Feather Soft, Gritty Bumps with a Pencil??

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

Texture can create so much interest in a piece of Art

It's one of the reasons Original Art is so special!

In thick oil or acrylics the brush or palette knife is a natural tool

But . . .

Creating Texture with a pencil is a different process.

On the Watch - 13 x 16 - Graphite

Drawing a picture like "On the Watch" requires a lot of planning as you can imagine.  In that planning process I always think about texture.  I really like my birds and animals to have that feather soft look.  I often hear comments on my dogs and cats like,  "the fur looks so soft, you could pet it".  I want my birds to have that same feeling,  their feathers need to have that smooth, sleek look as they fold around the body.

At the same time I do not want the sand and trees to be smooth and even though the rocks are smooth I do not want them as smooth as the eagle's feather.  So decisions are made early on as how things will be treated.

My process in drawing is two part.  I draw and fill in areas with a soft pencil.  I use Rising Museum Board to draw on which has a 'bit of a tooth' or bumpy surface.  Using my soft pencils, I glide over the tooth dropping graphite in between.  This leaves little white flecks which gives the area a gritty look.  In the sand which I want a light value, I use harder leads, like a B, F or 2H.  But with the rocks and trees I use softer leads, 4B, 6B even an 8B.  This gives me darks but still leaves the gritty texture.

On the Watch - Detail

The soft smooth texture on my eagle is created differently.  Here I am flattening the tooth of the paper to get that smooth look.  For this I use a blender or tortillion.  To achieve the darks it takes many layers as each time I blend I am also picking up graphite.  Above in the close up of my eagle, you can see the gritty texture of the rocks and sand while the feathers have a soft, smooth texture.  

Blenders/Tortillions - wads of rolled paper, I like several different sizes

My picture "On the Watch" was inspired by salmon runs that happen here each fall.  The spawning salmon are moving up the Fraser River dying on their journey and after they spawn.  At the peak of the run the shores of the river are lined with dead fish and the smell . . .    Well let's just say it is something else!

The Bald Eagles gather for this Salmon Feast, it is one of their major migratory stops in the late fall.  You can hear them screeching as they announce their find and declare their ownership.  This eagle has just found a dead salmon washed up on the shore and is about to feast on it.  But he has to keep sharp watch as at any time others may come and challenge him for a piece.
Contact me to purchase my work.  Collectors enjoy a 10% discount on original work.

Have a great day,
Wendy 

A Day at the Berry Patch - Finished!!!

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

A Day at the Berry Patch - 11.5 x 14 - Graphite  $400 Unframed

My House Sparrows are done!! 

With a touch of coloured pencil and graphite they have really come to life.  Of course I did the males, they have the lovely plumage, which is really very striking in the sunlight.  (No, I am not sexist, but really, the males are more fun to draw.)  I was surprised when I read they were now a very common bird in North America.  I have not noticed them at our feeder at all. They do love seeds and insects so although they live in urban areas they must stick closer to the farming areas where both are plentiful. 

Interesting to read about these sparrows, they were originally from the Middle East and spread to Europe and North Africa.  They were introduced to North America in 1852 in New Year. They are a very adaptable bird and when introduced to an area they can spread at a rate of 230 kilometres per year!  I guess we can learn a few tricks from them on how to be more adaptable!!

I am sure that despite being mostly seed eaters they will enjoy a few of these blackberries when ripe as well!!

Be sure and check out my Points to Ponder on my new Marketing Skills page here on my blog.  I hope they help to bring new life to your Art Marketing this year. 

Have a great day,   
Wendy 

The Lady Vanishes - WIP

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

The Lady Vanishes Poster - just getting started

Have you seen the movie - THE LADY VANISHES - 1938???  - Starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave, directed by Alfred Hitchcock

This is will be my entry into the Silver Screen Poster Competition with the Surrey Arts Council.  The competition focuses on the Golden Age of Motion Pictures, the 30’s and 40’s.  This was an exciting time in movie industry; colour, talking and acting were the focus.  This was when some of those really great films were made as well: Gone With the Wind (1939); The Wizard of Oz (1939); Stagecoach (1939); Casablanca ( 1942 ); The Maltese Falcon (1941); were just a few from that period.  But more important many careers were launched.  I chose the movie The Lady Vanishes (1938) as it marked a turning point for Alfred Hitchcock.

