Quiet Week and Two New Pieces

I have had a very quiet week, this week, mainly due to mum and dad being away. Haven't really been doing all that much other than relaxing as i am on my semester break from college. Work has also been quiet so it feels like the week has dragged on a bit during the day. The evenings have been going by so quickly though, as i have managed to start two new pieces this week since finishing the Golden Retriever drawing.

I am attempting my first ever oil painting and so have started that now, got the basic picture in and have put a background on. Very rough at this stage but mostly it's an experiment so i'm not expecting miracles. But i am pleased with the background so far, although i think i may have to change the colour slightly as it's quite bright, but then it may look different once the horse is painted in more. I have posted a first stage picture so far and i'm currently waiting for the first layer to dry. Checked it this morning and the outline of the horse is dry so i can probably get a first layer of undertone on there tonight for the horse's head.

Work in Progress

10 x 8 Oil on Canvas Board

This time i did manage to take the picture with a camera, mainly because of the fact that my phone seems to have developed a pink hue to it since doing an update on it last week, very annoying! Though, to be honest, the camera picture isn't that great either as it's too sensitive to the light and always needs a flash, and if i don't use the flash, it's blurry! Can't win really.

So whilst this is drying, i decided to get going on another drawing. This one is of my dog Womble, a very cute picture which i have been dying to draw since it was taken as it captures him perfectly. I decided to do another drawing on pastel paper with coloursoft pencils and some faber castell pencils also. So far i am pleased with it, it is slightly different to how i would normally do a drawing, mainly because the pencils are so soft and the paper has quite a lot of texture, but for his type of coat, i think the style should work quite well, so finger crossed it turns out. Here is a first stage scan of where i have got to so far. This is as true to real as i can get at this stage.

Work in Progress

Coloured Pencil on Pastel Paper

I will be working on these more over the week and hopefully will be able to add more stage photos on as they progress. It's meant to rain all weekend, so i am sure that will allow me many drawing hours to work on them!

Golden Retriever Pup Finished

So after quite a bit of time off from this drawing to do college and various things, i have finally managed to finish it and i am very happy with how it turned out. I am fairly sure i want to frame this one, as i think that will make it more of a feature. I haven't decided on a name for it yet, but i am glad to have it done so i can display the finished image.

Golden Retriever

Graphite on Fabriano

Watercolour Paper

Unfortunately i have been unable to get a good scan of this picture and so i have had to upload a picture from my phone so the original is slightly brighter, but for now it's as close as i can get. I am hopefully going to get all my pieces scanned properly which will help them look more true to life. Our scanner at work is a bit tricky to use and i'm never sure if i'm using it correctly.

Now with this one done, my next aim is to move onto a bit of dabbling with my oil paints which i am desperate to try. Having never used them before it should pose quite a challenge and i am currently working on trying to find the right reference photo to use, about which i am very picky! I am hoping that with a bit of time before i start back at college i can have a proper go and get something going and possibly even finished! Very exciting stuff. I am hoping to find my picture and get started tonight, but i am not sure if i will have anything to post just yet. Will hopefully be able to update later this week.

Update on the Golden Retriever

I have been so busy lately with college work and assignment deadlines etc that i haven't really had much time to draw so this piece has been taking a bit longer than normal. It's getting there though and i think there is probably another few hours work to go before it's finished.

Have put a couple of updates on here of the progress and now i am on my semester break from college, i should have more time to finish it. Final photo hopefully to come very soon!

Work in Progress

Golden Retriever Update

Managed to get quite a bit more done yesterday afternoon and have now got all the tones in for the face and nose/muzzle. It is starting to come together better now and looks more like it should do! Not sure how many hours more this one will need, but probably not so many as most of the really fiddly stuff done now. Once i have all the tones in on the whole piece, i will no doubt go over the whole drawing again to add in anything that i feel i've missed and darken any areas that need a fresh look. So here is the latest update and hopefully i will get to do some more tonight and have another update for tomorrow.

