Black on Grey on White

Mention "big black fluffy Newfoundlands" you can be sure you are referring to cuteness overload :D This, a big mixed media (graphite and charcoal) drawing of mother and son Newfoundland pooches, was created in stages.  The most important stage: deciphering shapes through bundles of deep black fur.  Once the noses, ears and eyes were pin pointed and sketched in: the real scribbling began.   The final stage involved a layer of Nitram charcoal to create more oomph and depth. William & Nikita graphite/charcoal on paper 41x50cm SOLD Loved discovering and developing a new approach to my work and the best... the unequaled feeling of success! Next up on the board: equine with a somewhat shorter coat ;)

I don't know about you but I love out-takes. Those great moments captured not quite how they were planned. In our constant battle with perfectionism this side of our art-world tends to be hidden and very often deleted. I still have a few. A few lovely unique canine blunders. They make me smile. Can't be that bad right?

So here you have it! My latest commissioned portrait. Not just one but two, deux, zwei, dos, två... I was asked to portray a double bundle of cuteness! Milo and Howard, two adorable Welsh Corgi's, now have their own special mark in time. Everything, from their low-set yet sturdy built, big eyes, alert ears, fluffy "cheeks", bold and friendly aura, made my pencils day. As a result: an energetic and accurate pencil drawing smothered in detail. Simply said: I'm smitten! Milo & Howard Pencil on Paper Sold Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved.

I've buckled down, sharpened the pencils and focused my attention back on this wee chap s big puppy eyes. Approximately half way through, still a load of tweaking needed to be done on the pups face and body but first I want to get the surrounding elements finished. The radiating lines in the jumper play an important part in the movement of the piece and they have to become more fluid and believable (they are looking so clumsy and clumpy!). Up-date will follow this week, until then here's a view of the current state of affairs! Work in Progress. Pencil on Paper. Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved.

Emily Pencil on Paper Sold Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved. Chocolate stains, happy grins and sticky tape have featured heavily, as I emerge apron strings loosened and scissors lost, from our "birthday week". Every year, from the 5th of March through to the 10th, 6 important family birthdays are celebrated in style, wrapped in loud laughs and decorated with acrobatic happy dances. As all you fellow Mummies can well imagine, work in the studio has been festively slowed down. No worries tough, here is a portrait I "prepared" earlier and want to share. Meet Emily. A gorgeous 6 year old Poodle Pointer with piercing kind eyes. A gem of a dog, well mannered and high on life, Emily sat and stared me out while I triggered a few reference shots and discovered the depth of her eyes and softness of her nose. Next week, when I reconnect with my scribble friends and the last of the colourful tacky balloons has popped, focus will once again be on rendering big cani...

Made it! Unpacked the boxes, made a comfy space, re-tuned the hi-fi. As a result have actually got a flow going which in turn allowed me to complete my first commission in our new home. As many of you know we have moved and it shook us all to the core (unforeseen events, mistakes and situations added to the already existing stress that comes attached to any international move). Two weeks ago the prospect of getting to create and scribble were looking very grim. Today, that is history. Pencils are up and running. Motivation and energy levels are following. All sorts of wee hitches are still present and adding their own kind of excitement. They are however not worth wasting too much time over as I am sure they will be sorted some time soon. So, it is with great pleasure that I would like to introduce Bismark a fluffy canine with a great gentlemanly charcacter. (please forgive the over dark contrasted scan...one of the wee hitches that still needs to be sorted!) "Bismark" Pencil...

"Complicity" Graphite on Paper. 2009 Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved There is great rejoicing and lots of strange woops: Complicity and Hurricane have been strutting their stuff at the American Art Awards and have come home with rosettes. "Complicity" won the dry media category (pencil, charcoal and ink) and came in second in Human Realism. Yeah! "Hurricane" Graphite on Paper. 2010 Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved "Hurricane" came in a cool second in Animal realism. Cooool! The icing on the cake: Quality Time won last year! "Quality Time" Graphite on Paper. 2008 Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved Once again, one year on , I'm still so very chuffed, honoured as well as being over the moon at seeing graphite making a stand. Pencils just rock !!! Happy dances and cheery waves from the walls of my new studio in Bonn...

