Art On The Hoof

February Drawing updates

2012-02-20T21:02:00.000Z

Well making a time table/plan of what I need to draw seems to be working. Certainly concentrates the mind to crack on with things.

Admittedly, a couple of new images are creeping in, but I do have an eye on what image is due for which event.

So here are 2 more completed for this month:

Drawing of a Grey Heron in Reeds, this one done in aid of the Devon Wildlife Trust. Only 15cm x 12cm (is that classed as miniature??).

Based on a sketch I did in Normandy 2011.

Prehistoric horse, Merychippus, this one done for my Wildlife Art Company portfolio.

Drawing Updates and the year ahead

2012-02-11T13:40:00.002Z

This year I have become a bit more organised with which drawings get done in which order. The reason I have done this, is to match a time table that I have set for events that I know I will be attending this year, and events that I hope to be accepted for.

Of course, I have to be flexible, for events that I hadn't thought about, but I may get invites to.

I do know for this year I will need work for:

Tiverton Art Society Spring Exhibition (http://www.tivertonartsociety.co.uk/eventsall.php?id=2)
Devon Wildlife Trust Wildlife Festival (http://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/wildlife-festival/)
NEWA (http://www.newa-uk.com/pages/home.php) accepted last year, so fingers crossed for this year
Witheridge St Johns Fayre (http://www.stjohnsfayre.btck.co.uk/) to be confirmed
MIWAS Exhibition (http://www.miwas.co.uk/)
Tiverton Art Society Summer Exhibition (http://www.tivertonartsociety.co.uk/eventsall.php?id=2)

Plus producing work for sale in aid of the Devon Wildlife Trust, and work for my portfolio at Wildlife Art Company

So here are a couple of finished works that I hope to enter for the Tiverton Art Society Spring Exhibition:

So quite a busy year, and that's just the stuff I know of.

Artwork featured on Staedtler website

2012-01-27T20:39:00.001Z

Very pleased to announce that some of my drawings are being displayed on the pencil producer, Staedtler web site.

They have a section for artists to submit work, I'm surprised no one has as of yet.

I'm a big fan of Staedtler products, especially their Mars clutch pencils, which used to be 'MARS 780', but now seem to be called 'Mars technico'.

Hopefully they will feature more of my work in the future. They were also very kind, and sent me some lovely pencils as a thank you.

The images can be viewed at http://www.staedtler.co.uk/artists_gallery_uk.Staedtler

Prehistoric horse

2012-01-10T21:13:00.000Z

Ok, so I jump around a bit with my drawings. But this year I have made myself a plan of what to draw, don't worry, current images will be finished.

Part of that plan is to produce a set of illustrations of prehistoric animals for inclusion on my profile on the http://www.wildlifeartcompany.com web site, in this is my first one.

I really had fun drawing this. The process included the finding of images of the Eohippus skeleton. Then using the skeletons for size reference (i.e. how many heads in body length etc), I started with a very basic sketch of just squares and oblongs etc to make the body. Next sketch was to use that 'block' sketch and add some smooth lines to link the blocks together. After that, I did another sketch to correct the pose (it is based on how a modern horse would canter).

After I was happy I started with the drawing proper, and basically just had fun with the markings etc.

I feel it came out quite well.

Happy New Year, and some WIP updates

2012-01-02T14:44:00.000Z

Well a Happy New Year to you all, I hope we have a good one!

Having had a little bit of time off over the Christmas and New Year, I have managed to do a little more on my current drawing projects. Also have to admit, I have another project on the go, another drawing in aid of the Devon Wildlife Trust, but more of that later on another post.

Well lets get started:

The Dressage drawing is almost complete (its cropped in this scan as its A3, and I only have an A4 scanner). As you can see I only have to do the hoofs and the ground, only he says! The Hoof is probably the most problematic part to draw. This is the second time I have attempted this drawing, and I didn't like the first one because of the hoofs, so wish me luck.

The plan for this one is to have it displayed in Tiverton Art Societies Spring Exhibition. I've had some success with sales at that exhibition with this format and composition, in that you can not see the humans faces.

The Bull drawing is coming along quite well. I have drawn this Bull in 2 styles, this one, in what I call my 'hairy' style, and another on Hot Press Watercolour paper, where I employed the use of a tortillon (blending stump). I like both styles, but probably prefer the 'hairy' style for control.

Again this one will be entered in the Tiverton Spring Exhibition, along side the blended Bull.

