Sandraws... By Artist, Sandra Busby.

Painter of Vintage Teddy Bears, Glass and Still-Life.

Wednesday, 8 May 2013

Work in progress - 'Emergency Pear'...


The main problem with painting, is that so little of the time needed goes on the 'actual painting' process itself! 
I find that MUCH more time goes in to planning and thinking of ideas etc. 
If only I had lots of set ups ready to paint - my life would be SO much easier!

So - while my time is still limited (what with the arrival of the new puppy), I decided that this time, an 'emergency pear' is the short term answer...




Besides, it'll go nicely with my apple, right?

Only this time, I've decided to cut out the mid layer. Click here if you need a reminder of what that is.

You might remember I couldn't quite decide what the point of that grey layer was - so this is my way of testing the method without it. So, from this point, I will go in directly with my colours and see if the result is any different.

Anyway -  time for a Sherlock update :0)
We took him for his very first walk on Sunday. He was so good! We let him straight off the lead and he stayed right by us the whole time! 




He is so well behaved that surely it's too good to be true? 
I'm waiting for the rude awakening, lol!





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Monday, 29 April 2013

Emergency Mouse!



Oh my poor blog! 
I have been neglecting it so much!

For those of you who don't know, we have a new puppy and this has meant my art has had to take a back seat for a bit - just while I need eyes in the front, back and sides of my head!

But I have been getting a twinge of withdrawal and so as I sat in the lounge on Saturday afternoon, while Sherlock was fast asleep, I sketched my 'emergency mouse', just so I had something to post :0)




It's funny, when ever I'm short of art to show, I always seem to draw a baby or a mouse. What's that about??

Anyway - at the weekend I did finally manage some time in the studio and began working on the new bear. 
I have pretty much finished the background - all but the shadows - and now comes the fun part; the fabric of the curtains. 
For some reason I'm really looking forward to conveying the folds and the way the light hits them :0)

You can expect some more 'emergency' posts for a while - but I hope you at least enjoy a change from glasses and bears :0)

Meanwhile, here is a photo I took of Sherlock sleeping the other day....




 ... Seriously - that pup has NO dignity!!





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Thursday, 18 April 2013



It seems that the arrival of our new baby has brought out my maternal instincts and although our baby is of the furry kind, I had the urge to sketch another squished up baby face :0)




Sherlock is taking up a lot of my spare time at the moment while I'm house training him - so sketching is about all I have time to do right now.



 
He's doing really well so far. At just 9 1/2 weeks old he knows 'sit', 'come here', he knows his name and he wees on command :0)

We need to work on the word 'drop' though. He is obsessed with picking things up in his mouth and yesterday I seemed to have my fingers permanently wedged in his mouth, trying to remove something he shouldn't be eating! And he doesn't seem in a hurry to learn that word at all, lol!

But it's hard to tell him off...




Just look at that little face........ Dawwwwww.... :0)

Oh - and I managed a very quick sketch of him as he lay by my feet the other day...


 
...I had to do this one fast because he kept wriggling :0)

Anyway - What's new with you?





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Thursday, 11 April 2013

Bear 7 tonal sketch and some Puppy love...



You wouldn't believe how hard it has been to get a chance to sit down at my computer and write this post! My time has been slipping through my fingers at an alarming rate, ever since we went to Yorkshire to choose our Puppy a couple of weekends ago!

After that there was lots of preparation to do. 
Apart from shopping for bowls, toys, grooming stuff, a bed... you know - all the usual things - we also had to redecorate the back coat room which makes a perfect space for him to feel safe at night.

Of course you know how when you decorate even one tiny room, somehow the entire house is affected? And alarmingly, my nesting instinct kicked in, which is the strong urge to clean everything in sight! I only remember that happening twice before and both times I was pregnant!
Luckily, the cleaning Fairy showed up to help, in the form of my Mum - who was equally excited about the pending arrival  :0)

And of course then there was another trip to Yorkshire last Sunday, which is 5 hours each way to collect him. And once he'd arrived - well... I might as well have had another baby, lol!

So - I have literally not done anything 'arty' what so ever for about three weeks!!!

Anyway - before all of this, I had completed a full size tonal sketch of bear 7, which I can show you, while making the most of the Puppy snoozing at my feet!



Hmm... I need your opinion - With or without the curtain tassel? 
What do you think?


 























I honestly don't know whether to announce a bloggy holiday at this point, because  I have no idea how quickly I will be able to progress with this or anything else! All I do know is that I am getting twitchy to paint!


Hmm... maybe I should just say that my blog posts may be a little sporadic for a while... 






Anyway - here are a few photo's of little 'Sherlock'...


 
 



















                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
...How could I possibly not be distracted???




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Wednesday, 3 April 2013

Appletini...



