# Cherrij hobby art attempts.



## Cherrij

oops, the last one is one inspiration moment with chalk that I had some time ago. Was thinking I will put all kind of sketches here, so its visible how they have changed over time. 

THis is my only painting that I have done on canvas, i cannot remeber the size, but about A3, a bit bigger. I am **** with coming up with good backgrounds so I pretended a very thick hedge, bushery  THis is my trainers and friends horse Lexus. I know I could do more, but I was already scared using grey and other tones to do the highlights, so didnt want to ruin it in any case. The trainer loved it, she said I managed to capture his face. 










This is Faira, a lovely horse. Done with chalk pencils.









This is Ranger, a very nice big horse, with interesting markings, took me a while, and same as the first dark rearing horse, I spent a lot of patience on the face, but the backside gets less quality


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## lilruffian

Pretty good stuff here! You've definitely got talent, i love the drawings


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## Cherrij

Thanks Lilruffian, I try.. though your work is way more impressive


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## Cherrij

my dear friend Larry, A5 format, just finished.
Sorry for the pic quality, but the light in my room ain't great and taken with phone.


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## Cherrij

Today I got inspired by Snickers - a member of this forum as well. So here is my humble drawing of him


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## Stichy

They are amazing!


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## Cherrij

Stichy said:


> They are amazing!



Thanks, I am just happy people like them. And there is lots of horses to get inspired from in this forum.


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## tinyliny

I like the clean, graphic quality of this one. Would make a nice tattoo.


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## Cherrij

tinyliny said:


> I like the clean, graphic quality of this one. Would make a nice tattoo.


Thanks. I actually dont know how that happened. Just had my grey paper, took my chalk pencils and did something


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## Cherrij

I saw this fantastic QH when I was browsing all the pictures on this forum and decided to draw it, but made it into a paint one 
over 1 h, just 2 pencils used HB and 2B and here it is.


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## Cherrij

Well, this another drawing from a picture I found here.. this was some fantastic baby, I wonder if the owner will recognize?


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## Cherrij

I welcome critique about my drawing and shading, ok, I am not aiming for photorealism completely, as I feel that would be way beyond my set of skills, however I try to do these drawings to the best of my ability to show what I see.. 
I am just one bored student who sometimes gets her inspiration back


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## Cherrij

Well.... certain someone inspired me with some good pics.
So I made an attempt with color pencils, them being watercolor pencils they annoyed me a bit, and didnt get the eye as good as I wanted, but here it is... 
sadly, the photos disgrace all my drawings.


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## Stichy

Feel free to use any of my drawings as references! I also have a stock account on deviantART called Stichy-Stock!


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## HorseCrazyTeen

You're good! I love the close up eye detail pic.


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## horsecrazygirl

you have more talent then i will ever have. pics are amazing!


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## Cherrij

horsecrazygirl said:


> you have more talent then i will ever have. pics are amazing!


I am not so sure, but thanks. 
I used to draw very bad, horrible drawings, when I look at them I cringe.. but then, i never gave up. started learning more and more... 
My mother never understood how I can spend days just drawing horses, till I sold my first one. 
Then again, she couldnt understand how can I spend a whole day in stable, every week hours spent in the stable. then she saw results of 1 month of intensive work - I got a suprise chance to compete in an Interclub competition, did medium in the simple dressage, and somehow managed to score 3rd from 11 riders in jumping 50-60 cm. When my mother saw me get the prizes, she understood that too... now its the big dream, draw and paint so well and fast I can do commissions and compete as high in dressage as possible. 

most of all those things come with patience and determination.


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## ponyface

just stopping in to let you know that your drawings are incredible. i love them


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## csimkunas6

Great work!!


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## Cherrij

Well, a friend asked me to draw a fox for her... ofc, my phone does no justice to the photo.. but that was not as hard as I thought it would be but i am sure a lot of people could do it better


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## Cherrij

This took me 4 hours with 2B and HB pencils... lots of nerves and patience.. 
But, a friend had asked for a bulldog portrait.. so called first commission I think as previous drawings I just offered to sell, not did them for someone who asked  
I hope you enjoy


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## EvilHorseOfDoom

Awesome stuff! and I'm pretty sure that cute little foal on Page 2 is StellaIW's chunky cutie, Stormborn - great likeness!


