in coloured pencil before I continue with my graphite version because I've realised the noses on most of my photographs are twisted (I have no idea why)

In order to correct anatomy, I find the easiest way is to use a grid for the parts I'm not sure about. The rest of the reference I can draw freehand, but using a grid helps me keep everything else constant while I alter certain parts.
I start by adding the grid lines to my reference photograph.
I have created a new pattern in Photoshop in order to do this and I add my custom pattern to the photograph as a new layer.

This is the complete photograph gridded out, I could have altered the grid using the transform function to just cover the features, but as I can quite clearly see under the grid lines I decided not to bother.

I then print the photograph out, size doesn't matter although I always like large reference material, so I printed an A3 version. When I start drawing I use the photograph on my laptop so that I can enlarge/lighten etc parts of the photograph as needed. This helps greatly when drawing the features.
The next photograph shows part of the image with the squares labelled with a letter and number in pencil.

I will next draw a grid on my paper, in this case I am using a heavyweight Fabriano Artistico hot press paper, 640gms.

In my next post I'll show you the adjustments I make with the drawing.

Mixed Media Deer

I've worked a little more on the deer, trying to create the feeling of recession. I have a lot of adjusting to do, but once I put the antlers in I hope things will start to come together.

I'm using Caran D'ache Neocolor for the distant hills, I will work over this base coat in coloured pencil if needed.

End of an Era

Pelido Chorus Girl - 'Saska'
19/06/1997 - 09/07/2008

Today was the day every animal owner dreads, we had to make the decision to have Saska put to sleep.

She broke her hock trying to jump over a gate and would have needed it pinning. After discussing all the options with the Vet, and taking into account that she already had chronic arthritis we decided that the kindest thing for her, was to give her rest.

She loved to run and hadn't been able to do that for several months so hopefully she's reunited with her friends, Dexter, Honey, Fleur and Chelsey, chasing after those pesky rabbits.

More on the Red Deer

I am now feeling microscopically more human following my surgery, although the nausea is not completely gone. Each day I can move my arms with a little less pain so I have returned to the Red deer in mixed media and some Snow Leopards in graphite.

I changed paper for the deer, as the pastel paper didn't want to play with acrylic and I wanted to add some in the fur.

I restarted on Arches Hot Press watercolour paper, around 18 x 12 inches and am using a mix of coloured pencils and acrylic.

The coloured pencils are mainly Polychromos and the acrylic mainly Liquitex, with the addition of Chromacolor white.

I have only included the bit of the painting that has some work done on it.

The Snow Leopards are even larger, approximately 20 x 16, on Mellotex Ultra white paper, using mechanical pencils, 4B to 4H.

The reference material for both paintings is mine, the mountains of Scotland have been adapted to provide the basis of the Himalayas.

I photographed the Deer in Scotland, and the Snow Leopards at Marwell Zoological Park.

Red Deer in Mixed Media

I had one of those days yesterday where I didn't want to do anything serious, I just wanted to experiment.

I've found out that all being well with my pre-op tests they've moved my operation forward to this Saturday, that threw me a bit.

I have some lovely photographs of Red Deer that I've taken over the course of several years visiting the Highlands of Scotland. I have been planning a large Deer painting for a while, so yesterday I decided to do a Deer study.

This is an old stag and I wanted to leave his grey fur as it gives him character. It is on Ingres pastel paper and includes Neocolor, Coloured Pencil and Acrylic.

I'm not sure I'll finish him but it helped me to see the potential problems.

After rushing round all day to get things at work sorted out I got another phone call from the hospital to say they don't have a bed for me this weekend, I'm back to where I started, oh well.

Almost Completed Mastiff

I was trying to post the final stage on this one, but I've been so slow that I thought I'd better show you an almost completed version.

I had to have a blood test today prior to going in hospital at the end of the month. Getting blood from me is every nurse's worst nightmare. Today I really excelled myself, nurse 1 had four attempts before passing me on, nurse 2 had 2 attempts before admitting defeat and sending for a Doctor. The Doctor ignored all the usual places and went into the side of my wrist where he hit gold and creared a positive torrent. It never ceases to amaze me that if I get the tiniest paper cut I can soak everything with blood in seconds, show my veins a needle and they sink out of sight refusing to yield a drop.

