Pet Portraits and Wildlife Art

A little update for Badger's dog portrait. I've added more shadows and have began to add the grass highlights.

So I'm pleased to report Cyril is doing just fine and is on his way to freedom!!!

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.

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Things have been moving on in the dog portraits area. I've completed another dog portrait which I cannot post just yet and I've also made progress on Fudge and Ruby but any photo I take is just awful because the light is so poor it looks awful. This is about the best shot I could get of Badger's dog painting but you can see the poor lighting in the background, it is in fact grey and yet looks graduated.
I've also been back to visit Cyril the squirrel, he is still very reluctant to be friends with Shizzle and is very defensive when the two of them meet, however, due to the fact he liked to hang in my hat which was getting wet in the rain, Alex, who is kindly looking after him, has donated a handbag which is waterproof, and it has been lined with Willow's old waterproof and fleecy dog coat and then his woollen hat is inside this. She's told me he is very proud of his new abode so hopefully he will stay a little drier! We are also trying to fatten him up as he does seem tot be a bit of a runt and Alex packs his handbag full of nuts each day to ensure he is stuffing himself silly.

As for everything else, it's been wet and miserable all week, the ugly autumn weather has taken over.

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.

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Almost done with this dog portrait, I need to work on the legs and tail of Murphy but the light is so poor it is impossible to see the pale greys I need to add even under the daylight bulb.

Next on the drawing board will be Fudge and Ruby and this will started this evening as it is in graphite so I should be able to see things a little 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.

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This dog portrait is all but completed now, I just need to leave it for a couple of days to check things over and fiddle about with some of the shadows.



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!

I've started work on one of my graphite pencil portraits, this is of a little terrier how has sadly passed away and also for a returning customer.

This was the customer's first commission from a past Christmas of their black labrador.

And pet news flash.....

I cannot believe I forgot to mention it was Willow's first birthday yesterday. She has a new football to ruin as she does like to puncture them and she has a collection of four flat and torn ones to choose from already. I expect it to last only a matter of days before a hole appears but then she will have weeks of tearing it up to keep her happy.

And here she is with one of her footballs, spot the hole!!!

Anyway, these are our muscovy ducks who have now taken to sitting on the fence by the house waiting for any treats to be given to them. These are all females, mum is closest to the camera and all the others are from the brood shown in this little video from June

The boys are all too lazy to fly up to the house and seem quite content to stay in the orchard all day as it catches the sun.

We also took delivery of a pair of himilayan monal pheasants today. The male is still very plain but his colours will change rapidly and they are one of the prettiest pheasants to be seen. The weather is a bit rubbish today so as soon as the skies brighten up a little I'll be out taking photos for you all to see. They have a massive enclosure and will join a female we already have so fingers crossed they'll settle in quite quickly.

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.

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I've worked some more of Murphy's fur on his back and it looks much shinier now and I've started his chest area, still a long way to go though.
I also went shopping and bought a stock pile of mounts and hope to add a mount library to my website so that people can make their choices easier. At the moment I generally take the portrait to the shop with me and take lots of photos of different colours over the portrait to send to the customer then I have to return to buy them, although this isn't as bad as it sounds as it isn't too far away and I do take a bulk load of portraits at a time, I thought it may be easier to put the colours available on my website.



And important pet news....
Very early this morning I took Willow to meet Brinkley, a huge leonberger who looks like a great big fluffy lion, so they could walk in the woods together as Willow panics at dog training when Brinkley is centre stage. They got on quite well and Willow did try to floor Brinkley but due to his size and his common sense it proved a task too far for Willow and they eventually settled down to trot off into the woods together. Hopefully when we meet up again at dog training she'll shout at him a little less, poor Brinkley!

And I also went to visit Cyril, and in all truth he is a little bit braver, although Shizzle is still manic and believes everthing is his, Cyril was coping a little better. When Shizzle chased him Cyril didn't immediately hide in my hat and hood and he seems to be getting his fair share of food so perhaps it will be uncomfortable for a while until they just decide each other is not so bad after all. I will say I got injured in the line of duty, Shizzle speeds around their enclosure at supersonic speeds and he decided to leap onto me scratching all of my face and hands, no wonder poor Cyril is a little reluctant to be his best friend. I think if they manage to leave each other uninjured it will be good for them both though as Shizzle is probably more squirrel like than Cyril and this is how they are in the wild defending their territories so if we had just released him it may have been a shock too far, this way Cyril may harden up for the big squirrel world to come.
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!

