You know, this is the most fun I've had in months! And the most interesting part is it is a custom portrait, not something I'm doing for myself or a competition. This is a WIP of Preston, a very wet Welsh Corgi that just discovered that water can swallow you whole. During the photo shoot we took a stroll along the bank of The Little Miami, East Fork Branch. Preston followed his Labrador Retriever housemate straight into the river without a thought. He'd never been in water over his head. He sank like a stone, then bobbed up with an expression of pure shock!
Pres isn't entirely sure water is to be trusted ever again! This piece will eventually be 12x14" Painted on lovely blue linen mat with CARAN d"ACHE Luminance, PRISMACOLOR and DERWENT COLOURsoft pencils.
Pigeon Trinity #3
This is the third pigeon image for a triptych. The question will be how to frame. I originally planned on three small images matted together: two horizontal and one vertical- the horizontals will have the same mat opening size. The piece would be one long horizontal. An other way to approach this would be to frame separately to be hung on the wall in a cluster. This would enable me to crop this image differently if I choose.
I realize the subject and the images are dark. And I'm not 100% sure this will work, but I will try anyway. Once I have them matted together I will post it so you can see.
Thomas may be too chubby to hitch a ride on a witch's broom, but he will fly first class to Germany.
This has been such an exciting few weeks! I've just sold "Fly BY" to an amazing woman from Germany who works with cancer patients. She intends to hang this on the wall of her office, to share with her patients. How wonderful to know that my imagery might give someone a needed reason to smile.
This is the second item she has bought from me, which makes it all the more fun. She seems to like my fantasy cats, proving that its okay for me to step off the well worn path into the weeds and paint what I like. I don't have to worry about confusing my audience with an occasional change of approach. I paint all kinds of subjects, from landscapes to facetious young women, some realistic, some fantastic and as long as I stick to the story, people continue to enjoy my work and I don't get bored. And trust me, this girl thrives on challenge!
Coming soon in Ann Kullberg's Hidden Treasures II, "Waiting"
Waiting,
Read MoreBirds Bees and Everything In-Between Exhibit Opens
Ears
Read MoreLucy finished
I used mostly Prismas and Luminance cp's with mineral spirits on 100% rag mat board. I'm almost sad I darkened the foreground. It's hard to know what to do once you have taken the plunge. Even if you photo shop values into the comp during the designing stages, there's the perspective and "reality"aspect. Would I leave a detailed background and a blank foreground? Wouldn't that be odd? My thought was that subtle roughed in details and shadowy earth tones would support the portrait without busying it up too much. What do you think?
Doberman Pincher WIP
Lucy is coming along. Her coat colors are a gigantic challenge. I have hundreds of colored pencils rolling around on the drafting table! The use of mineral spirits was crucial. Tweaking will come later. I am going to set this aside for a little while to work on something else. Plenty left to do, but I'm "Artist blind."
Portrait commission WIP of Lucy the Doberman Pincher
I'm having a little trouble with my rag mat board surface holding up to all the color pencil layers. One thing I've found: odorless mineral spirits when allowed to over saturate breaks down my surface. I've since switched back to good old regular mineral spirits, but the damage was already done. -Came close to starting all over, but was able to dip and dab color where needed. The detailing is just about impossible. Working fixative allows a little repair. Otherwise, the piece is coming along. I will never return to odorless mineral spirits. Thank goodness for windows and fans!
Graphite portraits, powerful and beautiful.
This triptych study of my daughter's cat Linus has had more Facebook shares and likes and pins than I ever imagined. I did several cp paintings from the series of reference photos taken of Linus two from the graphite study. The graphite triptych sold to an extreme cat lover who set aside money from her limited retirement income for five months. She was delighted to finally unwrap the framed piece after months of waiting. As luck would have it, I was at the gallery to witness the reveal. It was a great moment for both of us. Just a simple pencil drawing, but well loved. These moments are what keep me on track. No matter the medium, if a portrait reaches into someone's heart, it is a success.
Accepted into the 22nd Annual CPSA International Exhibition in Daytona Beach Florida
This is "Waiting" 30x16", Prismacolor, Bruynzeel and Luminance pencils on rag mat board. I'm excited about this folks! This means I become a CPSA Signature member! Rags, Ginger and Stewie are excited as well: my three beloved rescues who've managed to make it BIG.