Hillary and Braid Study

I was hoping to have the larger drawing finished for my exhibition, but unfortunately only had enough time to do this study.  Using coloured pencils, I did this study using sepia toned pencils on a textured Canson paper. The technique employed in this study is much different than the traditional coloured pencil pieces done in the past.   I will also be doing a portrait study of Hillary as well as starting the larger version of this drawing next week.  

Everything is now hanging at the Dow Centre and I will be in attendance tomorrow afternoon from 1-4pm.  Hope to see many local people there.

Coloured Pencil on Canson paper

11x15"

framed

For Sale

Ama

  I was attracted to how Ama was looking off towards the light and the strong shadow on her face.  Moreover the contrast between the texture of her smooth skin in relation to her shirt and hair was a great challenge to capture using my pastels and tools.  Ama was a wonderful model and I did a few drawings of her for this exhibition. 

This drawing is sold

Framed size: 21 5/8x19 3/4

Tying Up Loose Ends

Bit by bit things are coming together.  Although I have an extensive "to do" list for my upcoming show, I can see the light at the end of this tunnel.  With my drawings, I am finishing and putting final touches on them which I shall focus on this week.  My frames and mats are ready and will begin assembling everything soon.  I have been getting up quite early here as some days it has been 4:30 am  but generally I have been getting up at 6 am and begin working by 7 am.  I motor it through until 4 or 5 pm and try to do some after supper, however, it has been quite difficult as sometimes I am quite saturated from the days work and can not concentrate as effectively as during my peak performance hours.  Moreover, doing art this time of year has been quite difficult because it was getting dark relatively early.  In the past few weeks, when it wasn't cloudy or snowing outside, a remarkable difference on how long our days have been with the sun setting later.  In time, I will post my finished product soon.

Muskoka

Muskoka was a commissioned piece for a Christmas present that I completed awhile back. I did a few thumbnail sketches, some studies of the features and finally started the real drawing. I can honestly say while I was working on Muskoka's eye, I was holding my breath.  Sometimes I have had to scrap the  drawing in the past because the eyes were not correct. The eyes, in my opinion, are the most important feature on a face.   The rest of Muskoka's features were easier and everything went smoothly.  The framed picture above is hanging in the clients house and now decorates  their bedroom.  I am grateful to the person who commissioned me for this portrait and wishing them many years of happiness with their picture.

I have also been exceptionally busy with preparing for my solo show in March.  I have not posted my art work at this time because I want to keep people in suspense. (for a little while at least) Just to let everyone know, I have been working very hard, getting up early and  working long hours.  I have cut back on some teaching because I am a slow worker and need all the time I can spare on my art.  I have been doing many thumbnail sketches, studies (loads of them) and my pictures are a good size.  I may from time to time post some of my studies up in the near future. Tomorrow I start the whole day over again and hopefully I start working at six like I did this morning.

Muskoka
9x12"
Sold

Simba

I had started this drawing in early September, but let it sit for some time before posting it. Leaving a drawing for awhile allows me to take visual break from a piece when I believe I am finished.  When I go back to the drawing, I am able to look at it with fresh eyes and adjust the values or texture as need be.  Currently, this is drawing is the last one for a while that I will do of a cat (although I still need to post a commissioned feline drawing that I completed in September).  It is not because I am tired drawing cats, rather, I want to explore the challenge of drawing people.  Simba was on display at the group show this past weekend (see previous post), however, all of my felines plus Ama will be for sale at an upcoming solo show in March.




Simba
9x12"
Pastel
Currently Unavailable

Group Show and People's Choice Award

This past weekend, several of my pieces (both pastel drawings and oil paintings) were shown in a group show in St. Albert. On Thursday evening, several artists were busy hanging their artwork  for this show (which ran Friday -Sunday) and a range of beautiful artwork in variety of styles, and mediums were on display for the public to view,  purchase and vote for their favourite art work.   My drawing of Ama, which was completed recently, won first place for people's choice award and I am grateful to the public who voted for my artwork.  Thank you!

Pixie II

Well I did get my vitamin N during the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, however, I did not unload those branches after all.  I was somewhat disappointed when I came home to discover that my parents already completed the strenuous task. However, my father did leave one branch for me to contribute my effort on the farm.  Well on Sunday, my father and myself went for that walk across the field and I did indeed bring that branch and made my contribution to clean up the mess from the windy summer.  Although the weather on that weekend was not particularly good, I did manage to walk everyday and enjoyed the experience tremendously.  With my sister and her family, she brought her friend's dog to the farm and it was quite enjoyable walking with him alone in the morning.

The drawing above, Pixie II, has been completed for sometime now.  With this pose of Pixie, she is  sitting down across the sofa looking out a window and her attentive gaze is what inspired me to draw this portrait.  Although this pose is very similar (but not exact) to the previous drawing I did of her awhile back, I wanted to explore black pastels for this composition. This weekend Pixie will be in group show at City Hall in St. Albert.  I will be exhibiting four pastel drawings and five oil paintings.
Tomorrow, if there is time, I will be posting another drawing of a cat in brown pastels.


Pixe II
Pastel
For Sale