Last post of 2010

To all my followers and visitors I thank you for joining me this past year on my blog and I wish you all the health, prosperity and creativity for 2011! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! And to my artist friends, I'm looking forward to seeing your new works so keep on painting and drawing!!


Before I leave to celebrate the New Year's with my family, I'd like to share one more update on the progress of the bird in pastel. He will be my first priority of 2011 and I'm looking forward to revealing the finished product upon my return to the "studio".

Have a safe celebration everyone!

Cheers,
Colette

Last update of the night

I decided to work a bit more on this bird painting later tonight since it is going pretty well for me. My last bird composition (spoonbills) caused me much frustration, in part due to the not-so-good reference image and also due to lack of experience drawing detailed feathers using pastel on sandpaper.

...so fingers crossed for this one!

Bird painting update...

Here's my bird slowly coming to life! I just love backlit subjects...I find they make such wonderful compositions. I guess I lucked out on taking a good photo of this bird so that helps!
Thanks for watching/following...

Bird painting on the easel

Started this piece using pastels on sandpaper. I have been working on the background tonight trying to get a blurry effect from the reflection on the leaves. I will most likely go back and add some black in the areas that I "dirtied" too much. Live and learn!
Been fighting a slow, progressing upper respiratory infection that started with a scratchy, swollen throat which is now itchy and driving me nuts with dry coughing! And today, the dreaded runny nose has started. Hugh...just have to tough it out and take some pain/symptom relief meds when I can't bear it no more....and to make-sure-I-can-rest-medicine, a good glass of hot lemon gin to knock me out for bed!

Framed portrait of "Captivation"

She's now hanging on my wall in a gorgeous solid wood frame that my husband built from scratch for me! For those who are into woodworking and would like to view our step by step article on how to make your own custom wood frame, please visit my website at http://www.colettetheriault.com/descriptions/Articles/Buildownframes.php

Black Labrador Painting in Pastel

Here's my girl Shayli in all her splendor!! On this pose she is intensely fixated on her archenemy: a lucky red squirrel that had climbed to the safety of his perch.
Title: "Captivation"
Medium: pastel
Support: sandpaper
Size: 8"x10"

Very pink tongue!

In this step I've added the base color for the tongue which still needs to be toned down. I'll be using some blue and violet pastels for this. While there's still much detailing left on the dog's mouth, I do hope to complete this portrait within the next few days. I'd love to have her hanging on my wall in time for Christmas!

A new look with a background!

I must admit I almost always struggle with backgrounds and this one was no exception. It seems the less detailed it is, the more difficulty I have! It probably has to be all in the technique...something I should spend more time experimenting with. Note to self: put finger cots next time to prevent blister from sandpaper! OUCH!!

The more I look at it, the more I prefer the portrait with a background as opposed to the plain paper. I think the next challenge will be to find the correct pencil colors to accurately depict her nice long tongue!

I might regret....

In haste of starting this portrait, I blissful painted the dog without putting any much thought to the background! Something I am bound to regret sooner or later. I don't dislike the plain background however...but I feel that her lively face deserves a good backdrop to make the portrait appear even more realistic.

Back to work on my girl!

That's my girl!!
I'm so happy to be able to work on Shayli's portrait again. It was put on hold due to the Fall/Christmas workload being heavy but I've found the inspiration to resume working on this painting. Now that I finished her eye, she seems to be coming to life right on the paper!

New! Prints now available

I finally decided to launch a series of prints for some of my artwork. I'll be adding more prints as well as cards in the future. Please feel free to visit my website to view the prints available for purchase by following this link:
http://www.colettetheriault.com/prints.php

Summer Fun pastel painting

Here is the final scan of the kids' having fun swinging from the old tree.
Medium: pastel
Support: suede
Size: 11.5" x 15.5"

The final stretch...

Well, I guess the figures are as good as they are going to be so I'm not retouching them anymore. Besides, the paper is being worn down in that area...I wonder why?? Ha ha ha.
Not much left to do to finish this scene now...I can't give up now; it would be a shame after all this work and detail. One more push to the finish line...

Painting tiny figures!

