# Art update



## Equusketch

Here is a painting (I think I actually posted this already) and a couple woodburns.


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## lildonkey8

great job!


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## Kayty

Brilliant brilliant brilliant!!! You get better and better every time you post Liz! 
LOVE seeing the blues in that grey you did  

Your woodburns are getting very good as well - you are one hell of a flexible artist girl, I'm stuck in my pastel and graphite rut while you're diversifying into so many other mediums - I'm very impressed!


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## tinyliny

this one;









is so dreamy and beautiful. It is worth reproducing for greeting cards or such. AND the man bending over the horse is also endearing. They are very good. You must promote yourself more!!!


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## Caitlinpalomino

Wow!! All your artwork is beautiful. I agree with Tinyliny


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## PintoTess

Great!!


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## Equusketch

Here is one I just finished for my parents of their cat Freddy. I've drawn just a few cats in my life and although I am happy with how Freddy turned out, I am still not sure about all the shading around him. I mentioned in another thread that I struggle with filling in negative space in order to make the subject pop. If anyone can give me a little advice on this piece, I'd really appreciate it before I give it to my mom. Thanks.


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## chanda95

LOVE THEM ALL! VERY nice!


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## Equusketch

Fat Freddy revised. Thank you Tinyliny for your input.


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## Caitlinpalomino

That looks amazing!!


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## Marlea Warlea

would you like to do a picture of one of my horses?? lol


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## Michelle and Mr B

They all look great, i particularly love the woodburn pieces!


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## JackofDiamonds

*You are crazy talented! Im in awe, your so versitile! *


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## Phantomstallion

Amazing! You have loads of talent!


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## Equusketch

Latest graphite drawing and a new WIP


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## tinyliny

neat stuff! Great control of the graphite. I always end up smudging it to death.


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## Equusketch

tinyliny- the working from upper right hand corner to lower left hand corner really works (opposite if you are a lefty). I think it was either Kayty or Toadflax who suggested it to me and it has greatly reduced my smudging. It takes some disipline in the beginning, but now it's second nature to me. I Even approach my colored pencil drawings the same way.


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## Equusketch

Here is the dog drawing all finished and a new WIP. It's going to be colored pencil. Wish me luck.


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## tinyliny

The dog is delightful; full of whimsy. I look forward to seeing the new colored one.
I havne't done any artwork at all for nearly a month now. But will put some out soon.


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## equiniphile

I can't wait to see how that last one turns out; you are very talented.


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## Equusketch

Update on the colored pencil drawing. Right now I am just playing around with color combinations to match the horse's color as closely as possible. I am finding that purple works better than blue for the shading effects. 
I'll try to post another update later this evening as I have put more work into it.


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## Equusketch

Progress as of today. I am almost finished with the face and am putting down the first layers of color in the neck. My scanner sort of washed out the nose, but there's more definition in the nose as well as in the blaze. I didn;t just leave it white as the image suggests, but rather layed down some subtle gray tones for shadowing effects. I find that scanned images never do the actual art complete justice. I am sure ya'll other artists would agree.


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## lildonkey8

do I see a none colored jumping horse under there?


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## Equusketch

lildonkey8- lol, yes, there is a non colored jumping horse at the bottom of the picture. Once I am done with the head portrait, I will begin coloring the jumping shot.


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## tinyliny

What a pleasure to see your work!!!


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## ItzKayley

Love your work!


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## lildonkey8

Equusketch said:


> lildonkey8- lol, yes, there is a non colored jumping horse at the bottom of the picture. Once I am done with the head portrait, I will begin coloring the jumping shot.


If your doing them both different colors, one thing you could do is make the jumper look like Tanoka, she'd SO jump that! Just an idea though, I think it would be pretty neat


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## Equusketch

lildonkey8 said:


> If your doing them both different colors, one thing you could do is make the jumper look like Tanoka, she'd SO jump that! Just an idea though, I think it would be pretty neat


 
lol, it would be cute except that this is a commissioned piece I am doing for someone else, so it will be of the same horse, just as an action shot.


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## lildonkey8

Oh, hehe, that would've been cute if it wasn't.
Do you do free drawings?


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## ItzKayley

Equusketch said:


> Progress as of today. I am almost finished with the face and am putting down the first layers of color in the neck. My scanner sort of washed out the nose, but there's more definition in the nose as well as in the blaze. I didn;t just leave it white as the image suggests, but rather layed down some subtle gray tones for shadowing effects. I find that scanned images never do the actual art complete justice. I am sure ya'll other artists would agree.


I love it!


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## Equusketch

I found a drawing I did while I was visiting friends a few weeks ago. I was pretty drunk at the time and saw a mechanical pencil sitting on the counter, then proceeded to grab a sheet of printer paper. Although very rough in composition, I do like how in my inebriated state I did not hold back on creating extreme contrasts, something I tend to be timid to accomplish sober...lol. 

Also, here is tonight's progress on the colored pencil drawing. All finished with the head shot and getting started on the jumping shot.


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## ItzKayley

Very nice!


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## Caitlinpalomino

I love the coloured head!! It is beautiful cant wait to see the picture all done


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## tinyliny

Equus,

I love your "drunk" [email protected]! SEriously. It is so strong!!!! Would be neat to scan it and digitally manip it .

As an aside, I used to get stoned and draw all the time back in the Uni days. I always thought I was creating a masterpiece, but when I saw it sober, it was a jumbled POS.


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## PintoTess

Love the coloured shot! And the drunk one


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## Equusketch

Finished!


