# dantexeventer's Art Journal! :)



## dantexeventer (Jul 11, 2009)

I hope it's okay for me to make one of these - I don't want to be inviting myself to a party I'm not welcome at, so to speak! 
I've been really inspired by the amazing and unique artists on this site. From Kayty's fabulous pastels to Liz's instantly recognizable and seamless pencil drawings, and of course all the fantastic artists in between, you've all given me new steam!  
I've always been purely a graphite artist, because I was terrified of color. I then gravitated towards Prismacolor pencils, and haven't gone back! But I was still wary of being bold in my color. I've been watching and learning, and have lately decided to just suck it up and try the bold mediums I've always been terrified of. First, I went for watercolor - ended up having a blast and it wasn't half bad!  It's not a horse picture, so I won't bore you with it, but the second I get my hands on more watercolor paper I'll be experimenting!
Then came the scariest of all - oil pastels. I had three boxes of lovely German pastels, given to me by my grandparents years ago, that I had been to scared to even open. It's a shame, because when I dug those suckers out and took a deep breath, it was AWESOME. I got filthy, smearing those colors all over the place, and totally just lost myself in those brilliant, waxy colors. I never do still life, but I concocted a little scene in my head to play around with values and colors, and I'm kinda proud of it! Now I'm tackling a portrait of my horse, and have been taking step by step pictures that I'd like to share, because watching a drawing progress is fun  I'm just using regular sketchbook paper until I can get to the art supply store, so the textures are pretty nonexistent. But it's working out alright so far.
Aaaaanywho, this is my ref pic:









And this is my first sketch of the drawing. It's too low on the paper, but I'll just trim a little off the top when I'm done to make it more even.









































Sorry so many pics haha!


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## midwestgirl89 (Jul 7, 2009)

O wow-you are SO invited to do one of these! This is beautiful so far. I'm jealous of artists who do so well with color. Like you said, I'm terrified of it. Lol I may get to that point of experimenting, just not yet anyways. 
I think you should post the watercolor-if it's anything like what you've got posted so far it wouldn't be a bore at all


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## dantexeventer (Jul 11, 2009)

Thank you!  Haha, do what I did - start drawing something you absolutely don't care about, and then if you make a mistake, it won't be heartbreaking!


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## dantexeventer (Jul 11, 2009)




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## dantexeventer (Jul 11, 2009)

Getting there, slowly but surely! 
I'm sure the rest of you have the same problem I do - when I draw a horse I own or know really well, it stresses me out SO much because I want to capture their personality! Dante is a big lovebug but he's also REALLY intelligent and alert, and he has kind of an intangible spark in his eye, so I'm hoping I'll be able to capture that. 








(The eye is not done, btw. I just took a break from it)


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## LoveTheSaddlebreds (Jul 9, 2009)

Beautiful use of color there! Nice Job!


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## dantexeventer (Jul 11, 2009)

Thank you!!


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## midwestgirl89 (Jul 7, 2009)

So I bought my first pack of oil pastels today. :lol:
But when I got home it was one of those days when nothing I drew looked right-maybe tomorrow will work. Here's hoping!
Looks awesome by the way. How big is it going to be?


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## Equusketch (Jun 16, 2009)

I have a VERY old and probably VERY cheap set of bulky oil pastels. I really struggled to get the fine detail you have mangaged to do very well. I did however, love the vibrant colors they produced. Perhaps after I have mastered my next medium on my "to do list", watercolors, I will buy a nicer set. This drawing inspires me to give oil pastels another chance. 

WELL DONE!!! I love watching all these art journals and seeing the drawings come to life. 

Oh yeah, I think you and I are actually freinds on myspace. Your art looks very familiar to me...lol. 

Welcome to horseforum.


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## ThatNinjaHorse (Jul 26, 2009)

Wow. amazing! How long have you been drawing for?


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## HowClever (Feb 16, 2010)

I really would love to be able to capture the texture of fur the way so many people on here can. Unfortunately I don't think that or colour is something I will ever master haha


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## Flintlock (Sep 8, 2008)

It is looking GREAT!!

