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...