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## Equusketch

I am working on a rather tedious shi tzu painting and needed to put my paint brushes down for the night. Here's a doodle I did of a friend of mine riding one of her favorite horses. I love to do pen sketches to unwind when the pressure of commissions gets to me.


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## PintoTess

Woweeee


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## lildonkey8

Wow. Wow. Just, wow.......WOW!


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## Phantomstallion

Those are just so awesome!


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## Equusketch

Thank you everybody!

Here are the latest two commissions.


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## tinyliny

Yes, I really like the pen and ink one. It has a lot of vitality and bravery. But you know me; love black and white!


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## Leathercrafter

Just amazing talent. I always enjoy looking at your work.


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## pinkswagger26

Great work! Did you take classe in the past, I want to draw and am wanting to take a community drawing class.


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## Equusketch

Wow, it's been a while since I have updated in here. My husband and I just bought a house and my art supplies were packed away until a few days ago. I actually have a pretty big waiting list of commissions, so I am going to be busy for a while. 

I thought I'd post a WIP of my latest colored pencil commission. I feel like I am getting back into my groove with colored pencils. They take longer than graphite drawings, but it's fun to play with color combinations. These pictures were taken on my cell phone, so not the best quality in the world.


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## Akuinnen24

Beautiful, the eye looks so real! I really like the color combinations you used around the muzzle and eye. I can't wait to see it finished.


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## Phantomstallion

Those are amazing!


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## Equusketch

Tonight's progress. Getting there.


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## tinyliny

I am so glad to see your work back on the forum. YOu are a master of colored pencil! Go gettum!


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## Caitlinpalomino

That looks awesome!! Just curious how long does a coloured pencil drawing normally take??


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## Equusketch

Caitlinpalomino said:


> That looks awesome!! Just curious how long does a coloured pencil drawing normally take??


For this size, anywhere from 6-10ish hours I'd guess. I've never really timed myself. I only have the capacity to do no more than 30 min. at a time, so I take lots of breaks.


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## Creampuff

Beautiful!! 

Are you burnishing, by any chance??


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## Equusketch

Creampuff said:


> Beautiful!!
> 
> Are you burnishing, by any chance??


 
Well, considering the fact that I have no idea what burnishing is, I guess it's safe to say that I don't do that...lol. 

I just do lots of layers and press more firmly in the final layers to prevent too much white showing where the pencil hasn't gotten into the paper. 

I am intrigued though. What exactly is burnishing?


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## Creampuff

Burnishing is just that! Haha. Here's the definition of it because it's early in the AM and it's more concise than I can be right now.  

Burnishing


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## Equusketch

I got really busy this week, but finally sat down this evening to finish the drawing. I am so frustrated with trying to get good pictures of my colored artwork. I am posting a picture from my scanner and a picture from my cell phone. I'd love everyone's opinions on which picture looks more appealing because I am stumped as to what to use for advertising purposes. 

1. Scanned picture: I like that it is sharper than the cell phone picture and that the background is white, just like the paper. What I don't like is that the areas where I added purpled and blue stand out like a sore thumb. The purple/blue hues are more subtle in the actual drawing. 

2. Cell phone picture: Although the image in general is too dark (hence the gray background), the colors are more true to the drawing and the purple/blue hues blend in more. I don't like that the image came out a little blurry.


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## Equusketch

Next WIP. I am taking a gamble here and trying out charcoal paper for this colored pencil piece. I want to start using different colored paper, which charcoal and pastel paper offer. This paper is more toothed than I am used to, but with using that "burnishing" technique cream puff described, it's really not much different than coloring on smooth bristol paper. I just get tired of looking at white paper all the time. This paper is a light gray, though the images make the whole picture look darker than the actual drawing.


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## Equusketch

Progress as of tonight. Sorry, the picture is blurry. It's hit and miss when I take pictures on my cell phone.


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## Caitlinpalomino

Coming along very nicley haha cant wait for the finished piece


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## Kayty

Beautiful Liz, you really are a master of the coloured pencils!


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## Equusketch

Finished! This is a better representation of the actual color of the drawing. I took this picture on my cell phone outside in the natural light and just auto adjusted it in HP image zone. I may never need my scanner again...lol.


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## Caitlinpalomino

:O That is amazing!


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## Phantomstallion

Awsome!!! I love jumping horse pictures!


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## Equusketch

Here is my most recent commission. It's another colored pencil drawing on gray charcoal paper. I have to add more layers due to the rough texture of the paper, but it's so worth it to have a more eye appealing drawing with the colored paper. I have done a few more pieces, but since they are Christmas gifts and I have no idea who has horseforum accounts, I am going to have to refrain from posting them in here until after the holidays. I'll try to post what I can until then. 

Enjoy!


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## Phantomstallion

Great piece of art.


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## Equusketch

I found this old graphite portrait I did for a friend during one of my fundraisers. Sorry the quality of the picture isn't great. I took it on my cell phone.


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## Phantomstallion

Great. You really rock at drawing!


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## eventerdrew

I don't know if you remember, but you did a commission of one of my old mares who passed away that I gave to her owner. Her name was Murphy 

I am determined to get my current mare and retired mare drawn by you some day!


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## Equusketch

Here are some mini paintings I did for a friend that I will convert into ornaments.


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## Phantomstallion

Sooooo cute.


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## Equusketch

Thanks! I love doing these mini paintings and making ornaments out of them.


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## Travellersmom88

these are absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Equusketch

I was bored the other night and decided to sketch a friend's horse for her in my 5 x 7" sketch book.


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## tinyliny

the cats are adorable! You know what? you could scan them, have them printed on fabric and make a really cool quilt! you'd need about 20 of them. Scan them and digitally arrange them in a "quilt" pattern, then print on fabric, then use to make pillows and actually stitch some hand quilted edges on it. OR, sell the "quilt" to a fabric producer.