Work is underway - Ooops! Seeing the picture in a different format helps to see where changes are needed 

 Hitchcock had started career as a director in England but it was this film that caught the eye of Hollywood.  I grew up hearing about his movies, they were scary, exciting and yet gripping.  I must admit I never had the nerve to watch all of Psycho!!  I liked his tamer movies, my favourite being To Catch a Thief (1955) with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Do you have a favourite Hitchcock movie?

If you have a special moment in time you would like me to draw for you  Contact Wendy   and I will be happy to work with you.  We will be able to do most of our work through phone and email. 

Have a great day and I will keep you posted on my progress.

Ali - One Fabulous Little Dog

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

Ali - 14 x 18 - Commission

Happy New Year and welcome to 2014!!  

 

I wanted to start off the year with Ali, she is a lovely little Collie and one of my Christmas Commissions.  I completed several commissions in the fall but of course they couldn't be shared until the big day.  Ali came to visit in early October when we were having some lovely fall weather for a photo shoot.  She danced around the yard checking things out but always following her owner.  She was so sweet and of course her and Rusty hit it off right off the bat!

 

We got so many great pictures of her it was hard to pick one.  This one really seemed to show her sunny personality and of course her lovely coat of hair!

 

I will share a few more of my Christmas Commissions in the next few posts as several were very memorable for me as well as the new owners.  Then it will be on to the new pictures for the new year. Already I have a few underway that will soon be ready to show off.

If you would like to Commission a Drawing just  Contact Me,  I will be happy to get things rolling. We can do it all by email so don't feel you have to come for a photo shoot. If you have a picture you would like me to work from just send it along and we can get started. 

Have a good day,

Wendy

The Old Barn

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

The Old Barn - 13 x 15 Sold

Don't these old buildings have lots of memories and stories?  Just looking at the lines of age seem to give it that sense of dignity even as it is falling to ruin.  They are so much fun to draw and see them come to life again. 
This barn was a challenge as it was so big it was impossible to get pictures of it in one piece. I went in February to do the photo shoot so the alder trees would be bare and I could get clear shots.  From my picture pieces I was able to draw it out.  The owners wanted it to appear as if they were looking out their window, so I picked a few things from their windowsill to bring it all to life.  I must admit I really loved that little plant man in the right corner and he was finished longed before the rest of the picture.  (We all have our fun spots!)
The owners were thrilled with the picture and my biggest critic, my husband Steve, gave it his thumbs up as well.
Enjoy the summer days, they go by too quickly,
Wendy

Spring Cleaning!!

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

HERE COME TROUBLE!!! - 6 x 9 - $225 unframed

 

Yes, I have been doing some spring cleaning and this little goat was one of my projects.  I finished this picture over a year ago but something about it just didn't ring right for me. I had it out at a few shows but he never really got the attention I felt he deserved.  So as part of my cleaning I decided to retire him from showing and out of the frame he came.  He looked at me with such pleading eyes so I decided to drop a few different sized mats on him, Voila!  With some of the machinery gone (painstakingly drawn machinery I might add ) I could see my picture now told the story I wanted to tell - this little trouble maker was poking his head into places where he surely shouldn't go.  If you have been around goats, you know what I mean!!

 

( See old picture http://www.artbywendysblog.blogspot.ca/2011/03/here-comes-trouble-on-its-way.html)

 

As always, cards and prints of my pictures are available, starting at $3.50 for cards.

Rain, Water and Reflections

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

 

What a great thing to do on a hideously rainy weekend – paint water and reflections!!  Yes, I just finished spending two days with Harold Allanson www.haroldallanson.ca working with watercolours.  Other than driving to Abbotsford and back in that horrible weather it was a wonderful workshop.  Harold is a wonderful watercolour artist who at first focused on work boats along our shoreline and then spreading out to ranch life and more.  His latest picture ‘Split Second Times Square” 27.5 x 39 in. was there for us to study before it heads off to Chicago for the Transparent Watercolor Society of America Show.   WOW!! That’s all I can say about it! (it’s under Paintings, Other on his website)

Getting down to the details

We learned some new things and certainly revisited things that we had forgotten.  One key for everyone was the use of a ‘ruling pen’ to lay down the fine lines with frisk.  Another was “if you want darks, use dark colours”, certainly something that is easy to forget when in the heat of the moment.  For me, another big one was have rich, wet colours on my brush, I know with my miniature that isn’t much of an issue but when working on larger pieces it is very important. 

Reflections from outside sources

My first picture, reflections and the source

Not finished yet but a good start on my second one. 

 

As always cards and prints of any of my pictures can be purchased starting at $3.50.

