Latest News for the UK Artist Karen M Berisford - Pets, Portraits & Wildlife Art

A customer testimonial - Red Fox Labrador called Dougal

29/5/2022

It is always lovely to receive feedback from clients. Every single one of my commissions are created with care and you do get attached to the pet. You know you're unlikely to ever meet them in the flesh, but could pick them out in a crowd, having spent so many hours staring at and creating, their beautiful faces with all their tiny markings and (im)perfections.

Framed drawing of a Red Fox Labrador called Dougal. Completed as a commission by Northumberland artist Karen M Berisford

A thank you from a happy customer is a celebratory one. The fact that someone takes the time to send an email and to tell me how well the portrait was received, always brings a great sigh of relief knowing that they appreciated the time spent on the portrait. I thought I would share it here.
Here is the framed portrait of Dougal, a Red Fox Labrador completed in coloured pencils. What a beautiful dog he is.

If you want to see more of my coloured pencil art (including Rua, Dougal's sister), click here.

If you are thinking of booking your own bespoke commission, find out more here.

A BIG THANK YOU to Karen for her fantastic piece of work to complete
the portrait of Dougal.

This was a gift for my cousin and he loved it! It's got pride of place on his wall!

Karen has managed to capture Dougal exactly with the exquisite colour and
detail and professional finish.

I couldn't recommend Karen's service enough, she has been proactive in communication and I felt part of the commission throughout the process.

Thank you again, Mike

A coloured pencil drawing of a Red Fox Labrador bespoke pet commission

Tweaking the final detail.

VIEW DOUGAL'S PROGRESS PAGE

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below, or share this post with friends and family.

Karen
www.karenmberisford.co.uk

Busy few months with Commissions

22/1/2018

Last year (2017), I started receiving Christmas orders as early as September, which kept me busy throughout the season. From mid-October onwards, I worked 10-12 hours a day, creating a schedule list for each day to ensure that all the portraits were completed on time. Some orders were from overseas, and I had to make sure that any frames ordered were received well in advance as framers tend to be very busy during the festive season. My goal was to finish all the orders a week before I travelled to my hometown of Chesterfield, but I worked late into the night before my journey.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly, and the person who commissioned it met me at the train station in Chesterfield to collect the portrait of Star the Chow Chow. The painting had travelled with me for six hours on a bus, coach, and train inside my suitcase. The lady who commissioned the painting gave me a lovely bunch of flowers. I was delighted to see the recipients' positive comments on Christmas day after receiving their beloved pets' portrait. Click on any of the images to visit the progress pages.

I've completed all the Christmas commissions and took a well-deserved break to recharge. Now, I'm back in the studio, creating new articles and planning exciting art workshops for 2018 on my Step by Step Art website. There are numerous tasks to accomplish behind the scenes. If you're interested in booking a personalized commission or are an artist searching for helpful articles, mini-tutorials, and a chance to attend a 1-day art workshop with me, click on the links below to visit my website.

Here's hoping 2018 is a wonderful year for you!

Karen

Find Out About our Commissions

Visit the Step by Step Art Website

Currently on the Easel....Mr & Mrs Barn Owl at Cresswell, Northumberland

7/3/2017

I was approached by a returning customer from the USA to create a Coloured pencil portrait of a Barn Owl and offered to create a few mock ups of compositions before I began as I always do. As a lover of photography I have a large photo reference library of various animals and birds including Barn Owls and so put together 5 different compositions one of which was the 2 Owls on the wall which became the basis of the portrait. The second stage was creating a few mock ups of the Owls within different backgrounds and finally, with the Owls and background in place the last collection of mock ups made were with various walls for the Owls to stand on which were in focus and added interest to the final composition. Many of my Wildlife portraits are created this way.

Early progress of a Coloured pencil portrait of Barn Owls on a wall

The first stages

Progress of a Coloured pencil Barn Owl on tan Ursus paper

Mr Owl so far

I chose a tan toned paper to work on which matches the warm tones of the Barn owls as well as giving strength in colour to the lighter tones such as the whites. The tonal background will be created using Derwent's Coloursoft range pencils which are soft and blend well for great effect and the Owls & the wall will be created using the caran Dache Luminance pencils which are ideal for very fine detail and strength of colour. A base layer of tones and loose detail is first applied to the whole of the portrait before I then apply the stronger & finer details to completion.

