http://michellewrighton.com Art Gallery, Photo Gallery, Blog and Information, For sale and Contact Michelle Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:46:55 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It was definitely time for a facelift for the old blog so the new design is finally online, just in time to celebrate the arrival of my new gift shop at Zazzle.  We have selected Zazzle for printing products, prints and giftware  for a number of reasons, primarily the high ... http://michellewrighton.com/2010/03/new-look-new-gift-shop/ Willy Wagtails (Rhipidura leucophry) are the largest and most well known of Australia's fantails. Found throughout mainland Australia, the wagtail name for these striking black and white birds stems from the constant sideways 'wagging' of their tails. I found this little Willy on the banks of the Blackwood ... http://michellewrighton.com/2010/03/willy-wagtail-bird-painting/ Bright, bold and colourful, this impressionist digital oil painting is based on a photograph I took of Canola fields in full bloom north of Kojonup. [caption id="attachment_1381" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Canola out of Kojonup"][/caption] Greeting cards, laminated, matted, canvas and framed prints of "Canola out of Kojonup" can be purchased from my Redbubble ... http://michellewrighton.com/2010/03/canola-fields-impressionist-landscape-painting/ Impressionist digital oil painting created from my original photograph. [caption id="attachment_1374" align="aligncenter" width="630" caption=""Stars and Stripes" original painting by Michelle Wrighton"][/caption] Greeting cards, laminated, matted, canvas and framed prints of "Stars and Stripes" can be purchased from my Redbubble shop: http://michellewrighton.com/2010/03/stars-and-stripes-cowboy-art/ Impressionist style original oil painting created with wacom tablet and stylus. [caption id="attachment_1378" align="aligncenter" width="630" caption="These Boots were made for Workin' - Cowboy Art"][/caption] Greeting cards, laminated, matted, canvas and framed prints of "Skipping Stones" can be purchased from my Redbubble shop: http://michellewrighton.com/2010/02/these-boots-cowboy-art/ [caption id="attachment_1352" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Skipping Stones - Having Fun on the Blackwood"][/caption] Greeting cards, laminated, matted, canvas and framed prints of "Skipping Stones" can be purchased from my Redbubble shop: http://michellewrighton.com/2009/11/skipping-stones-impressionist-oil-painting/ [caption id="attachment_1348" align="aligncenter" width="416" caption="Fire and Ice - Siamese Cat painting"][/caption] Cards, laminated, matted and framed prints of "Fire and Ice" can be purchased from my Redbubble shop: http://michellewrighton.com/2009/11/fire-and-ice-siamese-cat-oil-painting/ [caption id="attachment_1356" align="aligncenter" width="542" caption="Tommy - Standardbred Horse Oil Painting"][/caption] http://michellewrighton.com/2009/10/tommy-standardbred-horse-portrait/ [caption id="attachment_1359" align="aligncenter" width="650" caption="Bosco at the Beach - Labrador Painting"][/caption] Cards, laminated, matted and framed prints of "Bosco at the Beach" can be purchased from my Redbubble shop: http://michellewrighton.com/2009/10/bosco-at-the-beach-labrador-painting/ [caption id="attachment_1345" align="aligncenter" width="333" caption="William - Pet Cat Portrait painting"][/caption] Cards, laminated, matted and framed prints of "William" can be purchased from my Redbubble shop: http://michellewrighton.com/2009/09/williams-portrait-cat-painting/ There is nothing quite like the power and majesty of a Thoroughbred Race Horse, and this digital painting is the first in a series of Racing Paintings that I have planned (for both Standardbreds and Thoroughbred race horses).  Thanks to photographer Cathy Sheeter for the wonderful reference photo. [caption id="attachment_1329" align="aligncenter" ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/09/ready-to-run-horse-racing-art/ [caption id="attachment_1282" align="aligncenter" width="461" caption=""The Sentry" Meerkat Portrait painting by Michelle Wrighton "][/caption] I created this digital painting fom a photograph that I took of one of the Meerkats at the zoo, but I thought he needed to be put back into the wild, so painted a more natural background environment ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/09/meerkat-wildlife-painting/ Digital painting of a Quarterhorse after working cows. [caption id="attachment_1336" align="aligncenter" width="706" caption="Cutting Cows Quarterhorse painting ©2009 Michelle Wrighton"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1339" align="aligncenter" width="659" caption="100% crop to show detail of Quarterhorse painting"][/caption] Greeting cards, laminated, matted, canvas and framed prints of "Kookaburra" can be purchased from my Redbubble shop: http://michellewrighton.com/2009/09/cutting-horse-portrait-equine-art/ I have always loved Highland Cattle and finally have had a chance to paint one.  This was the first painting that I completed in Corel Painter using my wacom graphics tablet and digital pen.  I am amazed at how similar to real painting it is in regards to how the ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/09/highland-cow-farm-animal-art/ [caption id="attachment_1279" align="aligncenter" width="720" caption="Show Horse Pet Portrait Painting by Michelle Wrighton"][/caption] http://michellewrighton.com/2009/09/show-horse-painting-pet-portrait-equine-art/ [caption id="attachment_1276" align="aligncenter" width="483" caption="Kookaburra Australian native Bird painting"][/caption] Greeting cards, laminated, matted, canvas and framed prints of "Kookaburra" can be purchased from my Redbubble shop: http://michellewrighton.com/2009/09/kookaburra-painting-wildlife-art/ [caption id="attachment_1273" align="aligncenter" width="675" caption="Jack at the Beach"][/caption] Owners of water loving, tennis ball obsessed Jack Russell Terriers will appreciate the familiarity this scene! Digitally hand painted using pressure sensitive tablet and stylus in Corel Painter. Greeting cards, laminated, matted, canvas and framed prints of "Jack at the Beach" can be purchased ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/09/jack-russell-terrier-pet-portrait-painting/ This is one of the first digital oil paintings that I did, sketching and painting the dog using using Photoshop CS4 oil brushes and blending with the smudge tool.  Initially I was happy with it, then after I did a few more digital paintings I relegated this one to the ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/09/cavalier-kingcharles-spaniel-pet-portrait-painting/ [caption id="attachment_1286" align="aligncenter" width="716" caption="'Zippo' Pet Portrait Painting of a Betta (Siamese Fighter)"][/caption] Zippo was my daughter's much loved first Betta fish...who is sadly no longer with us, so this is a memorial pet portrait for my daughter. And below is very poor reference photo that I used to paint ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/09/siamese-fighter-betta-pet-portrait-painting/ [caption id="attachment_1296" align="aligncenter" width="702" caption="Dachshund - Digital Smudge Painting"][/caption] This is one of my first digital painting attempts, using oils in photoshop to add colour and the smudge tool to blend. http://michellewrighton.com/2009/09/dachshund-pet-portrait-painting/ Digital Painting of an Eventer. [caption id="attachment_1267" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Eventer - Horse sport painting"][/caption] Greeting cards, laminated, matted, canvas and framed prints of "Eventer" can be purchased from my Redbubble shop: http://michellewrighton.com/2009/09/eventer-horse-portrait-painting/ Digital Painting of a gorgeous chocolate Labrador at the beach. [caption id="attachment_1260" align="aligncenter" width="691" caption="Chocolate Labrador Beach Painting Pet Portrait"][/caption] http://michellewrighton.com/2009/09/bosco-at-the-beach-labrador-pet-portrait/ German Wire Haired Pointer Digital Painting [caption id="attachment_1249" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="German Wire Haired Pointer"][/caption] http://michellewrighton.com/2009/09/german-wire-haired-pointer-pet-portrait-dog-art/ I know it only takes a couple of minutes to add a blog post, but my life has been such a rollercoaster of one crisis after another this years and the last few months have just been torturous, I havn't even had the chance to post the blog posts that ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/09/finally-a-moment-to-update/ I have just changed over from using Photoshop CS4 to Lightroom 2.4 for processing my photographs - all I can say is I wish I had done this sooner!  