sketchblog

Harlan

I wanted to add a couple of falconry/working dogs to my print store to compliment the birds. I was really taken with this lovely pose, and although there wasn’t a lot of detail in the reference I concentrated on tone and used the grain of the paper to compliment the fur.

Harlan
9 x 12 Graphite
Naomi Hayne

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Grouse

Back onto my favourite subject-falcons!
One of my preferred methods of working is to roughly block out all the elements first before gradually working the tones over the whole piece. It’s a common method used for painting which is something I used to do. But with pencil or graphite this can be problematic, as your hand rests on the drawing and can cause some rub off, even when using glassine to protect it. This piece, however, is small enough to avoid smudging and the coloured pencils are quite robust so I was able to build up the tones.

“Grouse”
9×12 Strathmore toned grey

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Mulberry

Another piece completed before Xmas – this commission was actually a leaving gift for a member of bird staff at Muncaster Castle and depicts their barn owl Mulberry.

I am quite fond of barn owls, but drawing their complicated plumage usually results in a sore wrist and lots of swearing!

12 x 16 coloured pencil on Clairefontaine PaintOn gris (grey)

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Miley

This is Miley the frenchie who was quite interesting to draw. Although you may think that single-tone coats are straightforward, they are anything but! There are so many colours you wouldn’t initially expect, such as pinky-purples, orange, blues, and silvery hues that your eyes don’t really see at first glance, but they give a drawing more realism.
 
9 x 12 Clairefontaine PaintOn

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Bonnie

Bonnie

A commission recently gifted – this is the lovely Bonnie who has sadly passed over the rainbow bridge but was very special to their owner.

A first time using the new Clarefontaine PaintOn range of coloured papers, this one is the grey, similar to the Strathmore I’ve been using, but handles much better and was very enjoyable to draw on.

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Dunnock

dunnock

Another wildlife piece recently completed – the Dunnock is often overlooked as a rather humble brownish bird, however, up close their plumage is rather lovely and full of patterns. Drawing in graphite has allowed me to emphasise this more and I am pleased with how this one has turned out.

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Lancelot

Lancelot

Taking a break from a rather complicated colour piece I am working on, to sketch some local wildlife in graphite. I am lucky to have 2 small nature reserves within walking distance of my house so I thought why not use the residents as inspiration!

5×7 graphite on paper.

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IUCN Signs Gentleshaw

Gentleshaw Signs

Briefly going back to my ‘old’ job – I was asked to create some signage for gentleshaw wildlife centre for the IUCN red list species that live there. Printed on aluminium panels the first few have gone up, looks like Siren the cockatoo approves!

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Nimbus II

Nimbus II

The second of my Nimbus series – tried a slightly different technique this time getting all the whites & light tones in first to speed up the process and to avoid it going ‘muddy.’

Working over the whole piece instead of just sections it came together much better and I prefer this method of working – unfortunately when creating bigger pieces it is not always feasible to do this as you end up bracing your hand on areas you’ve worked, but for this size I was able to get away with it.

9 x 9 on Strathmore Toned Grey

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Saxon Wolfdog

Saxon

My second go using drafting film – Saxon the wolf-dog who lived at Gentleshaw Wildlife Centre.

Picked up as a stray and in poor condition, in Northern Ireland, Saxon’s days were numbered. He was housed at a pound whilst they tried to find a licensed home to take him on. No zoos would take him because he was a hybrid, and having too high a percentage of wolf, he could not be placed in a domestic setting (as per UK law). Thankfully Gentleshaw had a suitable enclosure and gave him a home, quickly becoming a firm favourite with visitors and staff. An impressive but gentle giant, he lived at the centre for 10 years until old age caught up with him last month and he slipped over the rainbow bridge peacefully, on his own terms.

He liked to sit with his paws crossed, I wanted to include that in my portrait which meant doing a full body – something I don’t do that often. It would also mean creating a bit of background to sit on which I know isn’t easy on this surface. As well as the ‘fake’ blur/depth of field that some modern phones create (which I don’t like) I was really challenging myself and pushing just how much I could achieve on this surface. Did I swear and stomp and tear my hair out? You bet I did! Are there things I would change? Of course! Did I learn a lot – absolutely!

12 x 16 Coloured pencil on drafting film

 

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