Artist LC

  I love to pay special attention when I start a picture, to the eyes. If I cannot capture the longing and the light in the eyes, then I do not feel I can do justice to the beauty of the dog. I love this picture. I feel Darcy’s eyes are shining  out with longing. They say, “ Will you love me?”

  Well done Greg for this moving video, music composed and performed by him, also wonderful expressive drawings that convey emotion so powerfully! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-HoS_A7wps A huge achievement to be shortlisted in an international creative art competition out of so many.people.: https://alpinefellowship.com/visual-art-prize “There are no words to describe caring for someone in agony for more than thirty years. This video was shortlisted out of over 1800 entries for the 2024 Alpine International Arts Prize.” There are no words, the only answer is love.

 It is a joy to share the process of drawing some of the PennyPaws dogs. They all are so in need of love. Here is a video accompanied by some beautiful music composed by my husband. Hoping you enjoy it. I think it particularly illustrates how the dogs are transformed by being saved and cared for, how they transform from almost invisibility to blossoming as they find hope and love.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnh47bjRm8U

  It is wonderful to see the most recent pictures added to the Pennyoaws Art Galiery page. See here : https://pennypawsrescue.org.uk/2023/11/28/the-beautiful-rescue-dog-art-of-lc/

 I was asked to draw this beautiful graceful dog, Annie. I was not sure I would be able to capture her likeness especially as her fur has tiny dark flecks in it, not easy to convey, but as with all my art, I never know if I can until I try. It was a joy to work with my favourite pastels and so very pleased with the result. Just after I had finished, I was paralysed by noise and was unable to move my hands and feet. It is incredibly wonderful to find moments of artistic expression are possible in a sea of unending pain and such frequent total inability to move. There is something truly wonderful about creating something beautiful that did  not previously exist. I find the process awesome and inspiring as well as challenging me to grow.

 I have made a new video of my art to try and express the horror of my situation and the difficulties of communicating within it. It features some of my pastel self- portraits, in various stages of paralysis, mostly done years ago, which try to express the inexpressible suffering and convey the impotence of language in this situation. You can watch it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u65pqLZyUNE

 There is something delightful about seeing a pastel framed. It really seems to bring out the colours, the depth of the picture making it more 3D,  so that the dog seems to shine brighter in a wonderful way.            I am proud of this picture. I love the colouring on the ears. It makes it look somehow, more than a pastel, to me. It is though quite hard to take a photo of it though, to fully convey this, due to the reflections it throws up!

I have just managed, despite very numb hands and struggling with my eye focus,  to do a pastel of a sweet little dog called Sally. Her beautiful eyes caught my attention. She looks like she wants a cuddle. https://pennypawsrescue.org.uk/2024/03/02/sally/ I am never fully satisfied with my art. I think this is the way of artists. There is a tension between accuracy and not overdoing the detail to try and to get it right yet in danger of making the colours look mucky and less pure. The orange and golden colouring and shapes of the patterns were a particular challenge for me, as was getting the dog to stand out well against the black background.  Every picture has its own issues to resolve. It us a joy though to observe the process and learn from it.

  I cannot hold a pastel at the moment or coordinate my hand and eye enough to do a new picture.  So  I find it interesting to look at pictures I did years ago and see what I was doing. I find it so hopeful to see aspects that have improved or ways of working I used that I have forgotten I did. Looking through my art self portrait pads I was amazed to see how confident I was in working on A3 paper as it really helps bring out the detail.  Now I seem to have less energy and poorer visual clarity to go for bigger pictures at the moment, preferring A4 or smaller ,if very limited in ability and energy.

 I created this video to accompany a prayer I wrote which Greg put to music, beautifully. I really enjoyed the creative process on a day when I was unable to hold a pastel or move my legs. Yet still I created this wonderful video which I hope brings peace and comfort to people. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL3DK1oJjyQ

 It is really fulfilling to see my work in print on these wonderful cards. The gloss finish seems to really bring out the shiny nose and eyes.