Part 5

Only about 4 hours work managed today, but I did complete the blocking in of the remaining leg and most of the shading, I also worked on the cub again. as you can see there is still a lot of paper to empty, my intention now is to fill in the background so they look like there walking across the Serengeti, due to other commitments, I wont be able to start the until the weekend, Ill post as soon as there is and update...:)

Part 4

Getting there, just the front right leg to block in and then tone, once the two lions have been finished its onto the background....

Part 3

Two WIP photos to show today, as my camera battery died on me last night, so I was unable to post. I have spent around 6 hours working just on the rear leg of the large lion today, this is due to the very small pencil marks I make to try and create the fur texture, this is achieved by a 2 layers of 2H and then tone and form is applied with a HB again maybe 2-3 layers, I then blend the two together with the
2H, the darks of the toes are drawn with a 4B, any thing that looks to dark is brought back with Blue Tac

53 Derwent Artist Coloured Pencils

I have 53 Derwent Artist Coloured Pencils for sale most are unused, and the ones that have been are almost complete pencils, I am selling because I just dont think I will ever get into CP's like I am with Graphite, as I say there are 53 pencils and I was thinking around £30 + pp probably around another £3, if any one is interested I will sell on first come first served and will remove this post when they are sold. I am happy to ship outside the UK if you will pay the shipping costs.

Part 2

With this posting I'm sure you can now see where I'm going with this drawing, I spent a little time shading the cub and will go back to him at the end, the last 4 hours have been spent on the male lion, getting the fur tones and form on its face has been more difficult than I thought it would be, but I'm getting there, hope to post more tomorrow.

In his Fathers Footsteps new WIP

This is the first part of a new drawing, ''In his Fathers Footsteps'' this little cub is 5 x 2.5 inches and has taken approx 5 hours, the finished drawing should measure approx 21 x 14 inches, so there is a lot more paper to cover, I will post more tomorrow and hope you like the way the drawing and the story developes...

Fearless

After over 40 hours of drawing time, my latest work is finished, measuring 20 x 10 inches it is my largest piece to date, my biggest problem all the way through, has been to think of a title, so I looked through all my Pink Floyd cd's for insperation, when I reached the album that turned me on to the Floyd back in the 70s
''Meddle'' the track ''Fearless'' jumped out at me, it just seems the perfect title. Hope you like him, as much as I did creating him....

Wip 6

Only a few hours drawing managed today due to family and friends visiting, as you can see I've been working away at the rear legs, not happy with the right one tucked under his body, something doesn't look right so will have to work on that next time, hope you enjoy the updates and they are not to boring, look forward to your comments ( still no Title )

Wip part 5

Working my way down the body and bringing the rear legs into play, almost 30 hours and still going strong, but still no title!

WIP Update

This is where I'm at after 22 hours of work, and I would guess there could be another 20 hours to go, as you can see i've put down the first layer on his right leg and have also started on his left leg, the paws are the most trying part at the moment as there not shown on the photograph I'm working from, so Im using references from other Tiger pics, still no name for this piece.....

Wip continued

And so after a few more hours of work this is where I am with drawing with no name, most of todays drawing time has been taken up with the right side of the face and the whiskers, also managed to draw in some of the chest and right leg, more tomorrow I hope.

WIP

Not to much time at the drawing board today, but thought I would post an update, refined the whiskers a little, and for a change of scenery started working down the leg, hope to post more over the weekend.

Dejavu

Well here we go again, after 13 hours of re-drawing the Tiger I am approx back to where I was when it all went terribly wrong!! this time I have negatively drawn in the whiskers and hidden the indenter in the draw, I will refine them later... will post more as I progress.

A Lesson learnt!

This was to be my new piece of work, until after 6 hours of drawing I decided to attempt the first whisker by indenting into the paper, having practiced a few times with different darning needle points etc I made my first mark and knew straight away that not only was it not wide enough for the whisker in proportion to the drawing but it was also not smooth enough to give a realistic effect, I had considered drawing them using the negative drawing effect and now wish I had tried that first. I have tried to disguise the damage by drawung leaves in the background but in my eyes it still stands out and slaps you in the face, so this is now heading for the filing cabinet marked dustbin, and I am starting all over again.... not a waste of time really as another lesson has been learned.......

up close and personal!