More Mastiff in Coloured Pencil

Still no progress on the tiger but I have been working on the Mastiff puppy.

Rio has found a new sport, catching wasps, not only catching them, but then very noisily eating them. I'm not sure where they're coming from but he had three this afternoon. As soon as I see him bouncing round the Conservatory I know he's found another. The other dogs are horrified, Roxie thinks they're nasty dirty things that she wouldn't touch with Clinton's paw. Roma watches with a mothers anxiety, Saska can't see them (or hear them) and Juno bites Rio in the excitement. I spent my time trying to prevent Rio getting stung.

Drawing a Mastiff Puppy.

I wanted a break from the tiger yesterday and decided to do something less detailed.

This little Mastiff pup is coloured pencil on Ingres paper, about 12 x 8 inches.

I use Ingres paper when I'm not planning on many layers as I like the coloured surface.

I have a new link in my sidebar for a wildlife artist, Ian 'Griff' Griffiths, if you like birds check out his website,

These are a couple of his images.

Rio the Rough Collie

I'm practicing with my new video camera, this is Rio the dog on his chair!. He always jumps straight onto the chair to look into the garden from the run.

Continuing Graphite Tiger

I've done page two for my portfolio today.

I've also continued working on my tiger and sorted out a composition for my next graphite piece, so I'm feeling very productive.

The weather has been nice for the past few days so I'm having to spend time in the garden. One minute it looks reasonably tidy, the next I can only see the dogs ears above the grass. OK a slight exageration but it is growing fast.

Creating a Portfolio

I wanted to create a portfolio which shows several steps in the creation of some of my paintings and drawings.

I started by using Adobe InDesign, but I'm not really that familiar with it's workings and was having to turn to the help at every stage. So I switched to Serif PagepPlus 9 which I have used fairly extensively.

I created a master on an A4 sheet which gives me 4 small areas and a larger one, so I can show 4 stages plus the final.

I printed my sample on fine art paper and was pleased with the result, it has given me something to work from. It obviously needs a bit of fine tuning but at least I have the basics worked out.

As I own both a comb binder and a laminator I should be able to create quite a substantial end result.

Virtual Sketch; Cat in Graphite and India Ink

As promised yesterday, here is the result of my attempt at drawing Jeanette's cat Tripod.

It was great fun drawing from someone else's cat photo, and Tripod is a lovely cat to draw. Because this was just for fun I experimented with laying down the graphite. I did much more blending than I usually do and used graphite dust from my 4B pencil rubbed on with a stump in some places. I also painted India Ink in the really dark areas.

As a technique I will explore it in more depth as I think it has promise for achieving areas of soft focus.

Sadly I didn't finish the sketch but hopefully it is a reasonable likeness of Tripod. I did put a cat book behind him so that he could have a read if he got bored with drawing.

Don't forget to look at everyone else's drawings, I posted all the links yesterday.

I would really like to join in another virtual sketch if anyone else is up for it.

More Graphite

I'm continuing to plod along with the graphite tiger.

I'm also taking part in a virtual sketch with several other people including Jeanette, Rose, Jennifer, Jeanne, Stacy, Belinda, Teresa, Katherine and Paulette (sorry if I've missed anyone out)

The reference was supplied by Jeanette.

The results will be posted tomorrow, I have to say it's been great fun and I'd like to do one more often.

More Graphite

I took a photograph of the tool I use for indenting next to the partially drawn tiger, so that you can see the scale.That is only a small part of the picture, he will have more of his body drawn eventually.

I have had a week filled with disasters, mostly they were small to middling but didn't feel like it at the time.
As the sun made a brief appearance last weekend, we went to visit the local garden centre, which also has an aquatic section. My eldest son loves Sterlets, but the Sterlets don't return the affection. He has had two, one lasted a day, the second a couple of days. Their habit of swimming round the edge of the pond makes them an easy target for local cats and the Heron that visits.
However I gave in and bought him another one, which was released into the pond. He checked on it several times over that evening and asked me to look at it the following morning as he is in the middle of his University exams.
Well I looked, and looked, and looked as despair started to set in. After 15 minutes I was just going to go in the house when I saw a twitch by my foot, there was the fish, in the soil.
As it was still breathing I put it in the pond and stood guard until it managed to right itself. I checked it over the next couple of hours but it didn't improve, so I steered it round for a while. Eventually Stevie the Sterlet recovered enough to dive to the bottom of the pond. I couldn't see any injuries so I assume the daft thing had jumped out of the water.
I have now had to net the pond to stop it doing it again which means I can't see my fish very well, plus I have had to build a ramp leading to a hole for the frogs and toads.
The next story involves a treadmill which when built had the incline going the wrong way, so instead of running uphill you were running down!

