What's new and Pet Portraits resuscitated

So! I have been delinquent here, mostly because I forgot the password. So I bothered to get a new one! All because someone finally posted a new comment on an old post from last year, which came into my inbox, and gave me a nudge!

So what am I up to? Working slowly on book #6 of The Puppy Collection by Susan Hughes, published in English and French by Scholastic Canada.

And I have started doing Pet Portraits again. Got some business cards made up, made up some posters... trying to get the word out by posting at vets, groomers, petshops. And I updated my website to add a page specifically for them. BTW, my whole illustration website is updated, and you can take a look at new work from the past year here.

So, I have only had two commissions this year so far, and here they are.

First my dear longtime friend Dominique hired me to draw herself together with her departed kitty Charlotte. She just had one good photo of them together, but she didn't look very smiley, and Charlotte was a demon cat since she had flash in her eyes. But I used another photo of Charlotte to fix her eyes, and used a photo reference of Dominique on vacation to give her a happier contenance.

My first version was this one:

But Dominique preferred to have her glasses removed and a more monochrome palette, so I obliged. That is the wonder of digital! It was done, as my other Pet Portraits, in Corel Painter. I did Charlotte and Dominique in Real2B Pencil brush, and added the background and her clothing in Pastel brush.

Here are a few work in progress images:

After this one, my friend and relation, Danielle Marie, ordered a unique painting for a gift for her hubby for Christmas. She has a wonderful young Great Dane named Domino, and she wished for a portrait with watercolor. I did the drawing of Domino again in Real 2B brush in Painter 11. But then when it was approved, I printed it out onto Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper with my Epson R1900. Then I added in a wash background, as well as doing the shading on Domino's white body, with my regular Rotring Artistcolor acrylic inks, which I use to colour my children's illustrations.

I think it turned out very well. I just mailed out the watercolor paper original today.

Here are a couple work in progress.

I sent the final watercolor, but I also delivered both the black line version and the colour final version digitally, so that Danielle can print out or post online her drawing (for personal use only) without having to scan the original.

Here is the final black and white version:

Anyways, I am taking orders, if anyone is interested in having their own pet portrait done.

It starts at $125 for one pet delivered digitally, and $50 for a second pet in the same image, or to add a bust of a person (ie Dominique's was $175). The drawing for Danielle, of one pet with a wash background, was $200 plus shipping if you want the paper original. If you happen to be in Canada, I have to charge GST as well.

What a wonderful personal gift for Christmas, a birthday or other special occasion!
You can email me at inkspots@videotron.ca

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the drawings! Leave me some comments as I'd love to hear what you think!
And hopefully now that I got a new password, I won't forget it again soon!

SkADaMo Nov 26th... French Beret Kitty!

This is illustrator John Nez's kitty, doing the French beret thing! Love the carpet!!!

Once again, digital Real 2B Pencil and Soft Pastel in Painter 10 app.

SkADaMo Nov 25: Kitty on a Couch

Well, so much for my sketch a day! I was working on a portrait commission for some friends, no time for extra sketching. But here is a new kitty on a couch!

SkADaMo Nov 19: King David

This is Midori's boy kitty, King David.

I'm going to have to start calling these "finished drawing per two days month" drawings instead of Sketch A Day... I am a bit behind... getting too fussy! All this fuuuuuurrrrr!!!

All digital: Painter 10 Real 2B Pencil and Square Soft Pastel on "Grainy Pastel Paper".

SkADaMo Nov 18: Hoss N. Pfeffer

Here is finally another sketch... with my kid's birthday I got a bit behind. Nov 18 sketch is Bryan Ballinger's doggie Hoss N. Pfeffer! Painter 10 digital pencil and pastel. More tomorrow!

SkaDaMo Nov 14: Doggie concern!

Boy, it shows if I take 2 hrs to do a drawing from life or reference, or a super quick sketch off the top of my head! Here is today's... a remembrance of when I would be on the floor or the ground, and my Saints would be so worried!! "Stand up! You're suppose to stand up!"