Harris Hawk, this one did get a bit over looked, as I was struggling with it for a bit. However, thought I'd better knuckle down and get on with it, especially as I want to enter it for NEWA this year. Hopefully it will be accepted, as my Golden Eagle was last year.

Zebra Scratch, really pleased with how this one is coming along. I think its a bit different, due to the angle and that fact he is having a scratch. I did think this would be quite a fast drawing to do, but its taking me a bit longer than I expected.

This one will be entered in the MIWAS exhibition later this year. Stripes and Spots seem to sell well at dedicated Wildlife exhibitions, so fingers crossed.

Well that's it for now. I do have 2 more little projects that I want to start, one I mentioned above, and the second I hope to soon show some work on...... exciting drawing times.

2011-12-22T10:07:00.001Z

Well still working away on these WIP's:

Dessage WIP

2011-12-03T15:52:00.001Z

Well we are now in December, where did that year go!

Been working on a non art project in my spare time and also trying to get these 5 pictures done. The drawing that seems to be getting the most attention at the moment is the dressage drawing.

I think that's due to the fact that I've been around horses a bit more in the last month, and also seeing another local artists equine exhibition.

So here as a quick update on the dressage drawing. I really enjoyed drawing those boots, think I'll have to do something similar to that, but bigger.

Keen to get these drawings finished, and ready for selling.

More WIP's

2011-11-19T17:51:00.006Z

More updates on my current batch of drawings:

Some more work done on the Bull, slow progress, but I still like this style. Its quite relaxing just putting in all those little dashes, bit like stippling in ink.

The Harris Hawk, quite pleased with this so far. Still learning how to do feathers, still a bit 'hit and miss'. Still want to get myself reference shots of birds in flight, birds doing what birds do.

Ahh, the 'Dressage' drawing, and the one I'm in 2 minds about. Feeling a little happier now that I've started on the horse. Horse mouth area still needs work and so does that horse shoulder area. Guess its getting 'there' slowly.

WIP Update (Zebra)

2011-11-14T20:31:00.003Z

Yes, I finally got going on the Zebra drawing, ooh, this one is going to be fun.

As you can see, I've penciled in the grass, hides the hooves! but needed that to ground the Zebra.

But the most fun is drawing the stripes.

After Commission Sales idea

2011-11-12T16:46:00.003Z

Had an idea the other day, don't think its a unique idea, but thought I'd share it anyway.

It all stems back to trying to find ways of making a little bit more from my art/illustration work. Earlier in the year, I did a stall at a wildlife event in Barnstable, I had a good assortment (I thought) of originals, prints and greetings cards. The stall next to me was just selling greetings cards.

The stall selling the greetings cards, was selling them at a fast pace, me, just the odd one or two! So I got chatting with the stall owner, and I came away with the following:

1. Produce the cards myself
2. Don't go nuts on the quality

Up to now, I had been getting my cards printed and using very good quality card. But thinking about it, why? Most greetings cards are used once, displayed for a short while, then either binned, re-cycled or put in a draw and forgotten about.

So I investigated printing my own greetings cards, on reasonable quality card with standard inks. So now, instead of having to sell greetings cards at £2.00 to just make a profit, I can sell at £1.00 and make a profit! Both myself and the client win on that.

WHATS THE IDEA? I hear you ask. When I now do any commission work, when I deliver the finished mounted drawing, I include a free greetings card based on the drawing. I also include an order form, to let the client order individual cards, packs of cards, and prints of the drawing.

Does it work? yes, within a week of delivering my last commission, just sold the client 10 greetings cards, and they also want a print.

I hasten to add, the prints are done on excellent quality paper (Somerset Velvet), with Epson Archival Inks.

Photography attempts

2011-11-07T20:32:00.006Z

So keen to get some reference shot of Pheasants, so on Sunday morning, myself ad Lou got out of bed early, wrapped up warm and set out to get some ref shots in the morning sunshine.

I'm using an old Sony DSC-H2 camera with a telephoto lens. Poor thing is only 6 mega pixels and these shots were really pushing it to its limits.

The first image was taken on Aperture priority, which auto set the following settings:
Shutter Speed 1/125
F-Stop f/4.0
ISO 80

Second image also taken using aperture priority, with following settings:
Shutter Speed 1/400
F-Stop f/4.0
ISO 80

I do own a 2nd hand Pentax Km, but I only have the standard kit lens, saving funds for a lens with a longer reach.