Graphite Tiger

Well Roma's season was immediately followed by her daughter Roxie launching into hers, so upheaval has continued.

In the midst of rampaging dogs I decided to retreat to graphite as it creates no mess, well until the dogs knock my electric sharpener to the floor.


I usually use clutch pencils but add touches of 6B with a wood cased pencil.
This is approximately 20 x 14 inches on Mellotex paper, using a range of pencils from 4H to 4B.
I have indented some of the hairs in the ear using a pergamano embossing tool.

There is more head and body in the complete image, but it didn't fit on my scanner.

More Grass

My husband has been in charge of the dogs today because I've done a 200 mile round trip for a business meeting.

He took 4 of them for a long run on the moors first thing this morning and reports all has been peaceful with the exception of Roma. She is demanding a husband, now, at once, or else we are ruining her life.

I did a bit more work on my grass, adding some acrylic washes to push some areas back. I might move onto the cat tomorrow, Roma permitting.

Painting Grass

I'm not having the easiest time at the moment, plus I've decided to tackle some of the things I find difficult.

Roma's in season and we don't want to mate her this time, but she has other ideas and is madly flirting with anything that walks past her.

With having the three male dogs who are all now squaring up to one another life is a bit complicated. Clinton caught Rio on his muzzle this afternoon and must have damaged a small blood vessel. I managed to get my hands round the wound before he shook the blood all over the walls and carpet, he only managed to cover about half the house. So there I was stuck with the blood pouring over my hands because I couldn't let him go. Eventually I got the bleeding stopped and sat holding a packet of frozen peas over his nose to try to reduce the swelling. He is fine now and friends with Clinton again because Roma is banished to the Conservatory with the door firmly closed.

I always seem to get myself into difficulties with grass, ending up with it fairly stylised which I don't want. So I decided to paint a cat which is lying in, you guessed it, grass. The grass is mostly dark with just some that is in sunlight.

I started by painting my darks in India Ink because it will be easy to work over in coloured pencil. I then added Sepia and Hookers Green acrylic to the next areas, with some Sap Green to lighten some stalks a touch.

I put an Ultramarine and Sepia wash over the darkest area to push it back further and so far so good.

Visit to Marwell

Last week we made the 500 mile round trip to Marwell Zoo near Southampton. Although I love that Zoo, the main purpose of the visit was to0 see if I could photograph Kiska, the female Amur Leopard cub who was born last November.

The weather was fine but really cold, that was an advantage as there were not that many visitors at any one enclosure. There were several parties of local school children though, who all looked to be having a marvelous time.

There was no sign of Kiska or her mum in the morning, although the male leopard was pacing around his adjoining enclosure.

We carried on walking round the Zoo for another couple of hours and then went back to the Leopards. There she was sitting among the rocks, one of fewer than 100 remaining Amur Leopards. She was briefly joined by her mum, and I got some lovely photographs for future paintings.

I really wish I lived closer to Marwell so that i could watch her growing up.

I have been working on a cat in French Grey coloured pencils with acrylic washed over the top in some places. He's now almost finished, and maybe I'll move onto an Amur Leopard next.

Obtaining Wildlife Reference Photographs-Part 2

Once I'm at my chosen Zoo or Wildlife Park the first thing I will do is find out when the feeding time of my chosen animal(s) is. If I've gone to photograph one of the big cats then they are usually fed 6 days of the week and on the 7th they fast. So check that out, you can give the facility a ring, they will usually be happy to give you that sort of information.

If the feeding time is advertised then you need to be in place at least half an hour before, because:-

• The animals tend to be moving about in anticipation


• It will get really busy around the enclosure and you need to have selected your place.


• After feeding the animals usually retire for a sleep

You do need to have a look at the position of the sun (I know to see it is a rare occurence) and try to have it behind or to the side of you for the best lighting.
If the cage has a glass viewing panel as well as mesh then I sometimes choose to shoot through the glass if the mesh is double or triple and quite small.


