Endangered and Alone - The Amur Leopard

I'm working on the cold pressed paper again, going even larger this time.

This is an Amur Leopard that I captured in a moment of relaxation rolling on his back in the sun. Sadly it is a captive animal, I will never see one in the wild.

The finished piece will show all the Leopard's body but it's too big to fit on the scanner.

A bit of background:-

The Amur Leopard is also known as the Far Eastern Leopard, the Manchurian Leopard or the Korean Leopard and is found in the Russian Far East and Northern China. It is a solitary nocturnal hunter and there are believed to be only around 40 individuals still left in the Russian Taiga.

Ecologists are going to do a count of the Leopards in Russia to see how the population is fluctuating.

Link : Ecologists to count Amur Leopards in Russia's Far east

When I looked at the photographs I'd taken of the Leopard I knew this was the one to draw. I immediately thought of the contrast between the carefree pose and the threat the animal faces in the wild. It was an exceptionally bittersweet moment as clearly this animal was relaxed and enjoying himself in the sun but I couldn't help but wish it could live as the lone nocturnal hunter hidden away from humans in its natural habitat.

More Garden Birds

I had two slightly less frequent visitors to my garden drop in today. Both photographs are poor quality because I was shooting through glass without having time to adjust my camera settings.

I see the Sparrowhawk every few days but usually just flying past low and fast, today it perched on the greenhouse for a few seconds.

The melanistic pheasant visits every so often but I hadn't seen it for about six months and had assumed it was dead so it was a nice surprise when it appeared this morning.

I understand the melanistic pheasant is a mutated version of the birds with the normal plumage and they are quite common in some parts of the country. I've never seen another one locally, there are plenty of pheasants but all the usual colour. This one looks very greeny/purple in the sun, not that I really remember as it has been a long time since the sun appeared in Yorkshire.

Graphite Chipmunk Finished

I could do a bit more with the foliage but I have done enough to decide I do like using the cold pressed paper. I need to move on to finishing some pieces I want to enter into competitions over the next few months.

More Graphite on Cold Pressed Paper

To bid click here

I finished the meerkats but remained undecided about the cold pressed paper. I decided to try a bigger image and see how I felt once I had something bigger to evaluate.

This chipmunk image is approximately 10 x 8 on the Fabriano cold pressed paper

Original reference image of the chipmunk is courtesy Alan D. Wilson, Naturespicsonline.com, used with Alan's permission.

Graphite Meerkats

I wanted to try a rougher surface and let the texture of the paper become part of the image so this is graphite on Fabriano cold pressed watercolour paper.
It is only small 5.5 x 3 inches and the reference is from one of my own photographs. I wanted a different take on the standard meerkat pose, I'm going to call it 'Off Duty' when it's finished.
I started fighting the texture as I tried to work in my usual way but adapted quite quickly to just touching my pencil to the paper and letting the point skim the surface. I built up several layers starting with a 4H pencil and working up to a2B, going back and blending with the harder lead.
I think the cold press paper is too textured for how I like to work although I do like how the rock is turning out. I'll probably try a vellum finish next.


Oh and I also went to London today to return son 2 to University. I think I'll finish the meerkats tomorrow.

Garden Birds 07/01/2011

I achieved probably my record number of different species of bird visiting the garden in 12 hours yesterday.

Some of the photographs are not good quality as it was snowing and I was shooting through glass.

The species visiting at various times yesterday were:-

Sparrow

Dunnock

Starling

Redwing

Wren

Robin

Blackbird

Pheasant

Redpoll

Siskin

Greenfinch

Goldfinch

Chaffinch

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Coal Tit

Long Tailed Tit

Collared Dove

Wood Pigeon

I could see the following in the trees across the road.
Rook

Jackdaw

Magpie

Maine Coon Cat in Graphite

To bid click here.

I decided to carry on with graphite, another Maine Coon this time 3 x 5 inches.
I am still in the process of setting my aims for 2011 but one of them is to create at least 4 small drawings or paintings a week. This is the first for 2011.

