Young woman and her horse

I've been working hard on my latest commissions, the poodle and an A3 sized pastel portrait of a young woman and her Oldenburg mare. I like this composition very much...it shows love and trust between the horse and her owner. I don't usually draw humans in pastels (most clients prefer charcoal or graphite) so I am happy with how it looks so far.

If I work hard enough on my commissions today I might allow myself to start another watercolour painting tonight.... ;o) Can't wait!

Border Colle pastel portrait finished

I have finally managed to take a photo of Benji's pastel portrait so here it is:

First equine watercolour painting finished

It's done! I am very pleased with how my very first watercolour has turned out and I am sure there'll be many more to come! I enjoyed painting it and can't wait to start another. However, there are three pastel commissions and a donation that I'll work on first.

Kitten to Cat - Help Betsy Campaign

About a week ago, I had an e-mail from Simon Hade of 'Kitten to Cat' - London’s only cat only veterinary clinic. Kitten to Cat have launched an internet campaign to reunite a lost cat with her famliy and cat lovers all over the world are now following her story. 'Betsy's' owners failed to keep their microchip information up to date otherwise it would not be a problem to find them now.

This is Betsy - if you are from the Richmond area and think you know this cat, please contact Kitten to Cat (phone 02089400014), e-mail helpbetsy@kittentocat.com - or you can just drop me a line and I'll forward your message.

I am going to support Kitten to Cat's campaign by creating a portrait of Betsy so watch this space! I shall be posting several 'work in progress' scans for you.

I'll keep you posted on Betsy's story as well. Wouldn't it be wonderful if this grand old lady could be reunited with her family?

First ever watercolour painting!

Now I am really excited about this! I am working on my first ever watercolour painting.

All my life - from the day I was able to hold a pencil - I have loved drawing. Yet I hardly ever liked art lessons at school as we would never actually draw but always work with watercolours...and I just couldn't do it - or thought I couldn't. My teacher didn't see my talent - just told me off for being messy with the paint and water and that kind of put me off 'painting' for about 20 years. However - knowing a lot of other pet portrait artists who create wonderful paintings with watercolours has inspired me and I am determined to face and conquer the negative feelings I have for painting. In fact, I have already made a start: I chose the photo of a polo pony that I took the other week. And guess what: I am enjoying it loads! I mean I don't really know what I'm doing but when I first started using pastels, I didn't either. I am looking forward to doing some more work on it today although I should really be working on the poodle and a pastel portrait of a girl and her horse. By the way, I have finished the portrait of Benji the Collie, just need to take a decent photo later. So maybe I can have some more 'me time' and get my watercolours out again...yay! And maybe at some point I'll be able to offer this medium to my clients as well. :o) Here's a scan of what I've done so far - not too bad, is it? ;o)

Portuguese poodle in pastels

This is Rosie - a Portuguese poodle. She used to be a stray but was rescued by an English couple. Now she is a much loved pet and still lives in Portugal with her English owners. Rosie is being drawn in pastels on A4 sized paper.