I have decided to bring back the blog, I have way too much to tell everyone these days so this seems the perfect place to do so. Hopefully I can keep it up this time! I will focus on a monthly update for now, unless theres something extra special in the mean time which lets face it- theres going to be, there always is! I feel like this is a place I can be a little more myself and share a little more than you would get on the surface of my social accounts and on my website. There is a real person behind these works of art after all!
Ft spongebob because I am the human SpongeBob.
I'd love to know what you would like to see in these updates! Please vote below.
Your current drawings and paintings in progress
Things we can buy
Art tips for animal art
More about me & my animals
You can vote for more than one answer.
This month is a VERY horsey month
I wont lie, these are my favourite months. Full of horses! I will start off by sharing a little report on the private viewing of my piece "Big Jump" at The View Gallery in Royal Wootton Basset last week.
This is my first proper gallery entry, by proper I mean fancy, smart, and surrounded by lots of other likeminded artists with horsey people viewing my work too, which is exactly what is needed for my art to end up in the right place.
I met so many lovely artists who between them have such a variety of styles which meant there was so much to see and something for everyone.
My favourite was a beautiful golden painting by an artist called Clare Thorogood (you can see a peek below), this has definitely inspired me to get my gold materials out again and do something shiny soon.
Please do go and see the exhibition if you fancy a day out, maybe even treat yourself to some art for your home.
This months commission star is Saffy, a gorgeous chestnut mare
Chestnut coats are surprisingly hard to get right. There are SOOOOOO many colours involved from greens to purples, pinks to reds, then your regular shades of browns in the tens!
The key to these realistic drawings regardless of which colours you choose is the layering technique. A drawing could be complete in 2 layers or upwards of 10 layers all depending on the aesthetic you are wanting to produce, there is no right or wrong. For realism, you need at least 5 layers to really achieve the depth and tones that you need to make your subject picture perfect.
The colours you choose aren't actually the most important- you do not need to get the perfect orange colour of the chestnut horse. It is more the hidden colours that create the depth in the right spots, which all add up to the overall image.
It really is a long labour of love with these drawings, but something that is so worth it in the end.
TOP TIPS FOR ARTISTS:
Focus on the darks and lights, for chestnuts in particular using a purple or green colour lightly (please start light else you'll end up with the grinch) in the dark areas or shadows may seem crazy, but is what will make your portrait pop!
Dont be afraid to get the darks dark and the lights light.
Pastelmat by clairefontaine is the paper I use for all my drawings, this does allow you to add light on top of dark even with coloured pencils (to some degree, there is no making a coloured area white again) but I feel it is quite forgiving in this area which is super helpful.
TWO new collections are in the making!
I am squirrelling away amongst the madness of galleries, commissions and general life trying to get as much work done to bring 2 collections to the table this summer. A lot of work goes into these and thats not even taking into account the actual creating! A big challenge but one I will smash in time.
I have decided after the amazing reception of "Big Jump" that I will be creating a series of these detailed horse drawings, with that surreal twist of my nicely coloured black box so that they are coming out of the page and into your world.
I really enjoyed creating something a bit different that not only adds to the wow of the horse, but also to my skill (something I dont like to talk about much, but I do have some skill it seems!)
So here is the next drawing in progress, and my aim was that within this collection theres a contrast between the power of the sports horse, and the quiet of the horse too. This one is a very peaceful drawing in comparison.
Wild In Colour collection
Whilst working on my detailed drawings I do pine for something colourful and a little more "fun". I will be adding to this collection for a long time to come as my release between drawing. I get to add all sorts of animals, with all sorts of colours, and really play with materials and styles, and you guys love it too!
The newest and biggest original yet joined this collection a week or so ago and is currently available. Welcome "Moo Cow". She has some hidden elements, and a little buzzing friend too.
That is all for now! Im working on a few commissions this week and next. I'll likely post another blog update soon whilst I catch up on everything I have missed by not doing these posts. Oops!
Rosie x