Colored Pencil Demonstration - cat on a vintage blue chair - Composition

Thanks for stopping by to watch my step by step demonstration of how I do a colored pencil piece in my signature, painterly style!  You'll see that I approach my pieces in an unusual way for this medium.  I don't use sharp points and teeny tiny circles to fill in, I block in, and then refine.  This is the first step, the composition of the piece.

I studied my reference photos and decided what I wanted to go with.  Then, I did a little thumbnail sketch of what I had in my mind.  Putting two elements together, the chair and the cat, meant I HAD to do a little sketch to make sure everything fit.  First I was going with a portrait orientation, but after I did the sketch, realized it looked more like a chair with a funny looking cushion and changed it to landscape to put the focus on the kitty!

I use either pastels or colorerase pencils to lay out my pieces.  I am using a medium gray shade of Canson's Mi Tientes pastel paper, the smooth side.  I sketched out my piece, erasing as I go with a white plastic eraser.  Mi Tientes is hard and erasable, so I can correct mistakes easily.  After I'm done, wipe it with a tissue and much of the pigment comes off.  Where I've gone too dark, I just lightly erase it.  I've photoshopped this so you can see my drawing, but actually, it's very pale.
Next, I save the areas where the whitest whites are from any migrating smudges from dark areas with white pencil. I can erase that later or just go over it with another color.

Then, I blocked in the light chair using Cloud Blue, a pale shade. I use the side of my pencil lead, not the point, just lightly color it in.   I don't want to lose my drawing, so I use a sharp point of a blue gray to just keep my lines in.
Next, I took a dark brown, Sepia, and blocked in the wall behind the chair.    Kitty will wait til my background is close to finish because the colors I use will be affected by what's next to him.  And I want to be able to let fur straggle onto it.

The next, more important thing I do is put it away for a day or two!  I can already see areas that need erasing and refining in this basic drawing that looked fine as a layout to me yesterday.  Somehow letting the brain rest allows me to see where changes are needed for this basic foundation.  If this isn't right, no matter how nicely I color it in, it won't look right.

I'd love to hear what you think, if you have questions!  I'm glad to answer emails, but it's more fun if everyone following along can comment!  If you have friends or family who like to draw, or love pets, I'd love to have them join along.   "Like" my Facebook page for alerts on the next installment!

Tabby Cat Portrait, love those green eyes?

Tabby cat custom portrait I recently completed for a really happy client!  Love how she is looking right at me, I did her eyes early on, so she stared at me the whole time.

Since this pretty cat's portrait is so close up and personal, lots of individual fur hairs show.  Usually, my work is more painterly, with blocks of color rather than fur by fur.  And most of this is that way, too, but it wouldn't have looked right from this distance to NOT have a sprinkling of individual fur.

Now you may be wondering what Sarge, my boxer puppy, thinks about kitties.  He's actually only got one in his life, Dr. Fitz, who he gets to visit from time to time.  He's just curious, wants to play, but Dr Fitz has other ideas and leaves the room or jumps up high.

Dr. Fitz lives with Sarge's half brother, Hoss, also a boxer puppy...a so called black boxer... and Hoss and the good doctor get alone fine.

Thanks for visiting my blog!  I'll have more pet portraits and art to show and tell soon!  Robin

Miniature Art Cards - Watercolor and Pen and Ink Cats!

Yesterday (after I fixed my facebook page) I got to something I've been wanting to do, these collectible minis.They are called ACEOs (Art Cards, Editions and Originals) and are 2.5" x 3.5" in size.

They started out as a trade.  They are baseball card sized and artists traded them among themselves.  Then a few years ago, they really took off and collectors began buying them. I did a ton of them a few years ago and sold all but 2 that I listed on ebay! Most of the buyers were other artists, and honestly, it was such a boost to my art confidence that OTHER ARTISTS were collecting my work!  And bidding for them!!  I sold them for as much as $65 plus each! 

Then, I got too busy having to do the day job and let it go.

I am trying out yet another medium and love it. I am also going to try out some local farmers markets and the Golden Nugget Antique/Art flea market near New Hope over the bridge in Jersey. I want to bring my samples of portraits and my painted canvas pieces but think some small pieces might prove popular too.  They can be collected in books, but the ones I have traded or bought from others I have put on those inexpensive wooden easels you can get at craft stores and boy, did having some super original art ever brighten my work cage..I mean cubicle.

Meanwhile, here's one of them.  I have them for sale in my Etsy shop, and will try out ebay, too, where I just sold a miniature portrait commission.  Have to keep all the art "balls" up in the air, sell a little here, and a little there, and I might never have to go back to that work cage... :D

Thanks for visiting my blog!  Here's where to look if you'd like to see more of my pet and childrens portraits.  Email me if you'd like to commission a portrait or buy any of my work HERE or visit my etsy shop, which has an easy checkout system using paypal.

