This is the final update for the Weimaraner portait.
Weimaraner - The grey Ghost
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 shipped shipped worldwide.
A variety of wall art, gift ware and apparel featuring my artwork is available in my GiftShop at CafePress.
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% of your investment in this artwork will be donated to the
Animal Protection Society of WA
"Kruger" Shar-Pei painting in acrylics by Michelle Wrighton
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 and gemstone jewelry) has been added to the Fine Art Gallery today.
The front page is linking to the correct pages now, navigation buttons have been added to the top of the page, and a number of different style banners have been added to the LINKS page for reciprocal link exchange (the html code will be added for each shortly for those people like me who don’t know how to make an image link to a website;).
I had planned on re-scanning a few other pieces, but with all the furniture (from the carpet repairs) in my studio, I can only get one foot inside the door, so no art for me today…or for a few more days probably (my hubby is quite ill at the moment, but hopefully will recover without another hospital visit. So our plans have changed again slightly and we will be taking each hour/day as it comes until he recovers.
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 on each page. The Commissions, Prints, gifts and merchandise pages are up, as is the original fine art for sale page, but I havn’t been able to add any pieces yet.
It will be a few more days that I first expected to get everything sorted out with the website, unfortunately we had storm damage from a tornado that went through our neighbourhood nearly two weeks ago and we have had to empty the furniture and contents of half of our house into the other half of the house to get the damaged carpet replaced. As much as I hate doing it, it is a good excuse to de-clutter and get rid of things we no longer use so its going to take longer to get the house re-organised than originally anticipated…great timing of course (not!) as the kids are also on holidays.
I have a number of new oil paintings that I have been working on in between the last few commissions that I have, including some wildlife – a meerkat, a lemur, a snow leopard and a few dogs – a pug, a Rhodesian Ridgeback and a German Shepherd with plans for a German Shorthaired Pointer, a Chinese Crested and a Golden Retriever, as well as a Border Collie agility piece.
At the moment thought, I can’t get into my studio due to the extra furniture that we have had to put in there, so I will post work in progress photos of them when I get the chance. And at some stage if I ever get the time, I need to add some back dated posts about a few awards my artwork won in a show I entered in October last year. I am hoping to finish up all the commissions by August so that I can focus on my own artwork for a while, so I hope there are no more unexpected interruptions in my life!
There is just not enough hours in the day!
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 viewed at my old website http://pencilportraits.com.au and over the next few days I hope to finish of and post the old posts that I have sitting in my draft folder!
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 choosing a suitable reference photo to create a pet portrait from, is making sure that you select a photo that shows the animals personality. Tara is not your average friendly physically affectionate cat, and to portray her as one wouldn’t be accurate to her personality!
There is a good reason for her attitudes to humans though. Tara and her litter mates were dumped in the bush as kittens when they were 6-8 weeks old, and seven years later she still hasn’t totally overcome her fear and mistrust of humans. Even though she is quite attached to our family in her own way, she is very timid, dosn’t like to be touched or picked up and this winter is the first year that she has been willing to come inside and even sleeps on the foot of our bed. It has taken a lot of gentle persistence and as long as we don’t push her to do anything she dosn’t want to do, she seems to be quite happy being close to us without being a lap cat.
This is a cropped version of my reference photo.
In this first image below, I have painted the eyes of her pet portrait using a variety of cream, jasmine, several green pencils and some reddish browns and dark green for the shadow areas. The pupils have been done with indigo and black prismacolors and the highlights with white and light blue. I have also started to block in the lightest highlights with white, using pencil strokes in the direction and length of the fur in each area.
Now I have started modelling the nose with creams, pinks and pinkish browns and black grape for the darker shadows, with tiny amount of indigo over the black grape for teh darkest areas.
Now I have started to introduce the browns and creams as the basis of the tabby pattern on her head. I have also strengthened her whiskers with very firm pressure with the white pencil so that I don’t loose them as the fur develops.
After using dark brown and chocolate with some black grape I have very sparingly ticked in some black hairs in the darkest areas.
And that’s where I will leave it for today, make sure to add my blog to your RSS feeds to see when this portrait is updated.
In the meantime, if you need a good cat related laugh today, have a look at this rather humorous captioned cat photoblog I came across http://icanhascheezburger.com
Bye for now!
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 made available for purchase on the items in my GiftShop at CafePress at no extra charge.
Coffee Mugs and Tile Boxes
Mouse Mats and Throw Pillows
Framed Prints and Badges
Cards
Apparel
Calenders and Wall Clocks
Journals and a variety of clothing styles
A variety of wall art, greeting cards and t-shirts featuring my art and photography, is also available in my RedBubble Gallery. Purchases can be made in different currencies (USD, Euro, GBP, AUD) and shipped shipped worldwide.
