Waiting for Christmas to arrive

It's December 8th and I've been drawing like CRAZY for the past few weeks! It's wonderful to be so busy with commissions, and I'd love to thank the people who have asked me to help with their Christmas gifting this year.

Anybody who knows me, knows how much I love showing off my work, so it's just driving me CRAZY that I can't post any of the beautiful pieces of work that I've finished so far.

A brief update though, on what I've been doing so far.

The portrait of an adorable West Highland White Terrier has been picked up, complete with frame, by a very happy niece. That's one lucky aunt who is getting a drawing of her lovely little girl!

The next portrait picked up was more than just a portrait of a dog. It's a memory of a special time spent out on the water in their sailboat. The dog is front and centre, lounging, but alertly watching passers-by. The person who commissioned it was completely thrilled with the finished work. It's exactly what she'd been hoping for! It's a gorgeous drawing and I'm going to be so proud to show it off to everybody!!

The next portrait, nearly complete, is a beautiful little shih tzu with the loveliest eyes. He's a Christmas gift from a pair of loving daughters to their mom. I can hardly wait for their reaction. :D

The final portrait is a two-some of pit bulls. Sadly, only one of them is still around, so it's going to be a bittersweet memory of the other one. I've been sketching him while waiting for the owner of the dogs to send me a higher resolution photograph of the other, and I'm getting such a happy feeling whenever I look at his picture. He's intently watching the toy that the photographer was holding, but his body language is so relaxed while his eyes are so intent. Still, he's got sweet eyes and I'm sure, from the other photos I've seen of him, that he was a real cuddler.

Time to rock. I'll be posting photographs of the finished portraits as soon as I possibly can!

In the meanwhile, have fun getting ready for the holiday season!

~ Chris

Vienna, the adorable Dachshund

The wedding date has come and gone, the gift has been gifted, and I can FINALLY post a photo of the graphite drawing of this absolutely beautiful little dog!

Graphite, 8 x 10"

The original photograph

As you see, her ear is flipped up in the photograph. The lady who commissioned the drawing asked if I could flip it back down. Because I didn't have any actual photographs of how her ear would look in that position (it was a wedding gift), I had to improvise. While I prefer to not make up bits and pieces for my portraits, I think it worked out pretty well.

*sigh* What a cute pose! I love it!

DA Agility Trial... combined photos for this portrait

So I'm hard at work again. Just finished a gorgeous portrait of a little dog. It's a wedding gift from somebody, so I have to wait until AFTER the recipients have seen it before posting pictures! It'll be worth it. I PROMISE!! It's so darned adorable!!!

I'm going to be working on another special gift as soon as things are finalized. I've been figuring and sketching, and I'm almost at the "let's start drawing" stage. I just need to chat with the "boss."

I'm nearly finished with a drawing of my own. As some of you know, I have been the photographer at the  NADA Agility Trials held in September and October of this year. Through the process, I discovered that my Nikon D50 camera can take up to a 2G SD card! This is fantastic news, as it frees me up from the need to dash back and forth from the field to the computer to download the pictures between each event. I'm not getting any younger, and I have to say that the activity is keenly felt the following day.

The picture I've been working on is from a pair of photos. In one, the cute little chihuahua is leaping over a jump bar. The second photograph shows the same little guy after he's jumped through the tire jump.

Hopping over the jump bar

Just finished the tire jump

Now take a look at what I've done with these photographs!

Jumping through the tire jump

I'm still working on it, but I thought I'd show you how it's going.

Input, anybody? :D

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!

I'm hanging out in the living room this morning, thankful for the events that I've participated in lately because of all the wonderful people I met as a result. I'm also thankful that I don't actually have to go anywhere or do anything non-Turkey related today! It's nice to just sit and relax. ... wait... I have to finish vacuuming the upstairs... well, AFTER that, I can sit and relax!

So, what have I been up to lately? Well, the Wedding Show at the Sheraton Hotel was my "big" event and I'm thinking of what to say to get in touch with the brides who registered with the show. Just a little "Hi, how are ya, do you remember meeting me and loving my work and wouldn't it be great to have a special piece of artwork to commemorate your wedding, etc etc..." If you're one of them, you'll soon be hearing from me.