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## Flintlock

Looks great, keep up the good work!


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## Equusketch

A few more mini paintings. You can see in the horse picture what they look like assembled into ornaments.


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## Equusketch

Another mini painting with a twist. My friend added the wire spirals and put the painting on a wreath.


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## Caitlinpalomino

That looks really cool!


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## Phantomstallion

Great Idea!


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## Equusketch

Here is one of the Christmas commissions I did a while ago. The horses are done in grahite pencil and the bridles are done in colored pencil.


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## tinyliny

lovely use of color with no color. Striking, and the two head together is lovely.


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## Phantomstallion

I like the contrast of the horses and the bridles.


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## Equusketch

Thank you! I've been getting a lot of comments on that drawing. Here is a new WIP, colored pencil on charcoal paper.


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## Caitlinpalomino

I LOVE this one ^^
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Equusketch

FINALLY, a scanned image. Today's progress.


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## Equusketch

I've had a few glasses of wine to drink tonight and didn't want to work on commissions anymore, so I thought I'd try out my new charcoal pencils my husband gave me for Christmas. I haven't worked with charcoal in a long time and am not used to such a loose (and messy) medium. I love the softness of charcoal pencils and need to just allow the medium to flow across the paper without getting caught up with fine details. This is a 5 x 7 sketch I did of my friend's horse who sadly passed away this year. It took me about 30-45 minutes to complete. Enjoy!


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## tinyliny

30 to 45 minutes? Shazam! that's quick. I like it very much and your friend will love it.


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## Kayty

Well for a very quick 'sketch' Liz, I think this is one of my favourites! The fur looks so velvety, detail in the ears is fantastic and you did a beautiful job of capturing a far away look in his eye. Lovely lovely lovely!


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## Equusketch

FINISHED! And I do think this could quite possibly be my best dog portrait. I just love how he looks up against the blue paper. This charcoal paper is really cool because it comes in different colors. The only downside is that the paper is so thin, that the edges curl up , but I don't think that's going to be a problem because "most" people frame the art anyway.


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## skippatuffson

Hi where's his whiskers? Try a lead mechanical pencil for individual hair strokes. He looks very soft but needs to be more hairlike. What do you think. E-mail me and I will send you a couple of the first of the cats I have drawn. Maybe you can pick up some hints. Don't worry about the background. If your subject is outstanding the background doesn't matter.


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## Caitlinpalomino

That is amazing! I love how it looks on the blue paper


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## adiposestem

Perfect! I like it much.


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## drop_your_reins

Oh my, how do you do such remarkable work? i have shading and porportions problems like you wouldnt believe and usually do a lot of tracing (from photos) because I am too much of a perfectionist and too impatient to fuss with a rough sketch for hours on end.


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## skippatuffson

drop_your_reins said:


> Oh my, how do you do such remarkable work? i have shading and porportions problems like you wouldnt believe and usually do a lot of tracing (from photos) because I am too much of a perfectionist and too impatient to fuss with a rough sketch for hours on end.


I agree with you and have done outlines similarly lately after drawing free hand outlines for about 55 years. With all my experience and practice my horses were great but now........ they are professional. I'm too old, too tired, too perfectionist, too impatient to draw free hand outlines any more. I do all the details free hand within the outlines.


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## tinyliny

Skip,
When you trace an outline, how do you do it? My computer screen, where I view my client's photos, is 15 inches wide but only about 8 inches tall. Do you use a projector and printed photos?


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## skippatuffson

Hi. No I work on the photo in flickr.com and get exactly what I want if I can fix the photo. I print it out on regular copy paper and then I trace it over a glass table with a light under it or an art lamp. Then the work begins.


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## ConfusciusWasAGreatTeachr

skippatuffson said:


> Hi. No I work on the photo in flickr.com and get exactly what I want if I can fix the photo. I print it out on regular copy paper and then I trace it over a glass table with a light under it or an art lamp. Then the work begins.



That's a good idea. My biggest problem are proportions aswell. I've just recently done a sketch after years of not drawing. I'll upload it on another thread. I'm pretty pleased with the progress, but I admit I did trace the outline. (I feel like a bit of a cheat though! lol)


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## tinyliny

and what size do you work at? I mean what size of paper do youd do the finished artwork at? (I apologize , but I still think in inches, so can you describe in inches?)
The last sentence I added becasue I forget to check to see if you are US or Aus. or Uk or ?


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## Equusketch

My first "real" attempt at oil pastels (only tried a very old set one other time when I was super drunk...lol). 

I know the background is really messy. I may want to go back later and smooth it out a little, but I am so **** impatient when doing backgrounds. Anyway, I love the blendability of oil pastels, but hate how bulky they are. This is definately a medium where I can't worry about fine detail work and just be more carefree. Also, I had some problems with layers peeling off when I tried to add darker colors. Otherwise, I loved how easy it was to really make the mane look realistic, perhaps more than any other medium I have worked with so far. 

Anyone who has experience with oil pastels, I would love some advice such as what type of paper to use and if there are any fixatives that I can use to protect the drawing. 

Here is a sneak peek at what the winner of my contest can expect tomorrow.


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## tinyliny

i have no technical advice at all. I can imagine your frustration with the blunt pastels and their limitations as to detail. This would frustrate me, too.
The ONLY thing I could say, is that when you wish the horse head image to kind of "dissolve", (in other words, it does't go all the way to the edge of the paper), it might look more natural if you had it dissolve by reducing the opacity of the color in a gradient, instead of coming to a rather abrupt edge. That kind of abrubt edge makes the head look a little like it's floating in the air.

the head itself is awesome!