Coloured pencil Barn Owl head portrait in progress

Loose details of the male Owls face

Drawing moss on a wall within a Barn Owl portrait created with Coloured pencils

The moss - a good 3 hours in....

The Barn Owl at Cresswell, Northumberland (UK)

This portrait is based on actual Barn Owl territory at Cresswell in Northumberland (UK). It is a 40 minute cycle ride from where I live along the beautiful coastal route of Lynemouth through to Cresswell pond, this place regularly has Photographers set up waiting for this little guy to make an appearance. Sitting in the undergrowth of the wide open field which connects to a lagoon where you can regularly see Avocets, Oystercatchers & even Otters on the rare occasion, is an area overlooking the coast and is ideal for field mice and voles. I wait patiently as I see him in the distance, flying silently and hovering on numerous occasions, not at all phased by the long line of photographers with their huge cameras on tripods waiting to get some great photos themselves. There is something breathtaking about seeing such a Bird in the Wild and feeling honoured that this Owl continues it's daily journey passing close by whilst I click the rapid fire button on my camera. Here are some of those photos.

Christmas Commissions 2016 - Pets & Portraits

29/12/2016

This christmas, I was extremely busy with commissions. I had five to complete in the space of 6 weeks, which was a real challenge. Normally, one portrait can take 3 - 5 weeks each, so it was a very busy time. All were completed and delivered out to customers in ample time, and I have included all the commission details and final portraits below, alongside customer testimonials.

Springer Spaniel sat on grass in front of border plants

Buddy the Springer Spaniel - 11" x 14"

Buddy's portrait was created using 5 different photographs. The body taken from this photo, the head from another, the tail from a third, the background from a fourth and some of the background flowers from a fifth image, all cut and pasted together to create the mock up of the reference image. Doing this can throw a whole lot of problems into the mix as different images can have different lighting, luckily I was able to ensure the correct balance as I was provided with lots of great quality photos that i could pull detail from. As you would suspect the grass took the longest as each blade of grass was applied individually and this was done in 3 layers so individually repeated 3 times!

First stages of a Springer Spaniel sat on grass Acrylic painting

The base layer - Very messy but important

Acrylic painting of a Springer Spaniel sat on grass with beautiful border flowers in the background

The final completed painting

"I'm sitting looking at Buddy in pride of place on the wall, photo attached! It is absolutely lovely and it had the desired effect on Steve when he unwrapped - there were tears!! Everyone that has seen it has said how amazing it is with the amount of fine detail and so Buddy. If I manage to get a decent photo of Buddy next to it I will send it on! Thank you once again, it is lovely to have a painting of Buddy forever."
Esther

view Buddy's page

Springer Spaniel jumping through long grass on a sunny day photograph

Dudley the Springer Spaniel - 9" x 12" in Acrylics

This was a lovely composition but a tiny photo meaning that it pixelated when zooming in and the detail was lost in the face, especially around the eyes. The Commissionee loved the composition so much that I decided to see what I could do and asked if she could send some close up photos of Dudley taken in a less sunny environment and using all the photos together, I elaborated on the background/foreground somewhat and toned down the colouration on his head whilst still keeping the favoured stance. This was a challenge but I really loved the composition too and was happy with the final painting.

Base layers of a springer spaniel acrylic painting

Loose undertones preparing for the layering

Acrylic painting on Ampersand Gessobord of a Springer spaniel running through long grass in the sun

The final painting

"Just wanted to let you know that mum loves her portrait and we all cried our eyes out when we first saw it. What you've done is so special and we couldn't have asked for a better painting to remember him by. It captures his brilliant personality so well. I'll definitely be recommending you to my spaniel loving friends!
Picture of framed painting to follow soon!
Andrea xx."

view dudley's page

Photo of a Japanese Akita looking at the camera

The customer only had a few photos of Kita, having recently lost her, and I was limited to flash photos. The reference image was a good pose, but as flash distorts colour and detail, I had to research the breed and add a little artistic licence. The image was also slightly out of focus, but I found that I was able to apply a lot of detail by overworking the fur, and the final portrait was far more detailed than I thought possible. The final painting was framed in a black moulding called ASHGATE, which accentuated the light tones in Kita's fur.

