Bonnie

Bonnie

rabbit

rabbit

Lisa

Lisa
colour 8x10

Mrs Blore

Mrs Blore
graphite 8x10

Oakley

Oakley

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artbykarieann
I am a part-time pet portrait and wildlife artist living in the deep dark forest between the Royal Forest of Dean, Herefordshire and the Welsh border. A beautiful and inspiring place to live and create pet portraits and wildlife art.
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Sunday 29 March 2009

Amur Leopard by Wildlife Artist Karie-Ann Cooper

Well this shot looks dreadful, I took it outside in the lovely sunshine to get an even light on it and all the colour seems to have faded, it is darker and deeper than it seems here, it looks as though I've taken a layer of colour away rather than add more. Lighting is so difficult to get right, I've tried different cameras, scanners and so forth but I think unless the shot is taken in a studio by a professional photographer, us mere mortals have little chance of getting it perfect. I'm not one to sit at my computer fiddling with a photo editing programme either, in my own opinion I think if you need to start altering things the temptation would be to correct all those minor errors and not show the true portrait (well I'd be tempted anyway!) plus it takes a long time, plus I have no idea how to do it, plus those type of programmes are quite expensive so I'll let it pass me by.

I've also worked a little on Patch and I'll post an update tomorrow for you to catch up with.

On the home front we went to buy a truck today before tractor show season starts and we (Ronnie) can't buy tractor bits and bobs because we don't have transport so that issue was solved today, but when we got to the garage I met the most enormous long coated sable german shepherd dog called Tyson. I took Willow but it seems Tyson was not really friendly with other dogs which was fair enough as it was his garage but he was most definitely people friendly and I wanted to buy him as well as a truck, he was just so lovely, huge, furry and playful. He was only 4 and wanted to play catch with his ball. I want that dog!!!
I've also counted 16 toulouse eggs now so they're still laying but no one is sitting on them yet, I'm going to glue one of them down if this keeps up!
And also, Willow and I have done some serious puppy training today, she came back to her whistle, stopped barking at walkers for a biscuit and has also discovered her ball has a squeak so I've got a bit of ear ache (I'm going to bury it when she's not looking!) and she's had a brush and looks all posh and fluffy now, just in time to get mucky at work tomorrow!

I've also been awarded this
by Have brush will travel so thank you very very much for that. I have to name 7 things I love and pass it on to 7 other blogs which I feel are deserving but as I am being told to relinquish my computer to my other half I shall leave those tasks until tomorrow!

Please visit here for a chance to win your wildlife image as a piece of art.
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If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower (see bottom of page). If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.
If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Thanks for visiting!


8 comments:

angelandspot said...

I hope your toulouse sit on their eggs soon. I am hoping mine starts laying again soon. I only have one pair. I want some babies out of them. I still think the painting looks pretty even though the lighting was not correct for it. It's going to be so pretty when it is completed.

Gail H. Ragsdale said...

It is going to be so lovely!

Unknown said...

wow... it's coming along nicely...
as for the award...well deserved young lady...

Sarah Sullivan said...

Beautiful work!! I do love your cats!!

S Ciaccio said...

Looks great to me. I have the same problem with my photos, I have decided I need tot take a class on how to take pictures of art.

Anonymous said...

Hi Karie!
Are Derwent pencils opaque enough to put light ones on top of dark ones, like highlights?
I am LOVING watching this drawing!
Thanks,
Jane

Mrs Mac said...

Thank you for following my blog- gosh, I am so honoured because your work is amazing!

artbykarieann said...

Hi Jane, to a certain extent you can use white over most darker colours although it will not be white as such, just lighter, but a trick I have found is to use a stabilo white aquarellable over dark it almost makes a new base so you can re-colour an area. This only works on areas where there aren't too many layers but it does definitely make an area much lighter if you need to change it. And thanks Helena for your comments, I will be back to your blog endless times!

Copyright (c) 2008 -2010 Karie-Ann Cooper. All rights reserved. All images, words and text remain the copyright of Karie-Ann Cooper. All artwork on this blog is protected by copyright law and must not be used, copied or downloaded without the permission of the artist