As much as I resist learning new computer programs (fuzzy mummy brain I think), Lightroom is so quick to use compared ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/08/boyup-brook-images-landscape-photography/ Sometimes life just gets a little bit too stressful, and the best way to deal with it is a few hours in the country re-connecting with nature and the beautiful land that we live in.  Yesterday was one of those days, and what a joy to just take a few ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/07/south-west-images-animal-and-landscape-photography/ Yesterday I had a session with very cute 71/2 month old Jack.  What a cutie-pie, but oh-so serious when it came time to take his photos:)  Thanks to his very sweet mum, K for letting me come to your home and photograph your gorgeous boy!  I hope you enjoy this ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/07/jacks-sneak-peak-perth-baby-photographer/ Yesterday was such a beautiful day, so we took the kids down to Fremantle for a few hours (of course so did half of the metropolitan area;).  Normally if I take my camera when we go out, I lug the heavy 70-200mm 2.8L around with me (gotta love L zoom:) ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/07/fremantle-architechture-photography/ The highlight of last week for me was a wonderful session that I had on Saturday with Mitchell and Kaden, two gorgeous little boys who were loads of fun and had me cracking up all over the place with their antics! I know their lovely mum is anxious to see their ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/07/mitchell-and-kadens-sneak-peak-perth-childrens-photography/ Are you interested in a Free photo session for your child, aged from newborn to teens?  I am currently building my portrait portfolio and I'm looking for enthusiastic Perth parents who would like a Free Portrait Photography Session of their child. In exchange for use of photographs from your child's session ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/06/models-wanted-free-childrens-photo-sessions/ Gorgeous three year old Tatum was a joy to photograph, and was particularly helpful when Dora and Boots were hiding inside my camera lens;) I will have to work on reducing the number of final photos to somewhere between 20 and 30ish, but as a mum myself, I found it ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/06/child-photo-session-perth-childrens-photography/ Or should that be "I am Facebook Clallenged"? I've finally decided that I need to give these social networking groups a go, so I have joined Facebook and Twitter.  I guess it would be showing my age and number of years online if I said that I really prefer the old ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/06/the-twitter-facebook-challenge/ Bailey was my first session with a child that I have never met before. He is only two years old, very well behaved and was an absolute delight to photograph. These are a few of my favourites from the session. [caption id="attachment_737" align="aligncenter" width="627" caption="Children's portrait photographer perth, country WA"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_831" ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/06/baileys-portrait-childrens-photography-perth/ Its hard to believe its nearly the middle of the year already, where does the time go? I have recently decided to expand my photography business to include people portraits - and in particular children's portraiture. Of course, as with any new endeavour, its a huge learning curve! I am really ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/06/child-portrait-photography/ The Standardbred Pleasure and Performance Horse Association of WA held the annual Winter Gala at the Perth Horse and Pony Club grounds in Herdsman.  I am totally biased towards the breed (having two of my own) and I strongly believe that they are *the* most under-rated breed in the horse ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/05/standardbred-winter-gala-show-horse-photographer/ Well after getting a taste of Cutting action at the last bit of the Ian Francis Cutting Clinic that I saw after the Paint Horse Champs back in February, I couldn't miss the opportunity to watch two days of cutting on the 16th and 17th May. [caption id="attachment_924" align="aligncenter" width="627" caption="Cutting ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/05/coolup-cutting-show/ I received a very distressed phone call today from a client, her daughters much loved elderly Rhodesian Ridgeback had been diagnosed with an inoperable tumour, and unfortunately the only thing that could be done was to humanely put her to sleep.  Like so many people, Lady's owner didn't have many ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/05/in-memory-of-lady-dog-photography/ I wonder if any other photographer else has an unusual subject that they photograph for no good reason whatsoever, with no care for composition or technique, just grab shots for the sake of...well I dunno, collecting maybe? I collect country road signs.  Well, no I don't collect road signs, but I ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/04/country-street-signs-side-of-the-road-photography/ A small selection of photos from Fridays ridden events, dressage, English ridden and Hunter trial. [caption id="attachment_912" align="aligncenter" width="627" caption="Quarterhorse Championship Show © South West Photography"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_913" align="aligncenter" width="627" caption="Quarterhorse Championship Show © South West Photography"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_914" align="aligncenter" width="627" caption="Quarterhorse Championship Show © South West Photography"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_915" align="aligncenter" width="627" caption="Quarterhorse Championship ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/03/waqha-championships-show/ Wow what a long day!  Even with back up batteries and 6 x 4GB cards I ran out of memory beofre the end of the day...and I don't know about the competitors who finished afer 7pm, but I certainly was exhausted by the time I left (lets just blame the ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/03/wallangarra-ode-photography-and-video/ Today was a blast from the past, my first time at Orange Grove for many many years!  