Project subject 2

Here is the initial sketch of the second dog Sandy.
Here is work in progress:

Project for a friend

I know it's been way too long! I started this project for a dear friend and I got way behind since I'm back to working again. I'm doing drawings of two dogs. This is a picture of the initial sketch of Shiloh...I know, it's a bit blurry.
Here is the final drawing of Shiloh done in color pencil. This is my first attempt at drawing an animal in color pencil, since I was in high school....so it's been awhile. It's not an easy medium and requires many layers. Since the pencils are wax based, you can't erase them. You can lift up some of the color by using a kneadable eraser and pressing it on the areas.
I like control and detail, so I tend to choose mediums that are a bit time consuming.

Here's the source picture for comparison.

Art Shows

During "Life Drawing" class one day, my instructor informed the class of an art show open to anyone who has not been part of a juried show (art not selected by jury to be a part of an art show).
Since I qualified, I decided to enter my final class project (portrait of my daughter). The show is called Aspiring Artist Debut. I was happy to find that the portrait received an Award of Excellence ribbon.

I also entered the drawing of the cat in a animal themed show. This is a juried show and the drawing was accepted in the show.

As an artist, I find that shows are a great way to gain exposure and experience.

Project enhanced

Click to enlarge. I did some additional work on the skin tone and also adding more detail to what she is sitting on. I also added a bit of a dark brown to the back ground, but I don't think it shows much.

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.