Black on Grey on White

Mea aculpa. I've stalled my blog!!!! Foot slipped off the clutch, releasing it too quickly, timing went up the creak and the word flow came to one terrifying standstill, lasting not days, weeks or even months but over a year.... Wondering if the flow will come back or if I will need to bring out the L plates and tread cautiously.  I certainly aim to get back in the game and share happenings, changes, behind the scenes and other pencil art related info. So until then leaving you with a charming little chap and a very new sight to this equine canine dominated blog. Bird on wire, pencil on paper.  Sheona Hamilton-Grant.  2019 All rights reserved

Big, strong, playful and sadly missed! My pencils were given the mission of portraying immortalising Aloïs in action... "deep water stick fetching" Aloïs pencil on paper, 60x44cm Sheona Hamilton-Grant.  All rights reserved. SOLD Drawing this commission was a fantastic experience. I love the forward movement the slight tilt, shift to the left. Both implying life and the past, both so symbolic and fundamental in a tribute portrait. Aloïs is no longer but has left without a doubt the biggest paw print on his family's heart.

Success. Months of pain have been dealt with! All the demons faced heads on, pencils in hand. Scribbling through physical pain, soothing the emotional turmoil, relayering confidence. A new drawing: Long Rein, the result. Inspiration and a new gritty feeling, the outcome. Will be interesting to see if 2017 will see another new drawing. Watch this space: pencils are sharpened. Long Rein pencil on paper 2017 Sheona Hamilton-Grant all rights reserved.

Curious to have a peek at some of the best pencil artwork out there? Excellent ;) The Pencil Art Society' s new 2017 online exhibition has just gone live and showcases a wide spectrum of pencil art. A nice range of work is on display: from monotone to colour, through still live to surrealistic animal art as well as beautiful black and white portraiture. One identical element, that of quality craftsmanship and execution runs through the entirety of the selected of artwork.  Stoked to be amoung such talent.   Well done to all the winners!!!! "Jumping" 2016 Graphite on Paper 50x37 cm Sheona Hamilton-Grant

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 ;)

and has been an inspiring muse for my latest equine portrait. That's right: no capital city but a beautiful bay mare. Scribbling has begun in earnest again this year and Canberra is the first off the drawing board. Isn't she gorgeous? Up next: also dark and also super cute ;) Canberra pencil on paper 25x15 cm SOLD

To be more precise Rock is a German cold blood or draught horse with amazing eyes and the latest portrait off my board in time for the festive season. Big honest kind eyes, smooth velvety nose, massive round cheeks, wavy blond hair... what's not too love. Drawing this gorgeous equine was a great finish to the year. 2017 has new projects and commissions lined up but none I am sure with this guys  special  zen aura. Rock 26x20 cm pencil on paper SOLD

This wee bird is proud (I can totally relate) and relieved (food on the table tonight). Pride should be (sporadically) experienced, savoured, shown-off. Pride is a good (in healthy amounts) it is proof of self-respect. Pride is the main content of this post. Yep! feeling very pleased with my second bird study . A few new boxes have been ticked: Better rendering of the lay of their feathers understanding the tilt of the head learning the insectivore subtleties of their diet cornering their temperament  depth (and the best box of all) hesitation dissipated: each stroke knew where to go Bird study #2 "Early Bird" Pencil on Paper 23x19 cm P.S: Postponing my artistic discovery of the bird world for a while, new (featherless) commission on the board. Before I start,  great big thank you to  Donna Ridgeway  for the use of the her fab swallow photographs.

I was curious (and still am!)  Curious to see how my brain (and pencils) would deal with drawing something so small, so delicate, so elusive. How it would feel to get lost in feathers as opposed to hair. How it would feel to render something you are only able to touch with your eyes and heart. The great news is: these amazing sophisticated little creatures have offered to show me a whole new world... and I have agreed ;) Watch this space! Bird study #1 Pencil on Paper 19x26 cm

Time and inspiration. They've collided and are creating a noise  vision! They are making a mess on paper and it's ending-up looking like ... a horse!? Wee note to all fellow artists,  when they (time and inspiration) come calling at the exact same time. Knock on the creativity door with a synchronised bang! Peek through the same window holding hands. Let them in. Go with it! Rejoyce! They are not playing any kind of joke. There is no blue moon. They are, simply (amazingly), in the same room at the same time. It's an amazing feeling. A feeling of speed and lightheadedness. A feeling of good solid fun. Not finished, but here to prove my thoughts: the first few steps in the still-to-be-titled-big-portrait-of-beautiful-stallion. More to come :D 'cause I believe miracles can last (well long enough to get this drawing signed!)     