If it is a fairly large mesh I will shoot so that the links do not obscure an important part of the animal such as the eye or ear setting. I will also kneel or bend so that I shoot on eye level with the animal to reduce distortion.
I shot this cheetah through mesh, it isn't a good photograph but plenty good enough for me to use as a reference. His face was at a slightly odd angle which I have straightened a little.

If I choose to photograph through the glass, the first thing is to pick a spot which is reasonably clean, I usually use a tissue to give it a quick rub.Then put the lens right up against the glass, this will reduce glare and reflection. Again try and take the photograph at eye level for the animal unless you want to paint a different viewpoint.

Wherever you choose to stand, you will have to be patient and take an awful lot of photographs. Most of them will not be that useful, but patience usually pays off if you watch the animal to see which area of its enclosure it prefers. You can sometimes see a path worn in the grass where the animal often walks.

If you are photographing an animal which is either allowed to roam free or has no mesh then patience is the only requisite.

I sat and watched the Meerkats at Edinburgh Zoo for an hour before this one came and sat right in front of me.

I live reasonably near the Wildlife Park in the Lake District which has several species of free roaming lemurs, wallabies, ostrich, etc. The photographs can be taken with any size of camera, my son takes excellent photographs with a small digital that cost less than £100. Do not be put off by thinking your camera is not good enough.

In the last post I will consider what to do with the photographs once you get home.

Just to show that you can take good underwater shots putting the lens against the glass. I took this photograph in the Aquarium in Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada.

Obtaining Wildlife Reference Photographs for Artists: Part 1

After all the discussion that have taken place following the announcement by the UKCPS on their conditions of entry to their Annual Exhibition, I thought it might be useful to offer some advice on obtaining your own wildlife photographs.

At this point I would like to stess that I am only an amateur photographer and I am only offering advice about things I have found useful.

Over the last few years I have built up a nice collection of lenses, but I started with a point and shoot Fuji digital camera and was still able to obtain useful photographs.

I now use a Canon EOS 30D SLR camera, and the following lenses: a Canon EF 28-300mm L IS USM (which is my pride and joy), a Canon 28-135mm IS USM and a huge Sigma 500mm zoom.

I also sometimes add a Kenco 2x teleconverter.

Most of the advice however applies equally to lower end equipment.

Both the following photographs are of wild animals, in both cases I got close enough to use a small camera.

The next time I see the mouse I have my sons small Fuji ready so that you can see there is really little difference as long as you are close to the animal. Always remember I am talking about using photographs as reference for your artwork, not producing a photograph which would win an award.

So first things first, you have decided you need some reference photographs to help with painting an animal(s), what do you need to think about.

• What species of animal do you want to paint
• How far are you able to travel
• How much time and money do you want to spend.

So I decide I want to photograph a tiger. I'll then use the internet to come up with a list of Zoo's or Wildlife Parks within the area I am willing to visit. I will look at the list of animals each facility keeps and make a short list of which ones have tigers. At this point I might look at which subspecies are kept or how far away each place is.

I might find that the best choice is a photographic day which several facilities offer, these are obviously much more expensive than a visit to the Zoo or Wildlife Park.

So now I know where I'm going I need to decide when I'm going. I would avoid:-

• School Holidays/Weekends if possible
• The middle of the day as I find the animals are most active early morning or late afternoon.
• Very cold or very warm weather (this depends on the species to some extent)

I'm now ready for my trip, packed the camera and put on some comfortable shoes, and clothing suitable for standing still for long periods of time.

In the next part I will discuss what to do when faced with your model, especially if it is a speck on the horizon.

Changes to the Conditions of Entry for the 2008 UKCPS Exhibition

I received my entry form for the Annual Coloured Pencil Society Open International Exhibition 2008 yesterday.

There have been two changes which have caused much discussion amongst prospective entrants.
The first is that the artist must have taken any photographs used for source material. Now obviously copyright laws must be respected, but this means that even if you have permission to use someone else's photograph, your entry would be ineligible. I have no problem with this being a condition of entry, but it has caused some artists serious problems with work already partly completed.


