Bonnie

Bonnie

rabbit

rabbit

Lisa

Lisa
colour 8x10

Mrs Blore

Mrs Blore
graphite 8x10

Oakley

Oakley

About Me

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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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Saturday 29 August 2009

Pet Portraits Competition Entry No 9

Meet Dylan. Click on the image to see more detail.


This is what his owner has to say...

he is 2 years old and came from Wales (hence the name!) ... he is a very loving and devoted little chap, always ready to play and have fun and it would be absolutely wonderful to have a portrait of him!

If you would like this image to be painted as a pet portrait please leave a comment from 1st January to 1st July 2010 stating 'vote' somewhere in the comment, any comments not stating 'vote' will not be counted. Non voting comments are also accepted.

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. 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
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!
Friday 28 August 2009

Dog Portraits, Willow, Gypsy and Zac

Here is Zac’s dog portrait completed, I will obviously go back to add the background and add bits here and there but you can see it’s him now. I’m pleased with the likeness and it does help that digital cameras are now wonderful: unlimited pictures can be taken, settings can be changed and the not so good images can be deleted, you can click away until the perfect image is captured. Any pet owner knows their pet upside down and will know when they’ve got that perfect shot so really there is no excuse for a bad image these days which is just such good news for a pet portrait artist, it must have been hell years ago when cameras with films were in use and you had to wait for the photos to be developed, remember posting them to Truprint and waiting a couple of weeks to get them back! My mum used to wait until she had a batch and would send off a few films at a time which meant she’d even forgotten some photos being taken or that favourite shot turned out to be just the side of my sister’s head (mum is a terrible photographer even she has to admit that). Anyway I will be starting work on Gypsy very soon so do come back to check how things are going.


And here are a few very short videos of Cyril, you'll see he's a little unsteady on his feet still but he is just so cute!



If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. 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
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!
Thursday 27 August 2009

Pet Portrait Competition Entry No 8

Meet Des. This is the second of two entries for him. Click on the image to see more detail.
This is what his owner has to say...

I got Des when he was 7 weeks old and could fit into the palm of my hand, he is now 18 months old, he is a cross between a Patterdale and Jack Russell terrier.
Des is a very friendly little chap who loves to play with other dogs and enjoys a lot of fuss from everyone he meets.

If you would like this image to be painted as a pet portrait please leave a comment from 1st January to 1st July 2010 stating 'vote' somewhere in the comment, any comments not stating 'vote' will not be counted. Non voting comments are also accepted.

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. 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
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

Pet Portrait Competition Entry No 7

Meet Des. This is the first of two entries for him. Click on the image to see more detail.


This is what his owner has to say...

I got Des when he was 7 weeks old and could fit into the palm of my hand, he is now 18 months old, he is a cross between a Patterdale and Jack Russell terrier.

Des is a very friendly little chap who loves to play with other dogs and enjoys a lot of fuss from everyone he meets.


If you would like this image to be painted as a pet portrait please leave a comment from 1st January to 1st July 2010 stating 'vote' somewhere in the comment, any comments not stating 'vote' will not be counted. Non voting comments are also accepted.
If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. 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
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!
Wednesday 26 August 2009

Pet Portraits Website


Well I've spent a lot of time updating my website over the last two days, plus I think I've managed to match my blog to my website. If it works I'll be so proud of myself, I am not an internet expert by any means but I am pleased I'm beginning to understand the coding basics (and very basic it is too at my level) but it did take a lot of head scratching and trial and error to get it to match. Have a look at my new image logos on my website and let me know what you think. I've also managed to figure out how to add a blogroll to my blog (it's definitely not as simple as hosting with blogger when you can just add gadgets all over the place) so again, if you would like to be on my blogroll, just let me know (please return the favour - my new blog address is www.artbykarie-ann.co.uk/blog.html) and I'll add them. I'm not sure if posting this will come up with my revamped blog page yet but my website is definitely up and running correctly so if you do spot any deadlinks or any errors just let me know! If you have any suggestions of how I can improve things more just leave me a comment

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. 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
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!
Tuesday 25 August 2009

Dog Portraits, Willow, Gypsy and Zac

I'm really starting to get on with this now, sometimes I need to be in the mood to get anything done at a pace and everything else seems to get in the way! I've carried on with the chest area, this is a somewhat limited palette, I'm using white, which is more creamy than pure white, then white grey, french grey and steel grey for the darkest shadows. I usually put done the highlights (white and white grey) in the small area I am working then add the shadows finally going back over everything with the white grey to fill in the gaps so to speak to ensure the fur looks full. I think I am happy with using just the four colours at the moment but no doubt I'll return at some point to add more, you know me, fiddle, fiddle until I am totally satisfied!