 

Langley Art Studio Tour Only Half Over

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

 Artist Audrey Bakewell & Myself

 

What a great weekend!! Last weekend was the beginning of the Langley Art Studio Tour and everything just seemed to work.  I know, I am not a Langley artist but Audrey and I were the featured artists at Krause Berry Farms in Langley so I was able to be part of it.  What a time we had, I had never been to the farm before and for a berry lover like myself that in itself was amazing.  They still have blueberries, blackberries and lovely strawberries so that made it heaven for me. 

Audrey and I had a busy day talking with visiting artists and art lovers, sharing ideas and new work.  It really felt good to show off my summer labours and to feel the interest they generated.  We are both looking forward to another exciting time next weekend. It is a self guided tour so you can travel at your own pace. Maps and information on the artists is at www.langleyartstudiotour.ca

 

 Langley Art Studio Tour:  Sept. 29 and 30, 10-5pm so come on out and join us if you can.

Buggie Rides - quieter moments in life

Part of the Herb Garden - lots of photo opportunities

Oh, the strawberry waffles - we had to smell them all weekend!!

Deep in an art discussion

My newphews came out to support me - having fun running through the barley maze.

 

BIG MAN ON CAMPUS

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

Big Man On Campus - 5 x 7 - $130 unframed

A beauty eh??  Isn’t he gorgeous, well in a rooster kind ‘a way.  I was out to Kilby Historical Site, near Harrison Hot Springs and this fellow was wondering around on his own, looking for the hens I guess.  His walk and manner just seemed to say “I am the head honcho” and of course I had to photograph him.  It was great fun drawing him.  I was working on him down at the Painter’s Square at White Rock and I guess it seemed a little funny to be drawing a rooster at the beach but you know sometimes you just have to do that drawing no matter what . . .  !

If you are out in the Fraser Valley, check out Kilby Store and Farm, it is a reminiscent of the early 1900’s and actually built in 1908.  The store is on stilts, probably more than 10 feet in the air as it was a train station for the Harrison Mills area and had to be up high because of the yearly flooding of the Fraser River.  Today of course, with the dike systems,  it doesn’t flood.  I have been involved with Kilby for 7 years now, they use a number of my pictures for their promotions and I have a nice display in their gift shop and café.  http://www.kilby.ca

As always matted prints are available of all of my work starting at $7.

SPRING COMES CALLING

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

SPRING COMES CALLING  - 5 x 7 - $220 Framed

Wow, all of Steve’s work on our birdfeeder is starting to pay off.  More birds are coming and they are bringing their friends.  Of course we have had our faithful house finches, juncos and chickadees with the odd flicker and starling thrown in but we have been yearning for more.  Our first newcomer was the Goldfinch.  First he came to check things out and then he brought his mate.  We were thrilled.  It was a bright sunny day and his colours just glistened in the sun.  I was quick with the camera and got a few very interesting reference shots.  Because our visitor was so cautious I decided to put him in our lilac tree which sits close by.   That way he could keep watch while his mate visited our feeder. 
It is really fun to watch the birds, right now the chickadees have their babies lined up on the railings as they gather food for them.  It is quite a performance to watch.  As you can expect more material for me!! 

THE SAINT AND PLAYING SHY

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

THE SAINT - 7 X 5 - SOLD

Isn't she a beauty?  The Saint was born July 2011, it was a busy few hours but once things straightened out she was up and ready to roll.  I wasn't able to see her till the fall; she is nearly 3 months old in my picture.  She has a slim line but such a pretty face.  There is no mistaking that she is female.

The Saint belongs to a friend and I was thrilled to get out and take some shots of her.  It was a rainy day in November, what else is new, when we decided to give it a try.  It was a bit of a challenge as she really did play shy and her owners had to really encourage her so I could get some pictures.  We bobbed and weaved around in the rain for quite some time but it was fun and the results were great. 

PLAYING SHY - 7.5 X 5 - SOLD

Snowy Owl Visits Vancouver

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

SNOWY OWL VISITS VANCOUVER - 14 x 18 Available

It's done!! This is one of the largest drawings I have done in a long time and let me tell you, the detail on his chest nearly drove me crazy.  I am really pleased with the drawing;  I love the way the grasses and weeds wind around him.  I really worked to get some texture as well, with burnishing softness for the owl and leaving the tooth of the paper for the log and weeds. 