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## Cherrij

EvilHorseOfDoom said:


> Awesome stuff! and I'm pretty sure that cute little foal on Page 2 is StellaIW's chunky cutie, Stormborn - great likeness!


Thanks, and you are right  she really is one inspirational baby


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## EvilHorseOfDoom

Cherrij said:


> Thanks, and you are right  she really is one inspirational baby


She is indeed! Her, Druydess's Psynny and Merlot's Zephyr are just a baby horse dream team!


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## Cherrij

EvilHorseOfDoom said:


> She is indeed! Her, Druydess's Psynny and Merlot's Zephyr are just a baby horse dream team!


I know Zephyr's story, but not the other one! 
and, psst, Zephyr is on the drawing list


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## HorseCrazyTeen

Love the dog!


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## Cherrij

I actually doodled again - first is an angled photo of a car I drew today, and second is a horse I ride now..


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## Cherrij

A year after drawing with a pen last, and about a year and a half after drawing with pencils, I picked them up again and drew another one..


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## StellaIW

Cherrij said:


> View attachment 128622
> 
> 
> Well, this another drawing from a picture I found here.. this was some fantastic baby, I wonder if the owner will recognize?


I have a feeling that's my baby Storm!


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## Cherrij

I doodled again. And proportions ran away from me again. Then again, I haven't doodled at all for MONTHS!!!!


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## ChristineMarsh

*Fun!*

Nifty horse art!


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## Cherrij

I know I haven't done anything in quite a while, but I got my inspiration again! 

I decided to play around with some watercolor.. Not very good at it, but I like what I managed.


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## RedDunPaint

I love watercolor, one of my favorite mediums! Nice job


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## Knave

Wow! They are beautiful!!!


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## Cherrij

RedDunPaint said:


> I love watercolor, one of my favorite mediums! Nice job


I like watercolor, but I suck at using paints the best way possible. Usually I just do whatever I prefer


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## Cherrij

Actually. A while a go on FB there was a small discussion about the fact that a person had painted a horse suffocating in a very tight bridle and almost rollkur position. The artist argued, that she likes painting emotions - and with sport horses they are quite clear! 

I also like to try and show the emotion of the subject, however, I leave the tack out on purpose. For one, I am not sure I will draw the tack nicely, but also even from reference photos, I like taking the tack out and drawing the emotion of the face and the body, not focusing on being perfect at drawing the tack!


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## Cherrij

Yesterday I tried to experiment with some studies of bones  Had fun


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## Cherrij

And some more inspiration... 
Now I start to believe that one day I will learn how to pain horses better..


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## Cherrij

I went a bit nuts today  Almost thought I would never leave the desk


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## Cherrij

White horses are really hard to do, at least for me. So quite unsure about this one, but I need a portrait of this white horse done and delivered by Sunday..


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## tinyliny

white horses are hard, but black horses are harder!

this is very nicely done:










If you decide to continue painting in watercolors, treat youself to some nice quality paper. I use 140lb cold pressed cotton rag exclusively.


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## Cherrij

Thanks @tinyliny I like that skull too  
And I already bought better watercolor paper, first attemts were on random drawing paper because that was all I had. 
But even now I think I need thicker one because some drawings want to roll up or whatever.. 

I doubt I would manage a black horse with watercolor.. or any color  Though I tend to draw in black and white a lot..


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## Cherrij

Final version. Hopefully the destination will be happy. 
I have loads to learn.


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## tinyliny

very nice. light and sweet feeling.

if the watercolor paper warps, you can straighten it somewhat, after the fact, by this technique:

take the finished artwork, lightly spray the BACK of the painting, (taking care not to get a single drop on the front. so that it is moistened. I hold it up by pinching a corner, spray the back with some kind of spray bottle, so that it's damp, but not dripping wet.

