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.
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 storm damage and repairs, and then tending sick kids (and hubby) and being sick myself, I am at least three months behind where I had planned to be by this time of year and havn’t finished commissions that I had planned to have wrapped up by the end of this month.
On top of that, I have carpal tunnel really bad in my right hand which is affecting my ability to use colour pencils for any length of time, so once the last couple are finished I will need to take a break from colour pencil work for a while.
LOL OK thats enough, whine over!
I am playing catch-up with emails today and tomorrow, so if you have sent me an email and I havn’t replied I will be doing so over the next day or so, then I will be a little scarse while I catch up on the commissions and some other business that I need to complete as soon as possible.
Once I have those things back under control, I will be able to list some original art for sale, including some Art Cards and ACEO’s for those who collect them. For those that have not heard of ACEO’s, I have written and article that explains these tiny treasures of the art world!
I have also added (well technically my hubby added;) a newsletter subscription to the website called “Paws in the Paint” for visitors and collectors who would like to receive email notification for advance notification of special offers, events, member only competitions and be the first to see newly completed artwork and paintings for sale before they are listed on the website.
All you need to do is enter your email address into the newsletter subscription box on the right hand side of your screen. You will receive an email that contains a link to validate your email address – this ensures that the email address you entered is correct, and also prevents anyone else from signing you up for the newsletter without your consent.
Your email address is kept strictly confidential and will not be used for any purpose other than newsletter notifications, and you may unsubscribe yourself at any time.
You can of course subscribe to my blog feed (bottom of menu at right) if you prefer to just be notified when my blog is updated.
To celebrate the birth of “Paws in the Paint” everyone who subscribes to the newsletter before 1st November will go into the running to win a free laminated art print featuring winner’s choice of my artwork or photography from RedBubble!
Oh, and don’t forget to vote for your favourite breeds that you would like to see me paint in the poll below, the Border Collies are out in front at the moment, but it will be interesting to see the most popular breeds by the time I have caught up with my work and can continue with the Best of Breed series.
Michelle
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. I am now absolutely convinced that drafting film is the perfect support for use with colour pencils, at least with my style and technique. It is definitely not easy to use initially, and it handles totally different to any other support that I have worked with (it dosn’t take as many layers so you really have to make each mark count!), but the results as definitely worth it, so I will be doing a lot more work on film in the future!
Cards and prints featuring this artwork can be purchased at
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 because I my focus was on learning how to use this support (it handles very differently to any other support that I have tried).
I did find that not all drafting films are created equal:( Although the type I used for this tiger was excellent for the pigment saturation and luminosity it allowed, unlike other types of drafting film, although it erased easily, I could not get much pigment back into the erased areas….making erasing mistakes impossible!
Considering this was an experiment, I am very pleased with how he turned out. Oh and if you are wondering about the title – I didn’t actually start out planning to do a Big Cat triptych, but the night I finished this one I was laying in bed when the title popped into my head (actually, titles for my artwork rarely pop gently into my head, they usually hit me like a sledgehammer;). I knew instantly that the next one in the series would be the lion, but I am still not sure who will be the third king cat. Watch this space to find out!
Work In Progress shot 1:
Work In Progress shot 2:
Work In Progress shot 3:
Final: “We Three Kings part I: Tiger”
I’d love to know what you think of him!
Cards and prints featuring this artwork can be purchased at
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 will have settled down a little bit around here! Of course, when I finally get to upload them they are going to be out of order, so I might have to rationalize and give some of them a miss!
Meanwhile, to add to my wildlife art portfolio, this is the second piece in the ‘We Three Kings’ series, a square format triptych of three of the big cats, the first was the Tiger, this work in progress is of the second in the series, the lion. I am still undecided on the third one because I would like to do a snow leopard, a cheetah and a jaguar but I can’t decide which one to do first!
After trying drafting film as a support for my colour pencil work, I think I have found the perfect combination of medium and support to suit my style and technique. It is rather tricky to work with initially (definitely different to any other support I have tried) but I am particularly pleased with the vibrancy and luminosity that colour pencils have on the drafting film.
These photos were taken on my easel to avoid camera flash so they are at a bit of an angle.
8″x8″ with a variety of artist quality colour pencils.
Prints and gift items with this image will be available from my RedBubble Gallery and my Cafe Press Gift Shop when the painting is completed.
Michelle
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 worldwide.
A variety of wall art, gift ware and apparel featuring my artwork is available in my
GiftShop at CafePress.