Meet Jasper, this is what his owner has to say...

Meet Jasper, he's the sweetest dog you could ever know. He loves agility but also has a cheeky side and will only jump for treats. That's why he is my perfect pet and deserved a perfect pet portrait! I hope you like the picture!
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!

Meet Ruby, this is the second of two entries for her. This is what her owner has to say...

This is my 11 month old Jack Russell Ruby. She is very cheeky and always on the look out for food.
She is very mischevious and is always up to no good! She loves chasing cats but is actually scared of them and once she catches up with them, she runs away with her tail between her legs!

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!

Meet Ruby, this is the first of two entries of her. This is what her owner has to say...

This is my 11 month old Jack Russell Ruby. She is very cheeky and always on the look out for food.
She is very mischevious and is always up to no good! She loves chasing cats but is actually scared of them and once she catches up with them, she runs away with her tail between her legs!

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!

Meet Charlie, this is what his owner has to say....
Pets name is Charlie, he is a black labrador cross with a springer spaniel. He is a real pet, on the news that our granny had died, he jumped up onto my mums lap and gave here a hug as she was weepy. She felt comforted and we all marvelled at the affection he poured towards her in her saddest hours. what a great loveable pet.

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!

A few things have got in the way of my commissions in the lst couple of days so I'm not where I want to be at the moment but this is the latest update for Dizzy and Murphy's dog portrait.

And news on Cyril....
Cyril has moved house and is living with Shizzle the squirrel not far away. I delivered him on Sunday but unfortunately things were a bit of a disaster to begin with. Shizzle is almost twice the size of Cyril and much more of a boy about town. He's more dominant than Cyril and decided to boss him about (a bit of fur was sent flying) and Cyril was a little bit stressed about this. I hoped things would calm down after they became used to each other and it seemed that by Tuesday they were suffering each other although not friends and Cyril was coping. However, being soppy as I am I decided to visit yesterday and things are definitely not going as well as planned. I found Cyril hiding behind a door in the corner and when I picked him up he was shaking like a leaf. He decided to move into my hood and curl up against my neck, this has not helped my resolve to leave him there in any way! I stayed for an hour and the whole time Cyril just stayed in my hood not wanting to come out, Shizzle on the other hand was prancing all over looking for him as it seems to have helped him no end by having a companion. I left my hood for Cyril and we put it inside my wool hat he already had and hung him behind the door to make him feel safe. The last update I had from is adopted Mum Alex was that he was staying put in the hood but accepting grapes and nuts. Cyril has already shown me up by biting Alex and he did have a bit of an episode whan she tried to feed him, squealing and looking ready to pounce at her. However, having put forward all of the bad news, I did leave Cyril behind in the hope that things will improve and it does seem to be a combination of a new home, the flat mate from hell and me having adandoned him making things a little difficult. It's a lot for a little fella to cope with all in one go! We've decided our best plan of action is to leave things a while longer but if Cyril is still such a nervous wreck I'll bring him home. Anyway, here is a little pic of when he was being a little better behaved!


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!

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!

This is Sam who we were lucky enough to meet at the RSPCA centre in Kent 2 years ago. He is known in our local park as 'The Black Flash' as he runs like the wind. He's a great character - friendly to everyone and really well behaved too. A lovable rogue!!

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!

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!

At long last there was just about enough light to take a photo of Pepper's dog portrait now it is completed. I'm not sure it is the best photo but given the fact it is now going to rain for the foreseeable future I took the chance that this was the best light for a while. Rubbish weather, I feel really miserable at this time of year, I'm a bit of an outdoors girl and get very annoyed at being stuck inside or because of the gloomy damp weather and it seems that will be the case this weekend, although I really should be tied to the drawing board to get things under control!

As for other portraits, I have already made a start with Dizzy and think I've matched the colours quite well, you can see the work so far here as I've updated my facebook page already.