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## Equusketch

Great point tinyliny. I was trying to blend the background into the horse's neck, but wound up creating dark smudges into the background, so I quit. I definately want to touch up this drawing a bit more to make it look cleaner. 

Here is attempt #2. Again, it was very rushed and there are a few things I want to touch up. I'll get better pictures when I do so.


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## skippatuffson

My finished art work is on 11x14 inches. Go to Fine Art - Art Prints - Fine Art Prints - Greeting Cards - Posters - Originals - Buy Art Online - Sell Art Online and search artist Carolyn Valcourt


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## Equusketch

Here is my latest WIP. It's an 8 x 10 acrylic painting I am doing for a fundraiser I donated to a while ago. I just put down the first layer of paint, so there's much more I need to do to this painting. I may go back later and touch up the background a bit. I just hat doing backgrounds.


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## Kayty

Looking like a good start - and background so far is looking good also. Don't worry - I am in the same boat, avoid backgrounds like a bad smell!!!!


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## Equusketch

Update on the acrylic painting. I still have a lot more detail to add to the eye, nose and ear. I may go back later and do touch ups everywhere including the background. I've had very limited computer time with my computer having a virus, so this has been a much slower process than usual. Lilruffian, if you have any pointers, I'd be happy to hear them.


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## Equusketch

Finished!


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## midwestgirl89

Hey liz! It's been awhile since i've posted on your thread...though i have been keeping up with it. I think it's awesome that you're tackling acrylic. I love the wip photos going through the process of adding layers. Always amazes me how differently that first layer looks compared to the finished product. 
And I wish I had a great tip to share, but I've got nothin! Lilruffian is definitely the acrylic expert here on hf :wink:


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## Equusketch

Here is a quickie sketch I did tonight of a friend of mine's horses. It's a 5 x 7 in mechanical pencil. Took me just under an hour. 

And also, the rough sketch of my latest commission. It will be in colored pencil.


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## tinyliny

Just under an hour? That's amazing! your pencil must be absolutely flying like the speed of light!


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## Phantomstallion

They are all beautiful!


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## Equusketch

I got really busy, but managed to finish the dog drawing. Unfortunately my scanner didn't do this piece justice and there are weird lines going through the image. Next up, a 
10 x 20 acrylic painting of 3 dogs. Been doing a lot of dogs lately.


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## Prussian Blue

Equusketch said:


> I got really busy, but managed to finish the dog drawing. Unfortunately my scanner didn't do this piece justice and there are weird lines going through the image. Next up, a
> 10 x 20 acrylic painting of 3 dogs. Been doing a lot of dogs lately.


Ooooooo!!! Is this pastel??? It's wonderful!!! What expression!!!


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## Equusketch

Prussian Blue said:


> Ooooooo!!! Is this pastel??? It's wonderful!!! What expression!!!


 
This one was actually done in colored pencil. Thank you for the compliments. This dog was so expressive and I had a lot of fun drawing her.


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## Snizard93

Awesome :lol:


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## WesternBella

Your artwork doesn't really impress me, I personally think I am much better.

photo-20.jpg picture by WesternBella - Photobucket
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## caseymyhorserocks

:rofl: Nice WesternBella... 

You are an AMAZING artist Equusketch!


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## Equusketch

Here's a better picture of the dog portrait. I actually took this picture on my cell phone vs. the scanner this time. Go figure.


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## Speed Racer

You do gorgeous work, Liz. Do you have a website with a gallery and prices?


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## WesternBella

In all seriousness, you are a great artist! Wish I had your talent 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Equusketch

Speed Racer said:


> You do gorgeous work, Liz. Do you have a website with a gallery and prices?


 
www.soulponyportraits.com

Thank you everybody for the compliments. My confidence took a nose dive with a particularly difficult commission, but the owner of this recent dog portrait loved it so much, she wants to commission me to do the rest of her animals, so I am feeling quite a bit better.


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## Hickory67

Very nice work!


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## Equusketch

I've been working on a dog painting and needed to get back to horses, so I sketched out this horse with my crayola pencils (didn't want to waste the prismacolors). It's 5 x 7 inches. I tried a new technique where I filled in the backrgound with a sharpie pen and then went back over it with colored pencil. It's something someone suggested to me when I mentioned having a hard time doing backgrounds. Kind of a cool technique.


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## tinyliny

Wow! this is stunning!!!! I absolutely love , love it. The depth of color and the lighting and the softness. It's a total winner!


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## WesternBella

Wow, that's beautiful!! Cool method too..
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## flytobecat

You do great work. I love the way color pencils and ink together. It takes a lot of patience to work in that media.


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## Equusketch

5 x 7 mechanical pencil sketch.


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## Creampuff

Would that be Roscoe?


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## ConfusciusWasAGreatTeachr

Both are just lovely, Liz! I should start with some colour - when I get some frigging time to experiment!
Question: what is the difference from a 'mechanical pencil' to graphite ones? (See how untrained I am!!)


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## Equusketch

Creampuff said:


> Would that be Roscoe?


As a matter of fact it is Roscoe! How did you know? I am a member of an equine artist group on facebook and we all picked one picture to draw/paint/sculpt from. Someone posted a picture of a horse named Roscoe (can't remember who posted it). This was my rendition of him. Are you in that group as well? 

That reminds me, I've been meaning to get a similar project going in this group, but have been so flippin busy.


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## Creampuff

I'm a member of that same group; just saw your post there.  That project is a really novel idea. Just need to get off my butt and work on my entry...