Only got time to share a few images from today:) [caption id="attachment_888" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Orange Grove Official Gymkhana © South West Photography"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_889" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Orange Grove Official Gymkhana © South West Photography"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_890" ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/02/orange-grove-official-gymkhana/ After the Paint Horse Championship Show I popped over to have a looksie at the Cutting Clinic being held by Ian Francis.  I've never seen Cutting Horses in action before, but it certainly looks like fun as well as a whole lot of skill is involved in selecting the right ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/02/ian-francis-cutting-clinic/ It was an honour to the be Official Photographer for the 2009 WA Paint Horse Championship Show held at the Murray Horse and Pony Club grounds in Coolup.  I must admit to feeling a bit sorry for the riders that compete in both the English and Western classes - the ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/02/wa-paint-horse-championship-show-2009/ The bright arena covering at the Peel Horse and Pony Club grounds and the dust that it created under the horses hooves was initially a bit of a challenge, but a little post processing cleared the dust away and I ended up with some shots that I am very pleased ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/02/peel-hp-club-show-jumping-day/ What a fantastic turn-out there was the the Summer Show Offs Horse Breed Show at Gosnells!  So many beautiful horses it was hard to know where to point my camera! The full set of proofs can be viewed at South West Photography but here are a few of my favourites from ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/02/gosnells-summer-show-offs-2009-horse-breed-show/ A fleeting day trip through the south west. [caption id="attachment_788" align="aligncenter" width="627" caption="Boyup Brook Farmland"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_789" align="aligncenter" width="627" caption="Children's Playground - Donnybrook"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_790" align="aligncenter" width="627" caption="Running from the mob"][/caption] These images below show a tiny part of the devastation caused by the deliberatly lit bushfire that raged in the Bridgetown area in ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/02/south-west-images-bridgetown-bushfire/ Well I had a huge shopping spree yesterday, after much research I have officially jumped ship and switched from Nikon to Canon equipment, with a budget blowing purchase of an EOS 50D, 50mm 'nifty' and the 'beast', a Canon  70-200mm F2.8L USM lens:)  And after vowing not to step into ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/01/jumped-shipnikon-to-canon/ It was a wonderful honour to be appointed as the official photographer for this years WA Palamino Associations Championship Show, and what a thrill to be able to photograph some very beautiful horse and ponies! [caption id="attachment_776" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Palamino Stallion"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_777" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Palamino Champion"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_778" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Show Pony ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/01/wa-palamino-association-championship-show/ A selection of images from the Canine Association of WA's Championship Dog Show [caption id="attachment_758" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Rhodesian Ridgeback dog show photography Perth"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_759" align="aligncenter" width="540" caption="Bearded Collie"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_760" align="aligncenter" width="525" caption="Border Collie Show Dog "][/caption] [caption id="attachment_761" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="Boxer Dog"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_762" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="Boxer in the Show Ring"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_763" align="aligncenter" ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/01/cawa-championship-fundraisers-dog-show/ I have finished a new artwork today, this is my first piece of digital art, created from one of my origial photographs, and altered using filters and my wacom tablet.  I'm very pleased with the results of this, LOL I only wish I could remember all the steps that I took ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/01/equus-dreaming/ I know I was supposed to make this post way back in November, but things have been so hectic with the house and christmas, so I am still playing catch-up. The awesome news is that I was awarded a lovely blue and gold sash and certificate for receiving the most points ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/01/2008-canning-show-awards/ There is nothing better on a hot summer's day than taking the ponies for a swim down the beach!  Ok, well I didn't take my horse, but I did take my camera and got some very lovely shots! [caption id="attachment_766" align="aligncenter" width="520" caption="The Black Stallion - in miniature"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_768" align="aligncenter" width="511" ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/01/naval-base-horse-beach-photos/ The new photograph gallery is now available for viewing all proofs and online ordering of prints, including from selected canine events in 2008. In order to maximize speed of viewing of proofs, the proofs galleries are hosted on a new website SouthWestPhotography.com.au This website will also list selected canine and equine ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/01/photograph-proofs/ There are so many different effects and manipulations that can be achieved using photoshop, from simple black and white/sepia tones, cropping and editing out unwanted items like leads or signs to significant special effects that dramatically alter the original image. The following are just some examples of some of the photoshop ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/01/photoshop-editing-examples/ If you've popped in to visit over the last few days, you may have noticed that I've been busy changing and adding things to the website, including new art in the Fine Art Gallery, additional photos in the Photography gallery as well as information and pricing for photography shoots and ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/01/price-guide-photo-sessions-proofs-gallery/ I hope everyone has had a safe holiday period, and wish you all the very best for 2009! We are in the process of making some changes to the blog and website, and a few things are not working quite as they should, but hopefully everything will be sorted out in ... http://michellewrighton.com/2009/01/happy-new-year/ After many, many years without a horse in sight, I have finally ventured back into the saddle after a lovely bay mare unexpectedly came into my life:)  Her name is Flicka, and she is an 18yo Standardbred...I know I couldn't help myself, but she is fit, sound and you know ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/12/my-friend-flicka/ I was down at Foxwood Farm and caught a bit of Lopin' Along's Western Clinic - couldn't resist this shot of a gorgeous Leopard appy! [caption id="attachment_852" align="aligncenter" width="348" caption="Leopard Appaloosa © Michelle Wrighton, South West Photography"][/caption] http://michellewrighton.com/2008/12/lopin-along-western-clinic/ “Black Footed Rock Wallaby” 8″x10″ oil on prepared mdf board [caption id="attachment_532" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption=""Black-footed Rock Wallaby" oil painting by Michelle Wrighton"][/caption] $150.00AU unframed http://michellewrighton.com/2008/11/wildlife-art-black-footed-rock-wallaby/ I've always loved the South West, the country life and small friendly towns.  