Black on Grey on White

Carnival has yet again chiseled a fantasticaly bright hole of colour and fun in this, a very grey and morose, end of winter. My drawing board will (sadly) be gathering a little dust this week: schools are out and loads of confetti is going to hit the wind (and puddles). Carnival is celebrated the world over and Belgium is no exception. The " Gilles de Binge" have achieved "World Recognition". (For the wee snippet of info: In 2003 the Carnival of Binche was recognised as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity a list held by the UNESCO. Extracted from Wikipedia ) A fire is made, danced around while symbolically burning away winter clearing the way for spring. This year, more than ever, I enjoyed the symbolism and loved the sight... While the confetti, oranges and fireworks fly high and end the monotony of winter, I will be putting the final touches to my newsletter. A couple of wee surprises have been kept up my sleeve and I am loo...

'Tis the time for awards! Fellow artist & blogger April Jarocka has awarded me with an(other) art blog award. Tickled very pink once again: thank you April! April's art work is stunning and she has a fantastic affinity with... rocks and a very cute Ugly Bunny. Curious here is her link . Accepting this award means listing seven things I love and passing it on to seven blogs. In more than a 10000 words... I love Black and white Going barefoot Blue Unusual detail Peace Country life Childhood memories and my magic Canon for allowing me to capture it all. With great pleasureI am passing this award on to the following art blogs which are so well worth having a long peek at, beware though High Quality Art Content . Laure Ferlita of Painted Thoughts Blog Dawn Secord of Art of the Dog Erin Vey for her blog Bark Joe Castillo for her blog Holly Bedrosian and her blog Art with a Bark a great collective canine artist blog and last but not least Jeanette Jobson of Illustrated ...

Here he is: my champ, the chosen one. "Robert" pencil drawing, 91/2"x9", 2008 Copyright Sheona Hamilton-Grant This full frontal portrait of Robert ,the Scottish Greyhound, has been juried into the most excellent canine art show : Art Show at the Dog Show. He's been framed, in a great custom moulding and is looking very dandy. Today, his journey to America begins. He's being crated in a cosy, thick foam wooden-unbreakable under elephant weight- box . Tomorrow, he meets the Belgian customs, has his picture taken and is put on record as a temporary export . He will then be "delicately" placed into a muckle transport jet and fly across the seas... all the way to Kansas. Once on American soil, he will wave at the customs there who will take his picture and put him on records as a temporary export. After which, "Robert" will be finally exhibited at the 23rd Annual Art Show at the Dog Show . Yeah. This juried canine fine arts compet...

Black on Grey on White has been awarded a very bright and cheerful award not by one, not by two, not by three but by four fellow bloggers ( in the space of a week). Thank you all very much , much appreciated, actually I'm tickled pink! The four bloggers and talented artists thinking alike and flattering me no end are Ruthie , Graham Butler , Elizabeth McCrindle and Lene Daugaard . Accepting this award means I get to list and share seven of my favorite things and then pass the award on to seven of my favorite art blogs. Here goes in no particular order. Coming in from the rain and knowing I don't need to go out again until.... the sun shines Dancing and singing loudly when I think no-one is watching (or listening). The smell and taste of home made Belgian chocolate cake... (has to be Belgian) fresh out of my oven. Daydreaming: sun on my face and coffee in hand. Scotland, in the rain, the sun, the snow, the fog and the wind. Drawing when the world's asleep. My iMac Th...

After discovering Twitters' new way of "forward communication" and feeling very "up-to-date" and chuffed with myself, I have, strangely, taken a serious step back, back in to a flurry of deja vu, back into the 90's. To the good old times, the days of living the life, the student life and feeling invincibly organised! Palms' Tungsten, iCal , Blackberry Storm , Remember the Milk (yep there is such a site) Tried them all. Spent the hours typing-in data, names, numbers, appointments, ect. Promised myself that it would all be kept up-to-date, backed-up, HotSynced and charged. Worst of all, I really believed I could master this way of thinking, learn how to use it, feel and look really "pro". Wrong. Deception has been lurking and peeking around the corner; dates were being forgotten... Action, serious action was needed. Action was taken. A solution was found, through my letter box. Snail mailed. The solution came requiring a chemical reaction :...

Finished the wee chap. Spent quite a while trying to get his light coat to scan well...unfortunately I was not terribly successful. The result is nevertheless presentable and it is with great pleasure that I would like to introduce "Puppies & Wellies". "Puppies & Wellies" Graphite on paper, 25x28 cm Copyright Sheona Hamilton-Grant The added beauty of this piece is that it is drawn using Derwent pencils which are ...vegan pencils! Vegan pencils….my amazing discovery last week-end... Thanks to Empty Easels ' post I discovered that Derwent does not use beeswax in any of their products . I quote: Their charcoal pencils are made from pure charcoal, clay and pigment, the wax used in their pencils is from a plant source, and the binding material is from a mineral source. Derwent’s Coloursoft pencils, Graphitint pencils, Aquatone pencils, metallic pencils, graphitone and even Derwent’s Pastel Blocks are free from animal ingredients. (I have contacted Derwent ...