Hello Everyone,
Here's another update on this little guy. I'm fairly pleased with the way he is coming out so far.
This really isn't a good stage to share because the difference in hair color really doesn't make sense. If you refer to the reference photo I posted earlier it will make better sense.
The lighter redish color on his fur is due to the sunlight.
I don't really have much more to say or share with you so if you should have questions let me know.
Keep Scribbling!!!!
Gemma
Hi All,
Here's another update. I finished the little guys face (I still need to add his whiskers) and started to work my way down his front leg and his back. I also got the tree limb he is hanging on done.
The limb was fun to do. I used the same process I have been using. I'm laying down the mid color first and then adding the lights and darks on top of that. I also added some moss green and other greens to represent the moss on the tree limb, it doesn't show up that well in this image but in RIL you can definitely see the moss.
If you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to speak up. Keep Scribbling!!!
Gemma
Hi All,
I almost forgot to share some of my very exciting news with all of you!
There is a brand new magazine out called Colored Pencil Magazine. The very first issue has a feature article about me and my artwork is also on the cover, I was just thrilled to pieces.
If you are interested in buying that edition of the magazine you can go to the following link: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/Issue/147542
If you would like to subscribe to the new Colored Pencil Magazine you can do that at this link: http://coloredpencilmag.com/
I hope to have an update of the Raccoon very soon so keep checking back. Don't forget to keep Scribbling!!
Gemma
Hi All,
Here's another update on the Raccoon. I didn't bother to post the whole artwork because the only change was to the raccoon's face.
I'm am using some pastels in this piece but not much. I used pastel in the blue of the sky (pastel over pencil) and a few pastels under the colored pencil in some of the fur areas. I would guess that this artwork is about 80% colored pencil so far.
One of the things I have found with the pastel is.... if you are using the harder pastels you need to lay those down before the CP. If you use a softer pastel it will cover the CP.
I used pastel pencils in the rusty colored fur. First I did an under-painting with the pastel pencils and then went over that with Colored pencil. Another pencil that does really well on the Suede mat board is General's Carbon Sketch pencil. It will layer over the CP quite nicely. I was able to go in after the fur was almost complete and punch up some of the blacks.
Keep in mind, because of the pastels that I'm using, this piece would not be eligible for the Colored Pencil Society of America's International Exhibition. It would however; be OK for the "Explore This!" exhibition.
So far, I'm really enjoying drawing this cute little fella. If you should have any questions let me know, I'll be happy to help in anyway I can.
Keep Scribbling,
Gemma
Hi All,
Well... As I'm sure you will all understand the holiday season kept me real busy so, therefore, I just didn't get much of a chance to draw at all. Plus I had the commission piece (the Rottweiler called Abby) I had to finish before Christmas.
I finally got a chance to get back to work on the raccoon. I was able to get the sky behind him done and just started his face today. I still have some more work to do on the face but I thought I would go ahead and post my progress so far.
The first image is the total piece, it's 16" x 20" and it's being done on a very light beige suede mat board. If you want to see the reference photo I'm working from it was posted in one of the earlier posts when I first started this guy. You should be able to just scroll down a bit to see it. If it's not on this page just click on raccoon to the right of this page.
I thought I would post a close up of his face too. The process I'm using is to lay down a mid color range colored pencil and then add light CP's and dark CP's on top of that. That is the nice thing about working on suede board, it allows you to put light colors on top of darker colors and they show up quite nicely.
I'm kind of anxious to get this guy done because I already have a few other drawings I want to get started on. I actually have about 5 compositions all ready to go. I guess that's what happens... your always thinking about the next piece you're going to work on.
I plan on working on this guy quite a bit this week so keep checking back I hope to have some progress to share with you soon. If you should have any questions or thoughts don't hesitate to speak up. And.... above all don't forget to keep Scribbling!!
Gemma
Hi All,
Well.... I'm calling this one finished. I'm going to be delivering this to the person who commissioned me to do, tomorrow. I'm excited about the timing of getting this finished. The person I did this for has been at the dog show for the last three days and in just three days she got her Novice Obedience title on her male Rottie. Not only did she get her title in just three days her scores were really high, they were 195.5, 196.5 and 190 out of 200. That was so awesome! She will be at the dog show tomorrow and I think it will be fun to deliver this to her after the last 3 great days she had at the dog show, she's been anxious to have me finish it.
I pretty much used the same pallet throughout the drawing except on the tongue. There I used most of the pinks that Prismacolor has as well as some blue violet, henna, black grape, cool grey 90%, white and clay rose.
Now I'm going to get back to my Raccoon I started, so watch for the updates on that piece.
If you should have any questions or comments please let me know.
Keep Scribbling!
Gemma
Hi All,
Here's another update to the Abby Portrait. I'm continuing to use the same pallet as I did in the last post.
Abby seems to be coming along nicely, I'm going to start working on the mouth next.