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 any type of artwork that has a maximum size of 14 inches (35.5cm) in any one direction. SFA is collectible, affordable artwork that make wonderful unique displays in homes and offices to suit your own personal decor or personality. SFA can be collected by artist, theme, style, color or an eclectic mix to create an eye catching display to suit your own individual taste. They are especially suited for small display areas such as hallways, mantlepieces and desk tops where larger art work would be unsuitable or simply wouldn’t fit.
As an artist with three small chilren, I love Small Format Art because the smaller size allows me to be creative and productive within the limited time that I have available. Although SFA’s can take 50-60 hours or more to complete over many days or even weeks, it is also very rewarding to be able to complete a finished painting in a looser more artistic style in just a day or two!
I love animals and the majority of the artwork I create is animal portraits. As a professional Pet Portrait Artist, my pet portraits are highly detailed and very realistic – if you would like to see examples, they can be viewed on my website http://www.pencilportraits.com.au.
However, with the SFA I create, I find myself drawn more towards less realistic styles that really express my creativity – I really don’t like labels and would prefer at this point in time not to be limited to creating art within the confines of only one artistic ’style’. Many different art movements inspire me and as a result, the SFA that I create is an eclectic mix of styles that might normally be labelled as abstract expressionism, minimalism, surrealism or modern/contemporary with some representational pieces thrown in for good measure! That is my idea ofArtistic Freedom:)
I’ve decided to create this blog as a separate entity to my original blog http://www.petportraitartist.blogspot.com/ for several reasons – firstly, for myself I like the idea of maintaining a visual diary of my work and at the same time being able to record some of my thoughts and emotions surrounding each piece, and secondly the majority of Small Format Art that I create will be available for sale in different venues such as Ebay, Art Wanted, Art Cards Wanted and Art By Us and by listing each artwork here in one place, it will be easier for me to keep track of everything, plus I would imagine it will be a bit easier for those who like to collect my artwork:) If you would like to join me on this journey of dscovery, please add this blog to your RSS feed to recieve notification when new art work is added (simply click on the second orange button on the right that says ‘Feed’ – or if you use atom click the first button that says ‘Site Feed’).
Cheers
Michelle
‘Tall Poppies’ 4″x4″ art squared, acrylic on canvas, 2006
‘Solitaire’ 4″x4″ art squared, acrylic on canvas, 2006.
‘Ginger Kitty’ 4″x4″ art squared, Prismacolor pencils on blue suedeboard, 2006
Michelle
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 frog because if he dosn’t sell, my hubby has claimed him!
This photo is a cropped enlarged version showing some of the detail.
and another landscape “Snow Covered Mountain”
The first lot of ACEO’s I have ever offered for sale (including the Golden Retriever, Siamese Kitten, the pelican, frangipani and Teddy bear) will be ending on Ebay in the next few hours, if you collect ACEO’s have a look as some of them don’t have any bids.
Click here to view current Ebay auctions.
Because of the cost of listing items on Ebay, it seems that many artists don’t re-list items that don’t sell at auction, but list them in their Ebay Stores at a much higher retail price. This makes sense to me – apart from the cost of Ebay fees, I think way to many artists undervalue their work – and is something I am considering on doing with my own Ebay store – I’d love to hear your opinion (as an artist or art collector) on having a policy like this.
If I am lucky I can run to my studio and grab a couple of hours to myself, and hopefully create a masterpiece!
Bye for now
Michelle
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 hours of work to complete. It was worth it though, because it was awarded First Place in the Painting & Drawings: Animals class at the second Art Show I entered last month – pretty amazing seeing as colour pencil is such a new Fine Art medium, and because the other entries included oils, acrylics and pastels!
Cheers
Michelle
pencilportraits.com.au
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 shot of Amarok’s portrait…Amarok is a seven year old Siberian Husky. This started out in pastel and colour pencil but has ended up mostly acrylic, what can I say, I got carried away with my paintbrush:) This is my second attempt at an animal in acrylic so I am actually pleasantly surprised that it is looking pretty good. And I am really enjoying slapping the paint around. It still needs alot more work on the right ear (viewers right) and the large expanse of white fur needs further layers and modelling, and I am not yet happy with the mouth. Of course this is a pretty cruddy picture and the colours are not true to life – there is actually a good amount of cream fur above the eyes up to the base of the ears.
So here she is, Amarok in progress (after about 10 hours work)…hopefully I can finish her by the weekend.