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 my artwork and photography.
Gift Cards
Laminated Prints
Framed Prints in choice of colours and styles
Purchases can be made in different currencies (USD, Euro, GBP, AUD) and shipped shipped worldwide.
Shipping costs from RedBubble depends on the destination and the item(s) being shipped. But here are a few rough rules of thumb for shipping and handling:
large framed print: USD 12 to 15 Euro 9 to 11 GBP 6 to 8 AUD15 to 18
t-shirt USD 4 to 5 Euro 3 to 4 GBP 2 to 3 AUD 5 to 6
To purchase a variety of wall art, greeting cards and t-shirts featuring my art and photography, Please visit my RedBubble Gallery.
A variety of wall art, gift ware and apparel featuring my artwork is available in my
GiftShop at CafePress.
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 soft binder to hold the particles together. The pigments used to create pastel sticks are the same pigments used to create all coloured art mediums including oil and acrylic paints. Pastels as a Fine Art medium have been used for hundreds of years by many of the Masters, including Maurice Quentin de La Tour, Degas, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Whistler, Cassatt and Matisse among many others.
Although some people refer to them as ‘chalk’ pastels, this really is a misnomer as pastels are not anything like the chalk sticks you will find in a classroom - nor do they only come in soft light ‘pastel’ colours, they do in fact come in many vibrant colours
According to Answers “pigment applied with pastel does not change in colour value, the final effect can be seen immediately. Pastel remains on the surface of the paper and thus can be easily obliterated unless protected by glass or a fixative spray of glue size or gum solution. When pastel is applied in short strokes or linearly, it is usually classed as drawing; when it is rubbed, smeared, and blended to achieve painterly effects, it is often regarded as a painting medium.”
There are several types of pastels available to artists as defined by Answers:
Soft pastels — This is the most widely used form of pastel. The sticks have a higher portion of pigment and less binder, resulting in brighter colors.
Hard pastels — These have a higher portion of binder and less pigment, producing a sharp drawing material that is useful for fine details. These can be used with other pastels for drawing outlines and adding accents.
Pastel pencils — These are pencils with a pastel lead. They are useful for adding fine details.
Oil Pastels - These have a soft, buttery consistency and intense colors. They are slightly more difficult to blend than soft pastels, but do not require a fixative.
Water-soluble pastels — These are similar to soft pastels, but contain a water-soluble component, such as glycol. This allows the colors to be thinned out using a water wash.
Personally I work mostly with soft pastels, with a few hard pastels and pencils for final line work, as the softness is very suitable for creating believeable, almost touchable animal fur.
Finally, pastel artwork (with the exception of art that is mostly line work) is generally referred to as paintings rather than drawings, and due to the delicate nature of pastel paintings, it is very important that they are cared for properly and framed in the correct manner, with an acid free mat and behind glass so that they can be enjoyed for many years to come.
Hahnemuhle Pastel Paper is produced in Germany using inert synthetic fibres on an acid free backing sheet. This beautiful paper actually feels like velour fabric, and because of the nap (long fibres) it holds most pastels very well. Of the soft pastels that I use, I choose the harder ones (if that makes sense) as some of the more softer brands are more delicate when used on velour paper. This velour paper comes in a range of colours that are all lightfast (so they are resistant to fading) and they all have acid free backing which prevents yellowing over time.
So there you have it, pastels and velour paper, my new favourite medium and support for animal artwork!
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 place a link to this post in the links section under ‘Artist Resources’ on the right hand side of the blog for easy reference in the future.
Discussion Forums:
Wetcanvas – One of the largest and best Artist’s websites on the internet
Australian Art Forum – Online forum for Australian Artists
Art Papa Forums – Art Lessons, demonstrations and discussions
Art Societies:
Colored Pencil Society of America – Dedicated to artists working with colored pencil
Wildlife Art Society of Australasia – Promotes appreciation of Wildlife art in all media.
Pastel Society of America – Professional and emerging artists who work in Pastel
Oil Pastel Society – Promotes the knowledge and understanding of Oil Pastels
Pastel Society of Australia – Promotes the art of soft pastel paintings
Plein Air Painters of America – Dedicated to Excellence in Outdoor Painting
United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society – UK promotion of Coloured Pencil Artists
Online Sales Venues:
Art By Us – International Art Auction site
Yessy – Online art sales
Art Cards Wanted – International gallery of ACEO’s for sale, direct from artist
Etsy - Independant shop owner online mall for a variety of handmade items
Art Information:
In The Artist’s Footsteps – The lives and works of famous Australian Artists
The Painters Keys – Robert Genn’s Twice Weekly Inspiration and Information
