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I am unable to continue with this blog  as my computer considers the new photo upload to be a malicious  add-on and a danger to my computer. If I am unable to upload photos there is nothing else for me to say  or use this blogger site for. Bye Bye and see you on Wet Canvas. Drawspace or some other blog site. Too bad so sad.

I've done some work on Smokey's eyes and generally more on the fur texture. My next step is likely to add the other ear and shoulder.

I've done some more work on Smokey's nose and shaped up his face with furry texture a bit. The nose needs more refining still and ofcourse more layers of graphite are needed to finish the fur over all but it is coming along nicely. I still have a long way to go on the eyes before I can say I'm there with them too. I don't want to add the other ear and shoulder until I'm happy with the eyes and face.

Here's an update with some corrections done to the shape of the nose...my next goal will be to create a more realistic nose texture before I move on to the rest of the fur.

Moving right along across to the muzzle with lots more layering to do to get the texture as I like it. First I'll do some work on the throat area to give it more perspective as the nose looks not quite right. It could be 'cause it's just hanging out there.

Here's how the portrait of Smokey is coming along. I'm taking my time and trying to be more exacting in hopes of creating realism is the piece. It is to be for a friend to give to her father as a gift so I want to do the best that I can. The texture of the fur is coming along as I like...so far so good.

Whoa...I had to set aside the kitten and dog project to begin a commission drawing of Smokey. Here's where I am so far. I working it as a WIP on WC also.

I have a new work in progress. This kitten and dog is being worked on 6x8 smooth Bristol. I have layed in the basics of the kitten and see that I need to work more on creating a more realistic texture for its coat. I think I'll just try to do that before I go any further on the dog.

Finished work...I am pleased with this one! I only deepened the darks a bit but I like the result anyway.

I had some time to work on this today. The whiskers please me greatly!!! I still want to work in some depth to the shadow side. So far I have only used B and 2B for the darks...I may go to a 4B or just keep layering as I have been.

I have gotten some shape and definition down for the whiskers. I still need to work on some depth and texture around the muzzle as well as some overall deepening of the darks in the shadows.

Progress again though not a lot. I still need to work on the overall texture and darkness of the last side of the face. It's coming along okay.

I made some progress again last evening...about 2 more hours of work. I am developing the other side of the face...slowly working in the texture and shading layer upon layer. I see that I need to finish the top corner as yet too. I moved down too soon and left a gap. Also I am poised to begin the whisker section on this side of the face.

I have put 2 more hours into my cat project. I am still working the texture of the hair by slowly and lightly layering in graphite to create the shadows behind the hair. This size of this work is a 5x7 extreme close up so creating a believable hair texture is alway in my mind as I work.

This drawing is moving along. I put 2 more hours into it last evening. Progress is slow but steady! I am satisfied with this side of the face. I 've darkened the nose and eyes to the point at which I believe they will stay. I will proceed to the other side of the face which will be a bit darker...in the shadow.

I put in another 4 hours work on this last evening. I had to make a correction to the chin area...I seem to have gotten lost while working on the whiskers. I've also worked on the overall depth of the hair shading...it is coming along layer by layer. I am concentrating on not getting in a rush, trying to take my time and get as much out of the shading process as I can before moving on to the other side of the face.

I've developed the direction of hair growth and have worked out the position of the whiskers. I used a 6H pencil to lay down a number of layers of graphite using light strokes in the direction of growth then continued with H, B and 2B pencils to create the shading variations. For the whiskers I began by drawing in the shadow under each one and then tried to maintain the whiteness above it as the whisker itself...gradually refining the thickness and lifting out smudging and such with a kneaded eraser. I do not use any blending tools other than an 8H pencil with a very light touch. This seems for me to pull enough graphite out and to create a crisp yet blended transition. The key for me is to keep laying down graphite gradually. I made this progress over 4 hours last evening.

I have a delightful new cat close up in progress. This one will give me some practice doing whiskers. I placed the eyes and nose and other prominent features using the grid method. I like to start with the eyes, giving them lots of very light layers of graphite to bring out their shape and shading. I use a circular movement when I work on the iris and the nose. This for me gives the texture a seemingly real look. The progress shown here represents approximately 4 hours of work. I started it last evening while watching TV...then spent a couple of hours this morning refining the eyes and developing the rubbery little nose

I have finished the cat portrait...I like it. It turned out better than I thought it would. Those ears are far from perfect but I think there is improvement showing. That I think will be my focus for learning for the next little while. More cats to follow!!

The cat portrait is coming along pleasingly. I am, however, labouring over the ears. Those wispy ear hairs are difficult for me to render. I am getting better at it each time I draw a cat but it is definitely the most difficult part for me. Fun but difficult!!

I am making some progress with the cat close up. The texture of the fur is coming nicely but there is still quite a ways to go. Time or rather the lack of time is all that is holding me back. I find this to be an enjoyable work. I will be gracing the wall of our Cat Room in the boarding kennel with this fellow and 5 others I have completed previously. Anyway it will be a few weeks before that wall is built so I can take my time and enjoy the process.

Well now it has been a while since I have danced with the creative muse. Between the yard and garden and my little grooming visitors my time has been kind of monopolized. Here I am at last though with a cat in progress. It is a weekly challenge at WC but I doubt that I will get it finished by the end of the week...it is Saturday already afterall. It is such a lovely closeup to work on! At this point I'm doing some preliminary hair texture. The eyes have a good start but still need some refining. I am totally enjoying this one.

