"Felix"

Did this for my sister's Xmas present, so hope she likes it. It's of her cat "Felix" when he was lazing around this past summer.

Holbein Cat

I think I should stick to dogs...domestic cats & I don't see eye to eye. Anyway this was just for fun as I wanted to try clothing.

Wolf

My first attempt scratching on whiteboard. Obviously where you place the colors is a factor in order for the scratching to look right, but here it is. I shall continue to play until I get it ... hopefully I'm not old and gray by then!

Can You See Me Now...

Did this little guy just for fun & practice.

Hiding

Took me most of the day, but here it is.


OK, I didn't start the gopher again, I started doing this one instead.

A Perched Lemur

Voila! Now back to the gopher..


Some color is next...


Started scratching a new one. Hopefully this little guy turns out.

Horse (Practice)

Finished playing now.


Step 2...


Thought I'd try a horse. It's not very good, but hey...you got to start somewhere. This is a work in progress.

Gopher III

Still working on this little guy...

Ostrich

A bit of color.


I'm still working on my gopher, but thought I'd show you another one that is scratched before I color it.

Gopher

I started a new scratchboard & the image represents about 3.5 hours of scratching so far. Still a long way to go and it's on an 8x10 board.

A bit more scratching...

Lemur

An experiment from a photo I had & I'll probably redo one in the future, but this one helped me a lot to understand composition.

Lion

I'm not finished with this one yet, but thought I'd post what I've been up to lately. I still have to do a bit more shading and whatnot. It's not exactly a showpiece, but they say practice makes perfect, so that's what I'm going to try for...lol

Giraffe

Scratched & colored.

Another Zebra

Still practicing my scratching & shading.

Tabby Finished

Not particularly happy with how this turned out. I need to get the fur techniques down somehow, but I'm struggling.

Tabby Cat

Started a new one today. I'll post the finished one soon.

Calypso & Tango

Worked on one for a friend...hopefully she'll like it, as I tried to get it as close as I could to her dogs from a photo she gave me.

Fisher

A Fisher...scratched & colored.

Zebra

I finished a few more...A Zebra

Lily (Finished)

A little bit of color. Maybe I'll try inks next time. My watercolors seem a little too pale.

Lily (Scratched)

A few little touch ups on the scratching and then I think it's ready for some color.

Aster 1 ~ Finished

Here we go...some colors added.

Aster 1 (cont'd)

I've finished scratching...a ton of practice is still required, and I may have overscratched in some places, but here it is. Now I have to see if I have any watercolor pencils to add color.

Aster 1

I started a new technique yesterday. I'm doing an Aster (design by Gisele Grenier, Art by Nature, www.artbynature.ca) Here are stages I and II.

Mountain Cougar

Finally got a digital photo of it, but my battery died before I could get the best lighting...anyway, you'll get an idea of it.

Original Outline by Karen LuAnne Murphy (1999). This was designed for oil painting, but I converted it to acrylics as best I could. I painted it on a 24 x 36 canvas...my biggest project to date!

I did it!!

I finally finished the mountain cougar today. Now all I have to do is take a photo of it & show you. I'll have it framed & give it to my younger son for Christmas. Now I can be content to move onto a new project!

Yippee

Procrastination II

OK, I'm still at it. I have not lifted a brush yet! When I was working all I could think of was having the time to paint. Now I have lots of time and no inclination. I really think I better have a good heart-to-heart talk with myself. This is not normal!

Procrastination!

All summer I've been working on a painting. First of all it's done on a 24 x 36 canvas, which is big for me! Secondly it was originally designed by LuAnne Murphy in oils and is a Mountain Cougar. My first job was to try and convert everything to acrylic colors, which I believe I did successfully. The last few weeks, I've been procrastinating about painting...today I intend to start at it again. I must admit it's not that far from completion, but sometimes when I stop a project, it's hard to get into doing again. However, I shall try. Besides, my younger son has requested it for his bedroom. At least when it's finished, it will have a home! I will take pictures and post it whenever I complete it.

A new blog!

Well I'm about to embark on a blog and I've decided to use it for my art experiences. I have been decorative painting since 1980 and paint primarily in acrylics. My favorite subjects are animals, so I've taken seminars and various courses to learn fur and eye techniques. In a few weeks I will be starting a course to learn how to oil paint, so that should be fun!