And if I may -- 



> Question: what is the difference from a 'mechanical pencil' to graphite ones? (See how untrained I am!!)


Mechanical pencils are the "pump lead" ones, usually made of plastic. Most of them are #2/HB, but I'm seeing the other lead weights put into mechanical pencils, too. They're just not the traditional wood, "sharpen me up" pencils!


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## ConfusciusWasAGreatTeachr

Ahh thanks Creampuff!


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## Equusketch

Here is my latest portrait from a fundraiser I donated to.


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## Snizard93

That is beautiful


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## ConfusciusWasAGreatTeachr

Thats lovely! Is that charcoal?


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## Equusketch

ConfusciusWasAGreatTeachr said:


> Thats lovely! Is that charcoal?


 
I actually did this with a mechanical pencil (HB lead). My scanner isn't working right now, so I had to take this picture on my cell phone. The darker tones aren't so black in the actual drawing, hence why it looks so much like charcoal.


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## Equusketch

Here's a 5 x 7 colored pencil sketch I just did for the fun of it. took me about 45ish minutes.


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## Caitlinpalomino

Thats so not fair that something like that ^^ takes 45 mins for you hahaha! It is great and the cats are adorable


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## Brittykay

You're art is absolutely beautiful! keep up the good work


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## Equusketch

10 x 20" acrylic painting.


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## Snizard93

That's cute :lol:


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## Equusketch

Another 5 x 7 colored pencil sketch. I am now offering these drawings on a commission basis ($25 for graphite pencil and $30 for colored pencil) as a more affordable option as compared to my larger drawings.


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## WesternBella

Beautiful!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Equusketch

Graphite drawing with colored pencil for the eyes and collar.


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## Equusketch

Here are a few more dogs I have drawn/painted lately. I've been getting a lot of dog orders lately.


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## tinyliny

very nice. I love the black and white and fuschia!


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## Caitlinpalomino

I love how you add little bits of colour into your drawings! They are all beautiful


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## ArabGirl

Lovely work! My favorite is the Great Dane - so striking! Congrats to you! I look forward to seeing more


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## Equusketch

And my drawings keep getting smaller...

I just started doing ACEO sized drawings. That's 2.5 x 3.5 inches. I have done quite a few acrylic paintings of that size, but wanted to try it in pencil. here is a sampling of some of the ACEO drawings I have done. I want to offer them on a commission basis, but have no idea how much to charge for them.


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## Phantomstallion

They all look great!


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## Equusketch

Most recent graphite drawing. I didn't have any business for a while and now all of a sudden I have like 5 orders, 3 of which are for birthdays in September. I'm gonna be very busy.


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## Failbhe

Love your work. Especially your 'drunk' sketches, lol! 

I'd never heard of colouring in the background with a marker and then going over it with pencil crayon... I may have to try that!


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## Equusketch

Here are a couple newer drawings I have done


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## my2geldings

Those drawings are amazing. I would love a drawing made, do you sell them? (I'm sorry I didn't read thru the whole thread, I'm sure you've posted that answer already).


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## Equusketch

My2Geldings said:


> Those drawings are amazing. I would love a drawing made, do you sell them? (I'm sorry I didn't read thru the whole thread, I'm sure you've posted that answer already).


 
Yes I do actually. Here is my web site 

www.soulponyportraits.com

I am glad you like my artwork!


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## tinyliny

your work continues to mature with each drawing you do. impressive.


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## lh4e

do you do requests by any chance?


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## Equusketch

Well, I did it...I broke past my human portrait barrier. I took on a commission of a little boy and although it isn't perfect, I think it turned out better than I would have expected. Human portraits are really a bugaboo of mine. Here is the original photo and the drawing for comparison. If anyone has any input to offer, I am all ears. Oh yeah, and I did get permission from the photographer to use this picture.


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## tinyliny

Liz,

may I speak very honestly and not hurt your feelings? 
As this is a portrait of a baby who passed on, it must be very , very emotionally charged to even try to do this. I commend your bravery. I thought about volunteering to do this, but knew that it would be super hard to do.

The body, the bunny and the surroundings could not be better. So soft and appealing. 

The problem is the face of the boy does not carry the right kind of angelic feeling that it must , to please the parents. And if the portrait doesnt convey that well enough, then you must improvise. 

For this, you need to make the mouth more in a smile, thus the corners of the mouth need to go upward at the edges.

Make the teetha a bit smaller and put them a bit more in shadow. Other wise, they look too , well, how shall I say, . . . ferocious. Give the upper teeth more of a curve,( ( I mean the teeth on the sides of the mouth appear shorter than those in the middle), and the bottom the opposite, though much less noticeable than the upper.

make the nose more of the two little holes of the nostrils more visible, but the shading of the tip less visible. makes it more pixie like, or more like an anime drawing. remember, you are going for a cute, angelic feeling.

get the rosy part of the cheeks, and emphasize the roundness of them. You may want to widen the face a bit. babies have very small lower faces, and very wide mid faces, and high forheads.

the area around his right ear is more in shadow because it is receding from the viewer. this helps to make the head feel more 3D.

make the hair curlier, longer, more "angelic".

the under eye is not as round as you have it. more of an upward arch, since the boy is smiling. Both the line that describes the upper edge of the eye, and the same line for the lower eye are upward arching, though in different degrees. you know how you smile, you eyes get that upward arch, and get a bit "krinkly" looking.

raise the eyebrows off the eyes a bit and make sure that they are actually wider then the eyes . yours are not as wide as the eyes.


I have been really nitpicky and I hope you don't take offense. This is an important piece, and might mean you end up puttingway more time in than you wanted to oriinaly. But, you'll get better and the next one will be easier.

