Pet Portraits and Wildlife Art

These are my next three portraits, they are all to be completed in graphite pencils. This is Patton, he is owned by Steve Paschketwitz and is from Madison, Winsconson, USA.

Please visit http://www.esmondrott.com/ to see more stunning photographs (including Patton) and information about the breed. The image of Patton was taken by Ann Felske-Jackman.


The two weinaramers above are Olivia and Nina and they feature at Stephanie Horners site http://www.edenweimaraners.com/ and where there are plenty more images of this breed.


Unfortunately I do not have names for these two cuties, the image has been supplied by Rebecca Richardson who has plenty of really great pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/rainriver



All of the images you can view at the respective web addresses are just superb and are well worth a visit.

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.

Well as promised here are the pics of my new puppy. We went to visit today, they are only 5 weeks old but already are quite a size! The pic below shows my puppy being beaten up by her brother, this was the only time she lost as she really is very bossy.

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.

This is the latest tractor to be rehomed!! It's a fordson major and has seen better days but....it's in good company as we already have three others in varying states of repair
And the international above is actually 99% completed!I managed to crash the David Brown above, into a tree trying not to run over Zac, then I rolled it into a pheasant pen (I blame the mechanic for this as it had no brakes).

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.

I would like to thank all of my customers who have taken the time to send emails and Christmas cards, plus the bottles of wine, whiskey and champagne (yes I did get champagne) which will undoubtedly be much appreciated over the festive break, so wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

And it was completed in time for Christmas Day unwrapping!!!

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.

I delivered Timber and Harvey's portrait this morning

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.

Been outside for most of the day, cleaning out rabbit cages and feeding the birds, a bit of a mammoth task! This is a blue eared pheasant, they are from China, ours is so tame he will come to the fence to be fussed!
And our Reeves, these have really long tails, sometimes up to 4 ft, they are supposed to be kept in round pens to prevent damage to the tail when they are exhibited.
As usual Gypsy found somewhere to dig and get dirty, I think she has shovels not paws!
Some of our Muscovy ducklings with Mum and Bob the guinea fowl with his girlfriend, all going for a stroll around the garden.
These two are Peking bantams, they are brothers and look a bit festive by the holly

Hooray, it's finished. This shot unfortunately is not the best, the grass is much richer in colour but if I had brightened the image the dogs just did not look right. Just need to add a motif to the mount now, luckily the customer did not arrive yesterday so technically I did not miss a deadline!!!

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.

I've managed to get quite a lot of this portrait done, it's a big one, A3 sized so I'm amazed at how much I made myself concentrate to get this done in such a short time. Still not sure I can get it finished today though especially as I'm unsure what time the customer will arrive, luckily he has another reason to visit and is dropping off some straw bales for the chickens so it won't be a wasted journey.As you can see most of the springer (Timber) is in place now and it's back to the labrador (Harvey)Here are some close up of the heads to show the detail.This portrait is also having a motif on the mount, the dogs names are to be put on the mount as well.

I hope you've noticed my new headers on my blog and website, I finally managed to find a good slideshow application, I quite like it, all I need to do is add more images as and when needed.

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.

And the latest update on Timber and Harvey, it seems to have taken an age to get this far, there were so many layers on the lab's shoulders I seems to have not got very far since yesterday!

I've also received a bottle of wine and a very nice thank you letter from the customer who ordered the corgi and jack russells portraits, it seems they were very happy with them which is good news.

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.

Work has started on Harvey the black labrador, this is to be a double portrait along with Timber the springer spaniel.
I posted the last of my postal commissions today, the portrait above is supposed to be ready for collection this Saturday, although I think this could be a long shot, luckily the customer is local so if the deadline passes I can still deliver it to him...phew!!!
I'm starting to look at things for my new puppy, as we will be working out in the woods and she is jet black I think she'll need a fluorescent collar otherwise I shan't be able to see her!!! Also she needs a bed, the problem with everything is that she will be working straight away as a puppy but will not stay small for long so I think she will get through at least two of everything before she reaches full size, hopefully she won't need two lots of food though!! I'm hoping to visit her again very soon, hopefully this time I'll remember to take photos, last time I was so carried away fussing her I forgot.

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.

I've added the crossed paws to Liam and Clyde's portrait, I positioned it slightly nearer the inside edge to allow for the frame overlapping.

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.

And it's back to Lizzie, I did tell the customer I had a few bits to tweak, however it was a completely different background! I think this makes Lizzie look as though she is in a setting now. All that grass was murder!

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.

Unfortunately no matter what the weather or how busy I am, the animals still need to be cleaned out and given a run around. As you can see, my newly upgraded pens are just brilliant to let everything out together for them to dig and play in!!!! Actually it's me that plays the most! Click on the pic to expand it.

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.

The two Jack Russells are now finished, they will be framed up with the corgi and will be ready for the customer to collect.

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.

And a quick update on the Jack Russells, I always manage to leave something out (such as the ear on the right dog!) and start work elsewhere!