Back From Scotland

'The Right Side'

I've now returned from my short holiday in Scotland with some nice reference photos for future artwork including the buzzard shown above.

On my return I was absolutely delighted to find that 'The Right Side' won the Making a Mark Award for Best Picture of the Year (Natural World) on an Art Blog and was runner up for Best Picture of the Year on an Art Blog. Karen Jurick's wonderful painting 'Hands of Time' won the overall award, congratulations to Karen as this is the second year she has won the award.
This is the link to the awards on the Making a Mark blog

I'll be back tomorrow with my plans for 2011.

Planning For 2011

Maine Coon in graphite, 2.5 x 3.5 inches

SOLD

It has taken me almost 9 months to feel comfortable with having retired from my day job. For the first few months I felt terribly unsettled which impacted on my art. Even though I now had more time I simply couldn't focus. My blog suffered as my posting became less regular and the finished paintings became fewer as when I reached the half way point I put them to one side and started something else.
I had a couple of occasions when I posted my feelings and thought I was ready to move on, well I wasn't, I soon returned to feeling unsettled.

But at last I have settled in to my new normal and having been planning to really concentrate on my art in 2011. I have made a start in the following areas:-

• Over the last few weeks I have completed a number of small works on a regular basis, making myself finish what I've started. Initially I found it easier to finish something that I could complete in a couple of days.All of these have been sold thanks to my loyal following of international collectors.
• I have collected a body of reference material ready to include in a series instruction booklets I plan to release throughout 2011 on drawing animals in coloured pencil.
• I have decided which shows I am going to apply to attend as an exhibitor in 2011, with scope for additions.
• I have made a rough plan of how I will break my time up on a daily basis.

I will discuss each of these aims in further posts together with an overall plan for 2011.

On a different note Katherine Tyrrell has published her selected artwork for her Making A Mark Awards 2010. I'm delighted to announce that she has picked 'The Right Side' as one of the entries in the 'Best Portrayal in Nature' category. If you want to vote (all the entries are well deserving of votes) the link is below:-

Making a Mark: Vote for the best artwork on an art blog in 2010.

Season's Greetings

I just want to say thank you to all my readers, I have appreciated all the comments and have even been able to meet some of you over the past year.

I would like to wish you all Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and hope you all have a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful 2011.
I will be back soon to reveal what I hope to achieve in 2011.

More birds in the snow

The bitterly cold weather continues here in Yorkshire, it was - 11 degrees when the dogs went out first thing this morning. My dogs have big thick coats and like playing in the snow and sliding across their icy run diving on one another. The birds however are having a much less enjoyable time. I make sure they have a supply of food and fresh water which I replace every couple of hours. The reward is that I'm getting some fantastic photo opportunities.

The Nuthatch wasn't in my garden it was in a nearby wood which has several feeding stations available for the birds to visit.

I don't very often get Pied Wagtails in the garden but this one has visited each day for the last couple of weeks.

The squirrel and robin just made me laugh, the robin seemed amazed that the squirrel was taking the food and moved closer and closer to the squirrel, the squirrel however took absolutely no notice and carried on with its meal. I took that photograph in the wood.

Tabby Cat in Oil Pastel

'Fluffy' 6 x 6 inches

Sold

I was clearing out a cupboard and found my oil pastels so it seemed like a good idea to stop cleaning and start creating.

I had a pack of three 6 x 6 inch Ampersand gessobords so decided to see how oil pastel worked on one.

I put a fairly thick basecoat down first which I then blended, using my finger for larger areas and a colour shaper for the smaller. On top of that I started adding more colour for the details, again using a colour shaper to draw out fine hairs. I kept the end of the shaper damp which I found made it easier to move through the pastel without dragging the colour in uneven strokes.

Once there was a thick layer of oil pastel I scratched into it using the broken end of a paintbrush (Cody was responsible for the demise of my brush) to create even finer hairs and the whiskers.

I was pleasantly surprised with the detail I could achieve.