It wasn't meant to be so long between this and my last post - but I have been SO busy over the Easter, that I just haven't had the time to sit at the computer! In fact, I haven't even had the time to do any art at all for more than two weeks! 

Anyway, before I explain why - here is the Apple, which won the vote as to which to share next...



8" x 8" Oil on Canvas Panel

I thoroughly enjoyed painting the apple its self.
All of those final glazes, each bringing out different colours and markings...




In case you missed them, click on the links for layer 1, layer 2, layer 3 and layer 4, which came before these final few glazes.

Anyway - why have I been SO busy?

You probably remember when our dog, Codi, passed away, a year ago last Christmas day... Well, I didn't deal with it very well at all and I vowed never to get another dog.

Codi was a dog who made her presence known - admittedly much to my dismay at times!  But she had been by my side almost every day, all day for ten years and when she was gone, I was overwhelmed by the hole she had left behind.
Still, I never wanted to replace her and that was that. My mind was completely closed to the idea of another dog.

But for the last few weeks, Paul has been bringing it up from time to time.
My first reaction was to flatly refuse to even entertain the idea. But then he kept on talking about it to other people, looking at puppies on the internet and generally bothering me about it...

Eventually, I agreed to give it some thought and the more persuasion I had from Paul, the more I warmed to the idea. But this time, it would have to be a completely different breed and a different sex - this way it would be easier to detach a new pup from being any kind of replacement for Codi - because he won't be. He'll be an individual all of his own.

Anyway -  within days of agreeing to think about it, we were travelling 4 1/2 hours up north to the 'chocolate box' village of Pickering in Yorkshire, to view some puppies... and of course once I saw them, how could I possibly refuse???

It was SO hard to choose - but in the end, out of six little boys, we picked the one who was really content to have a lovely long cuddle - just as content to play amongst the other pups and equally content to wander off on his own, generally entertain himself and find things to bring back; first, a twig, then a leaf and then a small lump of moss!

Here he is at six weeks old...


 




...And we're picking him up on the 13th April, when he is ready to leave his Mum :0)

This was much less time than we had expected and since this new pup might not be quite as reluctant to wander off as Codi was, we are using all of our spare time to prepare... securing fences, shopping for supplies, clearing the garden of anything that might be dangerous etc...

So, that's why my blog is slow at the moment - and it will be for a little while, because the next two weekends will be taken up with more preparations and another trip to Yorkshire to collect him - then of course I'll have to put some time in to training him to pass me my brushes etc ;0)

Anyway - if I where to give you 3 guesses as to what we've named him, you'd probably get it right!
No - it's not 'Ted', though that was one we were toying with....


...We've named him 'Sherlock' after one of my bear paintings :0)
 But not only that, it's a cool name for a 'Fox Red Labrador Retriever' don't you think?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my news! I must be completely BONKERS!!!
Next up will be the charcoal drawing of Bear 7  :0)

See you then!



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Monday, 25 March 2013

And finally...!



I was going to post my Charcoal sketch of the latest bear, but really - how much l--o--n--g--e--r, can I drag these olives out?

So, before anything else - here is the completed painting...


 
(8 x 8 inches. Oil on Canvas covered board)


...And in case you didn't read in a previous post - there are just TWO olives in the glass! It's the distortions, reflections and refracted light that give the illusion that there are FOUR olives!

I guess that's where that old Artists' saying comes in... 'Paint what you see, not what you think you see.'
It would be easy to paint two olives with a cocktail stick perfectly aligned at either end, simply because the mind assumes... but careful observation reveals an entirely different picture :0)

I enjoyed painting this and I hope I didn't bore you too much with the process!

Oh - and I haven't forgotten - I still have the apple to post! 
I'll do that soon :0)


Anyway - as you know I have started bear 7 and having completed my tonal sketch, I can finally start working on canvas - Hurrah!!!
And unusually, thanks to a very special friend, I have found the perfect model 'Gogga', for bear number 8... Wow - I'm actually ahead of myself!

Here he is, but bear with him, he is a little shy... ;0)





I am really hoping that I can find the perfect setting for 'Gogga', whilst still working on bear 7. It would be quite novel to have two on the go at once :0)

Anyway - what would you like to see next? The charcoal bear sketch? Or the completed apple? I'll post which ever gets the most votes next :0)

Toodeloo  for now :0)




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Thursday, 21 March 2013

Nearly there...



Following on from my last post - here is the mid layer of my Olive painting...




I quite liked it at this stage and was tempted to leave it right here!
But no - I mean, there are black olives and green olives... but whoever heard of a grey olive???
So, I have of course added colour and the next version you see will be the final one - and I'm glad I didn't leave it like this - it's far too boring! :0)

The apple is almost finished now too.
It was so much more complex even without the liquid in the glass, thanks to all those wonderful markings on the skin. But I've finished the actual apple its self now. I just need to work a little more on the glass.
As soon as that's done I can finally post it :0)

Meanwhile, I have completed the charcoal, tonal drawing of bear 7, which I'll also share with you soon.
I'm really happy with it - It gives me a really good idea of how I want my final painting to look!

