Page's Portraits - Animal Portraits by Heather Page

Green Nexxus

2008-04-03T15:03:00.003-03:00

Hi everyone! I would like to invite you to join a website called Green Nexxus. My boyfriend, Paul, and his partners have created this environmentally friendly website and it is officially backed by Al Gore (they will actually be meeting him this weekend when they officially launch the site).

Basically this site is like a Facebook for environmentally conscious people, where you can discuss green topics, join groups, etc. I am asking everyone to please sign up and join this site. It doesn't cost anything to join and participate. There is an option to buy a membership to get tons of savings when you buy energy efficient products, but you don't have to pay anything if you don't want to...you can still use the site to its full potential.

So please join and spread the word to all of your friends. We want to get as many new users as possible. Thanks!

www.greennexxus.com

Heather

Delphine - Work in Progress

2008-03-29T21:03:00.004-03:00

This is Delphine, a long haired Daschund. She is being drawn on 11x17 white paper (although it looks pretty orange here) in pencil.

Emerald is finished!

2008-03-18T20:36:00.002-03:00

This is the final scan of Emerald, a Hanoverian/Thoroughbred cross. It is the largest portrait I've worked on so far at 14x17 inches, and it took me about 25-30 hrs to complete. It was drawn in coloured pencil (Prismacolors and a few Derwent Colorsofts). The smaller foal is Emerald as a baby.

Next is Delphine, a long-haired Daschund, which I have already started.

Commissions

2008-03-06T18:47:00.003-04:00

I want to inform everyone that until further notice, I will not be taking on any new commissions. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. For those people on my waiting list, do not be concerned, your portraits will still be done. I just won't be taking on any more for a while after they are finished.

I've been wanting to work on my own artwork for quite some time now, but I just haven't had the time. I really love doing pet portraits for people, and I will eventually get back to it, I just need a bit of a break. There are so many things that I want to do with my artwork, but I just haven't had the chance since I've been doing commissions.

I apologize to those of you who were considering having me do your pet's portrait. If you would really like to have a pet portrait done, I can certainly recommend several, wonderful pet portrait artists.

Please continue to check my website and blog, as I will continue to update them with my new work. If you would like me to inform you when I do start accepting commissions again, please send me your email address.

Thanks for your understanding!
Heather

Update#5: Emerald - Work in progress

2008-02-19T21:10:00.000-04:00

Update #4: Emerald work in progress

2008-01-27T16:50:00.001-04:00

13.75 hrs

Update #3 - Emerald work in progress

2008-01-21T21:59:00.000-04:00

Update #2: Emerald

2008-01-14T21:41:00.000-04:00

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T13:26:00.001-04:00

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and a very happy new year. I spent Christmas in Moncton with family and friends and we had a very white Christmas. So far this winter, I believe we've had about 5 or 6 snow storms, which is very unusual for this time of year. At the moment, I'm snowed in and was unable to go to work today because the roads aren't plowed yet.

Well now that the new year has begun, I'm back to my drawing after a short Christmas break. I have started Emerald's portrait which I am posting below. I'm doing a montage which shows her as an adult (large head and neck) and a smaller version of her as a foal. It is being drawn in coloured pencil on 14x17 paper.

Because I am working from two separate photos, I did a mock-up on the computer to show the client what the final portrait will look like. So the first image is the mock-up and the second is the first stage of the drawing.

Finished Whisky

2007-12-19T21:33:00.001-04:00

Well I've finally finished Whisky's portrait. Here is the final image, along with the rest of the set: The original lion painting that the owner wanted me to model the portraits after, Bosco and Whisky.

Lion portrait (not by me):

Bosco 2006:

Whisky 2007:

Bosco in frame beside Whisky:

Whisky's portrait finished?

2007-12-16T15:57:00.000-04:00

Just waiting to hear back from the owner to say whether or not this is finished.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-08T15:08:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to write and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! It's been a very busy year this year and I wanted to thank everyone for their support, especially those who have commissioned me to do their pet portraits.

So to update you, I'm still working on Whisky's portrait. It's taking me a little longer than expected as it's giving me some grief. There is a reason why I have chosen to work only on velour paper from now on for my pastel drawings, and Whisky's portrait is on bristol paper. I have no doubt I'll eventually get it right, but it's just taking a bit of time to get there.

I have started the outline of Emerald's portrait, which I will post soon. Emerald is a beautiful horse from Vancouver and I'll be doing a montage, showing her as an adult and as a foal. I'm really looking forward to working on this one because it is my first horse commission. I love horses and drew them all the time growing up, so I'm excited to be doing a drawing of one for someone else.

Third in line on my list is Delfine, a long haired Daschund, which I will be doing in pencil. The owner saw me at my booth at the Pet Expo in Sept. I'm really glad that I was able to get at least one commission from that (it's looking like I might have another soon). Going to trade shows like that costs money, and I'm glad it ended up being worth my while. I had been considering not doing it again next year, but now I think I will.

So I guess that's about it for the updates for now. I will post again soon.

Merry Christmas!

Rest in Peace, Norton

2007-11-25T11:30:00.000-04:00

This is a small tribute to Norton who was owned by my friends, Jen and Victor. Norton passed away this morning from an illness. He was deeply loved and will be deeply missed.

Seven

2007-11-24T01:16:00.000-04:00

This is my kitten, Seven. She's about 6 months old in the photo I think. I drew her for my boyfriend's birthday back in Oct. and have only gotten around to posting it now. She was drawn in pencil on 8x10 white paper.

Whisky

2007-11-16T16:42:00.000-04:00

Here is a pastel portrait of Whisky. I'm not sure how many hours I've put in so far, but I'm pretty sure it's a lot! I still have more work to do on the cat itself and I have to finish the background. I hope to have it finished in the next few weeks.

