Horse montage WIP

I've been working on the character study of my horse and have done two of the eight small portraits. I'm quite happy with the result - I recognise him immediately. I have never worked this small before with this much detail involved and I think it's fun! I just have to make sure the pencils are really sharp. The head study at the top shows Kolli in his winter woolies so it is less detailed than the one below which depicts him in the summer - turning around to me, as if to say 'hello there, nice to see you - have you brought me some carrots?'. You can see that he was a lot darker in winter. I feel it's great that with one portrait, I'll be able to capture many different aspects of Kolli's character and looks. I have to admit that I still find it hard to look at his photos and draw him...I don't suppose I will ever stop missing him.

New equine project

Two years ago on 16 February 2006 I lost a friend of almost 17 years: my Icelandic horse "Kolbakur" (aka "Kolli"). I can't believe it's been two years; I still miss my 4-legged friend very much and think of him every day. You can read his story here. I have drawn several portraits of him but thought I'd like to do something special in his memory. When browsing other pet portrait artists' websites for ideas and inspiration I came across a type of portrait called 'character study' or 'montage', and it's basically a bigger portrait in the centre and several smaller studies around it, thus giving an insight into the pet's character and personality.

So this is what I am currently working on - a character study of my horse. Some artists use different media - say pastels for the centre portrait and graphite for the smaller ones - but I decided to draw all of the sketches in coloured pencils. Kolli's colours were spectacular and changed with the seasons and I'd like to capture this. So yesterday I went through the photos I've got of him - not that many unfortunately (no digital cameras back then...) but I've chosen 9 - more than planned but I just coulnd't make up my mind. ;o) He was such a beautiful horse! I have already drawn one of the small heads (maybe 2 inches long) and it is 'him'! :o) Watch this space..

Shetland pony portrait finished!

So meet Lisa! I think this turned out well. :o) This is actually the first time I've ever added this colour background and I suppose it's not everyone's cup of tea but the portrait is going to a 13-year-old girl and it's her favourite colour! ;o)

Shetland pony mare - two more steps

This one is fun! Such a sweet little face...

This is what Lisa's muzzle looked like this morning....again, I used different shades of purple and blue as my foundation colours.