So, watch this space - there is lots to come! :0)




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Thursday, 14 March 2013

More W.I.P's...



Okay - so, you remember the apple
Of course you do - It must seem that you have seen at least a squillion glazes of apple over the last few weeks!

Well, I am still waiting for the under layers of the apple to dry fully, before I begin adding the final glazes, so it might be a while before you see it all finished.... :0) 

Meanwhile, I thought I'd show you the second layer of the Olives...





(You can see the first layer here)


I actually completed this painting quite a while ago - This one was quite simple. But I may as well show you how I went about it because there is just one further layer and one glaze left to show you... 
Hmm... Who said 'Phew'??? Was that you???

By the way - there are actually only two olives in the glass. 
It fascinates me how all of the distortions and retracted light, give the illusion that there are four! 
Anyway, very quickly there where none, because I ate them as soon as I'd finished!  Yum! :0P


Changing the subject a little - As you know, Bear number 7 is now officially a work in progress - Hurrah!! :0)

You remember my last post, where I showed you the initial line drawing, which I had mapped out on the back of some old wallpaper? 
Well, the next step was to trace that large drawing, so I can easily transfer it to my canvas, without having to draw it all over again...




I use Waitrose greaseproof paper for this task. 
It is white, but transparent enough to see quite clearly what's underneath. And the best thing is,  it comes in a 20 metre roll and costs just £1.48... That is far cheaper than actual Tracing Paper!

So, the next step is to go over the initial line drawing underneath in charcoal, to map out my tonal values. 
The varying degrees of darks and lights will help to create the depth needed in various areas - particularly between the back of the books and the curtain behind. 
It will also help to divert the eye to the bear, which should be the main focal point :0)

Hopefully you've got the theme by now...? 

I can't wait to start on those wonderful old art books with the gold lettering. That's what I most enjoyed when I painted Sherlock :0)

Anyway - I wonder what's on your easel right now?

Toodle-Pip for now!

:0)



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Sunday, 10 March 2013

The Bear Bones....



Gaaaaagh! Enough of the apple already!!!!!!!!

Actually - I have stuck the apple where the sun doesn't shine put the apple to one side for a week or so, to let it thoroughly dry before adding any more glazes - And besides, I'm glad to be doing something else for a while - Hurrah!!

And of course what else could it be but a new bear? :0)
Yes, you heard it right! Here are the very beginnings of Bear 7...


22" x 24" Composition Sketch


...So, this is just a line sketch, drawn firstly on a small piece of scrap paper to test my chosen composition and then drawn out full size, on the back of a roll of old wallpaper (which is much cheaper than large drawing paper)!




I need to come back to it in a few days with fresh eyes, just to make quadruply sure I'm happy.
Once I'm sure, the next step is to go over my drawing with charcoal and introduce the tonal values :0)

I feel much more like my usual me, now I finally have a new bear on the go!  
And  I think that this counts as a 'Sketchy Sunday', don't you?





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Tuesday, 5 March 2013

WIP: Layer 12,610...



So, you got to meet a few of my 'Me's in the last post.... Well, one of them is highly inconsistent, hence the missing 'Sketchy Sunday' this week. 

Hmm... that didn't last long did it? 
Maybe I should call them, 'Sketchy Last Day of Every Month, Sundays'... Or, 'Sketchy Only When I feel like it, Sundays'...

I can't even give you a good reason, other than that the house needed cleaning, as did Frankie and Babs (Our chickens)     *:0( R.I.P. Marjorie*

Anyway, one of those Me's has the patience of a saint - hence getting this far with the apple, without sticking my head in the oven...




(You can see layer 1 here, layer 2 here and layer 3 here)

But - I still have at least four more glazes to go! 

Believe it or not, this apple is actually going to be predominantly red... Really? Even I struggle to believe that!

Anyway, the me I am at the moment has very little patience at all...
YAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn........ I am SO bored of this apple!!!

So - with that in mind, I hereby give you........ 

.............an OLIVE *hehe*- Well, actually two olives. And yes, this is layer one, of about thirty-five thousand, probably...




But, fear not - I won't be boring you with every single glaze! 

In fact, I have some BEAR business to get back to - I can't stay away from those fellows for too long :0)
I'm pretty settled on a composition - perhaps a tweak here and there is needed - but I am hoping to get a full size sketch drawn out this weekend. I just can't WAIT to get started!

Tutty-bye for now :0)





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Wednesday, 27 February 2013

Work in Progress: Layer 3...



