Last week, we had this beautiful visitor to the garden, which settled for a couple of days on a red heuchera plant. This particular moth is an Eyed Hawk Moth, so called because on its underwings there are eyed markings, much like a Peacock Butterfly. Alas, I didn’t get to see them as this one was sleeping. I was able to get a good number of shots of it before…
“Harvest Mouse”, coloured pencil on A4 Strathmore paper, by Martyn Fox. Today saw the completion of this sweet little one, a nice quick project to work on. And I’ve got to say, I’m very happy with how it came out. The determination to make quick decisions on colour choices and how to go about completing this piece saw it come together very quickly indeed, without sacrificing any of the quality…
Having completed two rather intense pieces of work in fairly close proximity to one-another, I fancied something fairly quick to get stuck into: so what better than a sweet little harvest mouse? Not exactly the right time of year for it, but they’ll be around munching on tasty bits and pieces as they skitter about and (hopefully!) avoid predators. With this one I’m trying to be a bit looser, a…
“Rogal”, coloured pencil on A4 paper, dog portrait by Martyn Fox. Today saw the completion of this handsome chap, a handsome chap who is easily the handsomest chap there is and the best of the Very Good Boys as well! Why? Because he’s my dog! Honestly, I was at a bit of a loss as to what to work on next after the Barn Owl, and as luck would have…
I’ve mapped out the rest of this handsome chap today, apart from the collar/medallion which I’ll do as their own separate session. The latest area is looking rather too grey right now, but his fur is a whitish colour that is in shadow and this is the darkest areas of the fur’s depth. Once I’ve blended this out with some thinners, it’ll lighten up and I’ll be able to smooth…
Following the completion of the Barn Owl, I felt the need to take a step away from the drawing board for a while as I was burnt out to be honest. Anything I tried to do just wasn’t satisfactory and I was getting frustrated: sure signs that I needed a break. But now I’m feeling much better, so have decided to make a start on what will prove to be…
“Barn Owl”, coloured pencils on paper, 287mm x 460, by Martyn Fox. Today saw, after several hours of work, the completion of this piece. This one is, to date the largest and most detailed piece of work I’ve created in coloured pencil, and I’m very proud of how it came out. Barn Owls are one of those birds that I don’t see too often, but when I do it is…
I’ve been very hard at work on this one today, focussing predominantly on the main body of the owl. The texture here is very soft with lots of subtle detail and colours, which makes for a very challenging area to realise it well. However, I think I managed to create something that achieves that. I’ve also added more pigment to the tail feathers, and have blended that out with Zest…
A subtle update today as I’ve just upped the pigment on the body and then blended it out. Today I’ll be working on bringing more detail into the body and working towards completion of that area before starting the tail. The body is still rather flat looking at the moment, but once I’ve worked the pigment into it more it’ll begin to look more three dimensional.
I’ve been pushing on with this project over today and yesterday, and as you can see I’ve got the right wing underside and leading edge filled in much stronger. This area has also been blended with Zest It to smooth the pigment out, fill in the grain of the paper and adjust the colours more towards their final state. Now I’ve just got to leave this area to dry before…