Tag: drawing

For someone who does not consider herself a kitty-puppy artist, I seem to be over-run by pencil drawing commissions of cats and dogs.

That’s okay. I love to draw in pencil.

First, the sketch. The customer chose C.

Second, begin the real drawing.

Third, keep drawing.

When I told a friend about this drawing, I couldn’t think of the kind of cat called “Persian”. So, I took the palm of my hand and smashed it against my nose, and she got it.

Okay, Central California Artist, quit talking and nose-smashing, and get back to the drawing table.

I have no intention of becoming a kitty–puppy artist. However, when I receive commissions to draw cats or dogs, if the photos are decent and I have the time, I usually say yes to those jobs.

This one began with sketches, as most commissioned pencil drawings do.

Not quite it. More sketches requested.

Mr. Customer chose C. Now we’re cooking with gas!

The printed photos weren’t detailed enough so I also worked from the laptop screen.

Mr. Customer changed mind about toy in front of dachshund. Back to the drawing board.

And thus we have 3 dogs all together, being quiet and well-behaved. Mr. Customer informed me that this NEVER happens. That explains why he sent me so many separate photos.

If you recognize these dogs, SHHHHHH. It’s a Christmas present surprise.

A customer has asked me to draw 2 cats, each one as a kitten and as an adult cat.

Have I ever mentioned that I might maybe perhaps just may have a teensy bit of a Cat Disorder? Ahem. Probably not. But still. . . 

The customer sent me the photographs of his cats, and I worked out some sketches for him to choose from.

He said I was making it hard on him, but eventually decided that C was the best choice.

Of course “C” is the right choice for a Cats Collage Commission.

So, it was with great pleasure that I began this drawing. I will try to get it finished in a timely manner instead of spending endless amounts of time on it, dragging it out because I do love cats.

But I’m fine. No disorders here, nosiree Bob.

There I was, faced with the necessity to draw the north end of a mule headed south, and no reference material!

What’s a Central California artist to do?

Call in Cowboy Bert, of course.

That would be Cowboy Bert, Equine Photographer, who graciously set up one of his mules and positioned him for numerous photos. I was able to print out 3 for reference, but because it took a couple of hours for them to load on my computer, I didn’t save the photos to show you.

Then, I commenced drawing. When I can see what I need to see and know what I am seeing, I can draw very quickly. When I am drawing the north end of a mule headed south and the photos are all just a tad bit different and various pieces of information are obscured behind a tail or in shadow. I take my time. Here are a few of the stages that the drawing went through:

Nope, not drawing anything I can’t see. Waiting for photos. . .

Okay, let’s try this thing.

Hard to see the difference from the previous one. Maybe it is time to get an expert opinion.

At this point, I emailed it to The Captain, who is the prettier partner of Cowboy Bert. She has also taken drawing lessons from me, so I knew she’d observe every detail and prevent me from exposing my ignorance of a mule’s back side.

We laid tissue paper over a printout of the drawing, and the Captain showed me what she saw while explaining it. I repeated it back to her to be sure I understood, and then wrote notes so I could fix things later. (This all happened while setting up for her father’s memorial service – shows you what a thoughtful generous person she is, and possibly what a jerk I am for asking such a thing at such a time.)

Stay tuned for the final drawing. (At the time of this post, it isn’t yet finished.)

A regular customer wants to republish a book. The original drawing from the cover is missing, and it doesn’t look very good when scanned from a printed book. They asked me to redraw it, and to add color so it has the look of an old hand-tinted black and white photo. All I have to look at is a blurry dark photo and someone else’s drawing. Someone Else (never met her) drew it using the provided photo and other photos of unknown origin. This means there is some vital information missing. It is very difficult to draw from other people’s drawings, particularly when you don’t know the subject very well.

I saw this and thought, “Oh Missy Scarlett, I don’t know nothin’ ’bout birthin’ babies”. I have painted and drawn a few mules, but it was under strict supervision and with good reference photos!

At least it is in a place I recognize and have drawn or painted a couple of times. A couple of dozen times!

Well, oops. Where is the mule? Where is the man leading the mule? Where is the man sitting on the boulder? Where did the previous artist get those images?

Where will I get those images? I can’t accurately and confidently draw things that I cannot see.

More will be revealed in the fullness of time. . .