Miniature "Moses" - WIP 2

Here are some more in-progress photos from "Moses" the Serval. Keep in mind that this piece is 5" x 5". I like working in this scale, as it's still big enough to do lots of detail, but it's small enough to potentially finish a piece in a few days. I'm enjoying working on this one, and I think it's going well. My apologies though for the lack of quality for the photos... if anyone has advice for how to photograph artwork while in-progress, please let me know! Essentially what I am doing now is keeping a tripod up and pointed at a wall which has marks where to put the picture... and at each stage I put the picture up, shoot a photo, and then go back to work. The problem is, these won't be taken in natural light, and trying to edit them in Photoshop to all look the same (levels, color, etc) is a nightmare. Overall, it's taking me WAY too much time to do the photos, edit them, and then post them here, and I don't want it to take away from my actual work!
This first picture is the nose, which is very different on a serval - compared to most cats which have noses resembling house cat anatomy, servals have a large and smooth nose, very rounded and almost dog-like.
One of my favorite parts of this picture is where the hair swirls and changes direction on his muzzle. I will likely add even more detail to that part, as it's crucial to the realism of the hair.
More progress...
Even though the eye is penciled in (outlined in black) I will leave it for last. I love to do the eye, and saving it for last keeps my interest in the picture, and it really allows the picture to "come alive" at that stage.
More progress... I should be finished this piece soon, and I'm looking forward to seeing it finished!

Book and Briar Patch Demonstration - Cancelled!

Although I had not yet posted it (I got the phone call only minutes before I was going to post about it), I was scheduled to do a demonstration with another member from the Regina Federation of Artists at the Book and Briar Patch in Regina on November 29th - however, plans have changed! The book store is so busy with book signings that they have asked the guild if we could put off our monthly Saturday demonstrations until after the new year. And so, for those of you who knew about my demonstration by word-of-mouth, I won't be at the store on Saturday! My new scheduled time to sit at the Book and Briar Patch will be Saturday, March 28th, 2009 - but I'll remind everyone a little closer to the date.

Miniature "Moses" - WIP 1

This is the starting stages of the Miniature serval cat, "Moses" from a few posts back. I decided to go with some foliage for the background, as I figured the original reference photo of his cage wasn't all that flattering! The photos that follow are the first steps: 1) Transferring the sketch to the final copy, 2) Base layer on the background, and 3) Burnishing and Detailing of the background. This piece will henceforth be titled "Eye of Moses the Serval".

2009 Advertising Merchandise

Like previous years, I have created some neat things to give out to friends, family, and clients for this coming year. Through VistaPrint.com, I take the documents that I create on Photoshop and have them printed on various business promotion items. Shown below are the 2009 calendar magnets, a business card sized magnet with "Focus" on it, and a greeting card for this year's holiday season, with "Repose" on it. Do you want a magnet for your fridge? Leave a comment here on the blog, (don't forget your e-mail address) or go to BigCatArt.com and click on one of the numerous links to send me an e-mail. Mail me a self-addressed stamped envelope, and I'll send you a magnet for free!

The next miniature is...

"Moses" the Serval! This is the reference photo I'll be using for my next miniature piece. This is my own photo, taken at the Guzoo in Three Hills, AB. "Moses" is an adult Serval - one of the smallest "big" cats, the one that has gigantic ears! This cat loved having his photo taken, and reminded me of a model. He actually posed for his pictures, slowly showing each side, then looking at the camera, then looking away, then getting up and sitting on a log... it was so much fun! This piece will be done in colored pencils, 5" x 5" - and I'll take some photos along the way to show the progress!

A Goal Statement - In Writing!

And so, now that my massive list of updates are complete, with months worth of posts all occurring on one day, I'd like to end with a goal statement. The purpose of this post is to commit, in writing, to a personal goal that I would like to set for myself in my art career. Having it written, and seen by other people, will help me in achieving it - it will give me an accountability of sorts! Motivation is always an issue for someone who is self-employed, especially when working with something that really requires you to "feel" like doing it! And so, here are my commitments:

1) To work on my art five days per week*

2) To create at least one miniature (5" x 5") piece every two weeks, starting December 1st, 2008

3) To post on my blog at least once per week

*I'd like to specify that "work" can consist of actual artwork, or art-related activities, including working on my website, corresponding with clients, cleaning the studio, editing photos, etc. The goal here is to make a solid effort to do art-related activities five days per week

I'll be working on my large commission piece - the next cougar piece, as well as doing the occasional miniature piece, including some long-awaited dog eye ATC's that belong to a certain Aunt who has patience beyond anything I know! I'd also like to use some of my time to increase my advertising in the art world. Additionally, I'd like to take some time to dabble in carving - perhaps even entering a small piece in next year's "Reflections of Nature" carving competition! Lofty goals, I know, but I'm really working at beating this procrastination thing that plagues almost all of us artists! Thanks to all of you, my loyal fans, for supporting me through my journey!

Regina Federation of Artists - Fall 2008 Show and Sale

November 7th to 9th was the Regina Federation of Artists (RFA) Fall 2008 Show and Sale. We had a great show! Thanks to all of you who attended, and if you are reading this and would like to be invited to the show next time, please visit my personal website and send me an e-mail. I can then add you to my contact list and send you an invitation for our next show. Additionally, I'll post show information here on the blog as well. Sorry to anyone I forgot to invite!

This was our third show held at the fabulous Wascana Place in Wascana Park, across from The Willow and the marina. We had a great attendance, and some amazing new artists in our guild. The show was a great success, and we are already gearing up for the next one!

The RFA shows always have a "People's Choice" award, given out at the Friday night wine-and-cheese event. With all the amazing artwork at this show, I was sure I wouldn't win - but my fans (some new, some who have been there from the start!) really surprised me! "Focus" won the first place "People's Choice" award, and so was able to have the first place ribbon hang beside it for the remainder of the show. Again - a "People's Choice" award is a great one to receive, as it's a great feeling to know that the public in general is impressed with your work. I met some great people at the show, and had a great time socializing with friends and fans and fellow artists!

Eye of the Tiger Cub II - Miniature

The third piece in my series of five by five miniatures is "Eye of the Tiger Cub II", a colored pencil piece based on a cute little tiger cub at the Guzoo in Three Hills, AB. I had the wonderful opportunity to play with this little guy and photograph him, and am now able to work from my own reference photos for these pieces. This was a different style for me, as I have never done a close-crop of an eye that showed a whole ear but no muzzle or nose. It's not as cute or as eye-catching as the ones that have muzzle, nose, and whiskers, but I'm still happy with how it turned out!

"Eye of the Tiger Cub II"
Medium: Colored Pencils
Dimensions: 5" x 5"

Eye of Zion the Lion Cub - Miniature

This is the second in my new series of miniature pieces. These pieces will all be five inches by five inches, done in colored pencils. Zion is a lion cub who was born at the Guzoo in Three Hills, AB, in early 2006. In May of 2006, I visited the Guzoo and had the unique opportunity to play with Zion and take pictures of him. I had so much fun with him, and he was such a photogenic little guy! This miniature artwork is the first one inspired by Zion, and there will likely be more of them in the future! The piece was enjoyable to work on, and I'm looking forward to doing more pieces this size.

"Eye of Zion the Lion Cub"
Medium: Colored Pencils
Dimensions: 5" x 5"

Colored Pencil Workshop

For those of you curious how I do my colored pencil technique, I've posted a full tutorial with step-by-step images at my personal site. Visit my Colored Pencil Tutorial to give it a try!