I have found that human faces can be approached the same way as doing anything; just really, really , really look at the subject. see what you see, not what you think you should see. compare dimension of this to dimension of that, for porportion. for angles, put a pencil up to the line on the screen (liek the eyes) to see if the thing is convex, straight or concave. 
And let other people see for you what you can't see yourself. My husband is great about seeing mistakes i have made in porportion and all.

hope this helps.

Caroline


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## Equusketch

No offense taken at al Tinyiny. You were actually one of the people I was considering to take on this project. Human faces are the bane of my existance. I saw for myself that there are flaws, but couldn't put my finger on them. I usually have my husband critque my work and he is always very honest with me. In this case, he thought it looked perfect. 

I showed this picture to the little boy's grandmother who is buying the portrait and she loves it. Still, I might just go back and try to correct a few of those small things you mentioned. They should be fairly easy corrections. Thank you for your input. This is uncharted territory for me.


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## tinyliny

I was waiting to hear what you'd say about my lengthy critique. If the client likes it, then that's all that matters. Enjoy it and go on. 

faces are bloody awful hard to do. You'll get it , though. Don't despair.


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## midwestgirl89

I just stumbled onto this thread after seeing your other thread. I'm glad you tackled it! I remember you saying before that you're not super fond of people portraits. =)


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## Equusketch

Yeah, human portraits still worry me. Not sure why. I tackled a guinea pig protrait with no problem whatsoever...lol. 

Here are a few 5 x 7" colored pencil portraits I did of some of the school horses at my barn. They were commissioned by one of the moms for her 3 daughters.


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## Snizard93

I love the bay


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## tinyliny

I don't know how you get those colored pencils to have such density of color.
nice work. I lke the gray.


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## Equusketch

tinyliny, I use prismacolor pencils which are pretty dense and don't break when applied with hard pressure. I just add A LOT of layers, then go over most of the drawing as hard as I can with a lighter pencil to blend everything. Then I go back over the darker areas with a darker pencil. Kinda hard to describe, but it's just a matter of playing around with different layering effects. One thing I have to be careful of is the paper curling up because of all the layers. Thick bristol paper works great, but this colored pastel paper I am using does curl up a little.


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## Creampuff

Equusketch said:


> tinyliny, I use prismacolor pencils which are pretty dense and don't break when applied with hard pressure. I just add A LOT of layers, then go over most of the drawing as hard as I can with a lighter pencil to blend everything. Then I go back over the darker areas with a darker pencil. Kinda hard to describe, but it's just a matter of playing around with different layering effects. One thing I have to be careful of is the paper curling up because of all the layers. Thick bristol paper works great, but this colored pastel paper I am using does curl up a little.



If you don't mind my asking... What type of Prismacolor do you use? I recall using Verithin in high school and I _hated_ every moment with them; they chipped and snapped before I even had the pencil sharpened from the broken point...


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## Equusketch

I just use the regualr prismacolor pencils. Verithin pencils are used more for fine detail work. I have a set, but don't really like them because I don't get very rich colors from them.


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## Equusketch

I did this acrylic painting yesterday of my husband's parents' lab Clover as Christmas present. I had painted her portrait several years ago, but really hated how it turned out, so I decided to paint a brand new portrait this year.


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## ilikehorses2

Beautiful!


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## Cacowgirl

How blessed your are to have such a talent. I wish you much success & lots of interesting commissions.


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## tinyliny

That is a lovely portrait. I love the choice of red for the background, and the prominence of the name "Clover".


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## Equusketch

Now that I am finished with Christmas orders, I thought I'd try out my watercolor paints this afternoon. I am not very happy with how the mane come out, but I quite like the horse's face. I wish the scanner had picked up the subtle blue tones in the muzzel and around the eye, but oh well. There are things I like about watercolors and things I don't like about them, but I guess as with any new medium, practice makes perfect.


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## Horsesdontlie

That is fantastic! You should be happy with how the face came out! It looks great and has such small details, what size was this on?


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## Equusketch

This was on 8 x 10 inch paper. I am half wanting to take some colored pencils and maybe acrylic paint to this painting as well, but we'll see. I've always wanted to try a mixed media portrait, but have been too chicken.


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## Horsesdontlie

They always look spectacular. (Mixed media) I would be in the same boat as you though. It looks great now, what if you do something that makes it look not great. I'm sure you'll be able to pull it off though. 

I am fond of the watercolor and ink that I've seen. I've also seen some good acrylic and watercolor pieces.


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## Equusketch

Here is my latest project. With Christmas commissions out of the way, it's time to do a little artwork for myself. Several years ago, I did a large 18 x 24" colored pencil drawing of my 3 former horses, Mr. O'Malley, Roxana and Tailor. It's been sitting in a cheap poster frame since stacked against the wall with a few other pieces I have yet to frame/hang. I have gotten so much bolder with my colored pencil drawings this past year and have been itching to go back to this drawing and give it more depth. The first picture of the drawing at the time I did it several years ago isn't great and you can see the flash where the horse at the bottom got washed out, but it's going to be fun to watch this drawing evolve. When it's finished I am going to find a nice frame for it and find somewhere in the house to hang it. Here is the start of Mr. O'Malley. I'll post my progress as I finish each horse.


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## Equusketch

Finished Mr. O'Malley. He was the most recent horse I owned. He is an OTTB and I was retraining him to be a jumper, but I just couldn't afford to keep him anymore. I literally "gave" him to a friend because at the time I couldn't even sell him when the economy was so bad. He didn't go on to be a jumper, but now lives on a 100 acre farm and his new owner uses him for trail riding which he loves. I think I am more devastated he didn't go on to be a jumper than he is...lol. 