As you can see I am continuing to draw in the color on the contour drawing. I like finishing each little square inch as I go because that way I don't loose the contour drawing. I also like working this way to keep me from being bored. Every little square inch that is complete makes feel like I accomplished something even if I only work for a few minutes on the drawing. Colored pencil can take quite some time to complete, some times up to 150 hours for one drawing. If I finish one square inch at a time I have at least completed something, LOL. As far as I'm concerned, there is really no right or wrong way to do it. I know there are purists who think it's better to work on the drawing as a whole but..... I just don't do it that way and that doesn't mean it's the wrong way to do it.
I know I may seem like I am rambling regarding this issue but I have to say I have had more than a few people try to tell me that drawing in the fashion I do isn't the correct way to do it. My answer to that controversy is..... as long as the end result is finished and looks correct who cares what I did to get to that finished product. We all have our own way to "skin the cat" as they say.
If you have any questions by all means speak up...... And most of all Keep Scribbling!!
Gemma
Hi All
As I mentioned in the last post, I had to stop working on the Raccoon to do this commission of this Rottweiler named Abby.
Abby is owned by a friend of mine named Judy. She also owns Dutch, Dutch was bred with my female, Harlow and I kept one of the pups. I also did a commission of Dutch, if you're interested in seeing it you can find the post listed under Rottweiler. The first picture is the reference drawing I'm working from. It was taken by Jack Fields who has given me permission to use his photo.
When creating a piece like this I start by drawing my contour drawing on sketch paper and then transferring it to the mat board. I do not do a detailed drawing, I just simply do a contour drawing. To get the proportion correct I use the grid system to draw the contour drawing. I then use transfer paper to trace the contour drawing onto the mat board. This piece is done with Prismacolor pencils on suede mat board. The nice thing about the mat board is you can leave the mat board as your background. It looks really nice for portraits and also helps speed up the process.
The colored pencils I'm using so far in this piece are 10-90% warm and cool gray, slate grey, deco blue, goldenrod, mineral orange, terra cotta, cloud blue, light peach, sunburst yellow, dark umber, indigo blue, true blue, white, black, chocolate, cream, greyed lavender, pumpkin orange, sky blue light, powder blue, blue violet lake, peach and sienna brown, these are not in any particular order of use. If you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to let me know.
Keep Scribbling!
Gemma
Hello Everyone!
I'm excited to announce that my Mountain Lion artwork titled "Reflections" has been accepted into the Artists for Conservation annual exhibition.
I am honored to have my artwork displayed with some of my favorite wildlife artists such as Robert Bateman, Terry Isaac, Val Warner and many more. If you are interested in seeing the virtual exhibition just click on this link: http://www.artistsforconservation.org/virtual-exhibit
Also... I thought I would let you know that I had to put the Raccoon on hold for now because I have a commission I'm working on. I'll post the progress on the commission soon.
Keep Scribbling,
Gemma
Hi All,
Well, here is a small update. I decided to put the background in first because the raccoon is so furry and the fur has to overlap the background.
The one thing I don't like about doing it this way is I really prefer to work on the animal so doing the background first tends to get boring for me. LOL
So far it is 100% colored pencil. I know I said I was going to use pastels but I don't know if I will. We'll have to wait and see how it goes.
I'm using predominantly Prismacolor colored pencils but have used one or two of the Derwent Colorsoft. When I lay down the layers on Suede board I put down the medium color first and then add the darks and lights on top of that. The size of the piece is 16" x 20 and I haven't come up with a title yet. If any of you have a good idea for a title let me know, I would appreciate the help.
If you should have any questions let me know, otherwise.... keep scribbling!
Gemma
Hello Everyone!
Here is the reference photo of the next "Work in Progress" I'll be posting here on my blog.
This photo was taken by Barbara Krans Jenkins who gave me the photo for my birthday. Thanks Barb!!! She took the picture of this guy in the tree in her backyard.
I couldn't believe how he was hanging in the tree as if he were a leopard or something, LOL. I already started the piece and should be posting the progress in the next day to two. I'm doing this piece on the Suede Mat board, the color of the mat board is an off white color called whisper. I'm using colored pencils and a little bit of pastel here and there.
Keep checking back to see the progress and don't forget..... Keep Scribbling!!
Gemma
Hello All,
Well.... I finally finished this piece. I'm going to title it "Wild Reflections".
I continued to use the same technique and color pallet as mentioned before. 80% of this piece is done in colored pencil and the rest of it is done with pastel. I don't normally use pastel but thought it would be fun to give it try. Most of the pastel is used in the water area. The mountain lion is 100% colored pencil. After I sprayed it with workable fixative I went back with colored pencil and redefined some of the reflections in the water. I really enjoyed working on this piece. I plan on entering it in the CPSA "Explore This!" Exhibition, lets hope it gets accepted.
I am now working on another piece of an adorable Raccoon. Keep checking back, I should be posting the work in progress on the raccoon soon.
If you have any questions or comments let me know. Don't forget to keep scribbling!
Gemma