Before continuing this painting, I felt I had to start adding the human figures standing on the rocks and swinging from the rope. Since each figure measures only about 1.5 to 2 inches, I knew it would be challenging to paint using pastels!! And so I started with the boy swinging from the rope...he seemed the easiest subject to paint given the fact his face is hidden behind his arm. There's something about drawing small faces that I dislike...probably because I can't add much detail and because the scale is so small, that one can easily mess it up. But then it is probably more likely because of my lack of experience and enthusiasm!!

Once I had completed the boy on the rope to my satisfaction, hence build my confidence a little, I moved to the girl on the rock...I worked a good half hour on that small figure until I decide it was best to step back and leave it for a bit. I'm unsure if I will be touching it up or not. Before calling it quits for the night though, I painted more rocks and water to encourage me to continue!

Pastel painting progress

After working on the rocks for a while, I lost interest and decided to "play" with the water. I guess I was getting bored with this piece! I think in the next sitting I'll tackle the task I dread the most...the 2 figures standing on the rock and the one swinging mid-air, hanging on the rope. I think the fear comes from the figures being so small, only about 1.5 inches tall and getting the detail in such a small space won't be easy. I will need to sharpen those pastel pencils extra well!

Something very different...

While waiting for client photos to finish the last of my commissions, I've decided to tackle different subjects for my next painting...the human figure and landscape! For me at least, this is not something I am comfortable with, but felt I needed to take the plunge and step out of the box for at moment and force my creative side to work harder. I've included the reference photograph along with a few works in progress:

The reference was taken a few years back during a stay at camp. The weather was very warm and the kids were enjoying swinging from a rope tied to this old reliable pine tree and jumping in the lake from a rock formation. That image brought back many memories of my own childhood when I enjoyed the same pleasure as my children did that summer day not long ago. And that is my inspiration for this painting!

Portrait of Beagle/Dachshund mix

Here's the last step for this dog portrait of "Snickers" pending client approval.
Medium: pastel
Support: suede
Size: 11" x 14"

Dog portrait step 4

In this sitting I added the rest of the dog's snout and mouth and worked on the dock in the background. The weathered look of the wooden dock was darkened as to not "lose" the dog's snout in the background. I'll be tackling the ear on the next step, working my way down to the neck.

Dog portrait step 3

This portrait is coming along great so far as I didn't expect to have so much done in only one day! Time for a break now as it is getting late. Watch for more updates coming soon...

Pastel on suede dog portrait step 2

In this sitting, I started with the dog's eye and work my way outwards. I will continue the top of the head and the nose before moving to the lower areas on the "canvas".

Pastel dog/dock scene

Here's the latest on the easel...one of my last Christmas orders.

Dog Portrait of a Wire-Haired Dachshund

Here is the finished portrait of "Angus".
Medium: Graphite pencils
Support: Fabriano Artistico paper
Size: 8"x10"

Dog Portrait step 3

If all goes well, I should have this portrait finished in the next sitting!

Dog Pet Portrait step 2

After a tiring but fun weekend at my art show, I am now able to concentrate on completing my Christmas portrait commissions. Here's the next step on this dog drawing.

I'll be posting some photos of the exhibit hall where the art show took place as soon as I am caught up on my work!

Pencil Portrait of another canine

The scanner didn't do a very good job of capturing the highlights but here is the beginning of another dog portrait. He is a wire-haired dachshund and I am using quite a bit of indenting to render his wiry fur.

Step 5 of Boxer Portrait

Here's the fifth and final step of Scout's portrait!
medium: pastel pencils
support: suede board
size: 8" x 10"
Thanks for following!
Colette

Cow Moose Painting Revisited

After too many lonely months of being stored unfinished in my "studio", I decided to tackle this larger moose painting again in the hopes of completing it for my upcoming show next weekend. I've had many ups and downs with this piece mainly because it is made up, in part, of several different reference photos as well as my imagination.

First thing I did was to remove a bunch of branches with yellow leaves near the top left corner, just above the smaller moose's back. After much contemplation and rethinking, I decided it was just too distracting and competed with the main subjects. Such is the beauty of pastel...a few swipes of base color to hide the mess and I'm free to repaint a new forest!

I still have a few remaining touches but it should be framed and hanging by the end of the week!

Now, to find a title...

Step 4 of Boxer Portrait

I'm entering the final stretch of the portrait with one more update left before I call it complete! On the next step, I'll be finishing the fur of the neck below the collar and smoothing out the edge of the neckline so that it softly blends into the background.