Other than that I'm on holiday from my day job today and will have to venture out into the soggy outdoors with Willow but at least we'll get some fresh air, the problem is the woods are a bit mucky now and I'm forever slipping this way and that but it all adds to the fun!!!



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!

I think I've finally finished Harry's dog portrait. I will just need to stare at it for a few days to do any 'tweeking' and 'tinkering'


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!

Bit more progress to show on Harry's dog portrait. I've continued working on his face and have added the darker shades now to give a better colour as Harry was looking a little pale for a while. I will need to add more high and lowlights but that's the best bit when everything starts to look more realistic.
There are a couple of extra stages shown in the slideshow below so you can see how much difference the darker colours have made.



Anyway, Willow is beiing very annoying and obviously wants to go for a walk so I'm going to dig out my wellies and venture out into the grey dismal gloom. Yuk!

Also here is our photo from work, we had a big photo taken of all the people that worked there but no dogs were allowed, so us being devious little creatures managed to round up the photographer to take a little shot of some of the dogs who go to work every day. I would say there are probably another 8 - 10 dogs who turn up regularly but these 3 are very often together and all get along very well.


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!

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!

Harry's dog portrait is still slowly making progress, here you can see the difference after highlights have been added to give the fur some gloss and sheen.

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!

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!

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!

I've not covered a lot more in terms of square inches on Pepper's dog painting but I have spent quite a while adding layers of softer pencils to add shading and definition. I'm pleased with how he is progressing and am also surprised with how much detail I've managed to achieve as this is an 'old fashioned' photo from years gone by but with my attention for detail I think I've managed to capture Pepper's look. Not too far to go now.
I'm off to the framing shop this week to choose a mount and frame for Ace and I'm planning to get Pepper completed so that I can mount and frame him at the same time. I've still not blogged the golden retriever but I did get stuck into Pepper's portrait so no more work has been done on Harry's dog portrait as yet, he still has one closed eye and a bit of surrounding fur!

And Cyril news...
Luckily we were working in a chestnut wood today and I managed to collect plenty of supplies so he can become nice and fat...



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!

An update on Pepper St George's dog painting. Pepper, as he was less formally known is now beginning to take shape. I've added further softer pencil in the darker areas for shadows and shading and things have been moving along at a decent pace.

I've also made limited progress with Harry the golden retriever, at this moment in time there isn't much to show, just part of a closed eye and surrounding fur but I hope to get on a bit further tomorrow so will try to post an update later. I've also got another competition entry to post, plus I spent today adding all the entries so far to the competition web page so I have been quite busy.

It would also seem that I am probably booked up for Christmas, I took on another commission today but I do find it very difficult to judge how many I can manage as if my day job is a bit manic I do sometimes just feel like crawling into a corner when I get home instead of starting what really is my second job. I'm hoping there will be a gap before anyone else asks for a commission as by then I may have organised myself to have some time to spare. If I had done what I said I would and timed how long each portrait takes, in sizes and different mediums I think I may have had an idea! Then reality hit home and I suddenly realised I had undertaken a solo show in February so at some point I need to sort out my portraits so far and probably get some more done to display!!! Oh I wish there were more hours in a day!

Also today I have been trying to sort things out for Cyril the Squirrel, I have been in contact with the Squirrel info website and they have been such a help, first of all just helping with how to feed a baby squirrel and now they have put ime in contact with another 'squirrel rescuer' who lives nearby. This particular lady rescued an 8 week old squirrel who was found injured on a golf course. She is much more organised than I am and has an aviary for her's (called Shizzle) and I am going to meet her next weekend to see if Cyril can spend the winter with her squirrel outdoors in a secure aviary where he could learn to be a proper squirrel ready for release. It seems she is already half way to having a more wild squirrel in that he is living outside with very limited access to humans, whereas Cyril has constant contact with me, being in a large parrot cage and pouncing on my hands everytime I put food in, he just hangs from my arms and refuses to let go. Anyway, there could be more news next week on this, I am very attached to dear Cyril but this may be a helpful situation as he will be still visitable but also half way to learning how things should be, if Cyril bit me and was nasty things would be so much easier but I'm sure he sees me as part of his squirrel clan! I also found out that squirrel rescuers have a habit of naming their orphans and I found out another had been called Doris!



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!