Wess
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## dantexeventer (Jul 11, 2009)

Thanks so much, everyone!  Liz, I haven't been on Myspace in ages but you and I are indeed friends - I used to be in Barn Party and I think we talked a lot via that!  
midwestgirl, you go girl! I'm sure you'll have as much fun as I've been having! It is really satisfying to just be able to smeeeeeaaaar everything where it needs to be hahaha! My inner finger-painter is coming out...  Oh, and it's about 11x13. 
ThatNinjaHorse - thank you! I've been drawing all my life in some capacity or another, but I started to get really disciplined about learning 'proper' techniques about four years ago. Before that, I was the queen of lineart and reaaally half-assed shading.
HowClever, I always thought the same thing. I'll try to dig up some stuff I drew a couple of years ago as an example - I was deathly afraid even of shading. I ended up making myself stare at a photograph and just keep working on the drawing until it had comparable depths and darks. Of course, it was still pretty horrendous, but once I realized that shading/color/playing with texture wouldn't kill me, I could refine my technique. I'm kind of a masochist and always introduce new concepts on 'important' pieces of art, but I really recommend having a sketchbook where you just work on little things that won't break your heart if they go wrong. Then you can build confidence with the various techniques. I really believe that anyone can draw/paint/whatever, it's just a confidence issue! 
Wess- thank you! I adore your drawings; one of these days I want to tackle charcoal!


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## midwestgirl89 (Jul 7, 2009)

O I miss finger painting! :lol: I'm sure it'll be fun once I get going with it.
You haven't tried charcoal yet?! You're missin' out! I love it. Kinda the same principle with the smearing thing-sorta. Definitely one of my favorite mediums.


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## dantexeventer (Jul 11, 2009)

Haha I haven't! I'll have to get on that next. Sounds like lots of fun!


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## dantexeventer (Jul 11, 2009)

I'm getting so slow now - I don't want to mess up haha!  On a bright note I picked up a block of actual pastel paper so my next project will be on color. (Which is good because it's a white horse haha)


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## dantexeventer (Jul 11, 2009)

So....close....


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## dantexeventer (Jul 11, 2009)

And yes, I am wearing Betty Boop jams


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## Flintlock (Sep 8, 2008)

You have the eye! Great job!
Wess


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## dantexeventer (Jul 11, 2009)

Soooo I fail, and I set the drawing down like a month ago and haven't picked it up again yet. Oops. It's like, five minutes away from being done, which is the worst part! Haha!
Buttt I started a new project which I'll hopefully finish today - it's Nyls du Terroir, an Intermediate event horse. He has such a great expression; I couldn't resist!


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## Dreamer1215 (Jan 31, 2009)

_OMG - I'm sooo jealous! I could only WISH to have the talent you have! Those are amazing! And I love the expression on both horses._


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## dantexeventer (Jul 11, 2009)

Thank you, Dreamer!  I loved drawing both of these boys; they have such wonderful, intelligent expressions. I really enjoy trying to capture that special spark!

Here is the finished version of Nyls du Terroir - next commission I get, I'm buying a scanner!


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## midwestgirl89 (Jul 7, 2009)

O wow-you're latest is by far my favorite. I usually cringe when doing drawings with the head from that angle but I love how you cropped it. 
You're quickly becoming a pro with oils! I still haven't tackled them yet. I went through a period of about a month and a half or so where I had no desire to draw anything. But a friend asked me last week he could buy one of my pieces as an anniversary gift for his mother. That got me going again. Nothing like good motivation =)


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## dantexeventer (Jul 11, 2009)

midwestgirl89 said:


> O wow-you're latest is by far my favorite. I usually cringe when doing drawings with the head from that angle but I love how you cropped it.
> You're quickly becoming a pro with oils! I still haven't tackled them yet. I went through a period of about a month and a half or so where I had no desire to draw anything. But a friend asked me last week he could buy one of my pieces as an anniversary gift for his mother. That got me going again. Nothing like good motivation =)



Thanks!  I never thought I'd enjoy the oils as much as I am now. I think I'm thoroughly converted!
I hate those, uhm, shall we call them...'dry spells!' I've managed to stay on a roll pretty consistently lately - I'm working on an action shot (with the oils - very challenging!) of Peter Atkins and Henry Jota Hampton for a COTH project - we're making 'Run Henny Run' shirts!  I'll post my progress on that in a little while.


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## Barrel_racer_0 (May 12, 2008)

How much are your comissions?


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## dantexeventer (Jul 11, 2009)

Barrel_racer_0 said:


> How much are your comissions?


My price list can be found on my site - please excuse the general crappiness of the site and the out-of-date gallery - I'm working on getting it on track!


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