Red Panda & Pet Dog

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!

With the holidays passed I finally have time to post some of my projects.  Both of these were commissioned pieces in Prismacolor pencils.

Happy flying! 

Two finished commissions: lion & elephant

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!

It's been a busy month with several commission pieces on my drawing table.  Two of them are pictured above: "Young Elephant in Etosha" and "A Lion of Tanzania."  The reference photographs for both colored pencil pieces were taken by Summer Wilms.

Happy Flying!

African Elephant Ear Tutorial

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!

Probably the most memorable part of the African elephant is its large, fan-like ears.  The following is the process I used to create the baby elephant's ear in colored pencil.

Prismacolor Pencils used: black, French Grey 10%, French Grey 20%, French Grey 50%, French Grey 70%, Warm Grey 70% 

First stage: Using a black colored pencil put in the darkest shadows.

Layer French Grey 50% over the entire ear, varying the application to give the ear the illusion of shape.

Cover the ear in a layer of French Grey 20%.

Another layer of French Grey 50%.

Add French Grey 70% and Warm Grey 70% to the shadows.  That reddish color cast is due to the poor photo quality at this stage.

Add another layer of French Grey 50% over the entire ear.

Use French Grey 20% in the highlight areas, then add French Grey 10% to the brightest areas.  This creates the illusion of folds at the edge of the ear, and gives the three dimensional quality to the smooth parts of the ear.

Hope you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look :)

Until next time: Happy flying!

Snow Leopard Update: Color at last!

Greetings my fine feathered friend!

I'm a little behind in posting the updated photos of all the pieces I'm working on, but here is one stage of the snow leopard for you to enjoy.  As always, the eyes were my favorite part to color ;)

Later this week I will be posting a tutorial featuring one of my commissioned artworks so stay tuned for that. 

Happy flying!

On the Drawing Board: Snow Leopard

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!

Here is another big cat for my new colored pencil and graphite series "Eyes of the Wild."  This snow leopard will have vibrant blue eyes when finished.  Stay tuned!

And as always: Happy Flying!

Cheetah finished & Caracal finished

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!
Here are the two latest pieces in my "Eyes of the Wild" series.  The cheetah is called "Beauty Mark" and the caracal is "Twilight Vigil."
Up next in this series is a snow leopard.  So stay tuned!
Happy Flying!

Cheetah Update #1

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!

Summer is always such a busy time of year for me, so I don't always get to update as frequently as I'd like.  My show was a success!  Special thanks to everyone who helped out, and everyone who came to see it.  And a great thanks and appreciation for those who purchased my work.  It does my heart good knowing they are bringing joy into your homes.

One of the works in my show was an experimental piece that featured a lion in graphite with only the eyes in colored pencil.  I was pleased with the striking effect, and am now in the process of doing several big cat portraits in this style.  Above is an example of the current piece which I have named "Beauty Mark."  Would love to hear what you think of this experiment! :)

Until next time: Happy flying!

My Upcoming Show & New Pieces

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!

I've been gearing up for my show next month, so the drawing board has been overflowing with new pieces.  Here are a few:

Until next time: Happy flying!

Peacock finished!

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!

After a year since I started the peacock, he is finally finished!!!!  Thank you everyone for your patience in waiting for this fine fellow to come to life.

Happy Flying!