Whisky is done in soft pastels (Nupastels, Derwents, Yarka and General's) on approx. 9x20 brown bristol paper.

Whisky is owned by the same people who own Bosco. I did Bosco's portrait for them a couple of years ago, and Whisky's will be done in the same style.

Whisky

2007-11-15T12:50:00.000-04:00

Well it's been a little while since I last posted, so I thought I'd better give you an update on what's happening. I have been working on Whisky's portrait for over a month now, but since it's an awkward size (9x20), it's a little difficult to fit on my scanner. I've been meaning to take a photograph of it to show you what I have done so far, but since it gets dark so early, it's hard to get a good, clear shot.

I'm definitely more than half done Whisky's portrait. I just have a bit more touching up to do, and I have to figure out how I'm going to do the background. It's been giving me a bit of grief, but I'm sure I'll get it worked out soon. I'm not big on backgrounds, so I often have to play around a bit.

Soon I will be starting Emerald's portrait, and I have a few of my own projects on the go as well. So hopefully I'll have something new to post soon.

Dancing Dog

2007-11-10T12:05:00.001-04:00

This video is amazing!! Have a look!

Pet Expo

2007-10-02T20:12:00.000-03:00

This past weekend I had a booth at the Pet Expo at the Frex, which was a tradeshow for everything to do with pets. I was there from Friday evening to Sunday at suppertime. It was quite a long weekend, but I had a really great time and met lots of people, dogs and cats. I sold some greeting cards and prints, and I handed out tons of business cards. I spoke with a few people who really seemed interested in having a pet portrait done, so hopefully I'll get some business from it. Here is a picture of my friend, Jen and I at my booth.

Pet Expo 2007

2007-09-26T22:17:00.001-03:00

This weekend from Friday evening until Sunday at 5pm, I will have a booth at the Pet Expo in Fredericton. It is an SPCA fundraiser and last year it brought in 3000 people. I expect it will be quite a busy weekend for me, but I'm really looking forward to it. I've been preparing for it for a little while now, getting greeting cards and prints ready to sell, making up signs, and framing my prints for display.

I expect the expo will include anything and everything pet-related. Plus there will be an NBSPCA auction and agility trials and/or flyball if I read correctly. It should be a good time, so if you're wandering around, be sure to stop by and say hi.

Finished Jessie, Bart and Cooper

2007-09-19T17:24:00.000-03:00

After 29 hrs of drawing I'm finally done. I had originally estimated that it would take me 30 hrs, so I guess I was pretty close. I'm really happy with how this one turned out and so is the client. It's always a relief to hear that the owner is happy and doesn't want any changes! This isn't the final scan and it's missing my signature, but it is finished. I plan on having it scanned tomorrow and then I can hand it over to the owner.

Next on my plate is a pastel portrait of a cat named Whisky. Whisky's portrait will be done in the same style as Bosco (both cats come from the same household).

After that, I finally get to do a horse portrait of a beautiful horse named Emerald. Emerald's portrait will be a 14x17 montage, meaning that there will be a large portrait of her head and neck as an adult and a smaller version of her as a baby. This will be done in coloured pencil.

I also have been approached by a photographer here in Fredericton to do a wolf drawing, potentially for a wildlife calendar, so I will be working on that soon too. I will keep you up to date on what, if anything comes of that.

25 hrs

2007-09-12T22:28:00.001-03:00

I'm getting really close to being done this drawing. All I have left to do is a bit of shading on the ground and touch up a few things. I guess my estimate of 30 hrs was pretty close!

Article in my local paper

2007-09-01T20:30:00.000-03:00

The Daily Gleaner, Fredericton's local newspaper, printed an article on me today. Here is the article:
http://www.pagesportraits.com/dailygleaner.html

21.75 hrs

2007-08-31T19:56:00.001-03:00

News

2007-08-29T07:32:00.000-03:00

Well the summer is coming to an end and although I'm sad to see the warm weather go, it will be nice to have a little more free time (that will be filled quickly I'm sure). I've got two portraits on the go right now. I plan on getting the one of the three dogs finished pretty soon, then I've got a pastel portrait to do. I will only be taking on a few more commissions for Christmas so you might want to put your order in soon. I also offer gift certificates for anyone who doesn't get their order in in time.

I have some exciting news...last week, a reporter from my local newspaper, The Daily Gleaner, contacted me and asked to do an article on me. She interviewed me last week and a photographer came to my house. The article will be in the Balance section in tomorrow's paper. I'm quite excited about this...and a little nervous. This article will be great for exposure and I'm quite flattered that she asked me to do this. The article will be a profile of me, apparently discussing different aspects of my life. I will of course be purchasing several newspapers tomorrow when the article comes out! I will also post a link to the article on my website and blog.

In other news, I will be at the Pet Expo in Fredericton on Sept. 28, 29, 30, displaying my work and advertising my business. I have a lot of preparation to do this month because I plan on selling greeting cards and prints, as well as promoting the commission side of my work. Apparently the Pet Expo brings in a large crowd (over 3000 last year), so hopefully I will get some new commissions from that. It will be a long, busy weekend, but I've got some helpers and I expect it will be an enjoyable experience.

And lastly, I've entered a couple of my drawings into an art competition at the Fredericton Exhibition being held this coming week. I've entered "Britainy and Briggs" and "Noah" . These portraits belong to friends of mine and they were kind enough to lend them to me for the competition. I should know how I do in the competition in the next few days. Fingers crossed!

Well that is it for my news for now. I hope everyone is having an enjoyable summer.

18 hrs

2007-08-27T20:41:00.000-03:00

This is 18 hrs worth of drawing on the Bernese Mountain dog and Leonbergers.