Finished this piece sooner than expected, drawing time approx 25 hours, size is 8 x 5inches, drawn on Mellotex paper, using 4b, 2b, hb, and 2h Grahite, I seemed to have spent more time sharpening the 4b pencil than I have drawing, but I'm fairly pleased with the outcome, hope you like it too, all comments welcome.

New Work update

As you can see the head is almost finished, just a little amount of editing needed around the ear, then onto the body, I now see stripes when I close my eyes....hope to have this finished by the weekend.

New Work

It's been a few days since my last posting due to work and family commitments, but here is my new WIP, no prizes for guessing its a head portrait of a Zebra! I have shown progress over three days, with a close up of the eye area showing the indenting technique used for the eye lashes, drawn on mellotex paper, size when completed will be approx 8 x 5 inches.

Caught in the Act

After approx 35+ hours I'm calling this piece finished. Seeing it develop from the top left hand corner to a finish in the bottom right hand corner has been the most enjoyable part of this drawing for me, Image size is approx 8 x 5 inches, drawn on Mellotex paper which is the only paper I will be using from now on, due to its strength, I only used 3 pencils 2h hb and 2b, and lots of Blue tac, hope you enjoy looking at this as much as I did drawing it, all comments welcome.

Blue Tit

This little drawing was requested by an artist friend on a drawing forum I belong to. It is to be used on the cover of a Charity DVD on wildlife, drawn with Derwent CP's on Stonehenge paper, image size is 3 x 2.5 inches, still not sure how to use these pencils, so it's just a case of diving in, having a go, and seeing what comes out at the end......

English Setter ''Molly''

After a few more hours work, I'm calling this finished. I've toned down some areas and fine tuned and cleaned up others. Drawn on Bristol Board, image size is approx 7x5 inches which is larger than normal for me.

''Molly'' English Setter WIP

I started this new work yesterday, and as of this evening have spent approx 12 hours working away trying to get her looking right, she belongs to a couple of friends Roger and Marina, and was photographed by a mutual friend who gave me permission to use the image, there is another full days drawing and refining work left, until I can call her finished, so I hope to post the completed drawing tomorrow.

Horses Head Study Finished

After approx 25 hours work my first Horse study ''Jo'' is finished, Lots of different textures to control in this drawing but its all a learning curve, lessons learnt here can be used and improved on in later drawings. All comments welcome.

Horse's Head Study WIP

Whilst out in the country side near to home a few days ago, I met a young rider who very kindly let me photograph her horse, I have a couple of full body shots which I may draw later but wanted to first attempt a head study as I've never drawn a horse before except when I was 3 1/2 years old ( see earlier posting) what you see here is the progress I've made after approx 12 hours, size is 7.5 x 5 inches on Bristol Board, all comments welcome.

Bassett Hound Finished

After working on the ears for some time I'm calling this finished, size is 5 x 4 inches on Bristol Board. all comments welcome.

Bassett Hound WIP

New WIP of this Bassett Hound, trying to get that ''sad and looking sorry for itself'' in it's eyes, hope to complete over the weekend, and will post more asap. Drawn on Bristol Board, finished size should be approx 5 x 4 inches.

Char's Green Bucket

My sister is a big fan of Sherree Valentine Daines, one of her favourite paintings is titled ''Green Bucket'' as it reminds her of her daughter Charlotte when she was younger going for a paddle in the sea with her own Green bucket, as far as we know it's not available as a print, so as it was her birthday last week I decided to try and copy this painting with a few alterations so as not to make it an exact copy, but something a little more personal to my sister. I've been working on this in secret for approx a week, the size is approx 11 x 5 inches drawn on Stonehenge paper with Derwent Artist Coloured Pencils.

Biscuit Completed

I'm suprised how much I enjoyed this coloured pencil drawing, maybe it's because I know him so well, the finished size is approx 5.5 x 5.5 inches, on Stonehenge Paper, and I used Derwent Artist coloured Pencils. All comments welcome

Biscuit Progress

After being away since last Friday celebrating my sisters birthday with the rest of my family, I've only had chance to work on this peice for a few hours this morning, a fair bit of progress has been made, as you have to lay down a number of layers to get the depth of colour your require, I'm hoping to finish this head study tomorrow.

