Saturday, October 30, 2010

Pet Portrait Drawing of a Boxer


Meet Ana!
Medium: graphite pencils (range from 4H to 8B)
Support: Fabriano Artistico Paper
Size: 11" x 14"

Friday, October 29, 2010

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

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

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.

Monday, October 25, 2010

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!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

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.

Friday, October 15, 2010

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.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

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.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Lots of grass!

I decided to start tackling more of the grass today...a long tedious process almost as tiring as drawing the fur itself. Believe me, it is easy to loose yourself in all that grass!
It can be difficult to create realistic grass using graphite since the lighter strands are created by negative drawing. Of course, I could spend many, many more hours reworking the grass and improving the look but I feel it is not necessary here since the main focus is on the dog.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

More black fur!


Thank goodness I have several of the 8B pencils on hand! I keep one that is blunt, one that is sharpened to a fine point and yet another that has the lead sharpened somewhere in between. I find this really helpful when working on different areas of really dark fur such as the one this black Labrador/border collie cross is sporting! Perhaps I'll need to switch mode soon and start working on the grass in the background...

Monday, October 4, 2010

Rosie coming to life!


After spending much of the day working on this drawing, I managed to finish the facial features of this pretty border collie/Labrador mix. Drawing the fur on the muzzle is definitely the most time consuming part since each strand of fur measures only 0.5 to 1.0 mm long! Add to the fact that several layers of different grades of pencil are slowly added, one at a time. Considering this, drawing the rest of the dog should be smooth sailing from now on right? I sure hope so!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Different approach


I'm tackling this portrait using a systematic approach; starting on the top and working left to right, making my way downwards. I generally work this way when I have a background to do, rather than start with the main features of the subject (eyes, nose, mouth, etc).