Sometimes (well actually most of the time!) my mind will ponder and "sit-on" an image, a concept for years, waiting until the time is right. Nothing different with this drawing. I shot the references back in 2011... After 5 years of pondering, my pencils have been on active duty for the last 2 weeks, working hard to get this big-new-in-between-commissions-drawing of Cornado NRW (super good German Warmblood show-jumping stallion) out of my head, on and off the board and into the world. The hard work and the strange facial expressions have paid off! All of us here in the studio are relaxed and grinning with the sweet sense of a job well done. Think I'll go and start another one ;) Grey 40x34 cm graphite on paper

One thing I knew: it had to be big, bold and dramatic. The concept and image had been floating banging around in my mind for a couple of years (constantly drawing even without pencils in hand!) Daring to crop harshly and spend the better part of a month scribbling a high risk composition was, until a few months ago, way too far out of my comfort zone. With age and maturity there seems to be serious rebirth in my "go get ya!" streak. It's rubbed off on my scribble friends and three weeks ago we got to work. The result: "Focus", an image full of power, beauty & silky smooth equine brilliance. Hope you all like it too ;) "Focus" pencil on paper 39x50 cm Available Sheona Hamilton-Grant © all rights reserved.

A classic head portrait. Sound boring? Yep, but not if you push the contrast, the size and sprinkle it all over with relevant details. This guy is gorgeous and was dressed up to the nines for our photoshoot. You can really tell: he looks a million dollars. "Jack Sparrow" Pencil on Paper 36x40 cm SOLD

of my comfort zone. I went big and warped the rules of composition as much as possible. I craved for a new angle.  An angle that would emphasise all the strength and power of this amazing horse but also an angle that would defy compositional rules and regulations. Pinned to the edge was one of my hardest challenges yet.  The knowledge of my subject (we've met over seven times on the drawing board) and the energy he ignites in me kept me smiling and my pencils fervantly scribbling. The rest was hard, very hard. The proportions were hard, the dynamics were hard,  cracking rules to create drama was hard. Operating for weeks out of a zone of familiarity, uncomfortably hard. Stepping back, pencils paused, and calling it done: hard.  Letting it out of the safety of the studio into the world to face reactions: super hard! One thing though that is in no way hard:  endorsing the claim ...  pencils rock ! Pinned to th...

After a very enjoyable encounter and "get to know you" drawing sessions, Wilma is off the drawing board and leaving the studio. Drawing those big honest eyes, getting right into the thick of her facial structures has been an amazing experience. My scribble friends had their work cut out deciphering which way to turn, where to emphasise, what to highlight and what to adjust.  However, I have it on good authority that the challenge was well received by all and they are now lined-up at the board impatiently waiting to get dug into the next one... Wilma graphite on paper 26x23cm p.s: If you would like a more in-depth view into the process, three progress timelapse videos can be viewed on my Youtube channel   :)

After 8 weeks of giving them all the cold shoulder, I warmed up my scribble friends and got tucked into a new compositionally unusual dog portrait. The reason threefold: I hadn't drawn a dog for ages wanted a break from the traditional head portrait Couldn't resist those wee eyes. The result threefold: pencil shavings on the floor once again back in the groove new drawing on the board What's Up 21 x 29 cm Pencil on Paper Available  Up next a horse, a beautiful bay stallion. Back soon ....

Yikes, more than 17 months have passed since I last drew a dog! Reason enough to give this new canine portrait special attention. Meet Paul. Paul is cool. Paul is tall, black, goofy and ... camera shy. Looking away, relaxed, eyes focusing in the distance, anticipating his next move is how I met him, got to know him and had to render him. Paul Pencil on Paper 24 x 28 cm Sold Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved  Step1 Eye drawn, lay of fur and darkest darks established Step2 Further work on eye, lay of fur and outline of mouth Step3 Adding on layers of darks to establish shape of nose and detail in  mouth. Step4 Adding more layers of fur and work on nose, mouth and teeth.

Hot off the board and freshly signed. This is "Racing Ready" a wonderful moment captured by fellow artist and friend  Linda Shantz on one of her very early morning escapades in Keenland a few years ago. She gave me the green light allowing my pencils have a wee bash at rendering this amazing athlete (speaking of the horse of course!) I miss the horses, daily, and wanted to feel one near me. I figured putting down an extra layer of detail and sharpened the pencils that wee bit more might do the trick. "Racing Ready" Pencil on Paper 37x41 cm Reference courtesy of Linda Shantz Available

Done it! Enrolled in Mike Sibley 's advanced drawing online course . I figured that after all these years of self-learning it was time to let someone else deal with my stubborn mind to get to grips with the technical side of drawing that I have quite happily dodged for too long! One week in and there is nothing more invigorating than being put in the spotlight and up against oneself and the clock. I'm a slow worker and there is not time for dillydallying. A lot is packed into each week (I swear I've witnessed a wee bit of smoke coming out of the old grey matter!) plus the summer holidays are just round the corner ;) Speeding up is good. It has me way more focused and not so hooked-up on the trivial (although still miles away from working loose!) The result so far are three OK drawings (One that I put off for 15 years!) The mistakes priceless, welcomed and never to be repeated. Watch this space more to come. The course runs 8 weeks! Exercise in finding th...

Going right is what you get when a powerful combination of precision, speed and strength fuse. This stunning equine athlete had to be drawn, highlighted, brought to paper. The harmony between horse, jockey and gravity eternalised. Pencils sculpted and moulded the graphite into shape. An amazing experience! Going Right Pencil on Paper 43x56 cm Reference courtesy of Juliette harrison Available p.s ( a very loud p.s!) Once again a million thank-yous go out to Juliette Harrison for the fabulous reference photograph which is at the source of "Going Right". Make sure to check out her black and white world . It's beautiful!