Place it between a hard, flat, CLEAN surface, (floor, countertop, ?) and a sheet of cardboard. you can place a clean sheet down first, to ensure the front of painting doesn't pick pick up any marks, then another sheet of clean paper, and another flat , hard sheet of something (wood? foamcore, glass, ).

then place weight on top of it all. this presses the damp painting between two flat surfaces. leave it over night. it will come out dry and much more flat.

Additionally, if you buy watercolor on a BLOCK, it will work with much less warpage. this is where each sheet is glued on the edges to the sheet below it, with a small area that is not glued closed. You paint on the top sheet, and when you are done, find the 'groove' that is unseal, insert a credit card, and run it around to loosen the top sheet from the one below it. Voila! you have your painting free from the block, and likely will have little warpage. warpage is more noticeable the more water you use.

Also, for really clean edges, use artist's tape to tape off a border all the way around the paper, before you start. make sure it is firmly attached to the clean paper (use a fingernail to push it down good and tight). then you can drag the paint right over the tape , bringing the background right up to the edge. when you are done, and painting is very dry, you pull off the tape, ad you have a clean border. sometime it will leak under the tape.
if you are very careful, you can use a lightly damp "magic eraser", the Mr. Clean type, to gently rub off any color that escaped into your border. it's tricky, though, so try hard to make the tape stick VERY well, before painting and you'll get a lovely clean border.

I wish we could sit down and paint together!


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## Cherrij

Wow, you are like an encyclopedia! 
My mom was very impressed (she paints and draws herself, and a lot more than I do, but struggles with watercolor and acrylics). When I explained some of the ideas of how I use paints to create light and shadow, she was like "woow, I just paint by feeling, I barely know any theory!"

Most of the time I am experimenting, but of course over the years some knowledge has been accumulated. 

About the paper - I would have to visit an art shop to try and find anything like the block you describe, most often we get like pads A4 or A3 sized where they are glued only from one edge together. 

I can try that dampening method when I find a clean spray bottle (most are used for horses or random things and I would not use them near paintings). 

The tape I know... this time I chose to make messy borders.. and now that tree being a border bothers me!  A little bit of OCD I guess 

It would be lovely to paint with you, but we live worlds apart!


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## tinyliny

Yes. Watercolor is hightly technical. while we paint with our feelings, without an understanding of what the paper can and cannot do, how to create different techniques with brushes and color, our ability to express our feeling is limited.

I did not know any of this before taking actual classes in watercolor. there are many tricks that you would not know unless someone showed you.

still, having 'feeling' is THE most important element, when all is said and done. 


and yes, you do have to think about the light and dark, very much so, with watercolor. especially because you must achieve the light by NOT painting it. it is like thinking of things like a negative, instead of a print.


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## Cherrij

The part of achieving light by not painting it, works for me, because I mainly learnt to draw with just ordinary pencils. SO I am used to making the shadows and trying to make shape with that.. 
With Acrylics on the other hand you can cheat and paint the lights on top. And build the painting the other way around - draw a darker background and bring the light out!


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## tinyliny

yes. and recently when I picked up oils again, after a 40 year absence, I LOVED that freedom to go back and forth; lighter, no , wait a minute, darker, no, not that dark, no lighter! etc. 

It's plasticity is exciting, too.

you might like trying watercolor pencils. they combine the feeling of drawing with the beauty of painting. the Derwent brand are very high quality.
I think you can buy online.

her is one I did with watercolor pencils:

http://www.horseforum.com/art-craft...ing-*winner-chosen*-503842/page7/#post6682041


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## Cherrij

Cool! I used to have a small set of Faber Castell watercolor pencils. Now I have no idea where they are. 
People had gifted me small sets of acrylics - half of the have dried out  

I had stopped painting for quite a while, and now I am really taking on the adventure of challenging myself with watercolor.


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## Cherrij

Challenge accepted and completed. I know some proportions are off, but I am proud that I captured his personality this time, which is another thing that quite often eludes me!


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## tinyliny

great job! especially the eye, ear and mouth. Is that using watercolor pencils?