I have used photographs taken by other people, always with permission, but have been working hard at taking my own. Meet my latest film star, Harry Mouse. I'm wanting to paint some cat and mouse pieces and spotted a little mouse living under the waterfall in my garden.So I've been feeding him in orders that I can obtain my own refernece material. Please all keep your fingers crossed that my neighbours cats don't spot him.


The second condition which is more concerning to me, is that, work is excluded which has been displayed as a 'step by step' exercise over the internet, on forums where other artists comment and make suggestions.

This may well stop a lot of artists putting work on art forums, or at the very least asking that no one make suggestions. This will then have a detrimental effect on the usefulness of such posts for people wanting to learn from them. I find this to be hugely different from making work ineligible which has been completed in a learning environment and I cannot see how it can be enforced. Even if it is not displayed on the internet, would a comment from family or friends which is acted on render it ineligible?

I rgreatly espect the UKCPS Executive, but I think they will have to resolve the huge confusion that has been created in some way.

For a much more thorough discussion see Katherine Tyrrell's blog and for a slightly different perspective see the post by Nicole Caulfield.

How to Draw and Paint Cats:My Squidoo Lens

As I seem to have mainly worked on feline art over the last few months, I decided it would be useful to have all my related links together and share them with other artists.

So I have set up a squidoo lens 'How to Draw and Paint Cats'. I will be adding to my lens on a regular basis as I find links of interest to feline artists.

It is Roxie's big day next Saturday, Crufts dog show, which is the biggest show in the UK dog show calendar. I'm sure she is aware she is being prepared for something special because she is already acting like a prima donna. She has decided it is her right to have the prime spot in the lounge when we sit down in the evening. Her right to own all the toys and have all the petting, and share everybody's meals. The other dogs are not quite so willing to go along with her and today Juno sat on her, Roma her mum nipped her and Rio hid her toys. All I can say is roll on next Sunday.

I'm experimenting at the moment with various media, pure graphite, French Grey Coloured pencils and acrylic and Sepia coloured pencils. I'm not sure which I prefer, possibly for my work the coloured pencils have more impact.

The cat is the French Grey and acrylic, the Cheetah is Sepia and Nougat coloured pencil.

Reference Material and Acrylic Tiger

I am still painting a tiger in acrylic, but I have changed tigers and am now working on drafting film rather than gessobord.
I airbrushed the background using several layers of liquid acrylic.

I have had several questions recently on how to find reference material to paint or draw wildlife. Obviously the ideal is to use your own photographs. I have been steadily building up a large portfolio of animal photographs from visits to various zoo's and wildlife parks throughout the UK. I also took almost 2000 photographs whilst on holiday in Canada and the US last year. The problem with captive animals is that they are often fatter than their wild counterparts and can show untypical behaviour due to being caged.

Sometimes though you want to paint an animal you haven't got a suitable photograph of, or a pose you haven't got, or you want to make sure you set it in its natural habitat. What do you do then?

You can try websites which offer high quality photographs for a fee. Two good websites that I have used are;-

Fotolia and

Dreamstime

Do however make sure that you purchase the correct licence for the intended use. If you want to use in any derivative work, which includes art, then you need to purchase the extended licence.

If you see a photograph you like while browsing the web you can email the photographer and ask for permission to use it. You need to specify exactly what you intend to use the photograph for and ask what compensation they require if they agree to let you use it. If you think that in the future you would like to sell the finished artwork, or have prints made, then again you need to detail that in your initial query.

If you intend to paint a background with the animal in a natural setting, then what works best for me is to watch as many DVD's or television programmes about the animal as possible. If I see some foliage etc that I think I could use, I freeze the picture and sketch the background. I also use books and magazine to research the animals natural habitat.

Painting a tiger in acrylic

I haven't been around lately because I've been spending all my time painting. I had this foolish notion that it would be like drawing with a brush and I would just be able to transfer my drawing skills to painting. How wrong I was.

I am on version number 4, having settled on acrylic rather than oil for the time being. With having the dogs, especially Clinton who lies under my drawing table, I was worried about the potential toxic effects of the solvent.

This is the first time I have been happy with my progress, although an earlier version did have furry fur, but it looked muddy.

It is all acrylic, 8 x 10 on Ampersand gessobord, i transferred my line drawing using graphite paper. There is more tiger but nothing to see yet.