Base layers of an acrylic painting of a Japanese Akita dog

Japanese Akita acrylic painting highly detailed with green background

"Hi Karen, I just wanted you to know that I absolutely love my painting of Kita. Thank you so much, you have done the most amazing portrait of him. He was my best friend and my little boy and the painting has been hung in the living room so we can all admire him everyday! Thank you again xx"

visit kita's page

Couple and their French Bulldog at Pennan in Aberdeenshire

Diarmid E-mailed me a great photo of himself, his girlfriend Max and their little French Bulldog Kyla stood in front of the famous red phone box from the film 'Local Hero' when they visited Pennan in Aberdeenshire. As the phone box only covered half the background and the other half would add nothing to the composition it was decided to leave the background out completely and simply write 'Pennan' in the corner of the portrait. As mobile phone images tend to 'flatten' detail, the fineness of the Coloured pencils brought back the sharpness of detail and I really enjoyed creating this portrait - I always love a challenge!

Progress of a coloured pencil portrait of a couple and their french Bulldog

Working on the undertones and building up the tonal layers

Highly detailed Coloured pencil portrait of a man and his girlfriend with their French Bulldog

The final portrait treated with an application of UV fixative

"Hi Karen , Hope you had a lovely Christmas. Wanted to drop you a note to say that Max absolutely loved the portrait! She couldn't believe how well you'd captured the detail from the photo and was thrilled to pieces! We've already recommended you to friends and family and am sure we'll use your amazing skills again in the the future. Have a great New Year!! Diarmid"

visit Diarmid's page

Bearded Collies duo female and male photograph

This portrait was the last drawing I completed for Christmas and depicts 2 Bearded Collie's called Pyppa (L) & William (R) completed in Coloured pencils. I had taken some photos of them both a year earlier but as William (R) is a rather nervous little boy, I struggled to get any close ups of him. trying to distinguish between them after a year was a challenge too! I was provided with a few great quality photos which I could also use to add in their eyes a little more too.

progress of Bearded Collie's coloured pencil portrait

Coloured pencil portrait of Bearded collies on white paper

"Thank you so much for my beautiful portrait, you've really excelled yourself this time, its amazing!"

Exciting new articles at Step by Step Art including the first coloured pencil tutorial!

22/9/2016

After 10 days away from the art studio, visiting family in my old home town of Chesterfield, as well as fitting in a well needed holiday down south in Dover, I am now back and catching up on work. Before I went away, I finalised 5 new articles that have been created within the webpages of my official art tutoring website 'Step by Step Art'. Here's what you can find within it's pages - take a look at our ARTICLES page to find even more.

Click to visit the web page

Step by Step Coloured Pencil Tutorial
Snow Leopard Eye

Here is the very first step by step tutorial of a Snow Leopard eye created in coloured pencils. You can use any coloured pencil range, and is aimed at those who are looking to take their pencil art to the next level, or even those who have never picked up a pencil before and is looking for a challenge. This tutorial shows you how to create a highly detailed coloured pencil drawing of a Snow Leopard eye.
The paper is Art Spectrum Black Colourfix and the coloured pencils used were the Caran d'Ache Luminance range. You can use any black paper and any pencil range to trial this out - why not give it a go and E-mail me your work to add to the page, I would love to see them.

Prismacolor Premier Coloured Pencils

Prismacolor pencils shown in Black, True Blue, Crimson Red, Orange, Canary Yellow & White

Visit the Webpage

Prismacolor Premier pencils are probably America's most popular coloured pencils, after buying and trying them out, find out what my thoughts are on these pencils.

Clairfontaine Pastelmat review

Colour collection of Clairfontaine Pastelmat paper in 12 different colours

Visit the Webpage

Have you tried Pastelmat paper, or are you looking for a new paper for your art? This review covers the use of this paper with various mediums, see the results.

Derwent Graphitint Pencils Tutorial

A tin of 24 Derwent Graphitint pencils

Visit the Webpage

Just exactly what are those Derwent Graphitint pencils are all about? Are you looking to try them out but not sure how to use them? This article & tutorial may help.

Starting Out With Acrylic Paints

Are you thinking of trying out a new medium or looking to take up acrylic paints as a complete beginner to art? You can find lots of information on what product requirements you need as well as some helpful hints and tips to help you get the best out of your new medium. Most importantly when buying an acrylic paint range I explain what the differences are between cheap/student acrylics & professional/artists quality paints.

