Just thought my blog followers would like to know about the other places I haunt on the internet, though at the moment I'm not haunting the internet at all but having a glorious week at the snow away from the computer screen!
My facebook page: Felicity Deverell Fine Art: I keep this updated with all the things that's going on and also add every drawing from my 365 Days of Drawing challenge to the page.
Pintrest: Felicity Deverell: I find so much inspiration on Pintrest and share my own drawings.
And of course my website: Equine Fine Art.net: I still have my old name for the website address. I am still an equine artist and accepting commissions for portraits, actually I'm wanting some more work at the moment.
Google+: Felicity Deverell: I don't know so many people who have Google+ so if you do feel free to add me to your circle.
You Tube: Felicity Deverell: I have several videos of my art, including a studio tour and speed drawings.
Wow, I didn't know how many places I can be found on the internet! Here is a picture or two of mine for you to look at! Have a good day.
A painting I scribbled out with the left over paint after working hard at a painting that wasn't going right. I often do something like this just to let of steam!
Right now I'm printing of a pile of fliers and folding them up for this weekends spring fair where I'm having a stall. Heaps to do!....
It's raining determinedly right now which belies yesterdays beautiful sunshine. I was up with the horses yesterday morning and it was so warm it felt like the middle of summer, but then I was doing allot of running around with my four legged friends!
Lady Grey and her old paddock mate whom she is decidedly cool towards.
She has put on allot of weight on this lovely grass!
Tigger was very boring I don't think he likes the camera!
Well here is what has interested and inspired me this week:
I found out about this equine artist, Emma Kennaway (interview), in the weekend and was inspired by her stunning artwork of horses especially her huge drawings. She has given me new inspiration for horses as a subject and I have begun to think of new ways of making an old subject interesting. Perhaps it is because she is not a 'horsey' person that her drawings of them are so original, she is able to think outside the box with a new perspective on horses. I have always been faced with the challenge of originality when drawing or painting horses, and do not always meet it successfully! Here is another video of her explaining her pictures before her exhibition.
As an artist and ever since I read the book Drawing on the Right side of the Brain by Betty Edwards (I not in passing that it is a must read for anyone who wants to or dose draw) I have always been interested about the way people see things, and what we notice and do not notice. I read this blog post a little while ago which talked of an interesting study about inattentional blindness. How we don't notice things if we aren't looking for them which explains why artists see different things in the same subject than a non artist because we look for different things.
What do you think? I was quite excited when I came up with the idea and have searched in vain on YouTube for video's like it. I think I might enlarge upon the idea! That waltz is my favorite piece of music at the moment.
* * *
Now here is something I didn't do. This brilliant artist draws wonderful portraits. His videos are so inspiring.
I have a new and exciting commission to work on! It is to be very large pastel painting of a white horse in blues and grays. I have been given the liberty to decide what horse and what posture to paint which is nice and gives me liberty to do something inspired. I have been looking on the internet for paintings and photos of white horses to inspire me and to get a general idea of the sort of thing I will be doing. Here are a whole lot of pictures that inspire me, I will try and credit owners where known.
Here is a drawing I did a couple of weeks ago; finally took a photo of it today. I drew it with charcoal pencils on A3 paper. What do you think of the style? I have recently taken to charcoal and love the effects one can make with it. I have drawn a few more charcoal drawings to share, but before then I need to find a good method of photographing my drawings so that the background stays an even white. I'll do some experimentation with lighting, I think that is my main problem. Or perhaps scanning the smaller ones would work best. My brother has allowed me to use his camera which is much better than Dad's so I'll attempt to make a new speed drawing video this or next week, though it is hard without the tripod.
I am going to begin a weekly post dedicated to sharing art (and/or horses) related pictures, links, and videos, which I have come across during the week and captured my imagination or inspired me. The first of them I will post tomorrow... I leave you with:
I have just been writing my first ever newsletter and am quite excited about it! It makes me feel rather professional to be sending out a newsletter every month! Now I just need people to send it to. So if you would like to subscribe to my monthly newsletter you can in a moment by filling in the to blanks at right in the side bar under the blurb about me. And then you can expect to receive my very first newsletter in you virtual mailbox.
I'm such a beginner as an artist, really only about to start out on a career as an artist which I have always dreamed of being (at least since I stopped dreaming of being a 'horse rider' when I growed up). I still have lots to learn on the practical side of creating beautiful pictures, and on the business side I know just about nil. Unfortunately, an artist cannot expect to make a living unless his work sells and that requires selling. Which I know not much about!
'Well, take the plunge and learn on the way, hopefully before you hit your head on a rock!'
I shall be writing about my experiences setting out on a new road in my newsletters along with photos of my best latest works and other little things I shall think of to keep you amused!
In case you are wondering I really am alive and kicking down here. In fact I'm beginning to kick harder than usual. I suddenly realized it is less than twelve weeks until the spring A&P Show at which I plan to have an art stall so I had better get cracking and make a heap more serious pictures.
So I have been doing that, and have made a very full schedule for myself with a goal for the amount of art I wish to produce each week. I have begun well this week and this is what I worked on yesterday.
The proportions aren't the best I know, but I was trying out a new technique for me with charcoal. It is very fun as I discovered so I plan to create a whole series of charcoal horses. I have done two more today, however I don't know how I can take photos of them for awhile as all the camera batteries have been taken by Dad and my brother for their model boats! I stole my other brothers camera for this one, and I should be able to borrow it again. I might even be able to make some drawing videos with it.
Here's what I produced from that photo. The painting was inspired by this video, as soon as I saw it I wanted to do something like that and immediately began. I learn allot from watching these speed drawing/time lapse videos on You Tube, they are very helpful and fun!
So here is my picture, I did it in pastel and pastel pencil on pastel paper, which is very similar to sand paper.
I'm in Napier, the Art Deco city of the country, a long holiday over Christmas and New Years because my little brother is competing in the sailing worlds down here.
I brought down some work to finish, here is a commissioned portrait of Blondie which I have just finished.
Here are a few commissioned portraits I have lately completed.
Pastel on A2 watercolour paper
Pastel on A2 pastel paper
Pastel on A2 watercolour paper
You may have noticed I use watercolour paper allot for pastels. That is only because I only have watercolour and drawing paper. But recently I've been experimenting with that sandpapered texture pastel paper which is really fun to work on but I don't think it is really necessary for a good pastel painting. As the saying goes, 'a good workman never blames his tools', and I don't want to learn to be reliant on tools and materials but concentrate on improving my skills and being able to use anything. When I am a good enough artist to need better equipment to achieve the very best then I will use them. But right now I'm still in training!
I have several sketches to share with you. Dad came back with the camera today so I will post photos of my drawings in the morning.
But for now I'm going to bed, and will leave you with this slideshow of my artwork on RedBubble.
I hadden't done much with pencils in a while so I grabbed the first promising photo and had a dash at it.My brother took the reference photo. I changed the neck to what I think looks better. What do you think? Critique me!
+-+Copy.JPG)