Step 3 of Boxer Portrait

In this stage the head is pretty much complete except for defining the "brindling" and her chin area. Watch the next step when I define the neck and add the collar and tag.
Thank you for following!

Yellow Labrador drawing revisited...

Decided to add a background and redefine the legs. I love adding subtle backgrounds to a portrait as it adds an extra dimension to the composition.

Step 2 of Boxer Portrait

My pastel pencils were literally flying on the board today as I laid down much of the base color for the dog's coat and refined the nose and ears. I actually amazed myself at how much I got done in one sitting! Keep posted as there is more to come soon!

Portrait of yellow Labrador drawing finished?

I'm waiting word on the client before I can call this dog drawing complete! The reference photo was rather blurry and washed out from the dreaded camera flash and so it was a challenge to draw the fur on the chest and legs. It amazes me how many different directions the fur on an animal can lay!!

Step by step of boxer in pastel

Here is the first step of the boxer portrait done using pastels on suede mat board. This is yet another of my Christmas commission...been a busy season this year!

Dog Drawing update

I'm hoping to have this dog portrait completed today. With only the neck and rest of the shoulders to work on, I should have it done in one sitting....provided of course I don't get distracted during the process!!

Fall Show at the Travelodge Nov. 20 & 21st 2010

For those of you in the Sudbury area, I'd be happy to meet and chat with you about our world of art! There will be ongoing demonstrations throughout the show. So why not drop in for a visit and enjoy a cup of coffee and sample sweet snacks while browsing over 75 pieces of original art?

Looking forward to meeting you at the show!

Colette

The start of yet another dog drawing...

Been quite busy sharpening my graphite pencils lately...seems to be a popular choice for Christmas gifts this year!
This smaller portrait I'm working on is that of a yellow Labrador.

Pet Portrait Drawing of a Boxer

Meet Ana!

Medium: graphite pencils (range from 4H to 8B)

Support: Fabriano Artistico Paper

Size: 11" x 14"

Sudbury Star Article

I'm pleased to say that I was recently interviewed by Sudbury Star reporter Rita Poliakov regarding my trip to the US Pentagon last spring in light of the commission I received from the Police Canine Explosive Detection Unit. To read the article "Local Artist Gets Top-Rank Commission" please click here:

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2818917

In November of 2009, I was contacted by Officer Philip Sherman, member of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, Special Operations Division to create the artwork that featured k-9 dogs from their unit.

You can read more about the artwork on my website here: http://www.colettetheriault.com/descriptions/petdescriptions/US_Pentagon_Police_K9_Detection_Dogs.php

And the nose follows!

I really enjoyed working on Ana's textured nose and flabby jowls. She seems rather funny without her neck and shoulders though! Hopefully, I'll be able to finish this portrait in a few more sittings as I have several more Christmas commissions waiting on the easel.

And let the ears appear!

After a busy weekend attending the Sudbury Art Club Fall Exhibition and Sale, I'm back on track with this pet portrait. Although I brought the artwork to the show for a demonstration, I was only able to work on her right ear since the many questions and distractions prevented me from doing any serious work. However, I was very happy to chat at meet with visitors and I could see that people were delighted to observe how I render my graphite portraits!

I'm tackling Ana's wonderful crinkled nose next!

Border Collie-Labrador Cross Portrait

This is Rosie's portrait now complete with paws. Drawing dimensions are 11" x 14", graphite pencil on Fabriano Artistico paper.

Drawing of Boxer update

At this sitting of about 6 hours, I was able to complete the majority of the face of the dog. I'll probably work on the ears next and then tackle that wonderful boxer nose and muzzle.

Boxer portrait commission and Rosie update

Here's the latest on my easel...a lovely boxer posing for her beloved master! I can't reveal her name just yet as this is a surprise for someone's birthday. I'll be using several photographs of her to get the coat tones just right since the above photograph was a bit washed out due to the camera's flash (I retouched the eyes using Photoshop).

This is an update of Rosie's almost finished portrait; the border collie/lab cross. I've been working on her front legs/feet and trying to get better reference photos from the owner (as well as from my own reference library). The white feet on the original photo are really white and show virtually no detail.