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!

Orange still life colored pencil on pastelboard

Well, if it's still out in the Florida breeze, is it a still life?

Well, whatever. Here's the little (3.5" x 5") colored pencil drawing/painting on a new support I"m trying out, pastelboard. I love the sturdiness of it! I think next time I'll sand it a little to give it a bit less tooth. It was a little difficult to brush the color into the "lowlands" keeping the colors separated, but doable. On a normal sized piece that will be easy. I like how you can get put lights right over the darks, that will be so much easier on portraits for things like whiskers.

It does eat the pencils..but I think I"m going for the sanded surface now, it eliminates so much of the tedious first layers just establishing some color to get to do the real detail work.

Golden Retriever Rescue - the Story of Nolan

When I started out doing portraits, I needed some samples for my website and stumbled upon a fabulous photo of an older dog looking for a forever home in northern Texas. I wrote to the rescue for permission to draw him in colored pencil.

And here's what I drew. I loved Nolan for his smiling, cheerful face, despite the situation he found himself in.

From this portrait of Nolan, I have been honored to be commissioned to draw and paint a LOT of Golden Retrievers!!

Nolan was blessed, though...he DID find a forever home and lived his life happily with folks who loved him. He's since passed over the rainbow bridge, but he lives through art. Forever.

By the way, the rescue is in desperate straits to raise some money for rescue...here's their link. If you can find a way to donate a few dollars, I know it will go to great use! Here's their link: http://goldenretrievers.org/

Otto and his dad and I are going on vacation. I'll be bringing along my paints and woodcut tools and hope to have some artwork to show you when I get back! Meanwhile, if you'd like to see a selection of other golden retriever portraits, check out my pet portrait website: http://robinzebley.com . If you have a golden, or any other breed and you'd like a portrait of your special pal, email me and we can get started as soon as I get home!

Otto - the "boxer - bull mastiff" who turned into a pitbull

Well, what do you think, breedwise? We had recently lost Chester, our beagle/basset hound, and wanted some company for Gus, our little "mutt terrier". Gus loved big dogs, ignored little ones her size, so we set out to adopt a bigger dog. Although we had healthy, happy dogs for years, we couldn't adopt! We lived in a rowhouse and most rescues required a fenced in yard. I have very strong feelings about city dogs and what I see as a lethal requirement that only folks with fenced in yards can adopt a dog in need. But that's another story. We found Otto in an ad in the paper at a pet store that specialized in mixed breeds. He was a "boxer bull mastiff" Well...here's how he turned out. When he was a puppy and people said he was a pitbull, I'd say "He's NOT a pitbull! He's a boxer/bull mastiff!"...but obviously, after 9 years, I've accepted him as he is!!! He's the best! He thinks the world was created to make friends with. I just hope whoever bought his brothers and sisters didn't reject them when they realized the unscrupulous pet store sold them a breed that needs very good parenting.

I'm pet portrait artist Robin Zebley. My site is robinzebley.com If you'd like to see more of this blog, just click on the banner at the top. To get updates, click on "follow my blog" to your right. Thanks for visiting, and I'd appreciate if you'd forward my links to others you know might be interested! Robin

Brutus - You're my Inspiration!

There's one colored pencil drawing I can't part with, it hangs in my home and goes to shows with me. It's at the top of this blog. It's my very first colored pencil portrait, Brutus, my niece Valerie's dog and the story of how he inspired me to be an animal artist is really fun! My husband, John, and I flew down to Florida to see Valerie and her husband Tony and their first baby, Anthony. We were ooohing and ahhhhing over Anthony, camera in hand, when I spotted poor Brutus, pouting on a leather chair. He looked so pathetic and so comical!! I shot this photo of him. I had been experiementing with colored pencils as a fine art medium. I liked the way you could "paint" with the lush and vivid colors while getting great detail. When I got home to Pennsylvania and was printing out the photos, well....I took prismacolors to paper.

Actually, this is the very first serious piece of art I made. As you can see, the photo has issues. Not cropped nicely, with background clutter and too much flash from the chair. It was the first time I made choices about what to include and what to leave out and how to convey this story.

Anthony is now six and an artist himself (and magician!) And Brutus has stopped pouting and loves Anthony as much as we humans do! I'd love to hear your reaction to my story! Send me an email or comment here. Robin -- Oh! And you can see more of pet portraits I've done on my website: http://robinzebley.com