Racoons Continued

I'm making slow progress on the three racoons, I've covered about a third of the board and worked some of that up to about 90%
I'm enjoying working from my own photograph as it brings back memories of the day we spent in Stanley Park, Vancouver in the summer. It is far easier not to slavishly follow the photograph when I can remember other details about the scene from actually having been there.
I have used reference material from other sources (always with permission) and I will continue to do so but that obviously restricts what can be done with the resulting artwork.
Most juried exhibitions and competitions now have a ruling that states entries need to be based an the artists own reference material, which is why I now have thousands of my own photographs stored on backup drives.

Strathmore Bristol with a Vellum Surface

'Wet Behind the Ears'

6 x 4 inches on Strathmore Bristol

I'm always looking to try out new papers and brought a couple of different pads back from Canada this year.

One of them was a Strathmore 500 series Bristol with a vellum finish. It has a slightly toothier surface than my usual papers but I found it nice to use with coloured pencil. It took many layers, in fact I ran out of patience before the paper ran out of tooth.
Once again it is a creamy colour rather than a true white but that didn't matter with this piece as I covered almost all the paper.

I prefer this paper to Stonehenge which I find too spongy for my liking although I know it is the paper of choice for a lot of coloured pencil artists.

I've now found a supplier of Strathmore paper in the UK, Castle Hill Crafts who offer a mail order sevice:-

http://www.castlehillcrafts.co.uk/products/strathmore-artist-papers

Cold Feet

This morning I swept the top of the fence surrounding the decking so that the birds could reach the food without getting cold feet. However most of them decided that the patches of snow were better to stand in than the cleared areas.

The garden birds are eating seeds, nuts and fat in huge amounts but in return they are providing me with endless photo opportunities.

I will definitely be painting birds in the near future.

Bliss - Tabby Cat

'Bliss' 3 x 5 inches

The Prime Minister David Cameron has launched a government survey to measure well-being. I'm not convinced it will be money well spent in the current economic climate but it made me think about what happiness means to animals.

I think this cat rubbing its chin against some broken wood would score highly in the survey, it looks pretty happy to me.

Cat Protection

'Mischief' - donated to Haworth Cat Rescue

The Supreme had its usual parade of fabulous cats.

Long hair, short hair, no hair, spotted, striped, tabby, black, white, blue, all with one thing in common, cared for.

I love looking at the pampered cats but also want to do something for those less fortunate.

In the Spring I donated my original painting of an Abyssinian kitten 'Mischief' for Haworth Cat Rescue to use on one of their Christmas cards, the above is an image of the card itself.

Haworth Cat Rescue are a local charity doing a fantastic job caring for cats that have fallen on hard times. Some are unwanted but some owners are having to part with loved pets because of a change in circumstances. Having visited Haworth a couple of times I know that all the cats staying there find love from the people looking after them.

100% of the proceeds from sales of the card will benefit cats, so in a very small way I feel I am playing my part in helping.

The 2010 Supreme Show

Maine Coon - coloured pencil and acrylic on pastelbord, 14 x 11 inches

Tomorrow I will be setting off at some dreadfully early hour to drive to Birmingham for the GCCF Supreme Show held at the NEC

Once I get everything set up and the panic that I've forgotten something fades I really enjoy the day, especially meeting all the cats.

Hopefully I'll also have a successful day selling. This year I'm offering framed prints at a reasonable price so fingers crossed they do well.

If anyone is going to the show do come and say hello.

Border Terrier Part 2

A little more work on the terrier but I'm getting ready for the Supreme Cat show on Saturday so I'm busy printing.
I've also decided to offer some framed prints so I'm also sorting that out. I'll post a photograph tomorrow when I get everything ready before loading the car.

Going to the Dogs

Border Terrier, coloured pencil on Arches watercolour paper.

This year I added several venues to my sales strategy, one was a Game and Country Fair, one a Craft Fair and one an Art Festival.

I wanted to see what worked best and decide where to target in 2011. I recognise that the current economic climate doesn't help with sales and that exhibiting once at each type of venue isn't really enough to decide what works, but it did give me a taster.

From a sales point of view non was overwhelmingly successful, but from a learning perspective all had something to offer.

There was a common lesson relevant to all three: my portfolio is too cat orientated to generate large print sales away from the cat shows.