His name was Johnny, Johnny Jo. His middle names: funny, silly, kind, stubborn, daft, sweet, fun, JJ... Sadly all his names are no more. Johnny passed away this summer leaving a wee hole in our hearts, a bundle of happy memories in our minds and a big very empty red bed. Johnny Jo 1996-2010 God speed Johnny...

Taxi Graphite on Paper. 28x21 cm SOLD Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved. Taxi is little and full of fun and bounce. She settles down once and a while and when she does these are the wee eyes that peek up at you full of innocence and sincerity. This portrait was done in December and a delivered over mince pies and Xmas cheer. Will be taking the next few days off to spend Carnaval with my familly. The idea of being amoungst mad crazy costumes is strangely very alluring. So it's one great big Helau from me (German festive cry at this time of year). Back soon with streamers and confetti in my hair !!!!

"Paula" Pencil on Paper, Sold Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved. I would love you to meet Paula. Her portrait was wrapped and placed under a big festive German Christmas tree. Paula is a wee “pup” with curls from here to kingdom come. She's a real cutie, as her collar indicates pocket size would be an apt description. Pass the collar and look into her eyes and you will see she is as kind as she is wise. Paula lives with a brown boxer, a giant Poodle and a yard full of dressage horses. Let me tell you she is very much against the word doll and gives big a definition of her very own...

"Behind Closed Paws" 27x20 cm, Graphite on Paper 380 Euros In all honesty, I had a little help with this drawing... professional help: the concept and initial references are not my own. The photographer behind "Behind Closed Paws" is none other than Erin Vey. ( Here is how it came about.) Erin Vey's photograph of Vinnie not only turned my head and but triggered my imagination. Erin's photography is stunning. If you are not familiar with her work, like dogs, enjoy great photography then there is only one thing for it : you have got to visit her website . "Behind closed Paws" is one of three entries featuring in the sixth CAG online show The Company Dog's Keep . There Vinnie the pup is in brilliant and versatile company and isthoroughly enjoying being cuter than cute.(Maybe he'll get a few of the public's votes) Unfortunately, I can't share much about the creation of this piece: I have no work in progress set up ...real life and...

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...

On the drawing board at the moment is the cutest of lab puppy.... and a wellington boot. I shot the references for this new drawing last year in Scotland at the local agricultural show. (A real gold mine for reference pics and a brilliant day out for the family I have to add!) Tools: Hahnemuhle Nostalgie paper. 3B, 6B, F & H graphite leads. Steps: Here are steps one and two. They show the progress made on the rubber boot and cotton chino trousers. I have never rendered rubber before and wanted to achieve its smooth yet dry irregular look. I found the best way of doing this was to use a flat tip 3B lead in a circular motion . A layer of 6B in the same way (flat tip + circular motion). A sharp point is used to mark out the edges to the seam. Step 3 shows the first stages of the cotton trousers...my concentration floundered and the result is poor. (I will come back to it tomorrow and see if I can save them from the "uglies" or if I re start from scratch.) Wish I could blam...

Welcome back to the sequel in the creation of my Greyhound portrait . After a good-night's sleep, I carried on by tackling the connection between girls and dog (see close-up of stage 4). This meant I had to ignore her hand.(- always a good idea to back-off until the frustration dies down). A quick recap on the material used: Mellotex paper Derwent graphite pencil 2B, 3B and 8B Staedler clutch pencil F and 2H Chamois leather Blu-Tack (kneadable eraser) The great thing with this piece is that it seemed to take shape from the very start and flowed easily all the way through. For stage 4 I used my clutch pencil filled with F to render the girls features and skin. Light strokes are then blended with a chamois leather, this is repeated until the right effect is achieved. Her eye was drawn with my 2B Derwent. No blending Close up on stage 4. Here the tongue and the connection between the dog and the girl has to be established.   Her hair was drawn with a 3B. No blending just layering.   S...