The last two Sundays were spent here in beautiful Torbay at the Farmer's Market at the Kinsmen Centre on Bauline Line. It was a much smaller venue, but it was so wonderful to visit with some of the people I know from the area! I had the chance to meet with the other vendors during the lulls, sampling their food (Shalimar, la Doyene, Outport Fudge... ) and admiring their wares...

I'll be attending the Healthy Living show at the Sheraton the Sunday after this one, (October 23rd). Spread the word!

I've been working on a piece of artwork during the past week, and the little darling dog is so nearly done! Just a few more tonal value changes, then a day of intense "Looking" and presto! Done!! It's so exciting. :D

The drawing of Casey, the "Cat in the Window" was picked up yesterday at the Farmer's Market. Kerry and the girls were so happy with the work. I had started it as a graphite piece, but thanks to the un-asked for attentions of my little guy, Igor, I had to start over again. This time, I drew it in coloured pencil. Just as beautiful, but in a different way.

Because my portraits actually belong to the people who commission the work, I have to resort to borrowing the artwork. However, I did draw a few pieces just for me to keep. Some of those were remarked on during the past couple of weeks. Somebody suggested that I make prints of those and sell them. I wonder if that's just a pipe dream or if it would actually work... I must look into that.

Just out of curiosity, if you're reading this, perhaps you could take a look at my finished portraits and tell me which, of all of them, you'd be interested in owning if it were available. Not a "specifically yours" portrait, but a copy of one of the completed ones. More will be upcoming, so keep an eye out and mention them as you think of it. I'll be asking... but bear it in mind as a possibility.

Another suggestion made was to do some sort of landscape scene that I could have scanned and printed. So, what sorts of things can you suggest? Out of all the "touristy" photographs you've seen, and there are so many of them, which would you like to see as a hand-drawn piece of artwork?

The Five Sisters? ... c'mon... give me your thoughts.

I'm also wondering about some miniatures of wildflowers and such that we take for granted as we walk along the trails...

Well, the pie smells like it's nearly done and that means it's time to stuff the turkey and tuck it in the oven for *ahem* safekeeping.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been giving it some thought...

Why would people want to commission a hand-drawn Portrait when they can just get a photograph? 


Well, here's just a few ideas!

• It makes a unique and thoughtful gift ... (gift certificates are available!)
• 
  
• Consider a hand-drawn portrait as a complement to your wedding photography!
• 
  
• What about a beautiful one-of-a-kind engagement picture?
• 
  
• How about a unique embellishment to your wedding invitations?! 
• 
  
• Remember: The traditional First wedding anniversary gift is Paper!
• 
  
• Celebrate the special moments in your life!

           ***   Weddings   ***   Birthdays   ***   Proms   ***   Graduations   ***   Births 
           Pregnancy    ***   Christenings   ***  Family Reunions    ***      Sports Moments

• Revive your parents' or grandparents' precious wedding photos with a bold modern statement
• 
  
• Bride and Mother    ***     Bride and Grandmother
• 
  
• What about your mother as a bride together with you as a bride?!

I still do pet portraits! I'd never give that up!!! But there's just so many other possibilities to explore and I'd LOVE to talk to you about your ideas. 

Cat in the Window

The finished piece. Coloured pencil

I'm drawing this handsome little marmalade fellow as a thank you to Kerry Tibbs, the lady who put me at 100 Likes on my Charmed by Christine Pet Portrait page on Facebook.

Kerry says that he likes to spend his time napping here, so they call him the Cat in the Window.

Sadly, Casey passed away only 2 days after the family picked up his portrait. One of the girls set up a "shrine" for him. His collar, some pictures of him, the portrait. They really loved their little guy. :( 

Bride

Original b/w photo

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

8 hours so far...

Again, the quality of the light affects how the photographs look, but I'm usually in too much of a rush to look around for just the right spot to photograph my work. I'll do better once I'm photographing the finished piece. Promise!

The Bride

Well, as far as the b/w goes, she's done! However, IF I decide to add colour to the flowers, and the fall colours are gorgeous, I'll be able to add them in later. Decisions, decisions.