And just to show you how much Cyril has grown, here's a little pic of him after having lots of milk so he just sort of collapses in my hands, he nearly fills one hand completely now, a bit different from the bald little midge he was when he first arrived! He's making all sorts of noises now, much to terrier Gypsy's annoyance, she keeps tilting her head to one side looking at the carry cage (which is well out of reach) as if to see where her next meal is coming from!
Also Willow is in very bad books, she managed to eat all of the eggs collected yesterday (about two dozen) and is quite sick and smelly today. She is currently collapsed on the floor looking a bit crook! What a bad girl!

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. 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
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!
Sunday 23 August 2009

Dog Portraits, Willow, Gypsy and Zac

I've made more progress with my dog portrait, Zac is fast appearing on the page which is surprising considering the image is 70cm by 50cm! I have worked some of the white chest area but it is lost in the brightness of the photo at the moment but it is there.
Plus here is a little video of Cyril the squirrel as promised and as you can see he is a bit mad, the problem is he isn't the most balanced, I think he needs stabillisers until he finds his way about a bit better.
If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. 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
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!
Saturday 22 August 2009

Dog Portraits, Willow, Gypsy and Zac

As they say, it's no good fibbing because you always get caught out! This was my secret project, it was to be a very large portrait (well it still is) of Willow, Gypsy and Zac for my other half Ronnie as a present. I thought I could get it done in secret as he is at work and I am not at the moment, but he caught me out, I tried to fib but to no avail so it's not a secret any longer!!! I've also now managed to commendere the portrait to take to shows with me so it's all guns blazing to complete this dog portrait pretty pronto. These are a couple of updates to show how I've got on so far and this is where I've currently got to so now you are all at the same stage I am!
So a bit of info for you, this is Zac, he will be on the right hand side of the portrait so I intend to work on him first, Gypsy will be sat in the middle and Willow on the left side. I've used some of the images on my photography tips page as reference images as that really was what they were for but I had so many images that were poor quality I thought I would update the page with more examples.
But back to Zac: Zac is about 13 years old and is still going strong. He stays with Ronnie's Mum at night time (she lives next door) but comes down to see us through the day and nags me until I take all of them for a walk around the woods. He is such a happy dog, all the way around the woods, his tail never stops wagging even on the way home!
So far I have had to use a variety of brands of pencils to get the correct colour for Zac's fur. I have never mixed brands before thinking they would not work well together but thought maybe I was restricting my palette a little, so here I have used derwent artists, coloursoft, studio and polychromis and prismacolour pencils and so far so good, although you can feel the different brands in use as some are smoother than others. Anyway so far so good, plus I think I've managed to get the sheen on his coat quite well and even though Zac is somewhat of an old gent now his fur is still shiny and in good condition plus he's the best looking spaniel I've ever seen!
Cyril the Squirrel update:
The latest news is that Cyril can now see as his eyes are fully open, the website I have used for info about squirrels says that once squirrels see humans they become a little frightened and do not interact too well but it seems no one told Cyril, as soon as I put my hand in his carry basket to feed him he begins 'gumming' my fingers, he shows absolutely no concern about my not being at all squirrel like, perhaps he's like me and needs specs to cross the room!!! Yet again I've not taken the promised video of him but I will I do so as soon as possible.

