Illustration Friday's theme : ocean

My entry is a Ross's Gull. The Ross's Gull was first spotted in the United States in Newburyport, Massachusetts, in 1975 and was such a big deal to local bird watchers, that the camera crews from the Boston news stations were called out. Previously it was thought to only live in the Arctic.

I drew him in colored pencil. It was very challenging to create all the grays' in his feathers, but it was fun!

I have artwork in 2 shows

I have 6 pieces of artwork in shows in Exeter, NH. Two pieces at the Exeter Town Hall and 4 pieces at the Exeter Chamber of Commerce. Stop in if you live in the area! Here's a close-up of my "Llama".

Step 5

I get leery of all that brown in the background and wonder if I will ever be able to fill it with grass, so I squeezed out some yellow, black and several greens and blues and go to town. Some people don't realize that a nice lemon yellow and black makes a beautiful set of greens. Mix yellows and blues and you get many many more. I also include some blues and blacks in the grass to indicate shadows behind the grass. It's far from being done, but that brown is not a solid block any more. All of her wrinkles on her forehead and nose are also blown out to white in my reference photo because it was taken in the bright sunshine. So I have to try and create what they really look like. Lots of back and forth on these! Then I realized she had a spot of brown on the top of her head from another photo. Might as well indicate that too! Added some more dark blue pink grays inside her mouth.

Close-ups of my Boston Terrier

Boston Terrier 2

Now I have fixed the crooked eye, don't know if you can tell, and I might go back into it later. I started to add more color. I've used a soft blue gray and several other grays. Also added two different pinks to certain areas. Now I'm adding indigo blue where all the black are. I like to build up my blacks with dark blues and browns and dark reds if I can. The colors all shine through when you look at it closely and it makes a rich black.. I've also started to define all the edges of the face and neck. This is so much fun!

Boston Terrier colored pencil drawing

I've been wanting to draw some Boston Terriers for a long time and finally sat down to start one. This is the beginning. It's about 12 x 14 on Canson Drawing paper. Started with a pencil sketch and then added some white after I erased the pencil under those parts. Then I started the eyes and then went to the nose. I added some white, light grey and a light powder gray blue to the nose (can't think of the name of the color!). I think the left eye is off a bit, so I'll probably have to erase it a tiny bit and re-work it. You all know how I hate to erase!!! Where is that durn eraser! The paper is a bit less orange than the scan. Maybe work more on it this weekend. It is Mother's Day so I should be able to do whatever I want, right? 

Chimpanzee

I painted a cute Chimpanzee for my granddaughter for her third birthday. It's in acrylics, 12 x 16. It's to go with several others that I have painted for her through the past couple years, and the border designs all match her wallpaper. Enjoy!

New show

I'll be dropping off art for a new show at Exeter Hospital in Exeter, NH in a couple weeks. It will run through the end of May, 2012. Check it out if you live in the area. I'll have mostly colored pencil art, and some oil paintings.

Valentine's Day

A little steampunk heart for Valentine's Day!

Bassett Hound puppy finished

Well I took another few hours and finished up my Bassett Hound. I'm very happy with how he turned out! Giclee's and Valentine's Day cards of him available on my Etsy site!

Art Classes

I will be holding new art classes starting in January. The first one is at Whittier Vo-Tech in Haverhill, MA, starts Monday, January 23rd, from 6-8:30 pm, and is "Learn to Draw" for 8 weeks.

The second one is at Timberlane High School in Plaistow, NH and starts Tuesday, February 7th from 6-8pm, and is "Learn to Draw."

The third one is at Newburyport High School in Newburyport, MA, and starts Wednesday, February 24th, from 6-8 for 5 weeks and is "Colored Pencil Drawing."

I will also be teaching a "Learn to Draw" class at the Seacoast Artists Association in Exeter, NH, starting March 1, for 8 weeks, from 11:30 to 1:15. Also a "Colored Pencil Class", same place, starting March 1 for eight weeks, from 1:30 to 3:15. Hope you can make it to one of these classes. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in more details.

I love to teach! Who knew?

Red Tailed Hawk stage 5

Wow, never posted so many stages. Thanks for all of your comments and encouragement!

Last night I got out my pencils again and added more layers of color. I added several oranges, about 4 shades of brown, and 2 greys. I think I am almost done! I think there are a few areas to darken up even more and then I'll call it a day! I need to grab some reds also for a few spaces where the oranges need it. Hope you enjoy!

Ross's Gull larger!!!

I redrew this guy at twice the size to get all those feathers in. I have new admiration for God and His ability to baffle the bird artist with so much perfection and design! Wow. I'm really impressed! Wait until you see the nice variety of gray and black against the white. It makes a big "M" on his back for "Miraculous"!!!