Saturday, January 23, 2010

Police dog artwork update


I just purchased a large format flatbet scanner and I dont' regret one penny I spent! Although I've reduced the resolution on the images above, one can still see much clearer detail than on my previous posts of the Pentagon Artwork. K-9 Kira is coming along just fine...minus a few gray hairs (at the request of the client).

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

K-9 Kira dog drawing work in progress

It's been going really well today in terms of progress with this dog drawing. Kira is begining to look like, well, Kira! I'm hoping to get her done and start the third and last dog by the end of this week.

Law enforcement artwork update...



Here's the latest on k-9 Kira as I begin to add the fur color and details. This dog exhibits some "flecking" (dark fur interspersed with lighter strands, giving a "ticked" or "flecked" appearance) of the short facial fur which makes it very difficult and time consuming to lay down on paper.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Haiti needs our help

I feel I just have to share this with my readers before I retire for the night.

Tonight I watched a special 2 hr edition of Larry King Live (special feature with actors, singers and sports icons to raise funds through The Red Cross and other organisations) and I can't seem to get the images of last week's earthquake in Haiti out of my head. The devastation I witnessed and kept seeing on this and other broadcasts is so widespread and severe, it is unimaginable for most of us to even begin to comprehend. The pain and suffering this nation is facing became even more real after I watched only a half hour of CNN Live.


Visions of rampant looting...a young boy beaten on the head wobbles about the crowded street, dazed and confused, his head and face covered in blood, still pouring profusely as a reporter drags him to safety to seek treatment...tiny dehydrated babies crammed into the back of a truck sleeping on a blanket, being fed powdered milk diluted in water which gives them even more diarrhea as it is unsuitable for their already fragile bellies... a desperate mother who had been pleading for days to rescue her daughter from a collapsed daycare building, convinced she heard her voice and she was still alive but after over 12 hours of effort, rescuers abandon the search and inform the mother and other parents there was no hope....they move on to a different area to "listen" for sounds of anyone alive...continuing on their "mission of hope". But then, a miracle of hope when five people were discovered and rescued from a collapsed market. These are only a few of the "images" that keep flashing in my head tonight. Tomorrow, there will be more.


As I prepare to get to bed tonight and lay my body in my cozy warm bed, tucked safely under blankets inside the security of my home, I can't help but think about how fortunate I am.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind my readers if you can donate, even 10$ will go a long way! There are many organization through which you can donate to help the Haitian people affected by this quake such as http://www.unicefusa.org/ and http://newsroom.redcross.org/. It's easy, you can even donate through Walmart as you check out with your purchase.

Everyone have a good night.

Sketch of German Shepherd Military Police Dog Kira


During today's sitting, I managed to complete K-9 Robbi's neck fur and began working on the second dog in this portrait. I started to refine the sketch of K-9 Kira, adding more detail using an HB graphite pencil to guide me through the coloring stage. Kira is a German Shepherd/Malinois cross owned by Officer P. Sherman of the Pentagon Police K-9 Detection Unit.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Malinois K-9 Dog Drawing update


After two more sittings, I've managed to do most of the detail on Robbi's head and neck using colored pencils and blending/burnishing technique. The scan above seems to be reflecting some of the colored pencil and so ends up blurring out some finer detail.
I ordered a new large format scanner and hope to receive it this week to try it as it seems my older scanner is starting to act up (most likely the optical light mechanism is going).

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Police K-9 Robbi drawing update


After much sketching, I have now been working on adding color to the first dog featured on the US Pentagon Artwork. I'm quite pleased at how the colors are layering on this paper however, there is not much room for error as erasing is virtually impossible! I am taking my sweet time with this one so as not to mess it up part way through...that would be a disaster.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Change of focus...


I'm taking a break from working in pastels on the spoonbill birds painting to work on my next commission. This is the preliminary sketch of the military police artwork of the US Pentagon K-9 bomb detection dogs. I should begin working very soon on the first dog pictured above using colored pencils.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Bald Beautie...


You may not notice at first glance that the second lower bird has no feathers on his head. That is because roseate spoonbills loose their soft white downy head feathers as they mature. The eyes also turn red, the skin on the skull takes on a yellowish green color and the spatulate bill becomes grayish. The fullest pink coloration of the plumage is only reached with age and then only when feeding on the appropriate diet. Like pink flamingos, roseate spoonbills acquire their pink feathers from the pigments in the food the eat.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

A bit more bird painting work...


I have been doing more feather work on this painting tonight. I'm loving how the pink bird is starting to take a more 3 dimensional shape with the feathers looking rather ruffled. I'm thinking of darkening the tail feathers still a bit more to give the impression that the light is coming from above but I'll wait till the painting is more advanced to make a decision.

Next I should really draw his legs...one of them is tucked underneath the body with only the toes showing but I'm wondering if that will interfere with the other bird's head, being that it is in that same small area. Need to think about that too before continuing.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Which spoonbill is which?

Click for detailed view.

The importance of proper identification became apparent to me when studying the reference photographs for this bird painting. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the two birds in my photograph were in fact, of different species; one being an African Spoonbill and the other, an immature Roseate spoonbill. While this may be unimportant for some, the significance becomes clear when one submits a painting for inclusion in a wildlife exhibit or competition for example, where anatomical accuracy and scientific description is utterly essential.

Had I not noticed the subtle characteristics of the "offending species" (blue eye, darker bill, dark red face mask, pure white plumage) and properly identified the white bird in my ref photo (which I thought was an immature roseate), this would have meant disaster for the composition as the birds I want to depict were immature and mature roseate spoonbills.

Ahhhh.... so now I reworked the facial features and bill on the upper bird, added pink tones to the ruffled feathers to represent an immature roseate. The other bird (mature roseate) will sport a featherless head, greenish fask maks/bill and bright rosy wing patch so characterisitc of this species.

Monday, January 4, 2010

cat eyes drawing on drafting film using colored pencil



As I was getting ready to frame this piece, it became apparent that I should use a tinted background to complement the frame. The image to the right is the same drawing using a white mat board for the background. True, the whites seem brighter and the eyes more yellow but the tinted background looked better with my particular frame. This is the fun part of working with drafting film...being able to change the background to create different looks!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!!!


No one knows where the road ahead leads to but taking a leap of faith forward is the only way to find out.
Wishing you all the best for 2010! And thank you for following and commenting on my blog. It is always very much appreciated.