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. 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
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!
Friday 21 August 2009

Horse portraits, Badger

Well I've added more dark areas to this horse portrait but now I need to ponder a bit to see if it needs more, this photo was taken in daylight so some of the colour has washed out but I don't want to alter it with photoshop (for one thing I'm no good at it anyway)
Plus I've added more images to my photography tips page with the help of my trusted assistants, Willow, Zac and Gypsy. It looks more like a photo album of my pets now rather than a photography hints page!!! Anyway here are my favourite images of them, Willow is a big girl now and looks fully grown although I have been told there is still some way to go, I'm just so glad she can jump in the truck on her own!
Willow
Zac
Gypsy
And the latest update on Cyril the Squirrel is that he opened his eyes today, it seems he has also found a voice, I had assumed squirrels just make a funny little grunting noise but he has squeaked out for food a few times. His tail is getting more bushy and as soon as I can I intend to take a little video of him to show you all how much he has grown. The best bit is that he is growing little tufts of reddish fur on his ears and they look soooooo cute!!

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. 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
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!
Wednesday 19 August 2009

Horse portraits, Badger

Well this is where I am so far, I've had a couple of days without a pc, the laptop with a broken screen , then the internet connection died, alas I was unable to post!!! I did get plenty of other things done, but I lost time today as I had to use the new router which was a pig to connect to and load and finally after what seems like a lifetime I now have two wireless pcs...hooray! I still need to add some darks to Badger, but on the whole he is completed, I also managed to order to custom mounts from the shop today, they may take a couple of weeks to arrive but as soon as I sort Arthur and Macey out I'll post them too. I've also started a big trio of dogs, but I can't post it as it's a surprise but as soon as I can I will, plus I still have two more horses and a few dogs to do which I can post so I'll try to start one of those too, just to keep you all interested. 
And here is the charming Cyril the squirrel, he's now three times as big as when we first found him, his eyes are still not open but he's a very loud little monster and very greedy too. At long last his fur is starting to thicken up, this photo was taken a couple of days ago and his tail is much thicker already.
And for anyone else who ever finds a baby squirrel, this is what you need to do....
Milk formula:
1/3 full fat cows milk
2/3 full fat goats milk (it's easier to digest apparantly)
2-3 drops of adibec (toddler vitamins)
1 teaspoon of live, natural yoghurt
Make up 150ml (1/4 pint) fresh each day
Warm about 10 - 15mls in a container over warm water and feed to the squirrel with a pipette or syringe (the syringe could prove a problem unless you are able to administer milk drop by drop as you could force too much into it's mouth and so into it's lungs which will kill little squirrel)
Feed 5 -7mls every two hours through the day, meaning about 8 or 9 feeds until about 8 weeks old when weaning begins, we've not got that far so I'll update when we get there!!!
Make sure fresh milk is made everyday.
For sleeping I used a soft bath towel wrapped around a water bottle for warmth, plus a thick woolly hat (I used a thinsulate as the little claws can get caught in a knitted hat)
Then to stop little Cyril escaping (he has already got out into the bottom of the airing cupboard after being in a basket) a pet carrier with small mesh at the door!
So much for one so small!!!
So far the milk, vitamin drops, yoghurt, travelling, new water bottle, washing squirrel bed clothes has cost nearly £30 so he's the most expensive nut cracker on the block!!!

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. 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
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.


Thanks for visiting!
Saturday 15 August 2009

Horse Portraits, Badger

I have been busy honest! Here is the latest update on the first of the horse portraits, this one being Badger. I've managed to get quite a bit done, although it is only for short stints at a time as Cyril the Squirrel is adamant he needs feeding on a very regular basis. We went to Kington Steam and Vintage Show today and I insisted on taking Cyril in his pet carrier along with a flask of milk, his pipette and a hot water bottle! As soon as I can I will take a new photo of him, he has fur now and his tail is definitely bushing up so he's a proper looking squirrel now instead of a Gollom look alike!

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. 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
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!
Tuesday 11 August 2009

Horse portraits, Badger

A couple of updates on the first of my horse portraits, this one featuring Badger. I've managed to work down the face and across the forehead, still along way to go though so back to it!!!!

