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Work In Progress

New on the easel

Posted on by Zara Toms
I made a start on Harper's portrait yesterday afternoon :). A stunning fox red Labrador. The reference photograph I have been given to use for this drawing has a lovely amount of chest. The lighting is lovely so it seemed fitting to add a natural background and continue the chest all the way to the bottom of the paper. This was all designed in a photo editor first and this was the layout the clie...
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Charlie in progress..

Posted on by Zara Toms
On the easel at the moment is Charlie. A very handsome Cocker Spaniel who has sat very regal like for his photograph used for this portrait. I always enjoy doing full body portraits and this is no exception. Capturing his pose along with his facial expression seemed best suited for this piece :). Tomorrow's blog post will be Charlie's finished portrait :D
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Planning my layouts and mock ups

Posted on by Zara Toms
I have recently added pastels to my medium list. I LOVE LOVE LOVE pastels. How I haven't used them before now seems crazy and I am so excited for 2020 and the commission I get to do with them. For my commissions where necessary I will create many layouts and various mock ups for my clients to see how their portrait will look and enable them choose their favourite. PastelsFor my pastel portr...
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Frame chosen!

Posted on by Zara Toms
I love being part of the framing process wherever possible because seeing my portraits framed really does finish them off. I'm so lucky to have a fantastic framer just up the road from me who always does such an exceptional job (Ace Framing & Art Gallery). Tilley & Cresta's drawing will have a gorgeous double mount and a stunning wooden style frame. It compliments the portrait perfectl...
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First pastel pet portrait!

Posted on by Zara Toms
My nan helped out so much with the wedding; hand making all the table decorations, making the invitations and walking me down the aisle that I wanted to give her something special. I recently added pastels to my material list and I love them! I really wasn't sure when I first attempted the medium. This is my 4th ever attempt and I am so pleased with how they are coming out. A4 (8.3" x 11.7") P...
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Third pastel piece!

Posted on by Zara Toms
Pastels are growing on me! I am so happy I have stuck with it and learning how to use them. I'm trying different papers and love them. From my previous posts you may have read that I really struggled with the texture of the pencils on the textured paper. It made me feel the same how nails down a chalk board effects people.. Weird I know! But I am forcing myself to ignore it and this is gradual...
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Penguin Family

Posted on by Zara Toms
12" x 16" Acrylic on pre-stretched canvas* Original for sale * Now that I have completed my Christmas pet portrait commissions as mentioned in yesterdays post I have this time to focus on some wildlife pieces. The planning..I have had this portrait planned for a couple of months. I sourced many reference photographs for this and adapted it to create something unique. I knew I wanted a glac...
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Robin drawing started!

Posted on by Zara Toms
Ok .. 2 days ago my blog post was mentioning I needed to draw a Robin. I wasn't intending on drawing one this soon but I had a beautiful reference photograph to work from and couldn't resist. I also have a winter themed Robin planned and have just about finished designing a layout from multiple references to create something entirely unique. Reference photograph taken by Albert Horsborough ...
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Shetland cart update

Posted on by Zara Toms
Fun fun fun!This portrait has been so much fun to work on. I cannot wait to share the finished photograph with you. I wish I could take good scans of my artwork. Getting the lighting right for the photographs isn't an easy task. But the scanner doesn't pick up the lighter details and it can make the drawing look really bleached out. It may be that I don't have a scanner with a high enough resolut...
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