Artist LC

I had to make some minor adjustments looking at the photo more closely. I feel this is a better picture for the slight changes. The detail is so important to get as right as possible or it is just a dog picture rather than recognizing it is ‘the dog’ picture.  A pastel is never going to be the same as a photo. At some point, though, I have to let go of looking at the photo and let it be what it is. This is Buddy. https://pennypawsrescue.org.uk/beautiful-bear-looking-for-his-forever-home/

  I have to work quite quickly, when I can draw, incase I am too ill to finish a picture for many months, even years. I did not draw a portrait for at least 12 years due to devastating deterioration and very infrequently before that.  I am continually paralysed, particularly my hands and arms, cognitively blank and physically weak and so unable that when I can draw it is a huge personal triumph  for me. This picture is almost complete but needs some fine tuning to get the detsil as accurate as I can. I am proud to have now finished what I hope is a reasonable likeness of Bear and hope he finds that special family that can understand and meet his needs.

  Initially I struggled with getting the right colours. No matter how many pastels you have, it seems, you never have the right colour. It was only later on that I remembered I had some new square pastels to try out and amazingly there were the colours I needed. Hurray. It is amazing how many different colors you need to draw a dog. There are so many choices and decisions to be made, always wanting to convey the real dog, not just an outline of a dog. It needs to be recognisable and touch the dogs beautiful energy and need.

It is always exciting to draw a dog. The Penny Paws Dogs are so in need of love and being seen. I do hope the pictures I draw will bring out something special about each dog. This is Buddy. He is very much needing to find the right home, to be loved. I start by drawing an outline in white. It is important to me to get a pretty accurate, rough, drawing to begin with. I drew this outline about 8 times before I got it to a satisfactory place, ready to begin colouring it in, I thought I would not manage to draw him well enough, but persevered. I struggle visually, cognitively and physically so every work of art is a huge challenge and effort for me, but one I take on out of my huge love of dogs. https://pennypawsrescue.org.uk/beautiful-bear-looking-for-his-forever-home/

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQyyDNIL1xI This was made after the death of our first dog. Each picture was drawn with one finger. My husband composed the music, the Amos Suite and made the video for me. 

  I was going to try and complete the pastel I drew as an outline, the other week, of my husband as I have some new pastels to try out, but he said why not try it as a computer art, so I imported the white pastel outline drawn previously and then worked with the outline, filling it in by shape and colour according to my eye from the photo.  The outcome is pretty amazing I think. It was hard work though, possibly more so than using a real pastel as it’s quite an effort to run your finger on the glass and keep finding the right colour. Actually getting an equivalent colour is always a huge challenge no matter how many pastel pencils or pastel sticks you have. My husband though is delighted and wants to put it on his new web page. When I went to trim the picture in my photo programme it accidentally switched position. Funnily this is more like the original angle of the photo.

  Here is a beautiful dog called Zip who has been rescued from Romania by PennyPaws Rescue Charity, who I find a great inspiration. https://pennypawsrescue.org.uk/ It was such a joy to draw him. I hope it is a good likeness. Drawing dogs makes me very happy. This is a pastel, initially outlined in white on black paper. I wanted particularly to bring out the loveliness of his eyes.They seem to say, ‘love me, please.’

  Still not up to doing what I call a full pastel picture, despite having new pastels I long to try out, I managed a small pastel pencil picture. On smaller figures I find it easier to work with pencils. There is greater control.