My original plan was to call this Miss Snowy Owl visits Vancouver as my research gave me the impression that my owl was a young female but as I looked into it more I find that this may also be an immature male.  So hence the name "Snowy Owl visits Vancouver".  Either way it is an amazing sight to see these birds.  We went for a second visit on the weekend arriving just at sunrise (yes, you read that correctly, sunrise).  It was a lovely cold, crisp, morning and the owls although dwindling in number were a wonderful sight to see.   



Ready for the Show

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

READY FOR THE SHOW - 10.5 x 14.5 - Available

The snow is covering the ground, just a light coat, but snow none the less and Christmas is in the air.  It seems like a long ago time that I captured my reference material in May for this picture.  At that time we were in Fort Langley watching the May 24^th parade and looking forward to the warm days of summer.  There were a number of horses in the parade and I was itching to work with horses and looking for ideas.   The parade got held up, as parades do, and this group was standing ready to move.  The horses on the right were patiently waiting but not the other one.  He and his rider seemed to be ready and wanting to move out.  Like me, anxious to move forward and sometime forgetting to enjoy the moment at hand.  This picture was a good reminder to me that this holiday I am going to try and be like those horses and enjoy the moment.  I hope your holiday preparations are going well and things are in order for a good Christmas holiday.

HACKED AND BURNED -- STARS ARE BORN

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

THE OLD GUARD - 5.5 X 3.5 - AVAILABLE

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK - 5.5 X 3.5 - AVAILABLE

These two little gems are products of one of my soul searching periods that ended in a hacking and burning of a lovely picture.  I completed the original picture of my finches “Out for Dinner” in the spring;  it was well drawn (I thought so anyway) , lovely birds, great bird feeder and the composition was a bit unusual, almost symmetrical.  But it didn’t do it for me!!  I felt those little finches were not happy. 

Out for Dinner

 I have looked at that picture and mulled over it for months.  Suddenly in the middle of the night a few days ago it hit me, crop it tons, there is just too much empty space.  (I know I need to get a life and do other things at night but. . .that’s another story)  It took a day or two to get the courage but then I took my paper cutter and let her rip.   After, I added a few extra touches to give more sparkle and Stars were born.   

With Determination and Reassurance, I will start the weekend!!

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

DETERMINATION - 10 x 8 Available

Yes, this is a big weekend; I am part of The Langley Art Studio Tour. This is a very exciting event for me, my first studio tour.  No, I haven’t moved to Langley so it won’t actually  be in my studio but I will be with a group of 5 other artists at the Fields & Flower Farm, 900 232 St.  We will be one of the “Stops of Interest”.  The tour will have 43 artists, 17 working art studios, 6 ‘Stops of Interest’, a range of mini-workshops and demos, and plenty of art to see.  It really looks like it will be a great event.  Best of all it will be over two weekends to give everyone a chance to poke around a bit at their leisure.

REASSURANCE - 10 x 8 Available

Places I would love to check out are Susan Falk’s studio, she is a tiny lady and does huge paintings, her studio set up would be very interesting to see.  www.susanfalk.ca   Down the road from us is Flowers from a Country Garden, a u-pick flower garden.  This sounds like a really novel idea and I would like to see how it works.  She had flowers for our reception last night and the bouquets were stunning. www.upickcountryflowers.blogspot.com

The tour dates are Sept. 24 & 25 and Oct. 1 & 2, 10am – 5 pm.  This is a self-guided tour and all the details and maps can be found at www.langleyartstudiotour.ca  I will be doing one of the demos, “Drawing Animals in Graphite” at 2 pm each day of the Sept 25 & 25 weekend.  Of course my new pictures “Determination’’ and “Reassurance” will be there to greet you. 

I wish you all could come and check out the tour but for those that can, it will be great to see you.

TEA FOR TWO

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

TEA FOR TWO - 8.5 x 6.5 - Available

A sunny day and fresh homemade suet, how can a bird go wrong.  It really is Tea Time. 
We had lots of fun this winter watching all the birds at our bird feeder. (I know we need to get a life but really it was interesting!)  A friend had given us an easy recipe to follow and believe me they really did love it.  Three days was a long time for it to last.  We had lots of the usual birds: chickadees, finches, juncos and sparrows but also a few of the woodpeckers: Northern Flickers and Downy Woodpeckers.  We really started to become a bit of an expert on our little group. Now that it is warm out, well some of the time anyway, we have a peanut feeder out there and we are hoping for bigger and better things. 
My little chickadees are still my favourite, they are so friendly, quick and familiar; just like an old friend come to visit.