This portrait was done specifically for the Wedding Show. It's an 8"x10" portrait, worth $300. It's pretty intense work! Usually I'll sit down to work for 20 minutes and come up for air 2 hours later. I've started logging the time spent so I get a better idea of how much time I'm spending per portrait. Sometimes I really don't want to know how much time has passed! 

Stretching is a necessity!!

Thank you so much, Linda, for allowing me to use your very gorgeous wedding photo for this project.

~ Christine Norman, of Charmed by Christine - Pet Portraits

                                                                                               (More than just pets!)

Leah

Original Photograph     

Step 1

Step 2

Close-up of face

I have to apologize for the lighting on the photos. I keep taking them when there's no proper daylight, forget to take another one later... *sigh* Artistic license?

Just started the ballet tutu

So nearly done! Must be careful not to overwork it from here on.
I have to tap back on the top's seams and expand the tonal range throughout.

September already!!! Where has the time gone?!

Apparently I've been busy. Too busy to be on the computer?! *gasp* Yes. I guess so.

Skipping ahead a few months, I've still not completed Zoey and the goldfish. But I painted the bathroom! The turkeys are still hanging out on the easel. But I painted the bathroom!  lol...

I'm gearing up for the Wedding Show in St. John's, NL, which will be held on Sunday, Sept 25th at the Sheraton Hotel. I received a surprise e-mail from one of the organizers asking if I'd be interested in a booth at the show. It seems she'd noticed my Charmed by Christine Facebook Page on a friend's wall and was intrigued by the idea of pet portraiture as it may pertain to a wedding.

Well, I do people, too! The portrait of Karen & Sean was very happily received by the now Newlywed couple. I'm working on a very adorable portrait of Leah the ballerina (Thanks, Kimberly!), and recently began work on my Bride. Thanks, Linda, for allowing me to use your photo for this very gorgeous portrait.

I'm going to post the photographs individually, labelling them "Leah" and "Bride."

I hope you enjoy the progress photos. :D

~ Chris

Onward & Upward... Looking for outstanding portraits

I'm waiting for a few people to get in touch with me for their portraits. I donated a Gift Certificate for 8x10" portraits for the silent auction at the Dog show and another as a fundraising item for a sick child. Both winners need to get in touch with me soon!

Another G.C. was a "Teacher Gift" from a student! I'm looking forward to "meeting" Mme Power's two cats! Another G.C. was a birthday gift from niece to aunt. Looking forward to that, too!!

In the meantime, I'm going to putter on some fun things. I've got the adorable Zoey and the Goldfish painting to complete, and the Turkey and Babies, too. I'm also looking at a so-sweet photograph of a Lion-baby taken by my good friend, Kimberly Unger.

Christmas is coming soon! Remember, Portraits and Gift Certificates for portraits make great gifts!

It's a rainy day today... after yesterday's gorgeous sunshine, it was to be expected. A good day to stay inside and create art!

Ta for now. :D

Nico, a Shih-Tzu

Hi all. I'm currently working on the little Shih-Tzu belonging to Connie Brown, the winner of my drawing held at the Dog Show at the Jack Byrne Arena. He's a black and white gentleman, wearing a yellow neckerchief. Very cute.

I've been on a drawing hiatus for the past month+ and been painting the walls in the house instead. Back at the drawing table this morning has resulted in some pretty good progress on Nico. Here's the progress photos of him.

Nico is all done! What a cutie! :D

I've got to work on making the beard silver and the hair black. Going fairly well, I think. :D

My little corner of the world

Welcome to spring in Torbay, Newfoundland. 

It rains a fair bit, even through the winter. We also get a lot of fog. Some days, it feels like we're living in a cloud. 

It's pretty amazing, driving from St. John's out to Torbay and seeing this huge pillow-like formation lying across the land. It looks like you'd drive into it and lose all visibility, but that's not the case. You can see just fine once you're inside of it. 

Because we live right on the coastline, we get some serious blustery winds. (We have barely any mosquitos here in our yard because they can't fly against the wind!) Even on the warm day ... (there's a joke in there) ... I prefer to remain in the sheltered spots around the house. We have a small, shallow swimming pool, but we tend to keep it fairly warm. Nothing quite like having a nice warm soak and then bouncing out to grab a towel before your goosebumps know you're there! 