Biscuit WIP

This is an old Boxer dog I used to own who goes by the name of Biscuit, named because he is the same colour as a ginger biscuit, he is now around 9 years old and although going grey he is still full of life, I thought I would attempt to draw him in coloured pencils, and to be honest I have no idea how to use them so it's a case of just diving in and give them a go! I'm using Derwent Artist pencils on Stonehenge paper, I'll post more as I go along, all comments welcome

Red Fox Completed

I keep playing with this head study of a Red Fox until I'm getting close to over working it, so best to leave it alone. finished size is 5 x 3.5 inches, drawn on Bristol Board. any comments welcome.

New work on the drawing board

I thought I would show how I set up my new works for drawing, I like to have a colour and black and white image to work from, the black and white image shows me tone and balance that I'm trying to achieve, the colour image shows the lights and fur direction better for me than the B/W image, I also use these sheets to rest my hand on to protect my work as I draw, I always work with mechanical pencils normally HB 2H 2B and sometimes 4B & 6B, the paper is Bristol Board or Mellowtex, I have a putty eraser which I very rarely use except for cleaning the tips of my pencils after sharpening, and the one thing I wouldn't be without is my ball of Blue Tack. Not sure if any one else is interested in any of this but it's sometimes interesting to see how other people work.

New WIP

Thought I would try something new today, now at the end of it I'm not to sure if that was a good idea! I've never tried snow before and when I saw this picture of a red fox sitting on a hillside in the snow I thought it would be an ideal subject to draw, now as Im say I'm not to sure, maybe after a few hours more work it may even look like snow!!!

Missy Finished

After approx 20 hours Missy is finished, I'm just waiting for the owners approval and she will be on her way to the USA. This like all drawings has generated it's own problems, but getting round those problems is part of the learning curve, and I've learnt a few more things about drawing with this one. Drawn on Bristol Board, Image size approx 5 x 4 inches. Thank you Teresa for giving me the opportunity to draw Missy.

Missy update

Just a little more work achieved today, still more to do on the right of the face, but happy with the smile!

Missy update

Due to a senior moment I haven't been able to get as far as I would of wished today with this drawing, this was due to leaving my glasses in my sons car, so some of the valuble drawing time was taken up by collecting the glasses from his home, any way after another 3 hours work mainly on the nose, and right side of the face I am left at this point, let hope tomorrow brings less problems.

Missy

Missy belongs to Teresa who I met on an art forum site, for some time she has been asking me to take part in the monthly ATC exchange, for one reason or another I just dont seem to get around to putting pencil to paper, so I asked if she would like me to draw a portrait of her Alsation cross Missy, its good practice for me, and I hope she is happy with the result, I'll post more as I go along, as always your comments are welcome.

Greyhound ''almost there''

Again a few more hours work today on this latest drawing, spent most of it working on the ear and the collar, the finished image would fit it to a frame of 4.5 x 4.5 inches, as Iv'e drawn this on the right hand side of a piece of A4 size Bristol Board I am thinking of filling in the left hand side with a few rabbits in a field, in such a way that it looks like they are being watched by the dog... watch this space as they say

Greyhound WIP

After approx 6 hours work this is what Iv'e managed to achieve on my new dog drawing, this grey and white greyhound looks ready to go, all he needs is a willing rabbit. I will post more in the next couple of days, all comments welcome as always.

Rotweiller

Another Dog portrait finished, this one of a Rotweiller measures approx 4 x 3.5 inches, with each drawing I feel that I am getting nearer to where I want to be with my drawings, I just wish I could master how to draw a white haired dog on white paper, all my efforts so far have ended up in the bin.....

Jack Russell Finished

Except for signing this drawing I consider it finished, from seeing him running around on the beach in Jersey to completion is just about 4 days, all I hope now is that the owners get in touch with me and give me his name. I hope you like him size is approx 5x4 inches drawn on Bristol board, using 2b, 2h, and Hb clutch pencils, and a fair amount of Blue Tack for the shading.