Now on to the Chestnut Roxana.


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## Snizard93

That looks fabulous!


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## tinyliny

your control of the color is marvelous.


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## Equusketch

Here is the second horse in the large colored pencil drawing I am reworking after several years. This was my mare Roxana, a Czech Warmblood. She was a firey thing. I always wanted to show her under the name "Red Headed ****", but never had the balls to do it...lol. I think I may have gone a bit too far with the red, but she was such a bright chestnut.


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## Snizard93

Haha, you would've turned some heads with that name! :lol:


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## Equusketch

Here is the last horse in the large colored pencil drawing I have been retouching these past few weeks. This was my first horse Tailor and my equine soul mate. I had a particularly hard time with his portrait as it brings back so many raw emotions for me. He always had such a worried look in his eyes and was the most intuative horse I had ever known. He knew when he could get away with being a little **** head and when he needed to take care of me. I miss him so much. I'll get a picture of the whole drawing as soon as the lighting is good enough and I have my husband available to hold the drawing up for me while I snap a picture.


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## Caitlinpalomino

Absoloutly gorgeous Liz! You got his worried look perfect.


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## Peppy Barrel Racing

Beautiful artwork! What brand of color pencil do you use I like using color pencil as well. I've never bought nice professional ones before but I would like to but I feel uncertain on what to get.


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## Equusketch

FINISHED!!! Here is the revised 18 x 24" colored pencil portrait of my 3 former horses, Mr. O'Malley, Roxana and Tailor and the old drawing from a few years ago for comparison. I wish I could scan a drawing this large. I probably took 5 or 6 pictures of this drawing and this was the best I could get. The paper really is white. 

Peppy Barrel Racing, I use prismacolor pencils. Most professional artists I talk to use them as well. I've heard derwendt (or however you spell it) pencils are good, but I've never used them. I love my prismacolors. Fairly expensive, but worth it.

here are the before and after pictures for comparison just to show how my colored pencil drawings have evolved this year. Might just be my new favorite medium.


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## Equusketch

I wish there was a way to cover up that old signature and redo it as my last name has changed since I got married and I'd love to put a new date on it. I tried going over it with a white colored pencil, but had no luck.


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## Peppy Barrel Racing

Oh that makes sense I have prisma color pastels I just love them. They were expensive but worth every penny.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Caitlinpalomino

Wow look at the difference a year has made! That is amazing Liz!


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## Equusketch

Thank you Caitlinpalomino. 

Here is my current WIP, another colored pencil portrait.


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## Equusketch

Finished with the dog portrait.


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## Snizard93

Wow, that's amazing!


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## Red Cedar Farm

You do such beautiful, beautiful work! Prizmacolor oil pencil is my favorite medium...though when I went to HobbyLobby this past year to restock my supply, I couldn't find any of their oil pencils. There were just the standard colored pencils (also by Prizmacolor), but believe me, they are NOT the same. I went ahead and bought what I could find and used them, but was not happy with the result. Nothing on earth blends as beautifully as those oil pencils.

Anyway, you do amazing work, dear!


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## Kayty

Your work gets better and better all the time Liz, beautiful!!


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## Equusketch

Thank you Kayty. That means a lot coming from you. 

I am taking a bit of a risk her in posting this picture as it's a baby gift for my friend and I don't know if she has a horseforum account. She has already seen the drawing before, but has no idea I touched up the drawing and am planning to frame and give it to her. 

I did this colored pencil drawing several years ago and decided to go back and add more layers as I did with th big portrait of my 3 horses. I may have to go through my other old pieces and rework them with some of the time I have between commissions. 

Here are the before and after pictures.


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## Horsesdontlie

Fantastic! Its really amazing what you can do when coming back to old drawings and doing touch ups. The difference is shocking!


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## Equusketch

I have been working on a very fun project that I want to start using for advertising purposes so prospective clients can see my own creative interpretation of their pets via photographs provided. I found a collage making web site to come up with these photo/drawing comparisons. The only downside is that sometimes I make modifications per the owner's request or my own artist's judgement and I hope prospective clients don't look at these thinking "well, why didn't she include the bridle?" or "Why is the forelock/mane like that? It doesn't match the photograph." Perhaps I am reading too much into this. Still, I've seen other artists do this and I like the concept.


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## Red Cedar Farm

WOW!! Simply stunning Liz! Wow!!!!!


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## Caitlinpalomino

Wow I love the comparisons!


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## Equusketch

I posted this picture in the art requests forum for FaceTheMusic, but wanted to share it in here as well because I decided to step out of my mechanical pencil comfort zone and played around with a 9B pencil I hadn't used before. I wanted to really capture the very dark tones in this high contrast picture, something I can't really accomplish with a plain old mechanical pencil. Because this was a small scale drawing (5 x 7"), I had to sharpen my pencil alot to get in the fine details, but I think I might want to use this pencil more often for commissioned work.


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## Equusketch

Lulu...5 x7" prismacolor pencil.


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## Equusketch

Here's another watercolor attempt. I ran a little auction on facebook as part of a fundraiser for a friend and thought it would be a way to get in more practice with this new medium, which is so much different than I am used to. I kind of like the idea of offering other aucitons in the future until I really get consistent with a new medium. It's interesting to see what people would be willing to pay before I set a price. I am thinking about running auctions in the future for watercolor paintings and woodburnings as I gain more experience. That way, I am not neccessarily putting in time/materials for free, but I can allow the person to set the price until I become comfortable setting a price myself. 

I am open to any adivce on watercolors as I find them both fun and frustrating at the same time.


