Digital Artwork with a Jack Russell Model

Brandy poses for some digital pieces last year. Yes, I said last year - opps, I realize that I've slacked a bit in showcasing these.  I've created a bunch of different pieces from my own photos, and if you're interested in having a look at them, please stay tuned to this blog as I will be posting more in the future. Nothing for sale at this time though, I've still got the task of testing out the print quality on my Epson Stylus R1900.

To see more of my traditional artwork, visit my website:

www.juliesillustration.com

Biggest Painting to Date!

A friend that I met through agility trials has given me the opportunity to created the largest piece that I've ever done to date. It will be a 3 foot by 3 foot acrylic painting of her beautiful Vizsla, Milo, and what a sweetie he is.

I will be documenting the progress of this painting (Hopefully. I'm so bad at the documentation process - I get carried away and forget to take pictures, which I suppose isn't a bad thing, but it hampers my record of progress on certain pieces) on this blog. 

I thought I'd share two initial images, one showing the size of the canvas, the other showing the initial under-drawing.

Yes, that is me and Brandy attempting to show you just how big this piece will be. Three by three, well sure, I could use a ruler and figure out approximately what I was going to be delving into, but when you're a short person, with a short dog, you really get some perspective when you can handle the canvas in person, and take a picture of yourself (or your little dog) beside it. She's a big one!

This sketch may not be overly visible (you've got to look really hard to see it, and I mean really hard), but I wanted to add it in for progress purposes. Not being able to scan a 3 foot document really hindered the image quality as the camera just can't capture the lighter lines of pencil like the scanner can.

I've had to now designate my laundry room as the "painting room" for this piece since the spare bedroom, where I normally work, just isn't accommodating the overly large canvas (the bed and dresser seem to be in the way).

So stay tuned to this blog for more progress updates on the painting of Milo. This should be a great experience, and will hopefully encourage me not to be afraid to "go larger" in the future.

New Designs

Well, I have been dabbling in the world of digital painting, and have come up with some pop-art style designs that will now be available as prints on my imagekind website. Also included on this site are prints from some of my traditional artwork and prints of my photography.

Please feel free to browse the site, there are many different pieces there, sure to suit all sorts of tastes.

http://juliesillustration.imagekind.com

Another walk in the woods today, sans camera (images are from a previous visit), got me and the little dog turned around and upside down. Not sure how I managed to veer off left, when I needed to veer right, but coming up to another intersection with the handy dandy posted trail map, I realized that I goofed.

I stood there pondering, looking rather stupid, eying the map for about 5 minutes, not a sole in sight (thank goodness), and no encouragement from Brandy. In fact, when I decided to double back, she was completely sure that I was a nut, and wasn't going to follow the idiot that got her "lost".

I'm pretty sure that not many people wind up "lost" in the wilds at Crawford Lake. It's really not that difficult, trails are pretty clearly marked, but in my defence, everything looks, well, different when the leaves are in their full summer glory. Plus, I suppose I can admit when I haven't been paying attention, and this weekend has been full of non-paying-attention moments for me.

I had an idea of my dense move when I passed a bench that I'd never before seen on my hikes. Commenting on this to the little dog, who also looked at the bench, perplexed, I continued on, bringing myself to the point of turned around and up-side down. The moral of the story is, next time I encounter an unfamiliar landmark, stop, drop and roll, back the way I came. Especially if I seem to be moving further into dense bush and darker trails.

And to top it all off, before becoming "lost", on an off trail, we were being followed. Brandy noticed before I did, and when I get the low growl directed somewhere off in the woods from her, I admit, I panic a little.

I stopped, which you all know is a stupid thing to do, you see it in the horror movies all the time. People stop when they think they're being followed (idiots) and go back to investigate who's following them (major idiots). So I was just an idiot.

I stopped, looked back into the ground cover, and witnessed it being moved in a wave like motion towards us, without the wind blowing. I really only stopped for a second, because when I saw the wave in the vegetation, I started to speed walk away perhaps even jogging a little.

Brandy, being the terrier that she is, kept an eye behind me, growling the whole time, which just made me even more tense because all I had as a weapon was my cellphone (a good battering ram it does not make), and a 12 pound Jack Russell, whom I have no doubt would have gone toe-to-toe with whatever was trailing us, but she is only 12 pounds. My guess, it was probably only an angry squirrel, a large rampaging chipmunk, a boisterous raccoon or a rabid pack of wild chickens, but I don't take chances in the woods by myself, so I got the heck out of there.

On the bonus we get a lot of comments on the little blue backpack. Perhaps not comments, more like remarks, at first they're playful and funny, but then they just get to be laughing behind our back remarks. So, perhaps it's not a bonus. Has no one ever seen a dog with a backpack on? Seriously?

Just a Taste

I was inspired by some of the pictures that I took down in Cayo Coco, Cuba. So I have decided to do a 4x6 graphite pencil trilogy, a 5x7 graphite pencil piece, and blow up some of the really good photos for possible sale as prints. Will this all get done? - I ask myself...yes, in time, for sure, I'm definitely motivated for this project.

I've started on the 4x6 trilogy, entitled none other than "The Dogs of Moron". I will post bits and pieces as I progress through the work, and I will announce anything that will be available for sale as prints. Once the trilogy and the lone 5x7 are complete, I may also offer a small amount of prints for these as well.

I will also be embarking on a butterfly 4x6 trilogy in coloured pencil, though this has nothing to do with my trip to Cuba. Reference photos for this series were taken at the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory, and I will post bits and pieces on these as well.

A first glimpse at the initial drawing in the "Dogs of Moron" series. This guys lounges quietly on the tiled sidewalk, an air of dignity surrounds him as he rests in the shade beside a man who may or may not be "his" man.

Bees with Honey

This is a piece from last year that I created ... yes, I have an odd imagination, but it entertains me. And, I like and admire bees, what can I say. They work so hard, and I can't fathom why you would even want to work that hard for your whole life. I'm still waiting to win the lottery.

I have a new piece on the go right now, another work in progress, however, can not post the progress as it is a gift for someone who may be lurking. So, I'm digging up some older pieces to display on here until the gift is complete.

Another Bee piece will follow tomorrow.