The Supreme cat show next weekend is my last exhibition of the year so I have several months to add some diversity to my range of prints.

One avenue I want to explore is returning to the dogs and adding to the breeds I offer as prints.

Gun dogs and working dogs as groups were numerically greatest at the country fair but the one breed I saw the most of was undoubtedly the Border Terrier so that's the one I decided to start with.

I'm not sure if I want to do any more craft fairs but that's another post.

Fine Line Artists Fourth International Exhibition

I started this tabby cat quite a long time ago and have decided to finish it in between working on the three racoons.
It's approximately 14 x 18 inches on Arches hot press paper.


Tomorrow is the opening of the International Exhibition of the Fine Line Artists, a group of women artists that I belong to.
The exhibition is being held at the Mission Trails Regional Park Art Gallery and runs from the 6th of November until the 3rd of December.

To read a bigger version of the above visit the Mission Trails web site.

We formed the group several years ago to provide support for the development of our art and the business of being an artist. There are six of us in the group but only five taking part in the exhibition as the sixth member is an international best selling author in the middle of an amazingly busy schedule.

The other artists are:-
Katherine Tyrrell well known for her artists blog Making a Mark
Vivien Blackburn
Nicole Caulfield
Louise Sackett, huge thanks to Louise as she has done all the organizing.

Our subject matter is as diverse as our styles. The exhibition features landscapes, wildlife art, botanical art and still life art relatingto the Mission Trails area of the USA.
All works are for sale.

Three Racoons in Acrylic

This is the large (for me) acrylic that I'm working on.
It is about 8 x 16 inches on mdf that I have applied several coats of gesso tinted with acrylic to.
I haven't finished the top corner I just wanted to draw the first racoon in to give myself a reference point.

Last summer while on holiday in Canada I got lots of great reference photographs of racoons. In this one there are three sitting on a log, they couldn't have come up with a better pose.

The local joiners are willing to cut my boards for me which makes it easier to consider sizes that are not readily available. It is also much cheaper than buying prepared board and I'm finding I prefer board to canvas.

Another Tabby Cat in Coloured Pencil

SOLD

Another small tabby cat. This one is 5 x 4 coloured pencil and acrylic on stonehenge paper.
I've started a large acrylic and these small pictures give me a break from the intense concentration. I like the lighting on this one so I'm thinking of doing a larger version.

Kitten in a Pumpkin

To bid click here.

After painting the Osprey I decided to have a bit of fun and painted this little kitten in the pumpkin.
It's ACEO size, 2.5 x 3.5, coloured pencil and acrylic on pastel paper.

Osprey in Acrylic

Following my workshop this is pure acrylic on illustration board.

Original reference image courtesy Alan D. Wilson, Naturespicsonline.com, used with Alan's permission.

I'm now going to attempt a bigger painting on board, could it be a cat?

Puma Finished

I've finished my puma.

Following the workshop I concentrated on form and darkened the right side.
It's 10 x 8 done in watercolour.

Workshop with Terry Isaac

Demo painted by Terry Isaac

I have had a crazy few days which included a taking a workshop with Canadian Artist Terry Isaac and driving my youngest son back to London for the start of the new University year.

I first heard about the workshop in the summer of 2009 when I met Terry's wife Kathleen at the farmers market in Penticton, Canada.
While admiring Terry's work I mentioned how I would love to attend one of his workshops but living in the UK made it almost impossible.

Imagine my delight when Kathleen said he was proposing to visit the UK in 2010 and hold a couple of workshops. Even better the proposed location of one of them was Harrogate, Yorkshire, which is close to where I live.

She suggested I contact Ken Stroud at Wildscape (The Journal of Wildlife Art and Conservation) to receive updates. I already subscribed to the magazine so the rest as they say is history.

Terry is a wonderful wildlife artist, a great teacher and a really, really nice person.

What made the workshop even better was that without exception all the people were friendly, helpful and willing to share tips and ideas.

I've made a couple of friends that I'll keep in touch with and meet up with again, it's always nice to make contact with fellow artists.