Cat Portrait or Cat Painting... Yours and Mine or Mine and Yours?

This cat painting is my latest piece, 6" x 6", in acylics on a fat, gallery wraped canvas.  Could be a portrait, but it's not...it's not a commission.

This year will be different from all of my other years as an artist; this year will be the one where I sell "live and in person" at shows and so I am painting what I like and hoping to find someone who likes it as much as I do!

This is so different from relying on commissions, only.  Before I start a cat or dog commission, it's been sold and the client has had as much input into the decisions surrounding it as they want.  I KNOW they will love it because it stars their pet or kid.

Art like this?  A little on the scary side!

But it's very rewarding, too.  There's something about just reaching deep inside myself and pulling out what I want, what I like, what I hope to accomplish that's exhilerating...sink or swim!

My gut feeling is that there is an "audience" for this type of work from me, but that means putting on my salesgirl cap and finding them.  It is a total reversal of "ownership" from commissions.  I feel like commissions are yours, then mine, then back to you.  With painting on the hope of selling, it's mine and it's yours. Hopefully.  So a key comfort zone portion is gone.

I think, though, that growth is so totally necessary for artists.  I have seen the by-products of artists who never take a chance, who are painting or drawing exactly the same way they did 15 or 20 years ago because it worked for them then.  They can't see the staleness and lack of verve in the art itself and blame the economy or other artists charging less than they do or Chinese copyists or too much competition or something outside themselves.  I don't want to fall into that trap.  I truly believe there's a home for art that's exciting and fresh and comes from the heart and YES, takes a bit of a chance.  You'll notice this isn't my usual medium, it's acrylics on canvas.  And I don't know about you, but I LOVE THIS!!!  Robin

My Commission Dog, Cat, Pet Portrait Site is http://robinzebley/
This piece and others like it are in my shop at Etsy or by contacting me.
My up to the minute Facebook Page is http://facebook.com/artistrobinzebley

I welcome your comments!!

Cat Painting, Horse Painting & Pet Portrait Gift Certificate

  While I work on pet portrait commissions with a Santa deadline, I decided to give ebay a shot with a few of my small painted pieces.  I have no idea at all what the market is there now.  So I have listed a few things rather than have them sitting here waiting for me to do a show or sell them in another way.  It will be fun to see if they sell, I priced them well below what I think I could sell them for in an "in person" venue, but on ebay, I think the question is whether anyone will even see them in the mountains of items there.  There's lots of marketing techniques to build up following there, but since I listed these 2, I got another commission and don't have time to market and increase visibility there.  But no harm, you never know.  Here's where they are on ebay, if you'd like to bid, please do!  All the details are on there, they are acrylic on gallery wrapped canvases.

Like I said, it will be a challenge to get that commission in under their Christmas tree on time, so have to curb all of my online work for a bit.  Now, an interesting thing has happened...I've been getting emails telling me "time to paint for galleries" from art friends I respect.  I don't know.  I like the contact between me and the people who buy my work.  But it's meant as a compliment, and I do appreciate it.   And of course, I'd have to double my prices, since galleries get 50%.  So a lot to think about, and I do appreciate any and a, but first things first.  AND I really have bake those Christmas cookies....how about you?

The Rhythm of the Art Life

When I typed for lawyers, my day was mapped out for me.  Half an hour to and from, an hour for lunch and caged in a cube in between just doing as I was told.  The little time I had at home was pretty much taken up with chores and flopping exhausted on the couch.    While my art is now my fulltime "job", utilizing the time efficiently has been a struggle for me.  As any self promoting artist knows, the marketing end is very time consuming.  And I am learning how to make my art a small business, so I must devote time to that, as well.  Here's some things I've learned: 