The stream comes from a local pond, Whiteways, and it's pretty amazing to watch when we have a lot of precipitation. It goes from a pretty smooth flow to a roaring rage that floods over its bank! It was an amazing sight during last year's Hurricane Igor (Sept, 2010). 

Click on the link for a brief (VERY brief because it's RAINING!) video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ2M3NL5tc4

From the kitchen window. I like to draw here... a bit cluttered, but nice light.

Stepping out onto the back deck and pointing towards the back of the house. Nice view of the Atlantic. :D

My view to the West... St. Nicholas Anglican Church. 

My "Studio" in the spare room. There's the hot tub, the trampoline, and the Atlantic Ocean.

I opened the door to the wind and rain. Brrr... 

Karen & Sean - wedding gift

Just started this recently. 

 I've got a ways to go yet... but it's getting there. 

I'll post more pictures, or maybe even replace this... 

Yeah... more... 

So sweet. :D

Waiting waiting waiting...

I'm still waiting for the evaluation from my instructor about the 2 assignments I sent in 2 weeks ago. It should be here anytime now! I've been happily chugging along with my pet portraits, studying through the works of different artists, visiting YouTube for excellent tutorial videos... It was finally time to send in some work. Two assignments worth. OooOoooooh... she only wants us to send in one at a time, then wait until the review comes back before sending the next. Ah well. It is what it is.

I'm preparing for the Dog Show at the arena this coming weekend. I've booked a table for my pet portrait business, and have been getting materials ready to display. I've got tri-fold pamphlets, small and medium sized hand-out posters, a variety of business cards, display photos of some of my work which I've had laminated and will put into an album, and a HUGE poster which I plan to hang on the tablecloth in front of  my display.

I'm working on a painting on canvas of a friend's cat canoodling with their goldfish. It's coming along nicely.

************************************

It's the May long weekend now, and thanks to some interruptions in my internet, I'm finally going to post this. AFTER I scribble a bit of an update...

So, I've been sick with a flu/cold since last Saturday, but in spite of that, I've forged ahead with preparations for the dog show. I do believe I have enough pamphlets to last me through the day today, but if they fly off the table like they did yesterday (Hooray!) I may run out. 

It looked like lots of people were interested in my work, and they all had nice things to say about it. I met one of my Facebook Page friends (Hi Linda!) and now I'm even more anxious to get together with her little Cavalier for a puppy play-date, not to mention doing her portrait. (she showed me some pictures of her and her furbaby!! cute!) 

I finally heard back from my London Art College tutor/instructor/critiquer, and the news was good! Apparently I am on the right track and my work is simply "lovely." She's got a few favourites, but I won't tell you which ones they are... everybody should be entitled to having their own. Suffice it to say that I'm not surprised at her choices, as I believe they are among my best pieces so far. She hasn't seen Madison & Pie, yet. I figure she'll have some awesome things to say about that. :D

Well, I'm done my first cup of coffee of the day (Sunday) and it's time I got up and dressed to go back to the dog show. I can hardly wait to meet more great people and see some adorable dogs! I'm hoping to take some photos of them today!

Cheers!

~ Chris

How long does it take to do a drawing?

The motivation behind this blog was a recent question by somebody about whether framing is included in my prices. After reading this, the answer should be clear.

Simple answer: As long as it takes until it's done. Figure on at least a month for completion of a graphite drawing to make sure you have it on time for that special occasion.

Complicated answer: I typically start each project with several sketches that give me an idea of what I'd like the finished product to look like. The customer's input is important during this stage, and it's easier to make changes before I start the actual drawing!

Once the layout and size is decided, I duplicate the sketch using either a grid or a light table onto the "good" paper. This sketch is done lightly so that some changes can still be done if it proves necessary. (I emphasize the word "some" so that you don't think that a whole re-vamping can be done without starting from scratch!)

Once I begin, I usually draw for several hours at a time before taking a break. Generally I try to do at least 2 drawing sessions per day. Typically, I'll work for 7 hours a day on each drawing. Depending on the complexity of detail in the drawing, it can take anywhere from 1 week for a small, very simple piece, to 3 or 4 weeks for a larger, more complicated piece.