Work in Progress

Quiet Sunday Drawing

Have had a fairly quiet weekend so far and have managed to get some more drawing done. About 12 hours on this drawing so far and it's still no where near completed, but i think it's going quite well. With all the tones i think it's just a slower going drawing, but i am still enjoying it, so just taking my time over it to make sure it comes out really well.

Work in Progress

Not sure what the plan is for the rest of the day as Glider is having a weekend off, so no riding until tomorrow again. Unless we decide to do something, i will no doubt carry on with the drawing. I am getting very inspired with my drawing recently and have also been getting more excited about learning more about photography to get some better pictures. Also plan to get involved with starting work with oils also, which i will probably try and move on to a bit when i complete this drawing. Would really like to try and create some larger paintings which i think would be quite fun. Hopefully not too difficult either!

Update on the Golden Retriever

Though i have had some time off work recently with the long bank holiday weekend, unfortunately i didn't get too much chance to do a lot of drawing which i would have like to do. I was studying all of Friday and Saturday for my practical exam on Saturday afternoon, which i was dreading. I am happy to say i've had confirmation today that i have passed but will not know my mark for a while yet. I am thrilled i passed though, as it was a slightly hairy situation for me to say the least! So with that over, i did the scoring with mum at the Hunter Trial at our yard on Sunday which was fun and also took Glider round the intermediate which he went round nicely but very spookily and they gave me a stop at the water as he was extremely hesitant and only clambered in over the log after many second of stepping from side to side. I was pleased he didn't turn away and went in, but i am now on a new mission to improve his confidence and get myself riding him a little more proactively. With another event on Friday, i don't have much time, but a friend is going to help me tomorrow evening and hopefully we can make a bit of progress before our event.

So with all that going on this weekend, i finally managed to settle down to some drawing yesterday. I am really enjoying doing this piece though it is somewhat slow going, i think mainly because i want to it be so perfect, so i am spending a lot of time on the shading and hair. Unfortunately the pictures never really show off the full detail as they are taken on my phone but i intend to try and get myself sorted out with a semi decent camera or scanner at some point.

Work in Progress

Golden Retriever in Graphite

I have also been experimenting a little bit recently with my dad's camera and he is giving me a bit of help to start with some photography to help me get my own reference material for more drawings. I think it will be a long process of experimenting, but i am quite willing to try and learn so that i can get some decent material.

I am planning to do more drawing this week when i can around preparing for Friday, then have a whole weekend off again so i'm sure i will be able to get lots more done then and hopefully get this piece finished.

Finally Another Update

I haven't managed to update on here for a little while as i was working on a commission that was a surprise and i am therefore unable to unveil that one. However, i have recently started another drawing which is another for my portfolio which i am quite excited about seeing finished. This is a graphite drawing of a Golden Retriever. I only just managed to start this one yesterday so am only a little way into it, about 5 hours work so far. The composition of the piece should be quite nice as i was to be able to capture the detail in his coat etc, a little more work will emphasise that more as at the moment, there isn't much coat covered with the pencil. Anyway here is the first stage picture drawn in so far.

Work in Progress

Graphite on Fabriano Artistico

Watercolour Paper

I am currently trying to revise for an exam that i have on Saturday and i am guessing that a lot of my spare time this week will be taken up with that, so i can't see too much drawing happening before Sunday this weekend. However, luckily for me, it's a bank holiday Monday next week so i will no doubt be drawing all day then to try and get some more done on this piece.

I am off to Milton Keynes tomorrow with the horse for another competition. I am hoping the ground wont be too hard as they have been watering the course, it would be great to be able to run as normal. My main aim for tomorrow will be to try and have a clear XC round and come home slightly happier that my last event which turned out to be a mini disaster, resulting with me not riding my best and having a couple of unfortunate stops. But, it was a big track and quite technical and when i finally did get my brain focussed on the job, Glider jumped brilliantly and flew over all of the bigger fences which i was very pleased with. So we have learnt from it, done a bit more schooling and jumping over the easter weekend and hopefully will be more prepared and in a better mind set tomorrow. I guess everyone has good and bad days and i am writing that weekend off as a bad one! Going to walk the course tonight so fingers crossed they have done a good job with the ground and we can run tomorrow.