We have made the decision to leave Perth and move to the country, to give our family a better environment to live in.  These things take time of course, so in the meantime I will have to ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/11/our-south-west/ "Rainbows and Sunshine", what else could I call this fun filled colourful pastel painting of a black Newfoundland puppy? I really enjoyed painting this one, I really wanted to loosen up, and convey the personality without much detail, so I actually used a very bad reference photo that I ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/11/newfoundland-pup-in-pastels/ Wow the weeks are whizzing by, we are definitely in the 'business end' of the year! I did actually manage to get my things together and enter some of my work in a show last weekend. This was only the fourth show I have entered and clearly I ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/10/kelmscott-show-results/ "Midnight in Madagascar" Ring Tailed Lemur Portrait in Oils Awarded first place in the ‘Animals and Birds - any medium' category at the 2008 Kelmscott Show $300.00AU [caption id="attachment_548" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption=""Midnight in Madagascar" Ringtailed lemur painting in oils by Michelle Wrighton"][/caption] http://michellewrighton.com/2008/10/wildlife-art-ring-tailed-lemur/ "Otis" Tan & White smooth coat Jack Russell Terrier Original acrylic painting 8″x10″ on 1.8cm deep gallery wrapped canvas $135.00 (includes shipping) 10% of your investment in this artwork will be donated to Russell Rescue [caption id="attachment_176" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption=""Otis" original acrylic painting by Michelle Wrighton"][/caption] ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/10/otis-jack-russell-terrier/ "Flame of The Forest" Golden Lion Tamarin 8"x10" Oil Painting on mdf $180.00AU [caption id="attachment_535" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption=""Flame of the Forest" Golden Lion Tamarin painting in oils by Michelle Wrighton"][/caption] http://michellewrighton.com/2008/10/wildlife-art-golden-lion-tamarin/ There is nothing quite like the unmistakable face of a British Bulldog! Bulldogs are a dog breed developed originally from Mastiffs that were also used in the cruel sports of bull and badger "baiting" which were popular in England for hundreds of years until they were finally made illegal in 1850. ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/10/cromwell-british-bulldog-painting/ Well my dear hubby has been busy while I have been under the weather and the project that I mentioned in my last post is now up and running, and I am looking for new dog rescue groups to partner with in the near future (never enough hours in the ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/10/dog-paintings-and-art-exhibition/ Border Collies are my favorite breed of dog - we have two and would have a lot more if we could! I know this little painting of a working bred Border Collie would make an excellent Christmas present for any BC lover:) "Blue" Border Collie oil painting 5"x7" on canvas board $150.00AU inc shipping 10% ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/10/blue-border-collie-painting/ According to Wikepedia The History of the Papillon is actually traced through works of art! The earliest toy spaniels resembling the Papillon are found in Italy. Tiziano Vicelli (Titian) painted these small dogs in many famous paintings including the Venus of Urbino (1542). Other well known artists who included them ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/10/papillon-dog-painting/ My second entry for the Canine Art Guild's 'Helping Paws' online Exhibition is my charcoal painting of "Noble" the German Shepherd Dog. "Noble" seemed like a very appropriate choice to exhibit in an exhibition titled "Helping Paws" considering the number of GSD's around the world that lend their paws ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/10/helping-paws-2-german-shepherd/ Well its the first of October so I had better post this one:) This is the first small format painting I have done in the dog painting series (so far all the art I have posted has been portfolio work in my personal collection). This is "Hallie" a most ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/10/hallie-dachshund-painting/ "Royalty" Greyhound Original acrylic painting by Michelle Wrighton 8"x10" on 1.8cm deep gallery wrapped canvas $135.00 (includes shipping) 10% of your investment in this artwork will be donated to K9 Rescue [caption id="attachment_168" align="aligncenter" width="240" caption=""Royalty" original Greyhound dog painting by Michelle Wrighton"][/caption] ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/09/royalty-greyhound-art/ This is the final update for the Weimaraner portait. [caption id="attachment_1234" align="aligncenter" width="417" caption="Weimaraner - The grey Ghost"][/caption] To purchase a variety of wall art, greeting cards and t-shirts featuring my art and photography, Please visit my RedBubble Gallery. Purchases can be made in different currencies (USD, Euro, GBP, AUD) and ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/09/weimaraner-grey-ghost-cp-painting-final/ I am a member of the Canine Art Guild, and will be exhibiting three of my dog paintings in the upcoming CAG 'Helping Paws' International online Exhibition for canine artists. The exhibition will be held from October 1, 2008 until the end of January 2009. All of the artwork in the ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/09/helping-paws-art-exhibition/ This is the first time this original acrylic painting of a fawn Shar-Pei from my personal collection has been offered for sale. The copyright watermark is a digital addition to the image below and is not on the original painting. "Kruger" Original acrylic Shar-Pei painting 9"x12" acrylics on Art Spectrum Colourfix art paper $200.00AU (includes shipping) 10% ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/09/kruger-shar-pei-painting/ Well they say good things come to those who wait, and every cloud has a silver lining and both of these are probably true at the moment. LOL I seem to have trying to find time to get my studio re-arranged and organized for a couple of years and ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/09/basset-hound-on-black/ It's interesting how we sometimes second guess our motives and reasons behind the decisions we make. I don't think I am unique, and I guess most people know what its like when work, family commitments, ongoing illness/health issues and life in general take over and seem to rule your ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/09/work-that-muse/ "Grey Ghost" 11" x 14" Artists Colour Pencil on Drafting film by Michelle Wrighton [caption id="attachment_319" align="aligncenter" width="250" caption=""Grey Ghost" Weimaraner portrait by Michelle Wrighton"][/caption] This colour pencil painting received an Honourable Mention at the 2007 Kelmscott Show, which was quite an honour considering that it was the only non-human artwork in its category! LOL, I tend ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/09/grey-ghost-weimaraner-art/ Where has August gone?  We have all been ill with quite a nasty flu virus for the last three weeks, and I was truly shocked yesterday to find its the last week of August already!  