Fine Pet Portraits - an artist's blog

Horse portrait - work in progress scans 5 & 6

2009-06-21T18:55:00.003+01:00

A couple more scans of the horse portrait WIP...

Horse portrait - work in progress scans 3 & 4

2009-06-06T15:28:00.001+01:00

And another two scans...the first Norwegian Fjord horse is now finished. I will add his whiskers later when I've done the background.

Horse portrait - work in progress 2

2009-06-05T10:12:00.001+01:00

And another WIP scan...

Horse portrait - work in progress 1

2009-06-04T13:15:00.001+01:00

Here's the first work in progress scan.

Horse portrait started

2009-06-03T14:27:00.003+01:00

I am currently working on a horse pastel portrait showing three horses. Two are Norwegian fjord horses and one is a Shetland X pony. Here's a (not so great) photo of the pencil draft. I'll post some work in progress scans as I go along.

The composition mirrors the fact that the two Norwegian fjords look after the young Shetland cross in 'real life'. The client was very happy with the pencil outline.

Parson Russell Terrier - dog pastel portrait finished

2009-05-31T18:47:00.001+01:00

I have finished the Parson Russell terrier dog portrait in pastels. Here it is:

Another Parson Russell Terrier pastel portrait

2009-05-17T12:10:00.003+01:00

Riiiiiiiight, I thought I'd post my latest draft. Not that anyone actually ever reads my blog posts (apart from a couple of people every now and then maybe) but nevermind. A blog is the thing to have these days!

The new pastel dog portrait on velour paper will be of another Parson Russell Terrier - this one is very old (15 I think). I just love those huge eyes that are so typical of terriers! The pose is rather unusual but I think it'll work really well. As the dog is looking up I felt I needed to show one of his legs so that the pose would 'make sense'...I think it really does now.

I've also been spending quite a bit of time on my animal photography pages and will soon be able to let anyone who might be interested have a look. I'll post the link here asap.

Unexpected visitor

2009-05-10T12:53:00.004+01:00

We had an unexpected visitor in our garden this morning and were lucky enough to be able to take some rather lovely photos through the window. This red fox slept in one of our flower beds for an hour or so, mainly ignoring the neighbour's cat that didn't seem to like the canine in 'HER' garden. Later on, the fox climbed over the garden fence (about 6 ft) and disappeaered. I do hope he'll come back some time! :o) Foxes are so pretty.
I shall upload more fox photos to my 'red fox photography' page and one day when I've finished all the pages I'll let you all have the link(s)! *lol*

Parson Russell Terrier puppy - portrait finished

2009-05-09T10:53:00.004+01:00

Right, I have completed the dog portrait of a little Parson Russell terrier puppy held by a human hand. The hand was a bit of a challenge so I am very pleased how it turned out. It actually LOOKs like a hand! The dog's owner is over the moon with the portrait and is going to commission another 2 portraits. I have to say that I prefer velour paper to other types of pastel paper now, especially if it is white pets I'm drawing.

Anniversary - May 1st

2009-05-01T09:09:00.011+01:00

It's 20 years today that I first met my Icelandic horse 'Kolbakur'. On May 1st 1989 my parents very kindly took me to an Icelandic horse stud and generously bought 'Kolli' for me, a 9-year-old black Icelandic gelding. I must have been the world's happiest girl! Kolli was part of my life for the following 17 years. I lost him in February 2006.
So this blog post is for you, Kolli.

I love you my little bear.....you are always in my heart...always and forever!

Jack Russell Terrier - dog pastel portrait

2009-04-30T19:23:00.003+01:00

This is what I'm currently drawing: a Jack Russell Terrier puppy - pastels on velour paper. The little dog called 'Chica' is all white so it'll be a bit of a challenge! Watch this space.

Cat pastel portrait finished

2009-04-28T15:55:00.003+01:00

Right, here it is. The British Shorthair cat pastel portrait is finished. The background is really a soft light green not neon - thank you very much yet again, scanner. ^^

What is it that makes cat portraits harder to do than horses or dogs...or is it just me? I'll be doing a pastel on velour next...a sweet Jack Russell Terrier pup on velour. Looking forward to that one! Well apart from one thing..the puppy is being held by a human hand. Oh dear... I have drawn hands before and thought they were a nightmare. Oh well maybe it'll be easier this time. I'll keep you posted!

Cat portrait WIP

2009-04-27T12:23:00.005+01:00

This is a new WIP scan of the British Shorthair cat (the horse portrait is finished but I can't show it until after the recipient's birthday in June). It's not easy to make the fur look soft but I hope I'll get there. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do any work this weekend due to a migraine with all the bells and whistles. Quite awful really and I don't feel great today either but at least I can sit up straight and don't feel quite as sick anymore. So hopefully I'll be able to get some work done today as the cat's owner can't wait to see the finished portrait. She's a lovely lady who I've drawn 4 portraits for in the past. Don't you just love customers who keep coming back for more!

