Finished Cat WIP

Arches 300 gsm paper. 10 x 10"

I think I am calling this done. I will leave it a day and then take another look to see if it needs any tweaking. 

Commission. Cat WIP #2

A little more done on Sheraz.   It's interesting drawing black cats, it really makes you look hard into the subject for markings, every little detail possible.  

Commission. Cat

Arches 300gsm smooth paper.    10 x 10" 

I have finally made a start on the black cat after running out of 300gsm paper.   I have plenty of  185gsm  but I do like the 300gsm.   I managed to get a sheet locally yesterday. I will order an A2 pad from Carrero Art Supplies who give a great service.
Starting to block in then build up the fir.  As you all know Black Cats are the hardest to draw.  The magnifying glass and zooming in should give me some detail although the ref photos don't show much detail. ..I will do my best and enjoy every pencil stroke.  :)

Lioness WIP #2

A little more done on her.   I will put this on hold for a week as I have a commission to do.  A black cat.
I will be doing a WIP on the commission cat so I will still be posting this week.

Hope your all having a great day.

Lioness WIP

A large drawing for a nice change. Just mapping out getting some base working. The size when finished will be 45 x 35 cm plus the border on Arches smooth 300 gsm paper.
The lioness ref photo comes courtesy of Rod Haley ( Flickr).  Thank you very much Rod for the permission to use one of your superb photos.

Revisited the cockatoo.

I decided to add a tree breanch to balance this... also thinking it makes the whole cockatoo and this one more a pair.  

Coyote Finished

Coyotee. 

25 x 22 cm on Canson 220 gsm paper. 

Managed to get the Coyotee finished today. The Coyote was a nice change from the birds and wild animals we have here in Australia.  

So what's next...  Digging deep into my ref photos, I am sure I will find something to enjoy drawng.  

Coyotee WIP #3

Coyote is taking shape now but still a lot more work on the thick coat.

Coyote WIP #2

A little bit further on. blocked in roughly ... Lot more to be done but it's progressing.

Coyote WIP #1

20 x 20 cm on Canson 220 gsm paper. 

I thought I would draw something a little different. This is a Coyote. Ref photo courtesy of Wet Canvas Ref Library.

Shading Brushes

It is a good idea to cut the hair down short on the brush if it makes blending easier.  

These are the shader brushes that I use... I am sorry but the brushes turn around every time I close the scanner.   Grrrrrrrrrr    They are Roymac shader brushes CB - 90.  as you can see I have worn the #4 away almost to nothing.  I tried to order a new one but the #4 is so hard to get...I had to order a #6.  as you can see there is a huge difference in the size.  I will keep searching for another #4 even if I have to order overseas.

(Lene......  this is the brush and it is not a rubber ended shader... it is a brush ...I am not sure what hair it is.  it does not say when ordering.  Laffin here, look at the state of my poor old #4.  I have worn it to death.  LOL.
I do hope I can get another #4 sometime soon.
I hope this is a clearer explanation for you Lene.  :)

What Tools do you use ?

Click image to enlarge.

I hope some of you find this interesting.

I was asked a question this week regarding the tools I use for blending graphite and it gave me an idea. Why don't we share our ideas on what works for us. I always wonder what tools other artists use for their work. Watercolor, Graphite, Acrylic, Oils, Pastels etc.

I purchased an embossing tool and to my dismay the ball was way too big for whiskers etc. The ball pulls out so I am thinking maybe I could get interchangable sizes ? At the moment I am using a home made stylus - a clutch pencil with a big darning needle inserted.  Nev kindly rounded off the end for me. It works well as long as I keep some blue tac over it to stop the needle from rusting when not in use. Not a good idea to put rust on good drawing paper... LOL.

It is hard to see some of the names on the products so I will list them.
Roymac #6 CB-90 Shader Brush
Roymac #4  CB - 90 Shader Brush... I prefer the #4 but is hard to get.
Pastel shapers  Taper Point and Flat chisel.
Tuff Stuff pencil eraser.
Koh-I-Nor Mephisto 0.05  clutch pencil.
Caran D'Ache  Fixpencil. 2mm single
Jacar  battery operated eraser.

Cockatoo Finished.

Here is the finished Cockatoo. I have to say I did lose a little interest in completing this piece. We had a disastrous week and I know some will say "I told you so" and rightly so .  We were feeding the Lorikeets and along came these big beautiful Cockatoos The Cockatoos are notorious for their destruction of gardens....Nevertheless
Nev was in raptures with the camera having so many lovely birds to photograph...  so there was a need to feed all these birds so they will keep coming in for the photo shots.  We even got to feed these gentle giants by hand. One morning this week Nev woke up and ventured outside to see the birds and feed them . OMG   What a mess. The Cockatoos decided they would help themselves to the bucket of seed that had a lid on and was on the patio in a corner out of sight. They managed to remove the lid, had a good feed and while they were on the patio they thought they would do a little damage and chew through a lot of the branches on the plants on the patio. Beautiful Port Wine Magnolias, New plants that were waiting to be planted to make hedges in the garden, Blueberry shrubs etc.
We regretably have had to stop feeding the birds as we cannot feed some birds and say Hey you Cockatoos can't have any....They will just keep coming and multiplying. Shame but that life.
They have been back a couple of days to do more damage... They thought revenge is sweet. After covering all the plants with hessian that we can and taking the blueberries into the garage each night as they are in pots also the Port Wine Magnolias.
They have finally given up their destruction . HURRAY!!!!.
There are always lessons to be learnt in life.  We feel sad that we can no longer feed the Rainbow Lorikeets as the Cockatoos are still around and watching, waiting for more food.  Maybe soon we can feed the Lorikeets just for a short time each day and keep a vigilant look out for the Cockatoos.