Thursday, May 29, 2008

Norman



This adorable pup is Norman. He is my latest commission and was a pleasure to capture. I wanted this portrait to be reminiscent of the classic dog portraits of the 19th century. During this time, outdoor dog portraits often featured a simple foreground with a tree-line background and a blue sky. I brightened up the colors a bit and gave this theme a try.

Norman's portrait is 8x10" and drawn with pastels on smooth, white vellum.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Waiting For The Rain



The piece above is part of a series of pastels that I am working on for Fireside Gardens. The gardens are owned by my friend, Nancy, and I sell my artistic wares in her gift shop. I thought it would be a neat idea to start a series of animal portraits set in Nancy's gardens. The location is so colorful and lively. I couldn't think of a better background for my work.

Last week, I visited the gardens and snapped several pictures. I also took several pictures of Nancy's schnauzers, Whitney and Ida. For fun, I super-imposed one of the girls on a work bench area of Nancy's garden on my computer and printed out the reference. Then, I drew the scene in pastels. The piece above is the result!

I plan on creating more Fireside drawings in the near future. The pastels will feature Nancy's dogs, as well as a few cats, relaxing around her gardens. If you are in New England, I recommend making a trip to visit Nancy's gardens and gift shop. It is the perfect place to find just the right plants, flowers, and country gifts.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Clawing Her Way To The Top



Here is my latest portrait, called "Clawing Her Way To The Top." While I've never been the type to viciously climb my way to the top, I thought that this title puts a funny spin on a kitten portrait. I'm more of the type to work like a mule while being fed morsels of success here and there.

This kitten, however, operates differently. She is a show kitten that I photographed at a Cat Fancier's Association confirmation show. I believe that she is a Maine Coon kitten, but it is hard for me to tell with the low lighting. I snapped the reference photo just as she was climbing a raffia scratching post to impress the judges.

The portrait above is drawn in pastels on textured pastel paper. It is 8 x 10" in size. I hope that you enjoy this depiction of ruthless competition. Meow!

New Look

You may have noticed that this blog looks a little different, along with the Golden Illustrations website. I decided that it's time for a new look. The black background of the old blog and web page was kind of depressing. Now that I'm living in NH and am happy with my surroundings, it's time to have a web page and blog that reflect that.

I hope that you enjoy the new look. There is even a new gallery on my web page to browse through. We used a new gallery program that presents my artwork simply, without a lot of text clutter. To me, simplicity is best.