Lily work in progress

Posted on by Zara Toms
I work in a few different mediums; graphite, colour pencil, pastels and acrylics. I have to say acrylics is one of my favourites. When I was a kid I used to love painting by numbers. Mixing different colours, adding extra elements and creating something that was different and trying to create something that was far more realistic than the example on the cover. There are so many layers that go in...
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New painting! And its big!

Posted on by Zara Toms
My biggest painting to date... It's 29" x 21" acrylic on pre stretched canvas. I airbrushed the background for this piece. I wanted something that was soft and subtle and the airbrush is perfect for that. Beiges, tans and browns were the background choice my client preferred and it will work great with their six dogs on this big painting. When doing the background I mainly focused on the ...
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Monty mounted :)

Posted on by Zara Toms
Here is a photograph of the recent pastel drawing of Monty. All mounted before he got packaged off and sent to his home. For this one we went with a light grey, light blue lightly flecked mount with a black core. This create that impression of a slight black border which enhances the black in the fur and ties everything together. This is one of my favourite mounts :). All of my pastel portraits a...
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Keeping clients updated

Posted on by Zara Toms
Throughout the process I always keep my clients up to date. These photographs are exactly what I would want to see if I were to commission something as personal as this. Teddy is sadly no longer with us. His family miss him so much as they are just such a massive part of our family. Capturing a family member that is no longer with us is a real honour and something I take very seriously. These...
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Teddy has his smile <3

Posted on by Zara Toms
I am really enjoying this pastel portrait. Teddy is adorable and his smile is contagious. He just looks like the most gentle, cuddly furbaby. Sadly, he recently crossed over rainbow bridge. This portrait is for him mum to have something to remember him by. Lots and lots of layers to build up all that gorgeous fur. The full time lapse video will show just how many layers go together to crea...
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Teddy in progress..

Posted on by Zara Toms
I have kindly been given permission to share Teddy's work in progress updates with you so you can watch him develop. Sadly, Teddy is no longer with us and his family miss him dearly. This is done using pastels. A black pastel stick for the background and then pastel pencils for Teddy himself. A combination of Faber Castell Pitt Pencils, Carbothello pencils and Derwent pastel pencils. Pape...
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Meet Elf :)

Posted on by Zara Toms
Meet Lyndell El Diablo AKA Elf 🥰🐴I can now share with you his pastel portrait I completed a few weeks ago. Elf is almost 9 years old and his mum wasn't intending on keeping him. She soon realised however that he was her horse of a lifetime and they have achieved some amazing things together. He has done a bit of everything including some show jumping but recently she entered ...
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Meet Baloo

Posted on by Zara Toms
Baloo is a 7 year old blue German Shepherd. He is owned by a good friend of mine and this was a surprise gift for their mum. Baloo is her baby and the portrait was a special gift she can cherish. This was done in pastels on the warm grey paper. I added a subtle lighter glow behind Baloo to make him pop even more. A4 (8.3" x 11.7") Pastel drawing
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