WIP Update (Dressage)

2011-11-01T20:44:00.005Z

Hmm, worked on this tonight, not sure I'm happy with it. Will plod on, you never know, might start to come together, early days yet.

Can see 2 areas I'm not happy with. Will re-visit them.

To be honest, I usually dislike my work, never meets with what I have in my minds eye. Always amazed when people say nice things about it.

WIPS!

2011-10-30T17:39:00.011Z

Wip number 1 is the Bull that I did earlier in the month, but in my usual style. A4 Bristol Board.

Wip number 2 this is a Silver Sebright chicken, looked so amazing when I was getting reference shots, not so sure I'm doing it justice in this drawing. A4 Bristol Board.

Wip Number 3 another Zebra drawing, not sure which 'style' I'll use on this one yet. Just roughed in the stripes as the angle of this will make it a bit confusing otherwise. A4 Bristol Board.

Wip number 4, Harris Hawk in colour pencil, something I would like to more of, but its a long process using the CP's. A4 Winsor & Newton Lana paper.

Wip number 5, another Harris Hawk, but this one in graphite. Only got the bare bones down on this one, so a way to go yet. A4 Bristol Board.

Wip number 6 and the final one, Dressage. This is a 2nd attempt at this drawing. I did do one a few years ago, but was never really satisfied with the result. Therefore having another go, and hopefully I'll be happier with it this time. A3 Bristol Broad.

I didn't realise I had so many drawings on the go, until I had a dig around and found these. Now that I've put them on the BLOG it will spur me to finish them, well that's the plan.

Cleo

2011-10-29T12:53:00.003+01:00

My latest commission 'Cleo', drawn on Arches Aquarelle 185gsm Hot Press. I'm really starting to like this paper. Its not as white as the Bristol Board, but the texture really helps to bring out fur detail.

For more details about commissions, please visit my web site at www.artonthehoof.co.uk

New 'old' style

2011-10-09T14:14:00.002+01:00

Since I've been doing more sketching I seem to want to work slightly looser, and more with the dark's and lights. Plus doing super detail is not good for my hands!

Here is a drawing I did on Arches Aquarelle 185gsm HOT PRESS. I used the texture of the paper, and a tortillon to blend the various grades of graphite, 4B, 5B and 6B.

I had to stitch the scan, and the scan has lost a lot of the subtle blending.

I called this new 'old' style, as the blending style is how I started my drawing journey. Not suitable for all drawings, but worked well with this one.

Normandy, September 2011

2011-10-03T15:18:00.018+01:00

Spent a lovely week in Normandy with the intention of seeing as much history and wildlife as possible.

Arrived on Saturday the 24th, to an amazingly well supplied holiday let in Pont l'Abbe ( http://www.norm andy-holidays.iowners.net/), plus the owner, Liz, is so very helpful. On our journey home, she text to inform us of traffic jams in our area, now that's what I call service. Spent the rest of the Saturday, just settling in.

On the Sunday, we started our day at Ste Mere-Eglise, famous for the battle fought for its control on D-Day by the American paratroops of the 82nd Airborne. A dummy still hangs from the church spire, representing Pvt John Steele who got caught on the spire when landing.

The sketch is of a Sherman 'Easy 8', which is in the museum at Ste Mere-Eglise.

Our next stop that Sunday was to head down to the 'Utah' beach area. Again we visited the museum and had a stroll along the beach. Not much remains of the defenses of June 1944, however there are still a few bunkers, and I managed to do a quick sketch of the one outside the museum.

After a coffee in the local cafe (always more expensive at tourist spots!). We headed further up the coast to visit Pointe du Hoc. Another site of an epic struggle on the 6th June 1944, this time US Rangers. The site has been left (to a certain extent), as it was, so its full of deep craters and destroyed bunkers.

If you ever pay it a visit, when you are in the bunker that has the memorial built on it, look up at the ceiling, notice that all the roof timbers are burnt. That really emphasized, for me, the horror of the struggle that took place that day. Also hit home, by an old German gentleman who was also in the bunker at the time we were, and the look of sadness on his face.

That was quite a lot for the first day, and we both came away feeling quite humbled by the experience.

Monday 26th, Lou's birthday, so card and gifts in the morning, and not such a hectic day. Decided to go further back in time, to 1066 and a visit to Bayeux. Bayeux is such a lovely town, the Cathedral is a must for a visit, and of course 'The' tapestry. But first, a stop at a 'Bar Tabac' for a coffee, this time at a reasonable price.

