Cozy cats - sunnygrey cat

An update on my catpainting.
The background are painted in watercolors and colored pencil. So far the cat is in watercolors.

Weekly review

This week I follow directly my last review. This is the 2.nd of my "World of Dogs" artworks: "Good company" - Pugs.
The dogs are placed inside a living-room. As the title also shows - a breed that offers good companionship for its owners.
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My idea with this serie is to make cute, colorful images in a stylized expression.

The original is 25,5 x 38 cm. It is possible to buy prints at Imagekind.

Prismacolor cp's in Europe

If you are a colored pencil artist living in Europe, you can buy your Prismacolors from Farbstifte.net

Great service is my experience.

The Prismacolor cp's is an US brand and the most used among artists in USA. It is a pencil with a smooth, good coverage and nice to blend.

The shop also sells Derwent Colorsofts, another great brand, even their Derwent Artist' range is my favorite.

Beside colored pencils, the shop has some great supports not easy to find elsewhere in Europe, like Ampersand pastelboard and Clairfontaine pastelmat. These supports are great for pastels and colored pencils.

Weekly review

My webfriend Bev Lewis introduced this idea on her blog as "Image of the week".
I like the good idea. With the title "Weekly review", I will show artwork from my own archives, to keep posting at least once a week.

My coloredpencil drawing "The Ball-game is over", showing 4 english bulldogpups having a great time playing, and is now sooo very tired.

I made this the first to be in a series called "World of Dogs". The series are now of just 2 paintings, but more to follow.
My idea is to make cute, colorful images in a stylized expression.

The original is 20 x 50 cm. It is possible to buy prints at Imagekind.

Cozy cats - sunnygrey cat

I have come to the stage of colored pencilwork, working from back to front.
 I'm using 5-6 different cp's for the wicker-work.

My space

Here you see the space, where I create art. I have several things going on now (to excuse the mess:)).

My drawingtable at right can be angled and has a very nice size not demanding too much space. At this table I will draw and paint in watercolors. The lamps above are with daylight neontubes.

The easel can be used for painting and drawing. The small high table behind it will hold watercups, print, brushes and mixing pallets.

Most of my stuff not in use, are in another room. So is my computer.

The board in front of my drawingtable, shows some recent designs, plans, ideas etc.
The bookshelves behind the curtain holds maps, photos and other paperstuff.
I have the window at my right side, looking into my garden. And on the left side is my kitchen.

I wish in time, I will have some more space, as I would like to have all my stuff in the same room, and be able
to have the space look a bit more neat. It all looks more messy when so compressed. But when I work, it works anyway :)

Oilpainting final

Here is the final oilpainting-practice piece. 

I am going to do another piece to practisce more with the brushes in watersoluble oils.

This german shephard was done in mixes of burnt sienna, yellow ochre, ultramarine blue, napples yellow, black and white. I must get at least also a cadium yellow to get the correct golden brown mixes I want.

Cozy cats - sunnygrey cat

Here you see an update on my catpainting, it'll be in a mix of watercolors, colored pencils - and perhaps other media as well.
Still at the watercolor stage of basecolors.

Update no 3 on oilpainting

Yet an update on my oil-practice-piece ;)
Phew, it's been up hill, I tell you. But I have just a tiny bit more confidence now.
I think, if I find it worth continuing with, that oilpainting requires working on 2 artwork at a time due to the drying time.
I use WinsorNewtons artisan, watersoluble oils, as I cannot stand the smell of solvents used with ordinary oilpaint.

It should be ready to send to my teacher - Melanie at London artcollege - rather soon.

Cozy cats - sunnygrey cat

As mentioned in my last post, I have started no 2 in my - hopefully growing - series Cozy cats. This will be titled Sunnygrey cat.

I have 4 grey cats myself, this composition is actually a mix of pictures of 2 of them. 

So far I am underpainting with watercolors, later to be added colored pencil, and maybe other medias as well.

The strange dark lines on the cat is actually masking fluid.

New facebook adresses

Just got my facebook adresses changed :

http://facebook.com/lenedaugaardartwork

http://facebook.com/tegneriet

http://facebook.com/lenedaugaarddk

 I changed my card on the artwork-page, now showing part of my painting; Cozy cats: "Madames cat", and actually I am just gearing up for a new catpainting in this series. More about that later :)

Facebook - artsy open groups to visit

If you are on Facebook, here are a couple of places you might wanna visit:

Interested in colored pencil art ? heres a wonderful group to visit: Colored pencil Artists and Lovers. Lots of posts, pictures and a monthly Featured Artists contest.

"Tender moment" - cp artwork

Interested in animal art? Visit Capturing Wildlife and Domestic Animals in Paint, Pastels, Pencil or Pen

"Koala" - graphite artwork

Not all artmaterial manufacturers are active on Facebook, but these are:
Derwent Pencils (We love pencils)
Faber-Castell
Koh-i-Noor
Staedtler
Sennelier
Caran dAche


Enjoy, maybe we meet there too.

What is Love - competition

Read more about this on my Images of Imagination Blog

Looking back and forth - 2011 - 2012 - Revised!