I'm sooooooo excited, I've just been to look at a litter of german shepherds and chosen my new puppy, she has mid to long length solid black fur which is quite thick and curly at the moment, she looks more like a poodle infact, but I met all her brothers and sisters plus Mum and Dad (Mum was especially gorgeous, all black with mid length fur) and they all looked stunning. I wanted them all!!! Mum was lovely, she was very accommodating letting me pick them all up without any fuss at all. They are only 3 - 4 weeks old at the moment so I have to be patient and cannot bring my pup home until well after Christmas, and I am never patient so it will be hard work! I think there will be a few visits in between for me to see how she is getting on, the next problem is a name, I've thought of Ebony as it's black and to do with forestry but I'm pretty stuck on Willow at the moment, so I'll have to wait to see what suits her in a few weeks. Any suggestions are welcome!!! See her grandfather or great-grandfather here, I can't remember which until I see the pedigree, isn't he a good looking boy!

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.

Almost finished the first jack russell now. I have used a 2H for the main of the portrait and then darkened some areas with an HB pencil

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.

Another portrait is started, these are two jack russells for a Chrismas present so I need to get motoring with the pencils!!

I've been asked to provide portraits of rottweilers, weineramas and pugs so if anyone has any images they wouldn't mind me using please email them to pencilportraits@rock.com. In return I will send a print of the finished work. Anyone interested?

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.

And here is the lovely Lizzie!

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.

And here is the latest update on Lizzie, at last she can balance on all four legs now!! As you can see she isn't white at all, I was a bit worried how I would work this portrait but as soon as I began and saw all the colours in her coat it did get easier! She is very lilac underneath and down her back leg due to shadows plus she does have a lot of dove grey to show up her muscles so all in all she does show up quite well even on white cartridge paper. I've left her paws for the moment as I will need to add the background and underneath her feet.

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.

Lizzie now has a few extra legs!!! It's difficult to see a white dog on a white
page but so far I have used 4 or 5 layers over Lizzie's head and shoulders, I
have only added the dove grey colouring further down her body, then I will go
back adding the small pockets of other colours such as lilac and loganberry.
After all the shades have been added I then go back over them with a white grey
pencil, this blends all the layers together looking more like smooth shorter
fur, at the moment some of the pencil lines are still visible.

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.

Apologies for this but I need to post this image to get a web url for it to use elsewhere!!!! Sorry everybody!

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.

Meet Lizzie, the white boxer, this could prove a challenging portrait as it is to be in colour!!! So far I have worked on Lizzie's head and I have actually coloured in the white fur with lavender, dove grey, white grey, petrol grey and a small amount of loganberry. Quite a few colours for a white dog!

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.

And here is where I have got to with Liam and Clyde, I still need to add a little pic to the mount which is soon to be done.

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.

And the corgi is now finished, I have spoken to the client and he wants it mounted in black with a wooden frame. Hooray, one more completed.

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.

Been working on the graphite corgi portrait and this is how far I've got up until now. Not much more to do on this one and another will be marked off my 'to do' list....yippee!!

Also I've received news about Dolly and Peggy's portrait, it seems their owner was very happy to receive it for her birthday. See the portrait here

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.

Good news all round today, Jess' portrait and the trio portrait have all been approved. These will be hitting the Christmas post sack very soon. As you can see above I finally got around to finishing Jess' mouth, poor dog was without one for quite some time. I'm back on the black labs, Liam and Clyde today, I did start yesterday afternoon and decided I did not like the grass they were on so it's had a change of colour but I'm still working on it and will post an update very shortly.

Just an update on the pets, we saw a buzzard flying very low in the bottom field so I went to investigate and it was sat in the tree ready to do another flyby, I clapped my hands but it refused to move until I got quite close (good job our chickens are too fat to carry away!) but I was worried about my muscovy ducklings but luckily all were there and accounted for. Our neighbour is a keen birdwatcher and has said the worst predator we have here regularly flies over which is the goshawk, typical that one nests just around the corner so we have to always watch out for these. They can catch prey on the wing so if it ever takes a fancy to anything it's a gonner I'm afraid! Anyway, we are having major discussions about my new dog, I'm looking for a black alsation to take to work (Zac is gun shy and noises make him very scared, he trembles so much he can't walk and Gypsy gets stuck in the bramble or gets too tired and sits down refusing to budge) so I want a dog of my own to take, I am set on an alsation but a spaniel and labrador feature heavily as alternatives so I am told!

Unfortunately a very poor shot due to lack of sunshine or daylight! And here is the trio completed, I think you should be able to click on this image to enlarge it. I'm really very pleased with the finished portrait, each one I complete adds to my skills, I think usually pencil portraits are done with softer pencils but I mainly used a 2H which is quite hard to ensure all the fine details were captured and then I used an HB for the darker areas and Baron the rottweiler, as both Daisy and Saffie were lighter coloured dogs this contrasted well. I'm intending to finish Jess today and go back to the labradors, I still have a lot more to do but I do feel a little less stressed that by the end of today I will have two less portraits on my 'to do' list.