• I do my best art with a fresh eye.  Two hours at a stretch is the max for me.  I've been hard on myself for not spending more time at a stretch, til I realized that quantity at one sitting does not make quality.
• I like media that can be stopped and restarted.  Colored pencils are so easy for this.  Also oil based printing inks.  I don't like the media dictating when I can work and when I can't and that's my main complaint about oils. 
• I need to get away.  A lot.  Now that sounds crazy, I love making art!  But shorter intervals broken up by doing something else really makes me more efficient.  In the beginning, I did all my housechores, walked Otto, got cleaned up and did my emailing and blogging BEFORE I did my art.  I cleared the decks.  I have learned that doesn't work for me.  Better for me to draw for an hour, then take a shower and walk Otto, then draw for an hour and go to the bank and library, draw for an hour and go dig up the dahlias.
• Online is good.  I actually like to be online when I work.  So I take little mini breaks while I work to respond to a post, check facebook, tweet, etc.  So much of what I do online is art related and it keeps me pumped and inspired.
• Online is bad.  Talking politics, critiquing, responding to trolls accomplishes nothing for me and hours can go by.  Eliminating.
• Online is fun.  I love my online art and animal friends and enjoy keeping up with what they are doing, guilt-free.  I'm outgoing and friendly by nature, and the social aspect of "work" is the only thing I miss.  I get that coffebreak type camaraderie with colleagues whenever I feel like it.  Fun to talk shop.
• Online combines fun with marketing.  Twitter has been very good to me!
• Housework can be done half asleep.  Yes, it is true.  Don't have to think too hard, so saving those chores for when I'm beat works well!
• Rome wasn't built in a day.  I do a little marketing every day.  I'm seeing good results.  And I'm looking with a hard eye what works and what doesn't.
• Business before pleasure.  I'm taking the time to learn how to run this as a real business.  Sounds so not artsy, right?  But it is and I'm taking advantage of opportunities to learn how to do it.  Recordkeeping is not my strong point but I am learning how to do it properly.
• Today and tomorrow influence each other.  What I do with each day is influenced by what's on my calendar down the road.  Silly to spend time marketing when I have deadlines to hit.  I don't have time now, for instance, to take any life drawing workshops, but I will after the holidays.  The rhythm of the art day is influenced by the calendar.  Go with the flow of what the priorities are.
• Being organized helps me be more creative.  I have a paper notebook where I write everything down.  I also have a calendar where I note opportunities I might want to do in the future.  Don't have to keep things in my head and can relax.
• The art is the thing.  I can truly get lost in the marketing, blogging, etc.  Deadlines loom and as I said I do my best work in 2 hour max shots.  I am strict about them.  But recognizing how I work best helps me do my best work.  Gotta go now!  Robin

I'm Robin Zebley, specializing in portraits of pets, animal art and now portraits of children.  My pet portraits site is full of info and samples.  I love comments on my blog and would love to hear from you!  If you would like to contact me by email, it's HERE.

Little Bitty Art

A few years ago, I was painting and drawing tiny art cards and selling them on ebay. I love it! There's those who caution that selling on places like ebay or etsy could hurt, not help, your art career. But to me..part of having an art "career" is doing whatever I feel like! Here's a few samples, most of the photos are on a disk somewhere...


Plus, it meant I was drawing or painting every single day. Since they were "aceos" (3.5" x 2.5"), each piece took hours, not days. And it was so much fun to watch people fighting over my work! I was so lucky, 98% of my pieces sold, and almost 100 people got to own a piece of my original art at a VERY affordable price!
I honestly can't tell you why I stopped and I'm going to do them again. I don't know if there's still a market for them, but I'll find out! I think it complements, not competes with my pet portraits and woodcut prints. So tune in soon for new aceo-sized pieces.
Meanwhile, I am WAITING on pins and needles for my Yorkie portrait to be opened up by her "mom". Mailed it out to her summer home, so I'll post it as soon as she gets it. She does get first peek!Thanks for visiting my blog! I'm American Animal Artist, Robin Zebley. I'd love to draw or paint YOUR pet, my site is: HERE. Just email me and we'll get started! Click on the top right of this blog to see my woodcut prints of animals! And follow me! Just click on the "FOLLOWING" button on your right. I truly appreciate and value every visit, and hope you will pass my info on to anyone who might be interested! I depend so much on word of mouth...put on that thinking cap...hmmm...how about a gift? ....hmmmm!! :D If you'd like to read my whole blog, just click on the banner at the top. Thanks again.,Robin

Woodcut relief print cat PROOF- another feral kitty

Back to woodcut printing! I actually cut most of this in my fabulous woodcut printing class I took last fall at Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia. Our excellent teacher, Jeff Dentz, was so good at listening to what I saw in my mind's eye and helping me develop a plan to accomplish it on wood.

This is the proof. Which means, sort of a test run. I see more areas I want to develop, so there's more cutting ahead today.

While I like the woodgrain to show, I don't like the darkest stripe of woodgrain that goes right through the center of this guy's eye, making it look like he has no iris.

The dark stripe is where the wood is harder, and therefore, the ink doesn't sink in as much. To compensate, I'm going to go back in and cut deeper. Of course, the eyes are scary to cut, one mistake and the piece is trash.

This piece is 19 x 10, my largest piece yet and virtually lifesize. I really like working larger.

Anyway, I thought I'd show you what I'm up to. I'm also working on another children's portrait in colored pencil. And the big news is I took apart the vacuum cleaner and found the giant clog of shredded paper that Otto so kindly decorated the rug with!

Comments most welcome...especially before I start cutting again!

I'm American Artist, Robin Zebley. My pet portrait website is http://robinzebley.com ...stop on by!