I've been plugging away at this one for a week now. I have a long way to go with the forest floor especially. I'm not truly happy with the look of either wolf...one is rather foxish. It is very much a work in progress to get some practice with composition. I find myself feeling impatient with the picture as a whole but it is a learning experience...outside of my comfort zone. I do long to return to portrait of animal heads dangling in limbo in the center of a blank page. It is progress just to keep at it though. And, so I shall.

Moonlit Wolf completed! I darkened the plants in the foreground, deepened some of the shadow and enhance the appearance of water around the reeds. I am pleased with the results and feel quite content to call this project complete. The paper has suffered somewhat in the editing process so I will redo this at a later date. Compositionwise I think it has improved immensely with the help of those who responded to my critique request on wc. What a great experience to go through. Living in a relatively isolated area and being quite apprehensive about getting into formal art classes I found the input of others who live way, way elsewhere very encouraging and will remember and use the info I received over and over to help myself grow artistically.

I made some changes on the Moonlit Wolf based on the advice I received on wc. I removed the upper part of the tree and left the remainder to become a stump. I extended the mountain range to the right edge of the drawing instead. It is my hope that the viewer's eye will now not be led out of the drawing but rather toward the wolf. I added more trees at the base of the mountains and gave them reflections in the lake. I have begun to improve the foreground with the addition of reeds and rocks suggesting the shore. I can now feel the eye being moved about the picture to rest on the wolf. I'm not sure if I will do much more to this. It's composition feels good but ofcourse the paper has suffered somewhat. I may at some point redo the entire thing on another piece of Bristol once I have satisfied myself with the composition completely.

I posted this Moonlit Wolf on wc for critique specific to the composition. It was pointed out that the tree draws the eye up and out of the drawing somewhat. I agree and I think I'll turn it into a stump instead to solve that problem. The tree also needs more substance at the base like roots to take away the hovering feeling. So some dark gnarly roots are in order too. The critique was much appreciated and helped me to SEE what I need to improve. I must get to it today.

My new camera has arrived...so much to read and learn about how to use it. It is similiar ofcourse to the 35mm camera in some aspects like the functions of apertures etc. But still....so much to read just read to begin with!

I am having what I perceive to be success with the wolf in forest project. I researched and reviewed any and all the info I could find regarding composition. And, I think I have come up with something that works. I did not post on wc as a work in progress though. I am debating on which forum to post for critique. There are several forums to chose from. I don't want to be brutally blown out of the water nor do I want to miss out on the constructive criticism that will help me grow as an artist. What to do...what to do??? I have a few days to decide until I finish things up on it. Right now I'm working on the wolf's eyes. I have a reference photo for that at least. The background came out of my brain...painful very painful. I plucked several aspects that I liked from about 5 photos and basically stuck em in together. Some of it even just developed as the graphite worked into the grain of the paper. It is too close to finished to post as a wip so I'll complete it and then take it to task with those who know waaaaaay more than me.

Hey, hey, hey! My new toy...I mean very serious artistic tool in the form of a DSLR camera should be here in a few days!!!! So excited about that.

The Chihuahua is complete. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. Now I am to begin something new. I am starting on a drawing that will have a natural sort of forest background behind a wolf. Now the wolf part is not the challenge...it is the background that will vex and annoy me. It is something that I have never had the patience to do. I've tried before but without success as I quit before I get too far in. I have the outline of the wolf and the main tree trunk in place. I also have some vague lines going on to suggest the lay of the land which will appear to rise behind the wolf...I hope. I may get brave enough to do this as a wip on wc...maybe. Not too sure about that.

ooh,oooh,oooh I'm so excited. I've ordered a new camera! It's a Pentax K-X model so I can use my existing Pentax K mount lenses and accessories with it. It is apparently the latest Pentax 'user friendly' digital SLR camera. I really do need the user friendly kind of thing...automatic stuff...but it also has a manual setting to use for more creativity once I get the hang of it. I am looking forward to better shots and something new to learn and play with. We went to an Arts and Crafts Show and Sale today. Their are some extremely talented folks around here. This sort of thing always inspires me to improve and learn more about how to create believable art work. My latest drawing work in progress is a Chihuahua portrait. Such cute little critters. After this little guy is completed it is time for me to expand what I do by exploring effective and interesting backgrounds. I never have bothered with that but it is time to get at it. Natural themes but not vast landscapes seems to be a logical place for me to start. Research!

These are my two latest completed projects. The horse is Music with Chris...the drawing is a gift for Trudi. It was their 10 anniversary a while back. Congrats ofcourse. Trudi took the photo I used for reference and I felt so inspired by it. Now the kittenses were just too cute to pass up taking a stab at drawing. It was fun to work out their little faces and assign imaginary personalities to each one as I worked on them.

My dragon project seems to have gone into hibernation for the time being. I am beginning to rethink the largeness of it. I am seriously considering scaling it down ...quite a lot. It is very and I really do mean VERY boring to work on something big, big, big and disjointed. Perhaps 11" by14" total is more sensible and will keep me interested and focussed on the task. I need to think and decide...I hate incomplete projects.