Saphira

I have had the joy of meeting Mary.

I had her as a client on my waiting list for February 2018. However, my January portrait cancelled due to vet bills. Hey, our fur babies are expensive and unexpectedly so. (Rachel's Chloe) So I offered it to next in line. Mary and Rachel happened to be besties. So Mary jumped on the opportunity to surprise her friend with Chloe's portrait-postponing her spot. Mary is one of those people that you automatically become friends with. Her heart is bigger than her body and it has been a joy to have her both in my pet portrait client list as well as my LuLaRoe VIP Group.

Hearing Mary talk about when she adopted miss Saphira still makes me all warm and fuzzy. I love the "love at first sight" moment between pet and fur parent.

Saphira is an ADORABLE kitty. She is a petite little thing. Pretty green eyes and tiger markings.

I would obviously be drawn to the reference photo with the back light. It is dramatic, it has a wonderful background texture, it is warm and matches the emotion of Saphira's face. Using this photo was special-I love them when they are. This photo is from the day she was adopted. She was sitting on top of Mary and had this look of "are you my Mommy now?" She is relaxed and curious at the same time. The challenge would be adapting the color tone of the sunlight glow on her to be true to color for her fur in natural light. I referenced the other photos for that task. I also altered the photo to black and white to better see where the fur actually stopped and what was light reflecting.  

Phase 1: Composition and Sketch

Sketches are always creepy! The purpose of the sketch when doing oil pastel is to create a color by number approach to set up the application. You can't get too detailed with the lines or the blending of the pastel will lose it and could also have the graphite affect the pigment-grey hurts a more vibrant hue like yellow. 

Phase 2: Oil Pastel Base

Oil pastel application begins! It is similar to coloring with crayons except the colors are spreadable and can be put down in layers. Layers can be removed with a kneaded eraser. Depending on what colors of the size of the illustration I may merge Phase 2 and 3 together to keep my composition intact. 

Base is done. However, the pastels are not put away quite yet. They come back out to strengthen parts where the subject meets the background or to create a deeper shadow. 

Phase 3: Color Pencil Detail 

Color pencil application begins. I will usually do the eyes first. It sets the tone for the rest of the piece and helps you feel a bit more accomplished! I snapped a pic to show the difference specifically with the eyes. It is so cool! I love seeing the progression and the process at each phase. 

This was my first commission where I was not working the full time day job. I was able to work this portrait, sketch others, and work LLR and start a part time gig at a banquet hall as a server for some grocery cash. I was also home with my daughter, Jackie. She is 2 and a half and very interested in what I was up to. I had to come up with ways to occupy her while she was in my studio. She found the roll of bubble wrap from the Bear chalk piece a few times and started coloring when I was working too. She wants to be like Mommy sometimes.

My trusted white color pencil for even more blending. 

I used white, cream, and cloud blue for my blending colors. I use Prismacolor Premier is my color pencil of choice. The lead tends to be hard enough that it holds it's own against the pastel with pressure and soft enough to blend in hue. 

Silly things like a new pencil sharpener excite me. No, I am not a paid sponsor of Prismacolor. 

The difference from Phase 2 to Phase 3. 

Phase 4: Stare and Tweak (AKA Crazy Neurotic Jess)

You can see the difference here big time in the ears, whiskers, and scruff line of the chest. The shadows are darker, the lines a bit longer on her fur, the whiskers sand out a bit more. During this phase I triple guess everything and make tiny adjustments that are either brilliant or cause me another 20 minutes plus of work to correct it. 

This is what an 8x10 looks like and me on the other side of the stare and tweak. 

"Saphira" 8x10 Oil Pastel and Color Pencil

Details

My favorite review ever!!! She definitely loved it. 

I'm looking forward to doing her other fur babies. 

Merging Mediums: Bear

I got to chalk earlier than normal! (I say this like a 4 year old that has gotten away with eating more candy than allowed.)

I took an opportunity to join my Artist as Entrepreneur Boot Camp Alumni for a show in Buffalo, NY. Read about the boot camp here. Each of us could submit a piece or two. The boot camp alumni were a variety of disciplines. Performance art being one of them. 

I decided to chalk as a performance art piece. If I tried to do my bread and butter-pet portraits I would not have enough time to do my open orders. Believe it or not doing a large piece in chalk is a bit faster than my oil pastel and definitely faster than my ink work. 