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. 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
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!
Sunday 9 August 2009

Horse Portraits, Badger

Just on case anyone had thought I'd given up with my blog, I am still here! I've finished Arthur and Macey as far as I can but until I get a mount for them I'm not sure how far I need to continue the grass around their feet so I will update them as soon as possible. In the meantime, the next of my pet portraits and the first of three horse portraits I have to do is the lovely Badger, he is a small pony and much loved by his owner. Badger is quite a calm little fellow and just the right sort of pony for a little girl to own. This has taken about 5 hours so far and is on drafting film, so lots and lots of tiny tiny pencil strokes for the fur effect. I'm off to a dog show this weekend and want to be able to take Arthur and Macey completed with me as well as this one either on the drawing board or completed so I'd best get on!!!
As for Cyril.....
....he has now started to grow fur, a good sign I think, he's very very greedy and gets a bit erratic when it's feeding time and scrambles all over the place looking for the pipette, I'm usually covered in his dinner and he does get a bit sticky, it's become a bit of a routine now that he has to be wiped all over with baby wipes to clean him up, by that time he's had so much milk he's asleep so doesn't take any notice! He's such a messy little thing he has a change of water bottle covers and woolly hats to sleep in but that didn't stop him escaping his basket over night and my having to empty the entire contents of the airing cupboard to find him curled up in a tea towel. He's now in a cane wash basket to prevent any further incidents! I've also found a very local lady who worked for a wildlife rescue charity but now does it from home, so I'll be ringing her for advice because I think Cyril's eyes will open before long and no doubt choas will ensue at that point!
If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. 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
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.
Thanks for visiting!
Friday 7 August 2009

New pet!!!

Well for those few of you who have found me at my new address, I do apologise for my lack of posts this week. I have been busy I promise, as you can see from above, we have a new member of the family. This is thanks to our cat, who felt it a must to leave this very tiny baby squirrel on Ronnie's Mum's doorstep as a present. It took a bit of logic and reasoning to figure out it was actually a squirrel and not a rat (mainly due to the fact it had a furry tail) and after I spent a long time looking for it's Mum, it has now moved into our airing cupboard. It is happily lapping up milk and grumping until it gets some, and as with everything here, has already acquired a name, that being Cyril the Squirrel! I have been replacing warm water bottles for it on a two hourly basis and we have even lit our fire (it is summer I know) to keep the airing cupboard warm for it at night time and it seems to be quite happy sleeping in a thinsulate woolly hat! I didn't expect it to survive this long and it does seem quite fiesty so perhaps it will, then what do I do with it!!!!
Other than that I have been busy revamping my website pages, I've added a more comprehensive guide for both making commissions and gift certificates, as well as buying a gazebo for shows, some tables, framing things and printing leaflets so I have been hard at it I promise. Arthur and Macey are almost completed, I'm now on the grass so hopefully the next post will be of them finished. I did say I was going to speed up but the computer things seem to have taken over, plus I'm trying to get to grips with hosting my own blog, it's quite difficult to get all of the widgets back, they can't just be used as in a normal blog, you need to add the coding direct and then it doesn't always work as I've found out!! I've also completed two commission albums, one with portrait prints in and one with all of my instructions to take to shows for people to read through. I've also managed to book myself into two shows and have three more to sort out.
On top of all of that, Zac, my lovely but very clumsy springer spaniel decided he was very excited and jumped about a bit, getting his legs all tangled up in the power cable to my laptop and smashing it on the floor, I do believe it's only about 3 months old and is now bust, broken, gone and dead. I've had to drag the big pc back downstairs and have spent a long time putting it all back together and moved furniture to accommodate it, that dog is such a bull in a china shop!
If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. 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
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!
Sunday 2 August 2009

Pet Portraits at Dog Show

I have spent a lovely day with Willow and about 400 dogs at a local dog show near Speech House. This was my little pet portrait display I set up, as I've not done many shows I don't have much in the way of equipment so now I have another excuse to go shopping!!! I handed out quite a few brochures so fingers crossed I should have some more commissions soon!!!
Anyway, below you will find a variety of competing dogs, all the while Willow dozed under the truck or chewed on a bone, she really wasn't interested in much at all, what a good little girl!
If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. 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
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.


Thanks for visiting!
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