Hmm... This layering malarkey is quite long winded, isn't it?
Ah well... the final result will tell me whether it was worth it.

Meanwhile, this is layer 3... 




This the final layer before the application of colour, which - yes, you guessed it - will go on in layers of firstly opaque colour and then transparent layers over the top! Yaaaaaawn...

I haven't quite decided, how much of this technique will go in to future paintings...
Oh well, time will tell :0)

Anyway - in case you missed it, you can see layer 1 here and layer 2 here.


Speaking of layers, I pondered the other day, on just how many 'me's' there are!
I mean, I am impatient by nature - and yet, here I am, practicing the longest possible technique of painting there is!


And there's the 'occasional me' who paints like this...




...and the 'usual me' who paints like this...




There's the me who sketches like this...




And the me who sketches like that...





Then there's the 'mostly me' who writes like this...



...The 'sketchy me' who writes like this....



...and the 'fancy me who writes like that...



And I have two signatures too!


My arty one....




... and my every day signature... 




(too tricky to paint with a brush, if I'm honest ;0)


But I mean, who ever heard of an Artist with two signatures??? 

Hmm... and what's with the HUGE 'Y's? I hear you ask... 
Well, I've always believed that if you ask BIG questions, you might just get a BIG answer! ;0)

Sometimes I confuse myself as to which 'me' I actually am!
Perhaps it's all part of being a Gemini... or maybe this is just a typical characteristic of a creative person.

Anyway - I apologize for this gibberish, hogwash of a post! 
But before I go, tell me - are there many 'you's' to you?

...Or are you just the one?

:0)



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Sunday, 24 February 2013

Sketchy Sundays...



As promised, amidst the serious and 'properness' of my weekday posts, I'm sharing some light-hearted Sunday twaddle - in the form of silly sketches of all things potty and nonsense!



I may as well start with a 5 minute bear...





And a bonkers boot...                                                                Some wishful thinking...


























A little handy work...                                                         How about some loony lipstick...?
                                     
























How I just LOVE the unpretentious, undemanding and uncomplicatedness of of a straightforward sketch! 
And this 75 day sketch challenge is pushing me to do it without thinking too much :0)


Of course, I could work on them for longer - I mean, look at the difference between the hand above - and this one, which I did a year ago...




And let's be honest - this one is better - but the thing is, there are just a few lines between what's barmy and fun, and what becomes a drawing in it's own right, isn't there?

But enjoy the madness and mayhem while it lasts, because when the challenge is over, I will probably do just one or two sketches a week and pay more attention to each of them...
After all, that's more my true nature! 

Anyway - 'properness' makes a return this week - so don't go away! :0)





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Tuesday, 19 February 2013

Work in Progress: Layer 2...



Continuing with my W.I.P, hopefully you remember layer 1 of the apple painting? 
If not, you can see it here :0)

Anyway, here is layer 2...




So, now there is much more contrast between tones :0)

It's a long winded way of posting a painting, but I LOVE it when other artists post W.I.P's!

But, hmm... As much as I like this technique - I'm equally keen to do some 'Alla-Prima' painting too.
I don't intend to change my style, but I do think it's important to swim in different waters from time to time, if only just to explore - It's all knowledge, after all :0)

And frankly, I am impatient by nature and though I would usually layer to this point myself anyway, I'm really not sure there is any benefit to adding a third layer before the colour. It seems a little unnecessary to me. 
Ah well, I suppose the answer will be in the final result!

Aside from this I've been playing around with new bear compositions over the last few days. 
I'm getting impatient to get a new one on the go! 
It's funny that I can feel quite lost all the time I don't have a bear in progress!

I still don't have a composition I'm happy with yet, but I do have some ideas floating around my head... somewhere.... :0)





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Sunday, 17 February 2013

Introducing... 'Sketchy Sundays!'




One of my goals for this year was to complete the '75 Day sketch Challenge'.
This involves sketching one thing every single day for 75 days and going straight in with pen - no pencil allowed!



 


One reason I rarely sketch is that I've always been far too pedantic about it, caring far too much about the result. 













 But sketching isn't about perfection at all...


 


















To me, the idea of sketching is to simply exercise the hand to eye coordination and not to worry too much about the finished page.


...And to have fun!

So, I made my self an extra rule that all of my sketches should be completed in anything from under five minutes and up to  15 minutes maximum!













Today is day 48 and rather than bombard you with all 48 sketches, I thought I'd just pick a few to share. 
















Anyway - then I had the idea of introducing 'Sketchy Sundays' to my blog.
This way I can post about my more serious art during the week, but share a fun sketch or two at weekends. 

Also, it will keep me sketching when the challenge is over :0)






















Sketching like this is a great way of just having a little creative fun... and it's completely private - I mean, who's going to see?




I definitely won't be showing anyone any of mine.. ;0) 





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