March in Buffalo is a wild card month for weather. I would have to create a piece inside the Gallery. I was trying to come up with ways to make a surface. I thought about tempera painting the gallery's floor (if it was concrete) found out it was not-a beautiful wood floor! So that was out. I though maybe if I made my own concrete pad and boxed it in like a raised garden. Um, no. Heavy and expensive. 

Then I was looking at an actual chalk board-which old chalk boards were made with slate. Slate! Off to Home Depot on a date night we went. So romantic isn't it? I got touchy feely with some floor tile and made my plan. 

I knew I wanted to do a pet portrait. I was showing who I was as an artist. Chalk subjects before had been for fun. I am more strategic about my chalk subjects now. I have the attention of people I have never met for a brieft amount of time. I need to make my impact. Someone who may see my spaniel in Lockport may mention it to a friend who then hires me to illustrate their fur baby. If I had done an octopus it wouldn't have the same effect. I still have a lot of fun regardless with my pet subjects in chalk though. Nothing lost there. 

I went to social media to get my new subject. I did a contest on my Facebook and also posted it to Instagram. The engagement for my small crowd business page was insane! 136 comments, 8 reactions, and 1,547 people reached. My page only has 301 likes. The power or pet bragging!  

I had selected finalists based on fur color and ease with my time constraints while at the gallery. 

I was inspired particularly by two pets. I could see the composition in my head for Bear and Cinnamon. Bear is bottom left and Cinnamon is bottom right. The lure of a Pocahontas inspired piece of Bear won out. I could just see the leaves dancing around him in the wind. 

We had left over plywood at home, we got the tile and adhesive. The size of the piece was 4ft x 5ft. 

I had to look at the "grooves" and differences in the tile were and arrange them to best serve Bear. I didn't want a sharp edge on his face. Tim, my darling husband, put the tile on the board and helped me muscle it around the house. 

I was able to do the pre-work before the show so when I got to the gallery it was in the finishing stages. The majority of a chalk piece is prep. The chalk color part feels like it flies by. 

Ghost bear! Or Protronus. #harrypotternerd

I spent a late night painting my base of Bear. I'm so glad I did! If I hadn't painted the base the chalk would have had a really hard to holding onto the slate. The chalk became dusty when I applied it at the gallery. The vibrancy the paint lended also helped me out a bit. Painting a washable base is a common practice for chalk artists which always surprises festival goers. 

I used an entire roll of bubble wrap for the piece to transport it to Buffalo. My brother then helped me move it into the gallery after getting lost somehow on Grand Island. The Gallery had some art on the outside of the building and was pretty easy to find. Main Street Art Gallery. 

My mainstay supplies are my foam boogie board for kneeling (doesn't transfer pigment), carpet squares, suede cloth strips, pastels, and hairspray. I only used a tiny amount of hairspray on Bear's face where it was overly dusty because I didn't want to lose the eyeballs. Hairspray helps it stick a little bit or "seals" it temporarily. 

I did a lot of Facebook Live time with this piece on my business page. Some stills are here. 

From paint to chalk detail. 

Rough color to blended shadow. 

My "performing" space. I put the leaves and grass line in and finished it with some time to take look at the rest of the art in the show. It was amazing to see so many mediums in one place! I got to catch up with a few of my fellow boot campers and badass artists, who I have followed on Instagram since 2016. #bossbabes Shout out to Natalie Brown who has kept this group together and set up the show for us.  

Ashley, Janna, and myself. 

Ashley's Instagram: aej.create

Janna's Instagram: papercraftmiracles

Mine: wildatheartillustration

The owner of Bear, Nicole, my beloved co-worker, Mary Lou (Nicole's mother) and her husband, Don made an appearance. How lucky I am to have such a good friendship with these ladies. I adore them! I gifted Nicole the piece. I wasn't sure how it would hold up being it was my first piece on slate and we didn't have a proven fixative to keep it nice. They were overjoyed with it! 

Nicole and I with "Bear." 

"Bear" 4ft x 5ft pastels on slate tile. 

I enjoyed this chalking experience. I would do another in the future with some more experimenting and on a smaller scale. This thing was heavy! 

I really loved how the variations int he tile gave the piece a depth I didn't have to draw. I loved how the colors popped against that dark grey. I loved how illustration gives a subject a life force that photography can't always capture. I happen to love this dog in real life too. He has his own Instagram! bear_the_chowmutt

 

Detail Shots!

Bear poses by his portrait. What a cutie!!! I absolutely love with owners send pictures of their dogs next to the works I create. Makes me all warm and fuzzy! 

My next scheduled chalk adventure is Sweet Chalk Fest in Lockport, NY in July. 

Stay tuned!