Thursday 4 March 2021

Thursday Art Date with Rain -- "Creases"

Rain and her weekly Art Date theme 
have once again inspired me to complete 
an unfinished assignment from the 
"Art of Coloured Pencils" class I took 
in the Fall of 2019. 

This portrait of a Boxer Pup has plenty 
of wrinkles and creases!
 
(As do I, of course, but luckily this was
not an assignment in self-portraiture!)

So, back in 2019, I made a good start 
on the dog's eye, highlights and base colour --


Added a few more layers of colour . . . 
say, things are going swimmingly 
so far, aren't they!


And then I went totally berserk 
applying blue shadows to 
the dog's muzzle and under-eye area . . . 


. . . which meant I had to go over those areas again 
with some darker pencils, trying
to tone things down. 

It did help a little but as you know, 
once something's done, it's done
and there's only so much 
you can do to fix it after the fact.

Anyway, this toned-down version
 is where I left off in 2019 --


And here's the completed art 
which I finished just this week.

This required a total of 23 different
colours of Prismacolor pencils.


Once it was photographed,
I noticed that I'd applied the colours
on the dog's body with a much
heavier hand than on its head.

D'OH! 

I'm blaming the discrepancy on
being out of practice due to
the year and a half delay
between start and finish.

All things considered, however,
I'm happy with this dog.

[Art and photographs © Debra She Who Seeks, 2019-2021]

54 comments:

Frank said...

1000% better than I could EVER do. Nice work.

Valerie said...

It's beautiful. I really enjoy your work.

Bob said...

I love it. The dog has a great face and I love the blue. Impressive!

Sixpence Notthewiser said...

I love it.
I think it looks great and to have been finished a year and a half after it was started? Goal achieved.

XOXO

Marie Smith said...

It’s a cutie. You do a great job on your art projects, Debra. You have talent!

Boud said...

You should be happy with it. It's very good. The blue shadows worked fine once the context was completed.

Martha said...

He's gorgeous! You did a fantastic job :)

anne marie in philly said...

hey pretty doggie! and we all have wrinkles and folds; battle scars, I calls them.

Travel said...

Amazing work, my father could draw, but didn't as an adult, a creative outlet helps

Infidel753 said...

I sure wish I could do that.

Parnassus said...

Hello Debra, I'm trying to imagine a context for the blue muzzle. Perhaps he was next to a stained glass window of a cobalt blue vase. Artists have so much more to control than most people realize.
--Jim

Elkes Lebensglück said...

O so pretty that dog, i love this work!!!

jaz@octoberfarm said...

WOW!!!

Moving with Mitchell said...

You SHOULD be happy! The dog is beautiful. Your ability to overcome what you considered mistakes and make it better is admirable. You've got talent!

Tundra Bunny said...

I think it's wonderful, Deb! Very reminiscent of my first dog, Ginger, when I was a toddler....she must have looked just like this as a puppy!

^.^ said...

I looove, looove, looove your work, friend D !!!

dmZapp said...

As a llong time boxer fan, you did a spectacular job of depicting what all good boxers look like as kiddos, you are definitely good and the blue is perfect, I collect cobalt colored glass and that could easily reflect on that pup. Donna

Ella said...

Wow! What a fantastic dog you have drawn!
I really wish I could do that. Beautifully done!

Old Lurker said...

So glad Rain is keeping you disciplined about your art. Now that HRH has abandoned you somebody has to pick up the slack.

Suz said...

I think you know where I stand on boxers: LOVE! I think this is just perfect.
I really like the blue shadows on the muzzle; bravo!

DVArtist said...

Wowowowowowow!!! This is absolutely magnificent. I love this piece. I also love you showing how it progressed. Have a great day today.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

I don't think anyone would've noticed the heavier hand aspect, had you not pointed it out. It adds drama to this doggy's face.
You're extremely gifted, Debra. This is pro level stuff.
Thanks for sharing.

e said...

Gorgeous puppy! I love the blue shading.

Cal's Canadian Cave of Coolness said...

Whoa, that looks amazing.

bobbie said...