After just getting over the complications with my dogs surgery, then the upheaval of the ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/08/paws-in-the-paint-win-a-print-update/ Although I have a number of pieces on the go at the moment, as an artist I am always looking for ideas and inspiration and take a lot of photos for future reference. I have some wonderful reference photos to choose from the following breeds, so I have decided ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/07/poll-which-dog-breed-would-you-like-to-see-me-paint-next/ Ihasahotdog.com is always good for a laugh!  Kitty lovers have a look at http://icanhascheezburger.com/ [caption id="attachment_237" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Funny Dog photo"][/caption] http://michellewrighton.com/2008/07/and-on-the-subject-of-pugs/ This is the first artwork that I have ever wanted to do more than once - the first one that I did was back in 2006 and it was a tiny ACEO (2.5" x3.5" Art Card).  At the time I did think that a larger painting would be worth pursuing, ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/07/gibbon-wildlife-painting/ I forgot that I had a progress photo of Precious on my computer.  Precious’s portrait is being created with a strong contemporary feel to go with her funky and fashionable patent pink colour:)  I have to admit the shine of the patent pink collar is the hardest part to get ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/07/wip-precious-in-pink-pug-in-oils/ I have a number of pieces on the go at the moments, this pet portrait of a beautiful German Shepherd dog isn't finished yet, but I thought I would share the progress photos to give an idea of how this portrait has developed so far. I am working to avoid ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/07/wip-german-shepherd-dog-in-charcoal/ I'm glad to report that the new carpet has been laid and our house is slowly returning to normal - I today I can finally step back inside my studio! After painting for the last few pieces, I wanted to get my hand back into drawing mode so I started this ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/07/wip-rhodesian-ridgeback-in-charcoal/ The website is slowly coming together, and I am very pleased with how the site is looking so far (plus its very easy to use and maintain, which is always a bonus!)  Better quality images of some of my older artwork, including some of my wearable art (handcrafted sterling silver ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/07/more-site-updates/ Things are progressing along, the Fine Art and Photography gallery have now been added, (but they arn't linked from the front page yet, and the slideshow isn't working at this stage). The links page has been set up and split into different categories so that there are not too many links ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/07/galleries-online/ Welcome to my new site, please bear with us while my web developer (hubby) gets things organized:) If you have stumbled across my website during this transition stage, the Art and Photography Galleries will be online in the next few days.  In the meantime, some of my older artwork can be ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/07/hello-world/ I guess some things are just meant to be. We were not looking for another dog.  At all.  We already have two.  But as we are all besotted with Taj, hubby and I had joked that if a little white faced girl border collie needed a good home, that would ... http://michellewrighton.com/2008/02/uh-oh-border-collies-are-addictive/ I would like to introduce the newest member of our family, a darling little Border Collie puppy that I fell in love with when he was only 4.5 weeks old. You might remember from an earlier post that I was considering an older rescue dog but one that was right ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/09/our-new-family-member/ Responsible dog ownership starts BEFORE you purchase or adopt your new dog. You should spend as much time as possible researching the different breeds to find which is most suitable to you and your lifestyle, as well as individual breeders before deciding on one that will provide you with ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/08/article-responsible-dog-ownership/ Picking a Puppy - Things to Think About Before Purchasing a Dog Well dear readers, as you know from reading my previous post Adopting a Rescue Dog we will be adding a new dog to our family sometime in the hopefully not to distant future. Although the time is not ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/08/article-how-to-pick-a-puppy/ I finally have had time to post an update of Tara's pet portrait painting. The first two photos are close-up views of the eyes and fur base colours. Left eye: Right eye: This shot also shows some of the brown tones that have been used in the base of the tabby fur. In ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/08/tara-cat-pet-portrait-demo-part-2/ This pet portrait is an acrylic painting of Moe, a gorgeous little pug that seems to be saying "Go ahead, Make my Day", or maybe just "This IS my happy face!" Gotta love those pups with squished wrinkly faces! 8"x10" gallery wrapped canvas [caption id="attachment_1238" align="aligncenter" width="397" caption=""This *IS* my Happy ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/08/moe-pug-portrait-in-acrylics/ Thanks "Your relevant"! My blog has been reviewed by "Your Relevant", a blog who's mission it is to bring people and blogs together. To read the full review Click Here or read reviews of other blog, click on the logo below. http://michellewrighton.com/2007/08/your-relevant-review/ How exciting! I started considering to getting a second dog a couple of years ago, and decided about a year ago that it was the right thing to do, unfortunately it hasn't been the right time, but hubby and I have been discussing it and I am hoping that ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/08/planning-to-adopt-a-rescue-dog/ Its' tagging time! Johann The (Agility) Dog tagged me! There are four simple rules: 1. Each player starts with seven random facts/habits about themselves. 2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog post with their seven things as well as these rules. 3. You need to tag seven others and ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/08/tag-your-it/ This pet portrait of our cat Tara is my latest challenge - rendering white fur on drafting film with color pencils and acrylic. The look on her face in the reference photo is priceless and very typically a disdainful 'Tara' look. One of the most important things about ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/08/tara-cat-macro-portrait-wip-on-drafting-film/ This is another quick experiment on drafting film, in this one I have pushed the drafting film to the limit to see how much pigment it will hold and I have also experimented with a more painterly approach and burnished the whole lot thoroughly! Its not quite the result I was ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/08/ill-scratch-yourshorse-buddies/ This is the first pet portrait I have done of a Weimaraner. I am creating this one with a slightly looser, more "painterly" style rather than my normal "include every hair" level of detail. This is on drafting film (I doubt that I will ever go back to any ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/08/weimaraner-grey-ghost-wip/ I painted this Orangutan in acrylics some time ago, but havn't managed to get a very good photo of it yet, so I think I may have to have it professionally scanned before I can offer prints for sale to help support Orangutan conservation. I am planning on doing ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/08/wise-one-orangutan-in-acrylics/ I have just opened a Gallery on Imagekind, a US based print on demand service that allows you to purchase fine art prints from as little as $12.74US for prints which can be customized and ordered with millions of combinations of frames, museum quality papers, canvas types, and sizes. Giclee Technology Giclee ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/08/imagekind-gallery/ I nearly forgot to post an update with the final of my lion, so here he is, Part II of "We Three Kings", 8"x8", artist colour pencil on drafting film. I'm not surprised that more and more colour pencil artists are starting to use drafting film for their work. ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/08/final-we-three-kings-part-ii-lion/ This colour pencil and acrylic portrait of Blink, a beautiful cat owned by a fellow artist, was also created on drafting film. I love this up-close-and-personal, larger than life composition, where the main focus is on the eyes - in this case the eyes are huge, 2"x 1.5" in ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/08/blink-cat-portrait-on-drafting-film/ Yes, I know this post is out of order:) better late than never, right? This is the first in my big cat triptych, "We Three Kings", and my first experiment with using colour pencils on drafting film. I started with a much more detailed sketch than I normally do ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/08/we-three-kings-part-i-tiger/ Two new dog breed portraits have now been added to the Dogs gallery, a Shiba Inu and another Shar-Pei (I just can't resist wrinkles!). Both of these are color pencil/acrylic on drafting film. [caption id="attachment_1240" align="aligncenter" width="326" caption="Suki - Shiba Inu Pet Portrait"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1241" align="aligncenter" width="362" caption="Aspen - Shar-Pei Painting"][/caption] Buy ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/08/a-shiba-inu-and-a-shar-pei/ I cannot believe how quickly 2007 is flying by! I have quite a few blog entries sitting in my 'draft' folder waiting to be finished off so that I can upload them, but life just seems to keep getting in the way! Hopefully by the end of August things ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/07/wip-we-three-kings-part-ii/ This is a small selection of the merchandise printed with my artwork and photography available in my giftshop at CafePress.  These items are wonderful and unique gifts for either yourself or your favourite animal lover! If you are commissioning a portrait of your favourite pet, the completed portrait can also be ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/06/my-cafepress-giftshop-items/ RedBubble now offers worldwide shipping and can handle different currencies - USD, Euro, GBP, AUD! Currently RedBubble offers giftcards, wall art including laminated prints, mounted, canvas and framed to order prints, as well as high quality t-shirts. Here are a few examples of the items that can be purchased with ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/06/redbubble-gallery/ This is a small acrylic painting I am working on of Gilley, a rescue Greyhound from the UK. Greyhounds have the most beautiful, liquid, expressive eyes that are an absolute joy to paint. As a breed, Greyhounds have such a regal bearing that the deep purple background seemed ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/05/gilley-a-rescue-greyhound/ RedBubble.com is a new Australian online Art Gallery and Creative Community where you can purchase high quality prints and t-shirts with artwork, photography and digital imagery submitted by a gallery full of Australian artists. I have recently set up my own gallery at RedBubble so that I can offer prints of ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/05/my-prints-at-redbubble/ I've managed to grab a few hours here and there to get some more work done on Poppy. Basically just adding more thin layers and creating depth in the fur using paynes grey, ultramarine, burnt umber and some reddish brown mixes. Also adding more thin glazes to the grass to blend the ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/05/black-labrador-painting-nearly-finished/ I have done a bit more modelling of Poppy's face and have started on her eyes. It takes many thin glazes (layers) of paint of various shades of browns and golds to achieve the luminous liquid look of animal eyes, but having made a start on her eyes, ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/05/poppy-wip2-progress-of-a-labrador-painting/ This is a painting I am working on in between commissions for my own portfolio - it might seem a bit strange but I have very few pieces of my own artwork to show clients because most of the work I have done over the past few years have been sold.  Which ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/04/poppy-black-labrador-work-in-progress/ There are so many animals of different kinds that end up in Rescue due to abandonment or abuse worldwide, not to mention the huge number of wild animal species affected by human behaviour and destruction of habitats. Most of the Rescue and Charity Organizations that help theses animals depend solely ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/04/animal-rescue-charity-donation-program/ This is my latest painting of a gorgeous rescue Greyhound "Teddy".  Rendering his fur realistically was a bit of a challenge.  I will probably leave this for a few days then make some minor adjustments before varnishing it. This one is acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas. Michelle http://michellewrighton.com/2007/04/greyhound-painting/ This is the first full acrylic painting I have done using Art Spectrum Colourfix paper as the support (I usually only use for acrylic to paint the background or underpainting then add the details with colour pencil). This one of 'Kruger' is 9"x12". This support seems to work exceptionally well ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/04/shar-pei-wip-acrylic-painting/ I can't believe this year has gone so quick.  It hasn't been very easy so far though, as we had a death in the family, and my husband was hospitalized with a serious medical condition he has that flares up every now and then, not to mention the broken nose ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/04/what-a-year/ Taking nice photographs of pets and other animals is the easy part when you know how - part of it involves taking hundreds at a time:).  That's the best thing about digital cameras, taking hundred's of photos every day isn't expensive like it was in the days of film. But learning to take ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/01/cat-and-dog-photography-photoshop-transformations/ Happy New Year everyone! Wow, where has the last month gone? The rush of Christmas has come and gone and here we are already at the end of the first week of 2007. While I havn't managed to update this blog in the last month, I have finally had the time ... http://michellewrighton.com/2007/01/new-art-and-photography-dogs-cats-and-nature-images/ I was lucky enough to fit in a photo shoot today, this time of a gorgeous Shih Tzu puppy called Sophia.  