SkaDaMo Nov 12: Desneiges

My friend's daughter Desneiges, drawing from a photo. Again, Painter 10 Real 2B Pencil, with Painter Square Soft Pastel.

Muscles... SkADaMo #11

Rushing off a sketch before I hit the sack... here is a quickie inspired by my kid and his delight at his muscley costumes...

SkADaMo Nov 10: Jezebel

Here is my sketch for Nov 10: Performer Nomy Lamm's recently deceased lovey, Jezebel Meowzenstein. From a series of photos copyright 2010 Caldwell Linker. Painter 10 digital pastel brush and 2B Real Pencil brush on my cintiq.

Catching up: SkADaMo Nov 9: "Maggie"

Here is my friends Nedra Johnson's and Nati Mami's dog Maggie from a Facebook photo (Photo copyright 2013 Nati Mami, digital pastel and pencil copy copyright me)... hope they like it when they see it in the morning. What a funny little face! Inspiring to draw.

I posted twice tonight... you can see yesterday's, Nov 8, in the previous post.

Thanks for visiting!

Sketch A Day Month: Nov 5: yes, another kitty!

Sadie laying on my arm, so I can only use my stylus to draw: no resizing, changing brush size and all that fancy stuff! Figured I may as well draw her, before I dethrone her so I can do some professional work at my Cintiq! You can see the rest of the participants by clicking the SkADaMo button on the right hand menu... See you later today for Nov 6!

Hmmm, now that I see it in thumbnail, back of the head not quite right. Brightest point should be the back left of her head. oops!

SkADaMo Day 4: Amazy

Here is cartoonist Lee Kennedy's kitty, "Amazy". I drew her first in regular Real 2B Pencil brush in Painter 11, and then added in a blue pastel background, with the white lines on the fabric drawn in eraser, again in Painter 11. What do you think?

SkADaMo #3

Well, they "mostly" held still today... moved when I got this far (and stripey Sadie actually turned her head to the side halfway through so I faked it a bit)... Sketch for Day #3... so far so good!

SkADaMo sketch #2: Nov 2

Second "Sketch a Day". This one is Kitty Alley lying on the table beside my computer. I was trying to sketch as fast as possible but of course she still moved.

Finding it frustrating to not understand properly how to get the 2B Pencil brush in Painter to go wider when I tilt it and draw in certain directions for the black. Not much control. Good exercise though.

SkADaMo !!! Let's try it!

So yes, I haven't updated here since July 2011 it seems. Between moving from Montreal to Saskatchewan (Martensville, just north of Saskatoon), too much work, no work, too much work, travel etc... I seems centuries since I have been drawing just for drawing. Two days ago I heard about SkADaMo: Sketch A Day Month, this November. And decided to go for it. I am sorry that for me, days usually start late and finish late, so for me it is still Nov 1 but for everyone else I am late. Here goes! Someone said that the theme was "vice". Mine seem to be procrastinating, coffee and munchies (buttered popcorn, melted cheese, gummy bears...) less than exciting things like absinthe, crack cocaine, wild sex, grand theft auto... so here we go!

Hopefully tomorrow I'll draw something more interesting than "myself"!! This is quite like my Liliane comix character, though you can tell it is me, not her, since I have a nose!

Self-Portrait in Digital Pencil

Hmmm, I was going to do a quick pencil sketch in Painter 11 to use as a basis to try out some digital watercolor following this online tutorial by Joan A. Hamilton. But I got carried away. Using the Real 2B Pencil brush in Painter is fun, as it is so responsive to tilt and pressure of the stylus... so what started as a bit of indicative shading ended up with me doing a value drawing. I will perhaps turn it into a line-drawing to do a watercolor trial from but perhaps not. I'll hopefully be wearing different clothes tomorrow, with different lighting (it is dark outside now, 5:30 am, and the light is from a desk lamp beside my cintiq).

So, I'll just share this impromptu portrait for now. Totally unplanned