Since I work on weekends when the drawing is compelling me, that works out to anywhere between 50 to 200 hours. Sometimes more. 

As an example, my most recent 2-subject drawing took me 4 weeks altogether, from several sketches to establish the layout, right down to the final touch of the pencil. Averaging 5 hours a day for @ 20 days, (I didn't keep meticulous track of my time), means the drawing took a minimum of 100 hours. 

The drawing is 14"x17" and I currently charge $200 for that size with a single subject. Add an additional $50 for the second subject. Bear in mind that a portrait with 2 or more subjects, or one with a complex background, is akin to doing a whole new portrait, but on the same paper!

That works out to about $2.50/hour.

Good thing I love what I'm doing! Seeing the final product is often a reward in itself for me.

A brief hiatus

It looks like I'm going to be getting back to my studies this week, in between bouts of wall painting prep. I really should submit assignment #2. Really. I've come a loooong way since starting the course, but the teacher has no idea how far. It'd be nice to get some pro feedback. So... choices. I have one more item to do. EITHER a close-up of a head study, or several samples of different hair types. Since I have to practice those, I should do them. HOWEVER, I'm really tempted to do the head study. In oil. I realized that I haven't got any recent pictures of my Niki-girl!

Decisions, decisions.

Horse and Girl portrait

A new picture is coming down the pike! After many sketches for composition and ideas, I finally settled on one that I think will demonstrate the love/affection between Madison and her horse, Pie. I started the actual drawing a couple of days ago and have been hard at work on the kitchen table. Why the kitchen table? Because that's where the SUN has been for the past several days! Yay!

Here's the original photograph and my Progress pictures:

DONE!!! and omigosh, it's GORGEOUS!!! 

All it needs now is a TITLE!!! Jodie... help, please. I've been calling it "Madison & Pie" but if you've got another name for it, please let me know. I like naming portraits. :D

Why did the turkeys cross the road?

Because that's where the chickens are hanging out. Our neighbours have turkeys, and every year there are more of them. The baby turkeys are seriously the cutest things I've ever seen. Unlike baby chickens, they are sturdy little things with solid legs. They grow fast, too! From fluffy little bundles you'd love to see in an Easter basket, to funny-looking creatures that remind me of the old Marvin the Martian cartoons, and then to regal adulthood. The wild ones are the prettiest, to my mind, with their grey and black feathers tipped with iridescence. The domestics are their plain cousins, I suppose. The chicks (or is that "turks?") in this painting are now cross-bred as a result of a new tom turkey. There's some domestic in that boy's background! Yellow chicks are NOT a common sight in our neighbourhood. 

This painting is an oil on canvas, and is only in its beginning stages. Much more to do! Patience is required to work this stuff. It takes forever to dry (smells bad, too!), and since I'm using water-soluble oil paints, they move differently. I didn't buy a huge variety of colours, as I'm not sure how much work I'll be doing with this medium. It's a start, but wow... what pink legs the big girl has! I'll be toning that down somewhat with the next layer. :D

Coco the Beagle. Progress pix

My latest commission is a graphite pencil drawing of a beagle who has passed on.

He's coming along nicely, but there's still so much to do! I've gotten as high as a B pencil, but I still have to work up to at least a 4B before I'm done. And as of March 3rd, I'm still working on his body. Building the layers one pencil level at a time.

I'm not going to post this publicly until AFTER I get permission from she-who-commissioned-me. It's a birthday gift, and we wouldn't want to spoil the surprise now, would we?!

This is the original photograph...

And here's how he's coming along... 

Needing to boost the darks on the coat, bring the dog forward from the background and bring his face forward from his body. Loving it!!! 

Coco is about 98% done. I'm just going to "look" at him for a few more days, tweaking here and there.

Coco

I'm just waiting for she-who-commissioned the drawing to come over and view it. The weather hasn't been cooperative, what with the unexpected (for me) blizzard yesterday! We've got big puffy snowflakes falling today. With any luck, that's all that will fall. Keeping my fingers crossed!