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## Equusketch

5 x 7" colored pencil commission


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## Equusketch

Now that I am done with commissions for a little bit, I thought I would do a little painting for myself. This is for a group project in one of the horse artist groups on facebook. I am doing this piece with acrylic paints on 8 x 10" acrylic paper. I feel like I need more practice with painting and want to take my time with this one. I'll post updates as I go along. Here is what I have done so far today.


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## Equusketch

I touched up the colored pencil drawing and finished (I think) the arabian painting. 

I actually used a little bit of colored pencil to touch up a few areas. It's one of those paintings that I feel I am finished with for now, but might go back and do more with it at a later time. For now, I'm calling it finished.


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## Equusketch

I am waiting on a couple people to get back to me on upcoming commissions and was bored this afternoon, so I sketched this horse out for fun. 5 x 7" mechanical pencil.


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## HorseCrazyTeen

I would be sooo pleased with myself if I "sketched" that. I love it!


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## Equusketch

I know I've been MIA in here and for a very good reason. On May 3rd, I gave birth to my first child, a little girl. She came 3 weeks early and was tiny at only 5lbs 4oz. We named her Elise Josephine after my husband's and my grandmothers. I've put commissions on hold in the mean time as my whole life revolves around Elise right now, but she is worth it. I know this isn't horse or art related, but since the horse art forum is really the only place I ever post, I thought I'd just share here in my art journal thread. Here are some of my favorite pictures of my latest masterpiece, baby Elise! 

Bwt, anyone who wants to draw her is more than welcome to. I'd love to see my little boo portrayed in a piece of art by one of our talented members.


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## FlyGap

She IS a masterpiece!!!! Congratulations!!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## HorseCrazyTeen

Oh my goodness! She's so precious... Congratulations! I would love to try drawing her. I don't know WHEN it will happen as I have been really busy, but I will definitely try! So cute.


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## HorseCrazyTeen

I love that picture of her smiling.  I might sketch that one.


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## tinyliny

she is priceless! congratulations and I hope you both are in good health. i am sure you will be busy, but do stop by and show us some picks of her as she starts opening her eyes and such.


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## Equusketch

Thank you! I am experiencing a whole new level of love with this baby. I've also gotten into photo editing in light of all the pictures I've been taking of her. the pictures with the pink flower were edited in photobucket. So far, I'm just doing basic editing. Here is one I took on my cell phone with her eyes open that I edited in fotor.com. I entitled it "Hello there Blue Eyes".


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## Equusketch

And how can I foget Elise's first painting? I took one of my 2.5 x 2.5" mini canvases and put her foot print on it. I will probably convert it into an ornament at Christmas time. 

I have also begun dabbling in sketching on black paper. It's challenging because I can't just sketch out the drawing with an erasable pencil. Once I lay down the white pencil, there's no erasing. It's been fun though and I like the effects of the white on black. Instead of focusing on filling in the shadows, I have to focus on the highlights, which is different than I am used to with sketching on white paper. I think I over did it with the white in the first attempt, but I managed to use more restraint with the second attempt.


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## tinyliny

my first son was born in Japan, when we were living there. he was the only blue eyed baby, amoungst the black haired, black eyed babies. my Japanese friends thought his blue eyes were gorgeous but I told them that all Caucasian babies are born blue eyed but the color will change to the permanent color within a month or so. my friend said that she felt sure his eyes would stay blue, so I bet her 10,000 yen (about 100$) that his eyes would change in 6 weeks. I lost the bet. His eyes are still blue, 22 years later.


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## Equusketch

As requested by Tinyliny, here are some recent pictures of Elise with her eyes open and a particularly sweet moment my mom captured on my cell phone when I was cuddling with her. Oh yeah, and a quick horse sketch just to stay on topic...lol.


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## HorseCrazyTeen

They're all adorable, but I LOVELOVELOVE the top one of you cuddling with her.


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## tinyliny

me too!


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## Equusketch

This is probably my favorite picture so far and it was such a random shot taken from my cell phone right after Elise had her bath. I Edited the picture to give it that color on black and white effect and blurred the background.


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## HorseCrazyTeen

Ohh my goodness! Too cute. I love it.


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## Equusketch

Here's a recent commission I did for a fundraiser. This appy had a particularly difficult coat pattern to draw with muffled spots and roaning.


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## tinyliny

your baby is adorable. The drawing is nice, but the baby is my feel good moment for today. She looks so "elfin".


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## Equusketch

latest WIP 5 x 7" colored pencil


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## rideverystride

Wow those are really good . Do you happen to do drawings for people?


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## my2geldings

Liz those are beautiful drawings.


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## Equusketch

rideverystride, I do drawings on a commission basis. I don't really have time for freebies anymore due to having a baby and returning to full time work in a couple weeks, but here's my web site in case you are ever interested. 

www.soulponyportraits.com


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## rideverystride

I will definitely take a look at that . Do you sell the ones on your website?


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## Equusketch

Finished one CP drawing, now on to the next. It's hard doing a lot of fine detail work at such a small scale.


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## EmilyJoy

Subbing!


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## Equusketch

Wow, I haven't updated in a while. Here are the last of the 5 x 7" drawings for the findraiser I ran recently.


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## Equusketch

New WIP 8 x 10" colored pencil. I'm on a role with these colored pencil drawings.


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## Equusketch

Finished!


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## Horsesdontlie

It looks great as always! It seemed to also catch a lot of character in this drawing. Love it!


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## Equusketch

I just this one this afternoon. 5 x 7" mechanical pencil.


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## MidnightDestiny

Oh mu gosh, these are amazing


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