Acrylics are a great medium as they offer fast drying results with great colour vibrancy which can be applied to achieve an oil style painting or a watercolour, versatility for everyone!

Click to view the Webpage

There are more new articles being created, information of which will be included in our latest newsletter - Click the link below and sign up today, if you wish to receive the latest information direct to your E-mail*

Newsletters are sent out every quarter or whenever art workshops are available to view, subscribers will NEVER be spammed by us, and your E-mail address will only be used through the Step by Step Art website and NEVER sold on to third parties.

why not visit OUR WEBSITE AND read more of our articles

Recently completed Commissions of a Pusscat, Jack Russell/Pug & a Fawn Boxer Dog

15/8/2016

Murphie - Large Traditional Heart Memorial portrait

Murphie sadly passed away in December 2015 at the age of 20! Her owner was looking for something special as a memorial to Murphie and came across my acrylic portraits known as Traditional Hearts. There were only a few photos of Murphie, so choosing the best one was tricky. Black & white animals can be difficult, as getting the right balance of dark and light in a photo, is a challenge.

Black and white shorthaired cat acrylic painting on a heart shaped sheet of MDF

Close up details of the yellow eyes of a black cat acrylic painting

Black and white shorthair acrylic painting being held by the Artist Karen M Berisford

I was able to recreate her portrait by providing an equal balance of colour and detail, whilst ensuring perspectives were kept in check.

Acrylic painting of Murphie the british shorthair traditional heart in situ

Finally at home

"Murphie arrived home safe and sound this afternoon and what can I say. The photos were fantastic but she is even better now I can see her in "close up". I always knew it would be hard to lose Murphie after having her in my life for 20 years but I didn't fully appreciate just how big of a hole she would leave behind. Your painting has given me little bit of my girl back and I can't seem to tear my eyes away from it at the moment. I attach a photo so that you can see that she arrived unscathed and thank you again for everything. You made the process so easy from start to finish and you took good care of my girl and have created a truly fitting memorial to her and for that I am so grateful"

Bailey - 10" x 12" Coloured pencil pet portrait

Bailey is the second portrait completed in Coloured pencils for his Mum after heartbreakingly losing both Bailey and Casey (the first portrait) in close succession of each other and was gifted both portraits by a good friend. Bailey was originally sat on a green stripey rug but I thought it would suit the portraits if they were both sat on the same wooden

" Bailey just arrived! Well, about 15 minutes of tape removal ago. We are so chuffed! Bailey was loved by all of us, but loves my husband best, he was over the moon! We are blessed by your talent!
I just love him! Thank you so much! xxxx"

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT COLOURED PENCIL COMMISSIONS

Obe - 11" x 14" Boxer Dog Acrylic painting

I was asked to create an acrylic painting of a Boxer dog called Obie, as a surprise gift from friends online to a lady in the USA. The reference photo was a beautiful pose and of great quality, so I was able to gather lots of detail to be able to create this special memorial painting of him.

Acrylic painting of a Boxer dog called Obie

Detail in an acrylic painting of a Boxer dog portrait

My acrylic paintings are created using a mixture of vibrant colour and sometimes I will include a medium or two, which provides texture. The background texture was created with moulding paste and applied with a palette knife. Nearly 40 Facebook friends clubbed together to book this surprise portrait, and it was lovely to hear how happy the recipient was upon receiving such a thoughtful gift from great friends!

Texture in an acrylic painting of a Fawn Boxer dog called Obie

Boxer dog acrylic painting in a teak coloured frame

"Hi Karen, Your painting brought tears to my eyes and a huge smile to my lips. Thank you! I love it. He's home and on my wall."

ACRYLIC Paintings

A busy week in the Newbiggin Art Studio

10/5/2016

It has been quiet on both my social media & news blog, with progress posts somewhat lacking. However, I have been quietly busy with drawings and paintings recently and wanted to share some updates.

Acrylic paintings

Acrylic paintings of a White Boxer pup, a daughter and Mother portrait and a Springer Spaniel in water painting on Gessobord

I am working on a double portrait of my friend and her daughter for their upcoming birthdays in May and June. I have been layering the skin tones to create a realistic effect, and I still have some work to do. I used Burnt Umber as a base for the hair and added lighter strands. The stripey top is still in progress, but I plan to finish the painting by the weekend. I also have paintings of a Springer Spaniel and a Boxer dog near completion, but these are not commissions, so I will leave them untouched for a few weeks while I focus on paid work.