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## Cherrij

tinyliny said:


> great job! especially the eye, ear and mouth. Is that using watercolor pencils?


No Tiny, this is just me using 3 brushes and watercolor. Well, sketched it with a pencil of course.. 

I do realise the proportions aren't perfect, the look on the face is different, I could not produce the exact angle, but hey, did I even once say I want to make perfect realism paintings? I am not good with expressionism or painting my dreams and ideas, but I never said I want my drawings to be photo perfect  

Psst. I think this is the first mouth I have painted and actually don't think it's horrible


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## Zexious

Your work is gorgeous, Cherrij! Thanks for sharing <3


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## tinyliny

I agree, it captures the feel beautifully.

here's something you can try. next time you want to do a sort of solid background, using a nice wide brush, wet the entire area of the background, taking care not to go into the area of the dog itself. You just sort of pull the water into every crack and groove that goes around the dog's hair. pull the water everywhere you want back ground to be. make it so that the wetness is consistent in all affected areas. It should be wet, but not so wet that you see a pronounced 'puddle' on top. 

Then, mix up the back ground color. It can be all the same, or , say, two or three colors. Load up a medium sized brush with paint that is HEAVY with pigment, about as heavy as you can make it. Then, lay the brush down into the wet area, and watch as the paint oozes out into all wet areas. 

If, say, you put a very dark brown/black (btw, never use large areas of PURE black. Always add in a second tone, like blue or brown or red. pure black is good for eyes, and small accents, but not large areas). . . anyway you put the blackish color on the top of the page, then, clean brush, and pick up a golden brownish color and load that into the wet area around the bottom. 

Load enough color into the wet, and they will wick toward each other and make a wonderful affect. It's called, "wet into wet".


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## Cherrij

I don't have too large of a brush. this one is not even 2 cm 

But I will have to try that method too!


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## tinyliny

if the paper is not so large, then a medium size brush will be fine. it just takes longer to wet the whole area. if you use a smaller brush, and by the time you get all the way to the bottom, the upper part may be too dry. all you have to do is put a soggy brush down and 'touch' that area, and water will wick into the drier areas. the idea is that the paper be uniform in its wetness.

that's what makes watercolor so amazing; the way the water moves from wetter areas to drier ones (osmosis) .


Also, learn to do this work with your paper at a slight tilt. this helps you control wetness, since it always runs downward. SLIGHT tilt.


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## Cherrij

I am not brave enough to explore all the possibilities. But will have to get up there and do it!  
I am glad that at least a few people think it's worth for me to keep trying!


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## Zexious

One of the fun things about art is that there's no risk in trying something new with your next piece--especially when you're working with flat mediums (8! 
Can't wait to see your next creation!


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## Cherrij

These 2 have happened. 

My Bf said not to paint anything in the middle and to call it "aurora".








I have no idea how this explosion came to live on paper... And I am not 100% sure it is finished.. 










With the first one I tried the technique Tiny explained - water all the surface and then add paint, but somehow it was not doing what I expected, but I got an interesting effect. I do like it! 

Also, tonight I finaly got to one of my boxes of stuff (was hidden under other boxes) and found 2 more pads of A3 paper and 2 more of A4.. and a little set of oil paints, a bunch of cheap brushes and more watercolor, and a set of 24 watercolor pencils!  

SO I can do all kinds of magic again!


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## tinyliny

the night sky one is very cool. I wonder what made all those circular marks? it's as if you took a large, round marker, and 'daubed' the color on, over and over again.


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## Cherrij

tinyliny said:


> the night sky one is very cool. I wonder what made all those circular marks? it's as if you took a large, round marker, and 'daubed' the color on, over and over again.


Thats my biggest brush.. as the color was not doing the osmosis stuff, I kept adding in with my "big brush".. 

But reminded me of the way to paint with sponges and so on..


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## tinyliny

well, I can't imagine why it didn't bleed in. maybe you did not have enough liquid on your brush. Heck, yoiu can even pour the paint into the wet paper. it WILL bleed and do the osmosis thing. I guarantee it.

in any case the resultant effect is very cool.


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