This is the 2nd time I've seen the tapestry, but I'm still blown away by seeing it and listening to the story.

In the car park there was a charming water fountain, which just had to have some of its detail sketched.

After a quick bite to eat, we drove across to one of the British beaches 'Gold' at Arromanches-les-Bains. We must have arrived at the same time as all the tours as it was very busy. So didn't spend too much time there. The beach and museum here, tells the story of the Mulbury harbour, of which large parts can still be seen on the beach and in the sea.

On the way to beach, I had spotted a sign for one of the German batteries that are still intact at Longues-s-mer, so a slight detour before heading back to Pont l'Abbe.

The sketch is one of the 4 positions that is still intact with its 152mm gun. The gun in this bunker is pointing towards the British beaches , hence the odd perspective in the drawing. This position put up a spirited defense on 6th June. However by the end of the day, only one gun was still firing ,and on the 7th the position surrendered to the 2nd Devons.

By Tuesday 27th, we decided to have a slightly less hectic day! So after a late wake up and breakfast, and a walk into Pont l'Abbe to get supplies, we got our cycle gear on and headed out to the marsh lands and woods. Now we are very good at map reading, but this day we got it slightly wrong. What should have been a short ride ended up being 3 hours! On the plus side, we did meet a Red Deer face to face, and an idyllic cafe by the river at Longuerac, Cidre and cola, bliss!

Wednesday 28th, back to the history, and a drive to the Omaha beaches, where the Americans faced stiff resistance form battle hardened German troops. The tide was in, so not much beach to walk on. But looking from the sea inland, you can see why this must have been really hard to take. The high dunes behind the beach look perfect for defence as they over look the beach.

Lots of Black Headed Gulls in their winter colours, managed to get some good reference shots of them flying, as Lou was holding up bits of Pain au Chocolate for them. Also managed to get a 'happy mistake' on one photo.

Walked to the end of the beach road and came across a 'Bauform 667' bunker. These were built to fire across the beach and not out to sea, which makes sense. They were very hard to destroy, as they are quite small, and the side facing the sea is very heavily protected. This particular bunker was only 'knocked' out when a pair of M15A1 gun carriages engaged it (anti aircraft guns on half tracks). I've seen pictures of this from June 1944, and looks much the same, only difference is no houses on the sea side then. This is located on 'Easy Red' beach.

Next stop was to visit the American Cemetery. This was the only site that we had to go through any form of security. The information centre is very well done and presented, and very 'Patriotic' in the American way. But what really moves you, is hearing the names of the dead being read out, and then walking out to see all the white crosses. It is a moving and beautiful site, unfortunately my sketch does not do it justice.

Thursday 29th, day of the 'long drive', as we went down to Mont St Michel, and well worth the drive it was. Once at Mont St Michel, we got stuck in the only traffic issues we had had in France that week, as a lot of building work is being done near the causeway. To set the mood, we put Clannad in the CD player, and then Mont St Michel came in to view, WOW!

Compared to the other sites we had visited, it was very touristy, pricey and crowded. However it was worth it. We paid to get in to the Abbey, and it was well worth it, just for the views across the bay alone. So much to see, and so many twisting and turning walkways. It should have been a sketching paradise, but too busy or too hot! But I did get a couple done, but this is my favourite.

Did this one while walking back to the 'over priced' car park. When I had finished the drawing, we noticed a French Air Force Transall transport plane (looks like a 2 engined version of a Hercules), doing circuits past the Mont and over some flat grass land. On about the 3rd circuit a stick of paras emerged from it, then on the 4th a 2nd stick. Certainly wasn't expecting a free airshow/demo.

Friday 30th, our last full day. Well to say we were in need of rest, would be putting in mildly! Sorted out the packing, and then took a gentle stroll down to the river Douve, took my scope and was rewarded with quite a few Herons. So sat in the shade of some trees, and honed my use of using a scope to do some sketching.

On the way back, stopped at the Patisserie for an Almond tart.

Other birds seen that week, included quite a few Kestrels, far more in one week than I've seen in the UK all year. I guess the rough pasture and marsh land in Normandy suits them. Lots of Buzzards, lots of Herons and quite a few Black Backed Gulls.

Saturday 1 Oct, very early start, as our ferry was at 8 from Cherbourg!