Now this is almost too much fun! It is an excellant way to be productive while sitting in front of the TV in the evening. My paints are a tad old (1994) and stubborn to work with and my brushes are very frayed and will not hold a point but for learning how they'll do.

Here's my first rock kitty...what fun. It's a bit rough but it the first afterall...hopefully I'll get better at it as I go. My assortment of old brushes is a bit lacking in the fineness of line department plus my hands are not all that steady. It was good fun to paint and there will be more.

Yesterday was a totally outdoorsy day...mostly sitting on my dirt pile sifting out rocks so I can turn it into part of the garden this summer. The wonderful thing about sitting in the dirt is that one has lots of time to observe what's going on. I spotted these first few wild strawberry blossoms and this lovely purple blossoms by being close to the earth. They are both very tiny and hard to see...the purple one expecially as it is about 1/4 of an inch in length and very tight to the ground. And this lovely sparrow came and sat on the fence to see what I was doing too. Once again my graphite drawing has ground to a halt...too many spring distractions. Popped into the library and got a book on drawing animals on rocks...I have some old acrylic paints and the fun idea of lining the walkway up to my dog grooming shop with rock kitties. I haven't got that underway yet. I'm waiting for a tube of black acrylic paint to arrive...the only color I don't have and it's in every design.

I'm still keeping an eye on the nesting eagles across the way from us. In these shots which I caught yesterday the eagle is calling to her mate. He showed up about 5 or 10 minutes later with a fish. He perched up on a slightly further away tree...too far for a good photo...ate the fish and when she flew from the nest to his perch...he immediately flew over to the nest for his turn at brooding. I can hardly wait for the hatching time.

What a great way to spend the afternoon...again! I found a new position to shoot the eagle nest from. The view is clearer and it's quite comfy too. I waited there for a couple of hours in hopes that the mate would return and provide me with some flight shots again. But alas all I got was mom brooding away. Then as I waited 6 deer hopped up onto the road and pranced about for me. What good luck and fun. I nearly fell out of my perch as I swiveled my camera around to catch their antics. A good day for photo ops!!!

Not too much going on with drawing lately. Lots of garden preps and dead fall clearing from our forested area has been keeping me busy. I've been keeping an eye on two eagles which have been hanging around a near by nest. I was able to get these photos today over a period of three hours. It was a great day for sitting in the woods on the side of a hill! The sky was overcast yet bright. I'm not sure whether that was a help or hindrance for photograpy but I'm happy with the shots anyway.

I finished the Sharpei today. What a fun drawing to work on with all those wrinkles and bristly hairs to work in. Working on it reminded me of the first time I held one of those dogs. I had only seen photos before and when the puppy came into the shop I thought it would be all soft and cuddly. My reaction to scooping it up for its bath was....eeeeuuuuuwwww. There does not seem to be a direction to pet this type of dog that is not prickly. Very special indeed.

Here's a work in progress of a Sharpei from wc weekly draw challenge. It still needs a lot of work to bring out the bristliness of the coat. The eyes are still a bit lifeless and well the nose is simply not all there yet. It is a fun dog portrait to try as the point (as I see it) is to get the feel of the dog's bristly coat to come through in the rendering. It looks like a cuddly soft dog but frankly their coats are as prickly as an old scrub brush. We'll see if I can manage that feat in the days to come.

More protrait practice from wc. The beard was difficult to render. All in all though it was a great practice piece to work on. It is taking me some time and effort to get back into the drawing groove.

Ahhh. Finally completed this WC weekly challenge from last week. I felt oddly out of touch with doing human portrait. But, once I began to remember the knack it became a joy to work on. I am very pleased with the effect of the eyes...almost to the exclusion of the rest of her features. The creative muse has returned...at last.

My creativity is back!!! Thanks to Roly Poly Oly. He is a HuskyX that we took care of for 2 weeks for friends. And here he is. It was a joy to draw him and a pleasure to give the drawing to his folks! Now maybe I can get back to the pencils.

This cheeky little fellow was sitting atop the step railing peeking in to see where his best buds...Zak and Freedom...had gone to. I was sitting in my blind stalking birds at the feeder when I spotted this. I thought it was funny but I was glad the dogs did not see him from inside. They'd have gone wacko.

I took this landscape a week ago and I keep going back to it. It is not a particularly great shot. The day was somewhat dull and it was late for what little sun there was that day. There was evidence of either heavy frost or light snow on the higher elevations. I did use my tripod so the s lack of sharp focus is atmospheric. This was taken with a 55-300 mm zoom. What I'm getting at is...it's compressed, fuzzy and obviously low in light. BUT...for some reason it has captured my interest. Perhaps the textures, the lines of the various planes, the different blues are the reasons it appeals to me. It is truly representative of what our winter has been this year.

I had my blind set up for a few hours close to the bird feeders. I managed to get a few fairly good shots of birds and a squirrel and nearly froze my butt off. The blind was very cozy as long as the sun was shining. Once it disappeard behind the clouds I discovered that I was not dressed warmly enough. It was an interesting endeavour in any case. I am trying desparately to get inspired to draw again....Where did my creative muse go???? Where????