The post is revised, new between the ..... 5 dots!

Soon another year is approaching its end, and thus it is time to think a little over the past year, from a creative perspective and look at plans for 2012.

First I must say that the dayjob was much in the way of my creative endeavors. My wishes and hopes to enhance my creative career, I bring with me in 2012. I searched for new ways to do it, more about it below.

Above and below you see my own favorite artworks and patterndesign from 2011.


.....
Revised:
New roads with known materials.
At the top. "Madame's Cat". It is a painting I am very happy with. I think the subject is nice (thanks to Madame:)), and I had worked really well with sun and shadow, which is an important part of the composition. I have so far been a purist in my colored pencil-work, but with this picture, I have mixed more media, and like it. Both in the work process and outcome.


"Tender Moments" with the 2 bears are colored pencil only - but for the first time on colored paper. I will certainly use colored paper again. It was a much more enjoyable than I had expected. The coat was time consuming but also very exciting to paint. The picture received an award at UKCPs International show, so I can only be very pleased.


"Koala bear" in pencil, but performed with a new method for me. Where I use to render detail and tones simultaneously, this was drawn with values first. It is also a method I will definitely use again, however, alternated with the other.


"The little one" a pastel painting, where I have placed much emphasis on light in the picture. I hope to get more work in pastel, which I like very much.


"Jar" ​​is a bound task from the course, and although I was a little tired of the subject at first (!) It was quite fun to draw it. Another challenge than fur, and I'm happy with the result.


"Gentle Giant - Irish wolfhounds" was something of a mouthful to draw, and I was very challenged by this breed coat type. It was new for me with so much background in composition, but I like it, and will draw more of it. Belongs to my idea of ​​the new series!


"Fruity Circles" is one of my pattern designs. It's incredibly exciting for me to make designs, and when I go on with the course, I'll have to make many more in 2012. I think especially this pattern is very successful.


Series is once again on my to-do list for the new year and I have chosen several of these inserted pictures to hopefully grow into series.
...Revised Final

I currently have 6 blogs, and I write on each a little uneven, because they are divided. One is the commission blog, and it lies still. I have the Danish and English version of A zoo, which is for drawings and paintings. Recently, I have gathered both realism and abstract with animal motifs on this blog. My blog Images of Imagination is in Danish and English on the same blog, and is now only for pattern design. Tegneriet is with small sketches. The blog “Farveblyanten” (Colored Pencil) is available, but I’m not posting more on it.

Facebook runs with 3 fan pages that follows the A Zoo blogs and Tegneriet and Doggy Shop. They also run into a little uneven pace, depending on what I’m doing.

I love to make contests, and arranged 3 in 2011. First a comp. where the winner could win a print of their favorite animals, drawn in pencil. The winner got his wish sent as print; a koala bear.
Subsequently, another winner of a print of the drawing was drawn.
 And here in December, the winner of my dogcalender was found. I’ll probably continue with competitions, although I’m actually slightly disappointed with the numbers of participants.

In 2011 I joined  a local art group, Stiplet. It’s nice to be in a group with other illustrators and painters. Via Stiplet I have so far exhibited 2 times and been involved in an auction. In addition to a couple of interesting tours focusing on art. I look forward to Easter Fair in 2012 and hope that many will find their way to the exhibition.

I participated in several competitions and was published in a book. My biggest competitive win were UKCPS 10th Annual Exhibition, where “Tender Moment” got an award. The same picture was included in GuestGallerys Top 15 in “3.rd Animal Art Contest”.
My painting “The Little One” was also a couple of places. The drawing “Koala Bear” came with the finalists in London Artcollege’s Student of the Year competition.

The book was a charity cookbook: “The Secret Ingredient” published in Scotland. I’m drawing “Scottish Highland Cow” with.

I will still participate in competitions, and possibly a few that I have not attended before, or have skipped in 1-2 years.

I took a major new step in mid-November, by signing up for an on-line surface pattern design course. A whole new world opened up, and I have had and continue to have great pleasure out of making patterns. In 2012, I continue the courses, and hope it will bring good opportunities. So that’s what I mean in the second paragraph, searching for new ways of business.

I also participate in a course via London ArtCollege, which continues into 2012. I hope in time that I will control the brushes better. The private commissions was not started in 2011, and as my time currently looks, I will probably not for the time being.

In February 2011 I started my newsletters. I do not have many recipients, but hope that more people see them on my blog, where the last 2 can always be read.

After a period where I had closed the print sales, it has now reopened, then I see how it goes in 2012.

I have sold greeting cards, both at the Easter exhibition with Stiplet and afterwards, and hope to continue with it.

I  look forward to a productive 2012, with a good working energy in a combination of realistic drawings and paintings, abstract paintings, and exciting pattern designs. And that my productivity is reflected in a more professional creative path, so I can get some income from what I am passionate about: drawing, painting and creating patterns. And with that income, spend my time creating :)

Happy New Year to you all - See you in 2012!

Update on oilpainting

Here is an update on my oilpainting - or rather - oil practise piece.
Its going a little bit better now, improving painting with the smaller brushes. Still - lots to learn!