Meet Harry

Posted on by Zara Toms
🐾💕 Harry 💕🐾Harry was 1 of 6 beautiful dogs I had the pleasure of painting on the large 29" x 21" acrylic on canvas I shared with you a little while ago. One thing that stood out in the reference photo I had for this was the expression in his eyes. His fur colour and the curls on his ears and the top of his head were one of the highlights that I will remember when ...
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New video – Alfie’s 2nd layer :D

Posted on by Zara Toms
I have just uploaded the second part of this three part series focusing on Alfie's 10" x 12" acrylic painting. As with the first video I mention the brushes I am using, the process and tips. I am new to making videos of this content so if there are specific areas you wish for me to cover, or improvements I could make please let me know. Click the thumbnail below to watch the full video :)
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New help video, break is down :)

Posted on by Zara Toms
I mentioned during Alfie's graphite post that I have decided to break down Alfie's painting into three video. Three stages showing how I layer and tackle the portrait like this. Explaining what materials I am using etc. This video is much slower than my other videos and you can see how I am using the brush and laying the paint down. If these videos are of use I would love to hear in the comments ...
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Ivy’s video is up :D

Posted on by Zara Toms
I've said it many times but this was one of my favourite portraits to capture. I got to photograph Ivy and meeting her was a real pleasure. She's a sweetie and I hope I captured her gentle nature. Very kind eyes and the softest curly coat! https://youtu.be/Syw1Oi_SGPk Music by bensound.com My full time videos are sped up a lot. Just to make them shorter and more viewable but if you would ...
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Alfie work in progress..

Posted on by Zara Toms
I have been working on a sweet Westie called Alfie. I have the pleasure of capturing him twice! Once for this A4 graphite drawing and then a 10" x 12" acrylic on canvas. I like to keep my clients up to date with regular photo updates. If it was me I would love to see it come together. In some cases they prefer for it to be left as a surprise but majority of the time photo updates are appreci...
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Varnishing my paintings

Posted on by Zara Toms
Vanishing your paintings is really important. I have only ever used one type of varnish and as it's worked so well and I am pleased with the results I've never needed to change. Why I use spray varnish..My preference has always been spray varnishes. You can purchased liquid varnish which you pour onto your work and then brush across evenly. This has never been a method I wanted to try for a c...
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Lexie is mounted :)

Posted on by Zara Toms
The portrait I did of my Sprocker Lexie has been double mounted and is ready to be framed. This is mounted to fit a 16" x 20" frame and by the time we get it on the wall will be a nice centre piece in the dining room. The acrylic painting I am working on of Lexie and Maisey is huge and that will need a lot of wall space. Being 21" x 29" it's big! I thoroughly enjoyed working on this backgr...
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Chico spam! :D

Posted on by Zara Toms
Chico is my 4 year old Cob that came from the Blue Cross. We are hoping that its 1 more home visit before we can officially adopt him. He has been with us for a year now and the difference in him is remarkable. There have been a few teething issues in terms of some behavioural things. Nothing dangerous but just him being a baby. So he used to trot everywhere! Never wanted to walk at all. He ha...
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New Giraffe planned :)

Posted on by Zara Toms
Last year I did a coloured pencil drawing of a Giraffe. It was a reference photo I took myself during a trip to my local zoo. This next Giraffe piece I have planned will be completely different and I think, although not 100% sure, that this will be in acrylics on canvas. Here is the Giraffe I did which sold immediately after sharing it on my social media :).
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Ivy update :)

Posted on by Zara Toms
I really am enjoying capturing her sweet expression <3. I LOVE drawing curls in graphite. It's probably one of my favourite subjects to draw in graphite. It is such a versatile medium and it suits Ivy perfectly. This is an A4 (8.3" x 11.7") size which is a nice size for a single subject. The larger the size the more detail you can capture due to having that increased working space but ...
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