Drawing of a Boxer

Well, Christmas is right around the corner. The 'to do' list is almost completely checked off, so I thought I'd take some time to myself and get my next drawing started. Here is the line drawing of a boxer pup that will be approximately 9 1/2 x 8 inches when finished. The original color pic is roughly a 5 x 6. I didn't like the size it would be if I enlarged the line drawing on my 1 inch grid. So, I created a new 3/4 inch grid, mounted the transfer paper, and went to work on the line drawing. Working on line drawings is one of my favorite parts of creating art. It helps to build up my hand/eye coordination. But I must confess, I had a couple of misplaced lines. ( I won't tell you where his right eye was located for a little while!) That my friends is the main reason that my sketches are done on transfer paper. It is sooo forgiving! Overall, the sketch went pretty fast, even though there were a half a dozen interruptions. I must say... it feels good to be back at the drawing board! :)

Update to the Bulldog Drawing

Just a quick note to let you know that my hubby delivered the Bulldog drawing to its rightful owner. She was very pleased. And yes, I took my friends' advice and signed my name. My signature is by no means stylish or fancy, but I am resigned to the fact that it is like my drawings...no frills, just clear and to the point. My new resolution is to sign my work upon finishing a drawing. Thanks Laure ( http://paintedthoughtsblog.blogspot.com/ ) for all of your wonderful advice. I had forgot what a name truly represents. I am proud of how far I have come in my work, and my family's name that my abilities are derived from. And thanks Carol ( http://firecrackerkid.blogspot.com/ ), my work did feel complete once my name was on it. It is always a great thing to have friendly advice in the decision making process! :)

It was a little odd to not have the drawing in my studio, but as I said earlier, it never felt like it ever belonged to me. I would like to set the record straight on one thing though, during this entire process I referred to the Bulldog as a 'he'... Well, this beautiful family member in fact was a 'she'. Her name was Lucy, and it was my pleasure to have had the opportunity to draw her...

Drawing a Bulldog FINISHED

Here is where I was 2 days ago, and this is how I drew in the back of the couch. Had I done the whole drawing left to right, the drawing would not have needed to be rotated 90 degrees. I actually like drawing this way. It trains my eyes to see small areas and shapes instead of the whole picture. The surprise comes when I turn it back, and the whole picture comes together.

 Well, here he is finished. There might be some tweaking in the next couple of days, but I am very happy with how this one turned out. I hope his owner will be also. It's funny. I thought that it would be hard to give a drawing away, but as with the dog in the photo, it felt as if this work was never mine to begin with. I will miss him though. This was a very relaxing piece to work on. It was the first piece that I felt great confidence in to translate to graphite. Okay, okay, honestly... if the owner didn't want this piece, I would frame it for my own house! Look at that face... how could you not fall in love?? ;)

So now what is next? Well, the first thing is to decide on how to sign my artwork. None of my graphite work has ever left the house, so I have never signed any of them. This has been on my mind since the first drawing. I am very determined that my work be the total focal point, and a long signature would be too distracting. My thoughts have turned to using my initials BLNS in a jumbled format. I have the next few days to decide. Oh... and I guess I had better pick out another subject to draw too!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I love it! A holiday that you can eat all you want all day long! Yay!! Okay, maybe Mew took it just a little to far! ;0)

Have a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!

Drawing a Bulldog 5

Yes, I am still plodding along on this guy! I am fitting in drawing time here and there, so he is moving along even if it is at a snail's pace. As you can see, I am working on the couch. The top of the cushion on the left is mapped in and will get more definition. The back half of the Bulldog's body needed some deepening of shadows and markings. I would imagine that the top half will require the need for more graphite as well. It was a relief (to me) that his face seems to be on the mark for intensity. The tweed of the couch was left out due to the size of the drawing, plus the intense pattern would have drawn away from the central focus. It was interesting to note, upon viewing the reference pic over and over, that the focus of the photograph was on the front cushions of the couch~ not on the dog. His face was out of focus, but (thankfully) the lines on his face cleaned up nicely on paper.

My hubby took his first look at him tonight and was happy. He even made the comment of how handsome the Bulldog breed is. I informed him that on the radio today an ad ran for a 10 week old male Bulldog for sale. Apparently, his love for the breed doesn't run that deep. He went back in the living room to watch TV with his cat! ;0)

Drawing a Bulldog 4

Well, our Bulldog has his face all blended and darkened. (I really have to find out what this guy's name was!) As I was getting ready to post, I was able to get a good look at my values and went back to the board to soften his face a little. Then, I took another pic. For some reason, it is easier to spot harsh values while up on the computer screen. I am pretty happy with where he is at right now. He has some depth to him which I was not sure could be created with the small photo reference. The background is now the last thing to do. The couch he is on is pretty dark, and sometimes I have to darken the main object more once the background goes in. My guess would be that the body might need some darker cast shadows. Time will tell...

Drawing a Bulldog 3

Is he starting to look like a bulldog yet? I sure hope so! Here is an update with the face mapped in. I will start blending and adjusting the graphite tomorrow. It is nice for me to see him up on the screen. The far away glance allows me to see if something is not quite right. He looks a little bold right now but that will be toned down in the next session. :0)