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.
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I recently completed this stunning portrait of Willow the Springer Spaniel, as a surprise portrait from a husband to his wife, for their special 1 year wedding anniversary. The reference photograph was a brilliant composition to begin with, and I knew the painting would be great fun to do. My acrylic paintings are created to offer vibrancy and wherever possible, texture and as the ball was at the forefront of the painting I mixed a moulding paste in with the paints to give the fluffy texture of a tennis ball. I also added texture into Willow's fur using the moulding paste too to add interest when viewing the painting at different angles. This portrait was created on a 22mm Gessobord so that it could be hung without a frame and the edges were also painted too. The painting was sealed with a few layers of Satin Varnish and 2 wall protector feet were added to the bottom corners on the back of the painting for added protection. The great thing about these 22mm board portraits are that you can choose at a later date to have a frame added if you prefer or keep them unframed for that contemporary feel. I really enjoyed creating this portrait and was pleased to hear Willow's Mum was pretty happy with her surprise when she received it too! Karen, I was the lucky one to receive this beautiful painting. I can't tell you what a lovely gift it is, thank you so much for capturing Willow's character so well. I absolutely love it, it's beautiful and one to be treasured for many years to come. Murphie - Large Traditional Heart Memorial portraitMurphie 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. I was able to recreate her portrait by providing an equal balance of colour and detail, whilst ensuring perspectives were kept in check.
Bailey - 10" x 12" Coloured pencil pet portraitBailey 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! Obe - 11" x 14" Boxer Dog Acrylic paintingI 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. 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!
Thinking of booking your own commission?You can take a look at my COLOURED PENCIL ART GALLERY to see more pet portraits created in coloured pencils and if you wish to find out more about booking your own commission with me, you can find out more HERE. You can also fill in the BOOKING form to request a no-obligation quote or place your booking. Should you need help at any time, feel free to get in touch: karenmberisfordart@gmail.com or call me on: 07854 677416
I have begun a couple of new Acrylic paintings to join my ever growing collection. After painting our Springer Spaniel swimming, having 2 Labradors also I wanted to create a trio of paintings of them and after thoroughly enjoying painting the water in Casper's painting, I decided that this would be the theme of the trio and so went off to Woodhorn's QEII park here in Northumberland to get some photographs of him. Haze is rather excitable and went off jumping in to the water on numerous occasions, which caused him to sprain his tail! poor boy! Luckily, it was ok after a few days and it did not bother him much, so I got a lovely, natural photograph of him enjoying his swim on a sunny Sunday! Here is progress so far of the rough base layers, this is also a 11" x 14" on Gessobord. This is the initial stages, where I apply the contrasts and loosely mark out the detail around the face and in the fur.
If you wish to follow progress of this painting, click the link below to visit the dedicated page. I recently ordered a couple of Giclee Prints of two of my Big Cat Artworks. The Sumatran Tiger (left) was created in Acrylics and the Amur Leopard was created in Coloured Pencils. Any print I offer for sale has been printed on archival paper and mounted using a Traditional hanging method also using Archival and Acid free products and have a lifespan of around 75+ years! Every print also comes with a hand signed Certificate of Authenticity. HOW MUCH DOES A PRINT COST? I offer 2 sizes of print at the following prices: A4 fits into a standard 12" x 16" frame COST: £45.00 A3 fits into a standard 16" x 20" frame COST: £60.00 Both have FREE delivery within the UK (please check P & P costs for International) If you have found a piece of Art on my website that you would love to own but do not have the budget for, a print is a cheaper alternative. Take a look on my ART FOR SALE page or the GICLEE PRINTS page, both will show which Original Artworks can be purchased as a print.
DELIVERY TIMES: If I have stock available, delivery is around 2 - 3 days, if a print is out of stock, it will be placed on order for you and delivery can take between 1 - 2 weeks. 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 paintingsI 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 portraitsCurrently, 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
I am currently building up a brand new portfolio for my ACRYLIC paintings. My previous paintings were all created on a weave canvas, and my new support boards are smooth, allowing for fine detail. If you are looking to book your bespoke commission with me, you can get in touch at: karenmberisfordart@gmail.com or fill in my BOOKING/QUOTE FORM
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