One week later and, at last,  Robert is looking more like an alert greyhound. I will put him out of sight for a few days and polish him later on next week. This is my first portrait for the CAG's next online show : Helping Paws 2008 Exhibition.   The idea behind the show is to have each artist pledge a percentage of their sales in support of an animal welfare effort.  I would like to help and support the Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue I have fallen for these gorgeous, gentle and loyal canines and have chosen to donate 20% from my sale of this piece to this specific Greyhound Rescue.   Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Rescue is the only greyhound re-homing in the Dumfries & Galloway and Cumbria region. They are a young dynamic charity and have found homes for over 450 greyhounds in 6 years. I am planning on having three ready for the show. "Helping Paws 2008" goes on line on October the 1st 2008 for 4 months.  Tomorrow's Monday: first day of school. After w...

Here are the first two steps (still very rough) of one of the drawings I preparing for the next Canine Art Guild's online exhibition. This is a Robert a gorgeous Greyhound. I love his light round alert eyes. The difficulties with this perspective is getting the length and width of his muzzle right (he still looks very much like a bulldog...!) and the 3D impression (will hopefully work in a few layers time...!). I have also decided to use the stripes and markings in his coat to establish his bone structure: this will also take another few layers... So far I have his eyes (basically) done and feel I can go on into the real detailing of his face. More to come.  Thanks for looking and have a great Sunday.

Finished!  I have sifted through and (somewhat) organised the major part of my "holiday snaps". Todays selection is of the barking kind.   A few highlights of canines on a day out and of hounds saying hi... Hunting hounds were introduced to the public and the result was no less than thick muddy paw-marks on light jackets and peels of laughter from all ages. Enjoy, there will be more soon but for now I'm off up to the drawing board to see how much dust actually settles after 3 weeks of absence... Love people as much as foxes. Kiss...please! Spots and rubber flowers.... new season's trend! Saw you...missed the puddles! Not so sure about mum! Any chance of a hug...please!

It has been  a quite while since I last posted about what was actually on my drawing board...I seem to have taken to talking about what's going on around it more than showing you the actual creating. I  really have been busy drawing as well as typing. A new commission  has started. It is a portrait of 2 Riesenschnausers (Giant Schnauzers.) Jack and Libby. Both are dark and have beautiful expressive eyes hidden under their long haired fringes. I researched a little to find more about the particularities of the breed - this helps me really pin-point elements which are crucial and typical to a specific breed. Here is the first stage of the portrait: it is an initial layout and the beginning of detailed work on the eyes.  This is Libby. I am using 6B and 3B Staedler clutch for the hair and 2B and 2H Derwent pencils for the eye. This portrait is being drawn on Steinbach paper (250gr. 73 x 110cm).  I have penciled in the second dog Jack and will start on his eyes in the next session... ...

Last Sunday was not only an inspiration for my equine art but turned out to be quite inspirational for my canine art as well.  The show brought back vivid memories of our beloved Border Collie Bess. (Working sheepdogs were present and were just as keen, responsive and sharp as I remember our wee Bess.)   Reflecting on those memories, I came to the conclusion that I am clueless about the history of Border Collies (part of my heritage) and the making of the modern day Border Collie. We (my parents) bought Bess from a working shepherd in Scotland nearly 30 years ago.   In those days the breed was purely a working dog and had not reached the international and commercial notoriety that it has today.  Bess was small making her very agile and fast, had a slow heartbeat allowing for very fast recovery, had the kindest disposition and temperament, herded cats, horses and cars all with the same dedication and skill.  Not a very extensive knowledge to say the least. Today's post is, I shamef...

Here they are, two peas in a pod, cheeky, tweaked and framed.   Basti and Titus have been approved and will be making there way off to Germany. Kept my pencil away from them over the week end (most of you have no doubt noticed the revamped blog.... This is a direct result of not allowing myself to go back too soon to tweak). Hope you like the new look I've given my "Black on Grey on White".  So: spent today, tweaking and polishing a few areas, scanning and recording all info for my database. To get a clean and a web perfect image of my work  I took two individual scans (300 dpi ) of the drawing.  I then I joined them and cleaned the new image using  Photoshop Element s.   I have this Photoshop version on trial for the next 27 days.  It's good.  Actually, I am pretty sure I will be purchasing it. It seems to fit the bill perfectly.  Between you and me, I am quite chuffed as it is a fraction of the price of the full blown Photoshop (of which I would only end up ...