New Series - Candid Animals

"Mountain Sheep - Mid-chew" - also affectionately known as "Derp Sheep". 
I'm sure I have a few photos of me with this same expression...

I've started a new series of pen & ink drawings, so far known as "Candid Animals". I'm trying to capture the moments in between the majesty- funny expressions, less-than-ideal poses- the wildlife equivalent of sneezing for your driver's license photo.

To keep things interesting (and to save me from myself) I have a few simple rules I need to follow:

1. These drawings must be based on photos I have taken- no Googling for better images!
2. Only the simplest pencil sketch is allowed: just the proportions & placement- no getting bogged down in details at this early stage.
3. No quitting! If (and when) I mess something up, I have to keep going. 
4. No starting a new picture until the current one is finished.

"Pacific Chorus Frog" - the least 'derpy' subject so far.

The rules are working well so far- it turns out that I've actually felt more driven & inspired while working within these constraints. So much for having a rebellious artistic nature! ;)

"Dream Big" - this guy may have bitten off more than he can chew. 
I think we all have days like that.

Weekend WIP - West Coast Corvid

"West Coast Corvid"

Acrylic on wood panel, 2011

It's the return of the Weekend Work-In-Progress!

This weekend I'll be showing you how 'West Coast Corvid' came together. There's not much to describe (since the steps are basically 1- sketch. 2- paint. 3- paint some more. 4- keep painting...), so I'll just let the pictures tell the story (such as it is).

Primed wood panel with gesso. Sketched the scene

Painted the sky. Played with some texture for the clouds.

Toned down the cloud texture. Painted the hills.
Played around with the paint on the closest hill to give it a bit of 'forest' texture.

Added some more detail to the hills. Painted the bird. 

And that's it! Everything went as smoothly as described, yes indeed... ;)

Here's a question for all you artists out there- what is your painting process like? Since I first learned to paint with watercolours, I tend to keep a lot of the same habits when I use acrylics (working from light to dark colours, for example). Do you have a system that you like to stick to, or do you tend towards slightly-controlled-chaos?

"Three Bandits"

"Three Bandits"

Materials: Pitt grayscale brush pens on smooth Bristol

A gift for my sister, from a picture taken in Stanley Park by her son.
I've been waiting to post this one for a while, and now that her gift has arrived safely I no longer have to keep it secret!

Weekend W.I.P. - 'Saw-Whet Stinkeye' & 'Ghost Walk'

"That's right- you keep drawing me, and I'll keep judging you."

Made some more progress on the Saw-Whet Stinkeye drawing this weekend- at this rate I may actually finish it!

Here's another project to keep an eye on:

Based on the 'Ghost Walk" photo from this post

I started this one some time ago, and it's been stuck at this stage for far too long. Hopefully now that you're watching me, I'll feel pressured to make some decent progress on it as well!