Coloured pencil portraits

Coloured pencil portrait of a Jack Russell/pug cross

Bailey - Jack Russell/Pug cross

Coloured pencil drawing of an Airedale/Paterdale dog

Dave - Airedale/Paterdale cross

Currently, I am working on two commissions using coloured pencils. One is a crossbreed of Airedale and Paterdale, while the other is Jack Russell and Pug. The Jack Russell, named Bailey, is in the early stages, adding the final details once all layers are complete. Meanwhile, I am adding final touches to Dave's Airedale portrait's background and fine details.
If you wish to view more of my pencil drawings, you can find more at the COLOURED PENCIL GALLERY

On The Easel - Airedale/Paterdale Terrier cross in Coloured pencils

26/4/2016

Progress of a coloured pencil drawing of an Airedale/Paterdale Terrier cross dog called Dave

Airedale/paterdale terrier being completed in coloured pencils by UK artist

This is the latest pencil portrait I have been working on recently. This is an Airedale/Paterdale Terrier cross dog called Dave, being completed in coloured pencils. I was lucky enough to meet Dave and take some photographs of him, and got some great images, with lots of natural colour and detail, which is highly recommended.

I always begin every pencil portrait by laying down the base tones. Once all these layers have been applied, I then begin by adding in the fine detail to achieve the realism in all my portraits.

Coloured pencil portraits are created on acid free, archival paper using lightfast quality pencils and if framed correctly, a pencil portrait can last a lifetime, if protected & cared for correctly. You can find more details about my portraits, on my COMMISSIONS page or fill in the form to request a no-obligation quote.

Looking for advice on which coloured pencil brand(s) to buy?

19/7/2015

Help and advice is at hand if so....

For those who are not aware, I also have an official 'Step by Step Art' website that allows you to book an art workshop, or read one of my articles, that cover a plethora of art related subjects including coloured pencils, paper reviews and pastel reviews too. The article section is still in the early stages but I will continue to add more articles as often as possible. My latest article focus's on coloured pencil brands, as I trial a selection of coloured pencil brands, which I currently have in my personal collection.

Berol Karisma, derwent coloursoft, Caran Dache Luminance and Faber Castell Polychromos pencil image

Read the Article by clicking the image above - opens in a new window

This article shows the 5 most important factors that I look for when selecting my professional pencil range:

I need to have a range that allows multiple layering
I need them to blend well for backgrounds and skin tones
Will work well with fixative
The pencils must be extremely lightfast and the colours strong
Need soft and hard pencils for different areas of my work

The 5 'tests' shown in this article includes:

Black & White Test
Hardness V's Softness
10 layer test - 'Mixed' layering
Fixative test
Blendability

This article also gives information on the importance of paper weight (gsm), information on each pencil including costs (GBP) and lightfast ratings as well as my own thoughts on 'adapting to coloured pencils' . I hope that this will be of help to all coloured pencil artists out there from those starting out looking to buy their first range to those interested in how each brand compares to the others.

The very popular Prismacolor Premier & Verithin ranges will also be added to this article very soon and an adaptation of this article (with even more information in) will be available to view and purchase (download or hard copy) from the USA's Colored pencil Magazine 'Student' version in the next few months.
Find out more about this magazine here: Colored pencil magazine - Student Edition

Read the Article 'Comparing Coloured pencils' here

USA's Coloured Pencil Magazine - June's featured Artist

29/5/2015

I was approached by the editor of America's Colored pencil Magazine to be their featured Artist in the June issue (2015), this is a wonderful magazine for Coloured pencil enthusiasts and I was honoured!
Most of my Artwork included in the magazine was created especially for this purpose and as such, some pieces of Art have never been seen before. The cover image was actually the completed recce piece of a Coloured pencil Workshop that I ran last year in Chesterfield and completed only for use in the Magazine. If you would like to purchase a copy you can do so in 2 ways - via a Printed copy (1 - 2 weeks delivery) or download the digital copy right away - prices are as follows:

Printed copy $5.99 £3.87* Delivery (1 - 2 weeks) £2.96*
Digital copy $2.99 £1.93*

*prices may vary due to exchange rate

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