I left after the three days feeling inspired and knowing what I needed to work on to hopefully take my work to the next level.

Although I didn't do any painting (except the background wash) at the workshop I have started an Osprey in acrylic which I'll share later.

Puma in Watercolour

The eagle has been put to one side while I painted this puma in watercolour.
It's 8 x 10 on a Stathmore paper I brought back from Canada. I just have the chest to finish and add some whiskers.
The paper is really white which is working well for me.

Fine Art Christmas Cards

(Please note the black border is only to show the card edges, it is not on the actual card)

I've spent the morning creating Christmas cards from my original artwork.
I'm planning on having a Christmas/Seasonal shop here on my blog and also on my website, from the beginning of October until the end of December.

I'm going to offer a selection of cards and prints for sale and maybe even one or two small originals.

These are the first four images which I'm planning on selling in packs of four.

Grey and White Cat in mixed Media

'Summer's End'

an ACEO by Gayle (2.5 x 3.5 inches)
To bid click here.

I decided to create another aceo today, I like to use this small format to try out ideas for future larger pieces.

Golden Eagle in Watercolour

I decided it was time to get the watercolours out, which I do from time to time.
I took the photograph of this captive Golden Eagle at a game fair last year when it was just about to fly.
This is 10 x 8 on watercolour paper and hopefully will be going to the USA to be included in the joint exhibition.

Ring-Tailed Lemur

To bid click here

Coloured pencil and acrylic on black stonehenge paper, 7 x 9 inches
Today was a frustrating day. I was supposed to be having a window replaced with patio doors. So I got up early and made sure that everything was cleared from the work space, got the dogs organised and we moved the cars around to create space on the drive.
The builder turned up twenty minutes late, not too bad you think; at least until he rang the glazier, the doors wouldn't be ready until next Tuesday. Now I'd also organised the internet guy to come and move the cable and a landscape gardener to come later in the week to sort out some decking.
All this needed to be put on hold, (the cable did get moved) which is frustrating to say the least.
It could be worse, the builder could have knocked the wall down before he found out the doors weren't made yet.

Millie the Spaniel continued

I have continued with Millie the Spaniel, now both eyes can watch me :)

I have started adding pages to my blog, the first one will be a showcase for any original artwork I have for sale.
I intend to add a page with details of the materials I use. It might be useful to have all the information in one place rather than spread throughout the blog.
However I've been making the most of the nice weather to tame some areas of the garden. I always find it amazing that anything with thorns grows three times as fast as anything else. Of course my gardening gloves are missing, I have my suspicions that a certain four legged friend, otherwise known as Cody has had something to do with their demise.

Cheshire Game and Country Fair

For the next three days I will have a stand in the craft tent at the Cheshire Game and Country Fair.

The fair is held at the Cheshire showground, if you're in the area come and say hello.

I have restarted the Cavalier King Charles spaniel as something didn't look right to me. I was hoping that after my holiday it would look better, but it didn't.

This time it's pastel on pastelbord 11 x 9.

Back in The UK

We had a fabulous time in Canada but all good things come to an end and we're now back home. It was nice to see the family, both human and canine and to sleep in my own bed.

I'm feeling jet lagged, although this holiday all the flights were on time and our luggage arrived at the same destination as us.


I got a lot of good reference material, bears, moose, elk etc, but this little ground squirrel holding his grass is one of my favourites.

It appeared a young animal as its attempts to get the stalks of grass were only successful about one in five times. It would leap in the air, grab at the grass and more often than not miss, but when it did succeed boy was it happy.

Back to the art tomorrow, although I'll be at the Cheshire game Fair next Saturday, Sunday and Monday, more details tomorrow.

Pastel Cat Complete.

I made my deadline and hopefully the pastel of Poppy which I've called 'Guilty' will arrive at the Llewellyn Alexander Gallery in London tomorrow.
It was collected by the couriers yesterday and together with three more paintings will be included in the 2010 Society of Feline Artists exhibition.

I did a bit of tweaking with the background and removed a couple of the flowers which I decided didn't add anything to the overall impression.