So many other sites I want to visit in Normandy, Villers Bocage, Falaise, Caen, plus British and German cemeteries. Also, a visit to the Contain Peninsular in spring would be amazing for wildlife, as the marsh area floods at that time of year.

But what a fantastic week.

More sketching at Budleigh Salterton

2011-09-09T15:18:00.002+01:00

Managed to get down to Budleigh again.

This time I crossed the river and doubled back on the other side. I found the bird hide, which I sat in for about an hour, but not really much to see. Did try a bad sketch of a Gull, but didn't really work out.

So packed my kit, and carried on walking, until I got to the cliffs. Now, I'm not good with heights, but I could see some interesting bird activity on a cliff face. Decided to set up my scope and see what was going on.

To take my mind off being close to the cliff edge (well 10 feet from the edge is close for me!). I set the scope and tripod up so that I could sit down and view the activity. And I'm glad I did. It was a colony of Cormorants.

Managed to get some quite simple sketches, quite pleased with these. Shame I put the wrong month and did not spell Cormorant correctly!

Was really enjoyable sitting out in elements sketching from life, time just fly's by when I do this.

So what sells in the world of Wildlife Art?

2011-08-30T21:23:00.002+01:00

Some interesting stats from a Wildlife art exhibition that I attended. Please note that the figures were collated towards the end of the day, and that the exhibition had not finished.

At the time of collecting the data, 62 2d images had been sold, and the break down that follows is of the most popular images:

11 Tigers
6 Leopards (3 Snow, 3 African)
3 Giraffe
3 Elephant
3 Zebra
2 Orangutang
2 Lion
2 Meerkat
2 Lemur
13 birds of all types but most popular 3 owls

So it seems that ‘Stripes’ and ‘Spots’ on animals is quite a popular choice with the buying public. Would the Meerkat’s be so popular if it was not for the TV adverts? Elephants, I think, have always been a favourite with the public.

Mediums, well Acrylic was the most used, followed by pastel, with Graphite, Water Colour and Mixed Media all quite close.

Most expensive works sold, 2 Graphite and 1 Pastel, all 3 going for well over £1000, hope for my graphite work yet!

Useful stuff to know, and quite interesting to test my own ideas of what is popular.

Budleigh Salterton sketching

2011-08-20T16:27:00.003+01:00

On Friday, I was able to pop down to Budleigh Salterton to do a bit of sketching.

After parking in the wrong car park, and asking at the local Tourist Information Centre, I eventually found my way to the river Otter.

Easy to access paths have been built along the river, including bird hides at intervals. So I got my self settled into one of the hides. The hides have bench seats and a ledge under the viewing slots. Was a bit of a fiddle to set up my scope, as the distance between the bench (fixed to the floor), and the ledge sticking out, stopped me from using the tripod at its best. But I did get it settled in the end. The ledge was ideal for resting my sketch book on.

This was the first time I've ever sketched while viewing the subject via a scope. It taught me to view the birds as shapes and to see the darks and lights. Also to concentrate on small parts of the bird. So I would look, try and commit to memory what I had seen, draw, look, draw, look, you get the idea. Actually took quite a while to get the simple drawings you can see here. But was so much fun to do.

Will pay Budleigh Salterton another visit, but would love a slightly better scope!

Zebra Puzzle

2011-08-13T16:12:00.006+01:00

I normally work in graphite, but I'm always in awe of artists that can use charcoal. So today, decided to have a go, and not just with the charcoal, but at a much bigger size than normal, 80cmx60cm (A1).

I drew the initial image in graphite then started with the charcoal. When I started, I was trying to use it like a pencil. Soon realised that I had to just 'go for it'. So went really dark, and removed the pencil lines when I got to the relevant part of the image.

Quite happy with the result, will certainly try this again.

Charcoal was from 'Derwent' and the paper is 'Daler-Rowney' Cartridge.

Calling this one "Zebra Puzzle".

Lesson Learned

2011-08-13T13:12:00.001+01:00

Well today I learned a valuable lesson.....

I was very pleased that one of my drawings was accepted for this years NEWA exhibition (National Exhibition of Wildlife Art). However after picking the drawing up today, I have discovered that the tape holding the drawing to the mount card had come unstuck in one corner, so that drawing slipped. Apparently it arrived at the exhibition in that condition.

Lesson? always check that everything is stuck down!

The drawing and other bird drawings, can be viewed on my site www.artonthehoof.co.uk