I have finished one of the photography pages (the one about my favourite zoo animals - meerkats!) but I'm still debating whether to let you have a peek or wait until all the pages are finished (in the distant future...it is just SO time consuming!). I won't spend as long on the other pages though...I just wanted to add some meerkat information and make it a 'proper' meerkat web page. I guess you can tell that I love meerkats! ;o)

Two new pastel portraits - British Shorthair cat - horse

2009-04-21T14:17:00.005+01:00

After a lovely sunny weekend, partly spent at Marwell Zoo (we took about 250 photos) :o) I have started two new pastel commissions. One of a British Shorthair cat and one of a chestnut horse. I'm attaching scans of the pencil outlines below and will keep you posted on the progress!

I'm also working on an animal photography web page as I'd like to show some of the photos my partner and myself have taken of various zoo animals, wildlife and farm animals.

Horse portrait in pastels finished

2009-04-17T20:04:00.002+01:00

This is one of my latest horse portrait commissions. 'Merrie' is a much-loved German mare, sadly no longer with her owner. I hope my rendition in pastels will bring back some happy memories.

Dame Judi Dench - graphite pencil portrait

2009-04-17T19:35:00.001+01:00

It's finished! I'm very happy with how it turned out. This portrait is meant to express how much I adore this classy lady!

NO I haven't left the country! ;o)

2009-04-13T17:01:00.003+01:00

I'm still here and promise I shall update my blog more often again. I have not been lazy - there's 3 birthday/anniversary surprise portraits that I have been working on (2 horses and 1 cat) . Oh and one horse that I can show. Here's the work in progress (pastels):

I have also been out and about with my camera - I love taking photos that I might use as reference photos in the future. Last week we went to a British Wildlife Centre - maybe I should show some of my favourite pix on my website. A lot of portrait artists I know are also good photographers - not surprising I guess!
Anyhow, I have also been drawing a pencil portrait of my favourite English actress - Dame Judi Dench. I saw her on stage in London last week (in 'Madame de Sade') and she is as wonderful as I'd imagined. The rest of the cast were great as well.
Seeing Dami Judi on stage had been a dream of mine for years and as we had really good seats (stalls, row D), it was the most mesmerising experience. It is true - there is nothing like a Dame! And certainly nothing like Dame Judi. So I've been trying to draw her - I don't draw humans very often and have to say always find it a challenge - but a welcome one, especially if I 'know' and like the person I'm drawing and know exactly how I want them to look on paper. I hope it turns out the way I'm hoping..and if I recognise the actress I love in my own work then I'll show you the result! ;o)
This is the pencil draft:

OK I'm actually hoping to finish it today. So do watch this space!

Dog and horse portrait - pastel and water colour

2009-03-21T18:34:00.005Z

Spring has sprung! What a lovely day today...was it sunny where you are? We went for a long walk in the local nature reserve and it was great.
I have finished a couple of pencil drafts for two new commissions but I'll show you those in my next blog post. Here's two new portraits for you to look at first...
One I mentioned before of a dachshund X from a rather old and thus poor photo...I am pleased how it turned out. The second one is a watercolour portrait of a Friesian mare - I really enjoyed painting this beautiful horse.

Horse watercolour

2009-03-12T19:24:00.002Z

I have finished the watercolour of the Exmoor pony foal..and it was such fun to do. More watercolours to come!!!

New portraits

2009-03-11T12:00:00.003Z

Hi everyone!
Here's an update. I'm working on two pastel commissions - one of a dachshound X and the other of a Briard and rabbit. I'll show some scans soon.
Also, I've decided to get more 'serious' with watercolours so got myself a set of Windsor & Newton wcs and have gone through my 'reference photo' folder for pix I'd like to paint. Inspired by a lady on Wet Canvas who has done wonderful watercolours of Exmoor ponies, my first wc will be of an Exmoor foal. I took the picture myself last year at Knepp Castle (there's a small herd of Exmoors roaming the grounds). This is the pencil draft:

Horse portraits in pastels

2009-03-04T12:12:00.002Z

There is actually something I can show you! I did two horse portraits on velour paper last week...both pastels. I used my own reference photos and had loads of fun!

Finally an update!

2009-03-04T11:20:00.003Z

Long time no blog!

The winners of my pet portrait competition have been announced and can be checked out here:

http://www.finepetportraits.co.uk/competitionwinners2009.html Thanks to everyone for taking part...unfortunately, there can only be four winners. So if you did not win: better luck next time!

I have not been lazy - just finished a couple of birthday portraits that I can't show just yet. I am now working on two pastel portraits of a budgie and a dog. I'll post some scans soon!

Pet portrait competition 2009

2009-02-21T14:46:00.001Z

It's on again - my annual pet portrait competition!

If you'd like to win a free pet portrait or a voucher, check out http://www.finepetportraits.co.uk/competition2009.html for details. Don't miss it!

Shetland pony portrait

2009-02-19T11:25:00.002Z

I have just finished yet another horse portrait! This is 'Nayeli' (a native American word for 'I love you'), a cute little Shetland pony mare. She was drawn in pastels. Her young owner is over the moon happy with this portrait. :o)

I've got a rare bird portrait commission coming up next (yay! I love budgies!) and one of a dog.

Horse portrait finished

2009-02-16T10:47:00.002Z

Finished! So this is 'Samiro R', a much loved Arab X who is owned by a young girl.