She is just the sweetest little thing and spent more time trying to climb into my lap for a cuddle than posing for the camera. Ain't she cute? It's a hard ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/12/sophia-shih-tzu-puppy/ aking photographs of animals is not always as easy as it may seem, particularly capturing images that suitable to use as reference material for a Pet Portrait, so, knowing what I need in a good reference photo, I have offered a photography session for local (Perth) clients for a while. I enjoy photography so much that ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/12/animal-and-wildlife-photography-gallery/ They are all pets that I was lucky enough to photograph today:) Darth Maul and Padme are both Merino Suffolk cross sheep, Bambi is a four day old orphaned Fallow Deer Fawn and Lucy is a gorgeous dog! I can't decide which one to paint first so keep an eye out for the artwork ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/11/what-do-darth-maul-padme-bambi-and-lucy-all-have-in-common/ The combination of soft pastels and velour paper is quickly becoming my preferred medium and support for animal artwork, and I thought it would be good to provide some information about pastels as a Fine Art medium. Pastels are pure finely ground pigments that are rolled or shaped into sticks using a ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/11/all-about-pastels/ Apart from some minor adjustments that I might add in the next day or so, this is the (almost) completed portrait of our Chinese Shar-Pei, Tia. Achieving depth and dimension with her black coat and all those wrinkles was a great challenge, but I thoroughly enjoyed working on this and I ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/11/tia-black-shar-pei-portrait-in-pastel/ I am thoroughly enjoying working with this velour paper with my pastels and I am really pleased with how this portrait of Marcus, a Long Haired Dachshund has turned out. I can see that my pastels and this velour support and quickly going to become my favourite medium for ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/11/black-and-tan-long-haired-dachshund/ Where has this year gone? I can't believe that it is nearly Christmas already and I am definitely not going to look at the last date that I updated this blog, so instead I will just share my latest piece, a pure pastel pet portrait painting on velour paper ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/11/addie-cavalier-king-charles-spaniel-in-pastels/ Despite what many people may think, kangaroos are not a common sight for most Australians, especially for aussies who live in city and urban areas. We are among the lucky few who get to enjoy these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat several times a week, as our backyard ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/04/kangaroos-in-my-backyard/ I've just found out about Squidoo, and have officially become a "Squidoo lensmaster". LOL while that sounds really technical (or maybe just plain bizarre), it really is a very simple way of sharing your recommended links on a particular topic in a portal and possibly earning a few $ through ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/04/squidoo-lens-a-bull-terrier-portrait/ I posted a couple of cat ACEO's (original Art Cards) on Ebay yesterday. I decided to try the Aussie ebay site for a change, I usually list ACEO's on the US ebay site as ACEO's are much more well known there (A search on Ebay.com.au for the term ACEO reveals ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/04/cat-and-kitten-aceos-on-ebay/ This is the latest piece I have been working on, an acrylic landscape painting created in a modern minimalist style on gallery wrapped chunky canvas. This painting developed quite differently from my original inspiration, so differently in fact that I initially started painting purple clouds! I am quite pleased with ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/04/desert-sunset-moderncontemporary-acrylic-landscape/ I thought it would be a good idea to post some links to various Artists Resources websites that I frequent - I hope that you find them as useful as I have! This post will be edited from time to time when I add new links, but I will also ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/04/resources-for-artists/ This is probably my favorite piece that I did in 2005. The look in this dog's eyes just says it all, he is laying there patiently waiting for his owner to come back. "Waiting" Coloured Pencil, 11" x 14", 2005 This piece was completed purely in colour pencils on cream Stonehenge paper ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/04/waiting-bullmastiff-portrait-in-colour-pencil-2/ We lost our little girl Jack Russell Terrier over two years ago to a brain tumor. She was nearly 11 years old and such a gutsy, happy little dog - a true Jack Russell Terrier in every way. Even though I am a pet portrait artist, it took a long ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/04/jack-russell-terrier-portrait/ This is the first floral acrylic painting I have done, of a tropical Bird of Paradise that I have growing in my front yard (I have a 'brown' thumb so its lucky this poor plant is still alive:). I really love the striking colours in this tropical flower, which is ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/04/tropical-floral-abstract-painting-bird-of-paradise/ In an effort to streamline things and hopefully be slightly more productive with my time, I have transfered most of my available artwork to Art ByUs (ABU) including ACEO's and some of my sterling silver jewellery items (I do have some additional jewellery that I will also be adding there ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/04/putting-it-all-together/ I've definitely been on a water kick lately, I guess maybe because in the last few weeks we've finally had some hot summer weather, if of course you don't count the rain we are having today (although of course that is water too!). I'm really enjoying experimenting with these paintings ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/03/lifes-a-beach-paintings-in-acrylic/ This is an abstract painting I completed yesterday, another in my flow series, experimenting with different interpretations of fluid motion. LOL - capturing digital images of my artwork is a challenge in itself -no matter what I do I can't seem to get the images to accurately reflect the depth ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/03/purple-wave-sfa-acrylic-painting/ ACEO's are a sub-group of Small Format Art that I also love creating. ACEO is an acronym for "Art Cards, Editions & Originals" - collectable little artwork gems only 2.5" x 3.5" in size. Size is the only guideline for artwork to be defined as an ACEO - they can ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/03/aceos-art-cards-editions-and-originals/ I thoroughly enjoyed creating this acrylic painting of an incoming storm over the ocean, blues and greens and water in general seem to be playing a big part of creativity in the last week or two. Maybe its my subconsious trying to tell me to be flexible and flow with ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/03/storm-coming-acrylic-seascape-painting/ Hi and welcome to my new art blog! My name is Michelle, I am a Western Australian artist who specialises in Pet Portraiture and Small Format Art in a variety of mediums, including graphite (black and white), Artists colour pencils, ink, acrylic and pastels. Small Format Art (SFA) is defined as ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/03/what-is-small-format-art/ Just to be different I have painted several modern/contemporary abstracts which are very different to the more normal highly detailed and realistic animals I normally do. My aim with these was in fact to avoid lots of detail and take the minimalist approach. These are all 4"x4" art squared pieces, ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/03/just-to-be-different-modern-contemporary-landscapes/ As the next step in developing my career, I am planning on doing a series of pure bred dog portraits to sell as open and limited edition prints. I am looking for permission to use personal photographs as reference material (credits for use of the photograph will be given) so if ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/02/purebred-dog-photos-needed-can-you-help/ This is my latest commission, a graphite portrait of a gorgeous black Labrador Retriever. Hasn't she got the sweetest looking face? I'm very pleased with how this turned out although getting good digital images of graphite work is near on impossible! This scanned image is about the closest I can get ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/02/black-labrador-retriever/ I've managed to do the next two of the "In The Night" ACEO series, #2 is a chestnut stallion "Trojan In The Night" and #3 is another cat (yes I have a real big thing for cats at the moment:) "Boo In The Night". Here are a couple more, "Kaiser" A ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/02/horse-cat-in-the-night-german-shepherd-gibbon-a-galah/ I am so glad that I found the world of miniatures, the last couple of weeks have been so busy that ACEO size art is the only art work that I can get finished (LOL not that ACEO's are really that quick, most of them are taking me two hours ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/01/thank-goodness-for-miniature-art/ Well, I didn't get a chance to list the last challenge (SNOW) before the deadline, but I managed to create a new challenge piece and list it during the specified time this week as part of a 'theme week' for a group of ACEO artists that I belong to on ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/01/polar-bears-and-persian-cats/ I finally have a chance to add an entry this week! This is my latest ACEO of a green tree frog, titled "Frog on A Log" (ACEO #15), which I will be listing on Ebay either later today or tomorrow. This will be the only opportunity to own this cute little ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/01/aceo-a-frog-on-a-log-and-going-going-gone/ I am just loving these Art Card's, it's true, they really are little gems! And for me at the moment they are particularly good as with my three darling children on school holidays I can still manage to complete some art as it it possible to get a couple finished ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/01/todays-art-a-chestnut-foal-and-a-bunny-rabbit/ Well I've gone and done it, it's taken me most of last night and today but I have successfully managed to create and Ebay Store for myself! I can't believe it has taken so long but I have added a couple of pieces of jewellery and have finally posted some ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/01/my-first-aceos-posted-on-ebay-new-ebay-store/ It really is no wonder that these ACEO's are taking the art world by storm, they are so much fun to do and I am finding them quite addictive:) I will admit that it is really difficult to get a lot of detail into a painting that is a maximum size ... http://michellewrighton.com/2006/01/aceos-miniature-dogs-cats-landscapes-and-more/ Well I have finally had a chance after the Christmas rush to sit down and have some fun creating art just for the sake of creating:) There are always so many things to inspire me, I don't think I will ever run out of inspiration for what to do next. ... http://michellewrighton.com/2005/12/something-new-art-card-aceo-animals-florals/ Wow Christmas seems to have come around so quickly this year! I've finished my last Christmas commission, a commermorative portrait of a beautiful Australian Kelpie called Tas who recently passed away. This portrait was done on Art Spectrum blue-grey Colourfix paper, 9 x 12 inches with a pastel underpainting and ... http://michellewrighton.com/2005/12/an-australian-kelpie-for-christmas/ I've just finished my second last Christmas commission, this one is a gorgeous Japanese Akita dog. I'm really pleased with how this turned out, combining a pastel underpainting with color pencil for all the top layers. One more Christmas portrait to finish in the next day or so (another dog, this ... http://michellewrighton.com/2005/12/japanese-akita-portrait/ This is probably my favourite piece that I have done this year. The look in this dog's eyes just says it all, he is laying there patiently waiting for his owner to come back. This piece was completed purely in colour pencils on cream Stonehenge paper and took well over 55 ... http://michellewrighton.com/2005/12/waiting-bullmastiff-portrait-in-colour-pencil/ This is one of the commissions I have just finished - definitely one of the hardest I have done due to the lack of detail in the original reference photo (shown below). Unfortunately this beautiful dog recently passed away and so no additional photos could be taken. Considering the lack ... http://michellewrighton.com/2005/12/rhodesian-ridgeback-graphite-portrait/ I havn't done a portrait of a horse for a while, so decided to do one of this lovely Bay Arab filly in pastels. I'm quite happy with the way the horse turned out, but the background grass and trees still needs a bit more work to complete it. The ... http://michellewrighton.com/2005/11/bay-arab-filly-portrait-in-pastels/ Or maybe I should have spelt that jewellery, jewelry or jewellry. LOL who knows, and does it really matter - I'm sure you know I am talking about, no matter which way I spell it. I thought I would post a few bits of my Art Jewellery, although I have had ... http://michellewrighton.com/2005/11/wearable-art-sterling-silver-wire-and-gemstone-jewelery/ I needed a break from my graphite commission and decided to have a go at this ginger cat in pastels using the Art Spectrum Colourfix sanded paper I just got. I am quite pleased with the results and can see myself doing alot more pastel work on this particular paper! ... http://michellewrighton.com/2005/11/ginger-cat-in-pastels/ If you have ever tried taking a photo of your beloved pet, you probably already know that it is not always as easy to get the perfect shot. Whether you are taking photos to add to your family album, or a trying to get a great shot to use as ... http://michellewrighton.com/2005/11/how-to-take-good-photos-of-your-pets/ Well so much for daily posting! After a full week of all five of us having an awful gastro, then hubby being hospitalized for four days (unrelated but serious medical condition), I was finally able to pick up my pencil yesterday to do some more work on a graphite commission. ... http://michellewrighton.com/2005/11/life-gets-in-the-way/ I am very proud to announce that I received a number of awards for my artwork in the show I entered over the weekend - seven awards in fact! I receieved First and Second for my two entries in the class for Painting/Drawing - Animals/Birds; First and Third for my two ... http://michellewrighton.com/2005/11/multi-award-winning-animal-artist/ ...or so I am told. I definitely need to develop more I think! I have entered some of my art and jewellery in a local art competition this weekend. Judging was yesterday but I will not find out until tomorrow how I went. Mind you, after the glimpses of the ... http://michellewrighton.com/2005/11/patience-is-a-virtue/ An example of my artwork. This piece recently won an award in the first art show I have ever entered. http://michellewrighton.com/2005/11/intense-tabby-cat-in-pastel-and-colour-pencil/ Well what do you know, its day two and I am actually posting! Today has been one of those Blah type days, you know the kind that you'd rather forget? Seeing as I am quite please with this so far, I thought I'd cheer myself up and post a progress ... http://michellewrighton.com/2005/11/a-progress-pic-of-my-latest-animal-portrait/ Yay for me, I've finally joined the rest of the world and started my own blog. LOL, I really have NO idea what I am doing, but I guess I'll learn as I go along, right? I'm not sure that I can manage to update daily (probably don't have that ... http://michellewrighton.com/2005/11/my-first-ever-blog-entry/