JC v2 scanned

Here is the finished portrait scanned. The face and whiskers in this version is improved upon vs. version 1. I was relieved to make my deadline!

JC v2 finished

Here's the cat version 2 done and waiting for approval. Two issues dealt with, shortening of face and whiskers.

Final class project

Click to enlarge. I had my last day of "Life Drawing" class today. Here is my final project that I turned in. We had to do a compositional piece based on a theme. I chose "Love" as my theme. My daughter Andrea was my model. I took a series of pictures and I liked the expression in this one. I had her pose as if holding a rose, and I added the rose afterwards. The drawing is done in color pencil on charcoal/pastel paper. The paper has a lot of texture, so I had to layer the color pencil to cover the black paper. You can still see some black come through the texture. I am very happy with how this turned out, and now am looking forward to working more with black paper. The feedback from the teacher and classmates was very positive.

final scanned

Here is the final portrait scanned.

Finished

Here is the finished portrait, unless there are requested changes. This is a photo of the portrait without flash used, so it's kind of dark. I will scan the portrait once it's been approved.

status subject 2

Here's a status with subject 2. I still plan to darken around subject 2 and deepen color of the shirt and perhaps a little more shadow on the face and neck. I also will fine tune the hair on subject 1 a bit. Getting close unless there are requested changes.

status 2

Here is a status with the hair in. I had made minor adjustments to the jawline and width of the face. Also had some small adjustments to the eyes and mouth. Additional layers of shadowing was applied. At this point the face is close to being finished. I will most likely continue to darken shadows and fine tune before starting on the dog.

Status subject 1

Click to enlarge.
Here is a status of subject one. I'm waiting for some further pictures that show the part of the face that is hidden by the dog. Most of the face is done, further shading and tweeking left. The ears still need fine tuning. I will work on the hair and neck after the face is finished.

Composition sketch

Here's the composition sketch of AC and Cosmo. I kept the sketch very light at this point. I will continue to make adjustments throughout the process. I'll wait for feedback from CC before proceeding.

First Art Show

In my continuing journey of developing myself as an artist, I felt that I needed to enter my work in some art shows or competitions. I recently joined our local arts association to meet other artists in my area and perhaps join in on some of the art events.

Currently, the association is holding a members art show in which I entered two of my art pieces. I had entered the cat portrait in which I titled "Younger Years" and "Morning Ritual" which I did last year. The art show was judged by a successful watercolorist with a MFA from Stanford, who has taught many workshops and judged many shows.

I am happy to say that "Younger Years" won an honorable mention and "Morning Ritual" won third place....both entered in the portrait category. This has given me hope that I'm on the right path. You can see both these portraits in my blog. "Morning Ritual" is under June 2007 under the archive.

Since I'm basically a self-taught artist, I've decided to take a life drawing class this fall at the local college. This is a class that I have always wanted to take in the past. I'm excited to have this time devoted to learning and development.

Finished cat portrait

Ok, I'm finally done with this cat. It's been a very time consuming process.
I'm only hoping that it gets better and faster with practice.
It took many layers of pastels to achieve the desired detail and texture.
Overall, I think I'm satisfied with how this turned out.

It's about time! A new post and a new medium

Sorry it's taken me soooo long to post again! I've been a bit sidetracked. I think that I'm back on track now.....

Anyways, this is my second attempt at using oil pastels and it's been a learning experience!
For those not familiar with oil pastels, they are like soft crayons. It was a real challenge creating the details I wanted on this cat portrait. I had to use fine blending tools apply the pastels in order to achieve a detailed look.