Your drawing looks good to me!

Magic Love Crow said...

I'm happy with your dog too!!! So cute!! And, I like the blue! Big Hugs!

Gillena Cox said...

Nice one. Glad you were able to complete it. Happy Thursday. Thank you for dropping by my blog today

Much💜love

Rosemary said...

FAB----U----LOUS 💛 it.

LL Cool Joe said...

So you should be, he's excellent. And how come wrinkles on a dog are cute but not on a human?

Mike said...

So it took about a year and a half to finish? Let's don't get too hyperactive now. I think a couple of touchups could help. Think about it. Maybe next year. :)

John M said...

Much better than I can do.
I want to begin learning how to draw.

NatureFootstep said...

love it! It took a while to create this little fellow. But at the end it seem very worthwhile. :) It looks great!

Christine said...

Superb work on the creases!

Laura said...

so so so cute!! you are a fabulous artist!!
love, kisses & magical wishes!
~*~

Debra She Who Seeks said...

@ Mike -- You're right! I need someone with a pointy stick to keep me moving!

@ Old Lurker -- And Rain is the perfect person to wield that pointy stick right now! HRH gets tired of nagging me, believe it or not.

Guillaume said...

I tend to procrastinate too. Great dog though, I love the details.

Joanne Noragon said...

I cannot see your criticisms. It's a nice portrait.

Kirk said...

I would never have guessed that was done with just pencils. Very good!

Tracey@Hotchpotchcreations said...

Loved seeing how his sweet face came to life and every crease unfolded to release another. Such character and so much love to give.. beautiful work.
Thank you for sharing Tracey x

brewella deville said...

That pup looks good in blue.

Liz Hinds said...

It's beautiful! I love him.

Ol'Buzzard said...

Years ago I took an oil painting class in college. It was relaxing and I have often thought of taking it up again; but... a number of things are left undone.
the Ol'Buzzard

This N That said...

Wow..great job..You really captured his eyes..and those wrinkles..You have a lot of talent!! Have a good weekend..

The Blog Fodder said...

Very pretty dog. So good after a year and a half. You remember well.

Polly said...

You have every right to be happy with it, it's absolutely beautiful.

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

All things considered, you should be happy with your dog ... it is awesome and such a sweet face. Your are quite the artist. Your use of color is amazing. I can't imagine using 23 colors to get a color, but the coat of your pup is perfect. Love this ... and some day, I hope you will tell us about your Bees:)

Andrea @ From the Sol

baili said...

i am amazed with your color treatment on this marvelously done project dear Debra ! wow i found this pieces magnificent and colors intensity has created mesmerizing beauty i must say

despite of the time distance you managed it so beautifully .i am IMPRESSED!!!

Ur-spo said...

lovely !!!

Val Ewing said...

I do have to say that I doubt very much I could do anything quite as beautiful as this!
Well done.

Fundy Blue said...

You definitely have artistic talent, Debra. Your dog is great! I love Prismacolor pencils. I really have to try some art. Isn't Rain awesome? btw, Terry and I discovered "The Vikings" series on Amazon this week. I seem to remember that you watched and enjoyed it. It is awesome! Have a great week, my friend!

Morgaine Pendragon said...

HOLY WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amazing!!

Rain said...

You SHOULD be happy with this dog drawing Debra!!! It's fantastic! I LOVE the blue shadowing a lot. One thing I learned about Prismacolor pencils...LIGHT AND LAYER. It takes a lot of time to produce a work of art with this medium and I applaud you for doing it. Have you ever used solvent as a blender? I find it works very well and helps with the layering process, produces much deeper colours!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

@ Rain -- Oh, the use of solvent with coloured pencils is unknown to me! I'll have to look into that! I would like to be able to blend better, that's for sure. Thanks for the tip!

Rain said...

You're welcome! If you use it sparingly, it works really well to blend. It gives the coloured pencils a "painterly" look. And as long as you don't press too hard with the pencils, you can do lots of layers. I usually do about 4 or 5 to get a nice blended look. It's time consuming for sure, but totally worth it for the result.