Introducing Wyatt

In Fall of 2014 we decided that our 2 year old Springer Spaniel, Ruby, would benefit from having a friend. We knew we wanted another English Springer Spaniel for sure, the debate was to rescue or buy from a breeder. With Ruby's history we decided to get a pup from a breeder. We contacted Springville Springers, in Ontario, Canada. We made arrangements to go meet the parents of our pup and place a deposit. We found our Springville Wild Wyatt; a black and white male field type English Springer Spaniel. We made arrangements to bring him over the border and brought him home in January of 2015.

    

Wyatt is my barking alarm clock who is always eager for breakfast. He likes to stand between my legs and the kitchen counters and has done so since he was a baby. He likes to shred paper goods and dig holes outside in the yard. He is eager to please. Wyatt likes to cuddle after 7pm. He makes the "derpiest" of faces and makes me laugh all the time. He loves to chase assorted toys, cotton wood puffs on the wind, Ruby, and butterflies.

Ruby became nurturing, shared her toys, and eventually let him sleep near her in the month after bringing him home. He is now taller than her and soon will be heavier. This is typical of field Springers. Ruby is a mix between the show and field variety. They are buddies and I can't even explain the love I have for them.

 

When ruby was about 7 months old I did a portrait of her for our home. Puppies rarely stop moving except for when they are sleeping. This is when the are angelic! So I snapped a snoozing picture and used it as reference for the oil pastel portrait. 

To see Ruby's portrait, click the link:

http://wildatheartillustration.blogspot.com/2013/10/introducing-ruby.html

This is the picture I used for reference of Wyatt:

Normally, a black dog is a tricky subject. Lucky for me, Wyatt's coat is shiny and I had a good picture for reference. I started with a line drawing on an 11x14 inch mixed media paper. 

(This is the half way point.)

I used a variety of colors for all shading. For black I typically use blues and purples. I clean up edges and lines with colored pencil. I have to say the yellow background was a nice change for me. The shadwos are once again a combination of blues, purples, and browns, but there is even some green and maroon in there!

"Wyatt" The finished piece. 

Both of my furbaby portraits are on the wall now. They are one of the first things you see when you walk through the door besides the models themselves who rush to greet you.

My handsome goofball in more recent photos. 

Thank you for stopping in. Stay tuned for future works. 

Sweet Chalk Festival 2015

The Sweet Chalk Festival in Lockport, NY was once again a great experience! This was my 3rd year as a featured artist. Seeing this event grow from the beginning has been remarkable. This year it was easily tripled in size. Ellen Martin and event organizers were once again amazing and I'm so proud of them! There were so much talent present this year. I took a ton of pictures!!!

This year I chose a marine subject. My piece this year was 6ft x 8ft in size (the biggest one I have done to date). I illustrated an under the sea view of two seahorses. I love doing ocean scenes because it allows creative liberty with dramatic lighting. Sea horses come in all shapes and sizes and some even look alien. I will be drawing a Hippocamus Erectus or "Lined Seahorse." 

Here are some images I drew inspiration from: 

(I do not own or claim to own these images. I Googled them.)

 

Some fun seahorse facts: Seahorses mate for life, they can camouflage, males carry the eggs in their pouches, they are slow swimmers, and the Lined Seahorses in particular live all along the East Coast from Nova Scotia, Canada to the South Americas. I have found myself envious of the sea horse, the males can carry the babies, I am 21 weeks pregnant and find this an intriguing concept. 

Due to the size of this year's piece I decided to forgo a full size trace. Last year we had wind issues and I didn't want to repeat that frustration either. I did however measure out my grid on a normal piece of paper and then did a trial run in my driveway. I found that I completely miscalculated how many squares I had. Oops. 

I used a 9x12 grid. Each square was 8 inches.

July 11th, 2015-Day 1 of the Sweet Chalk Festival

My super fan (Mom) helped me get the grid down. We fought with the awning/shade tent (I didn't want to burn this year-still did anyway somehow but it definitely helped with the temperature) We measured out the grid and use a chalk line to set it straight. Once it was in place I went over the lines with a brighter chalk. This part of the process is easily the most difficult and not fun.

My Mom kept me company for most of the day as I laid down the base color. I used Prismacolor NuPastels for most of my piece. I did have some Master's Touch brand pastels left over from last year as well. The difference between the too is the dust factor. Prismacolors stick easier and hold pigment. Master's Touch can create a "wash out" look but will crumble quicker. 

End of Day 1-Base Color Down

July 12th, 2015-Day 2 of the Sweet Chalk Festival

My husband, Tim, helped me set up. Artists got their official shirts for the event. I didn't waste much time, after stuffing doughnuts in my face, and jumped into shading. I started from left to right to stay in the shade as the hours ticked by. I deepened shadows, created spine texture on the golden sea horse and brought dimension to the weeds. I had family stop in to say hello throughout the day. My Dad, sister and her boyfriend also stopped to keep me company around lunch time. My muscles started to ache and it was helpful to have someone else hop around and get me chalk pieces. 

I raced to finish the right side of the piece. I added spines and fin to the larger sea horse, brought to attention the light filtering from the surface making the coral above a silhouette, and added texture the the lower coral. I set the piece with good ol' Aqua Net hairspray. You may still see this days from now.

The finished illustration:

I still managed to get sunburn on some of my legs and arms and was extremely sore but it was worth it. 

I got to be placed by my friend, Debbie Franco. We enjoyed each other's company as we worked on our pieces. She did Calvin and Hobbs!

Some of the other pieces from various artists:

Winner of the student contest!!!

Upper level of the parking lot.

A special thank you to our friends and families, the people who support the arts and this festival, and to my sponsor 

Diversified Manufacturing Inc. 

The Painted Horse

I have always had an appreciation for South Western art and history. I have traveled to and around Arizona. My maternal grandparents live near Phoenix. I have been to the Grand Canyon and Sedona. Every time I return to the state I am once again in love with the vivid colors of the landscape and the mystical feeling it inspires. Bright colors from all over the spectrum are consistently used in South Western art. So, it was only a matter of time before I created my own piece with the influence of the region.

American Indians would paint their war horses with symbols of protection, wisdom, and stories of victory. Some painted symbols that would tell of the affection between horse and warrior or personal achievements of the warrior much like medals on a military uniform. Other decorations were beads, feathers, and medicine bags tied into horse's mane. You can google the symbols and their meanings. Some may surprise you.

"The Painted Horse" is an oil painting on a 18x24  inch canvas.

The most difficult part was the eye. The moment I realized I got it right I felt like I ran a marathon and won. I really enjoyed the texture of the background in contrast with the flow of the horse's mane. I used a variety of colors, bright blues and deep reds, coppers and grays too. The photos never really compare to seeing the piece in real life.

As to be expected, I fell in love with my painted war horse. I will have a hard time letting it go. This piece has quickly become a personal favorite. I hope you enjoy this piece too.

"The Painted Horse"