Happy Easter

Wishing you all a very happy Easter holiday break! My husband and I are taking our boat out on the bay for a few days which should be wonderfully peaceful. I might try my hand at watercolour out there. So far I am not happy with my attempts at this medium. I have finished the pastel of the horse and rider but I will not be able to post a picture until August since this is when it is being given as a gift. The recipient is young and computer savy and we do not want to spoil the surprise!! I have been working on the oil pet portrait of Maddie the blue heeler today but I will post a picture late on Tuesday next week when I have more to show. I also plan on doing more work on the Bighorn Sheep but Maddie takes prioity unless I need drying time for the oil painting. I am wanting to enter a few competition/exhibitions and so I will be starting a pastel of boats soon using a reference photo I took in Tasmania last year. There is also a 'Fabulous Fakes' competition which I would be very excited to enter but the exhibition is at The Entrance in NSW and the painting has to be delivered in person so an entry from me may not be practical. I would love to attempt a copy of a Renoir who I think may be my favourite grand master. I love his use of colour!! And lastly we have put our plans on getting a puppy/ies on hold for the moment because the fencing was going to be very pricey and we are away on our boat allot. There are not many places in our sailing neighborhood where you can take a dog ashore for calls of nature!! If you enjoyed this post please consider becoming a follower of my blog. See the Followers section down the right side of my blog. You may like to add me to you own blog. If So my link is www.portraitsthatbite.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Bighorn Sheep

Here is a work in progress of the Bighorn Sheep which artist Gary Keimig www.gary-keimig.blogspot.com photographed. He has very kindly challenged his blog visitors to use it as a reference photo for drawing or painting. I could not resist. The pastel is very thin at this stage and as I work over it the colours will become stronger and have more depth. Progress is slow as I am working on commissions at the same time. If you enjoyed this post please consider becoming a follower of my blog. See the Followers section down the right side of my blog. You may like to add me to you own blog. If So my link is www.portraitsthatbite.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Maddie Dog Pet Portrait in Oils WIP 5

Here is an update of what I did yesterday. I have done a little more on the mouth; started work on the lighter fur layer (there is more to do here and it will be finer); Worked a little on the feet, the collar, and adjusted the eye. Still work to be done all over especially the sandy coloured fur, the ears, the nose, the eyes, the mouth and the feet. Then of course the grass!! If you enjoyed this post please consider becoming a follower of my blog. See the Followers section down the right side of my blog. You may like to add me to you own blog. If So my link is www.portraitsthatbite.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Maddie Pet Portrait WIP 3 and 4

Here is Maddie Dog Pet Portrait in Oils so far. I have really still a long way to go as most of the portrait is still only undercoat. I have also been working on my Bighorn Sheep pastel but I am not ready to post it yet. My Horse and rider commission is approaching completion. If you enjoyed this post please consider becoming a follower of my blog. See the Followers section down the right side of my blog. You may like to add me to you own blog. If So my link is www.portraitsthatbite.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Maddie WIP 2

Here is where I am up to with the oil Dog Pet Portrait of Maddie the Blue Heeler so far. I have given the background a second coat and very roughly underpainted most of Maddie. This underpainting is a guide for when I work over it with the next layers of paint, colour and detail. As I paint I adjust paint colours etc. as I go. The grass around Maddie's feet will be added very last of all. Still working on the Horse and Rider pastel and have begun my pastel of a Bighorn Sheep. If you enjoyed this post please consider becoming a follower of my blog. See the Followers section down the right side of my blog. You may like to add me to you own blog. If So my link is www.portraitsthatbite.blogspot.com/atom.xml

WIP Update

Just a short blog to let you all know that although I have no pictures to post today it does not mean that I am not hard at work at my easel!! The pastel of the horse and rider is coming along slowly but nicely. I have a fair bit more to do before it is finished such as the face and bridle of the horse and the rider needs alot more work. I then have to go over the whole portrait adjusting colour and tonal values. Can't wait to show you all my WIP pics at a later date! Today I have given the background of Maddie a final coat of oil paint and this should dry over the weekend and I will then be able to begin work on Maddie herself next week. I am also begining a new pastel which I will post soon. I would also like to add that my husband and I have decided it is time to get another pet and that this time it will be a dog or two dogs which we can take out on our boat. I am doing my homework before plunging in but the breed we are interested in at the moment is Scottish Terrier. We have to have part of our garden fenced off first and then we will have to wait for an available litter at a breeder. If you enjoyed this post please consider becoming a follower of my blog. See the Followers section down the right side of my blog. You may like to add me to you own blog. If So my link is www.portraitsthatbite.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Maddie WIP 1

Here I have just done an undercoat for the background. Once it is dry I will apply another layer before beginning Maddie herself. The colours in this photo appear a little darker than they are actually. Maddie will have undercolour applied before I progressively add layers of detail with drying periods in between. Will be working on the pastel horse and rider commission this afternoon. If you enjoyed this post please consider becoming a follower of my blog. See the Followers section down the right side of my blog. You may like to add me to you own blog. If So my link is www.portraitsthatbite.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Blue Heeler Pet Portrait Commission

Here is a photograph of Maddie the blue heeler who I will be doing an oil pet portrait of. I have already prepared the canvas and sketched the out line ready to paint in the background. I will be painting in the points of both ears and a grassy surround for her to sit on. I will post a photo of the sketch once I have better light to photograph it as it is dark and rainy today.If you enjoyed this post please consider becoming a follower of my blog. See the Followers section down the right side of my blog. You may like to add me to you own blog. If So my link is www.portraitsthatbite.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Pet Portrait Commission Progress

Just a quick note to let you know that I am working on my horse and rider pastel pet portrait at the moment and once the recipient has recieved it I will be able to post all of my work in progress stages. This will not be for a while though. I am also just begining an oil pet portrait of a blue heeler but I do not know as yet whether I can post my WIP here. The canvas is all stretched, primed and ready to go. If you enjoyed this post please consider becoming a follower of my blog. See the Followers section down the right side of my blog. You may like to add me to you own blog. If So my link is www.portraitsthatbite.blogspot.com/atom.xml