August Newsletter, and a new painting

   Here's a link to my August newsletter. In it I've written about some late changes to The Art of a Hut project. I'll not be doing it for six months straight any more but for a few months at a time, for various reasons which I explain.

Felicity Deverell Fine Art August Newsletter

  And still I have no money pledged on Pledge me! I will have to triple my advertising efforts, though I really don't like asking people for money!! Or else resign myself to not getting any money that way and just try to sell lots of art. I am doing a couple of commissions at the moment which is very helpfully earning me some money. And today I'm going to go and paint the windows of someones house to earn a few more dollars. So if you know anyone who wants a portrait of their horse, dog, cat or human friend, tell them about me and show them my commissions page on my website. Thank you! :)

   Here is my latest completed commissioned painting. It is of three stallions who are father, son and grandfather. I did it in pastels, and my Dad made the frame for it, out of beautiful heart kauri. I had a mission trying to photograph it because of the reflections on the glass. But finally managed to get something with my brothers help and a tripod and a big sheet of board with sheets draped over it and the camera!

365 Day Drawing Challenge

I celebrated my 20th birthday last Thursday, the 15th, and on that date I began a challenge similar to one I have attempted in the past, only much bigger! 

   To improve my drawing skills and techniques I have embarked of a challenge to draw every day until I'm 21! So the goal is to have 365 or more sheets of drawn upon paper collected in my red folders by this time next year. 

   I have wanted to begin this challenge for a while, but doubted my dedication to keep it up. But after the last few months of doing some sort of artwork every day I have got into the habit of it and thought I'd better keep it up now that I don't have so I don't get out of the habit of it. 

   I have a few rules for myself the main one, of course, being drawing every day! But if I do miss a day I will do two drawing the next day. So far I've only been using pens to draw but I may use pencil and charcoal or anything else I can think of to draw with-- pastel maybe. I'm just using sheets of standard A4 cartridge paper for this project, that is easiest and fit into my folders nicely, also I can scan them (I just discovered it's so much easier scanning that photographing my drawings!) I'm also going to try to concentrate on drawing people and drawing from real life, it is somehow more satisfying to draw from life than from a flat photo.

   I've started an album on my Facebook Equine Fine Art Page which I will keep updated with all my drawings, and I have also started a board on Pintrest for it. I'll be posting only the highlights here on my blog as I don't want to bore anyone!

   

Well now I'd better go and do my drawing for today!

Painting Video

    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!....

Julie Greg- New Zealand Artist

  As part of an unofficial new years resolution I have been looking at work from New Zealand artists for I realized that I know shockingly little of the New Zealand art world. I actually don't like the usually New Zealand contemporary style or 'unrealism'. However I am discovering their are allot of artists from my country who are really brilliant artists.

Julie Greg, for example. I have known of this artist for some years and she has been a big inspiration for me. Whenever I wanted to draw something and couldn't come up with good ideas I would look at her beautiful pastel work. Here are some samples:

Catherino II

Learning to Fly

Power and Grace

  I love the style of her work with the very realistic and detailed horse and abstract textured background.

  I lie how she has done the background for this, it is abstracted to show off the dear but you can tell it is a grassy woodland scene and can even see blue sky through the tree tops.

  Julie Greg has also done a series on shepherds with their horses and dogs. Beautiful pieces are they not!

You can follow her on her blog, though she dose not post very regularly, or see more work in her website gallery. Julie Greg on Facebook

So what do you think? Recon I could become that good an artist one day!