Keeping Watch - Completed Cheetahs

Here is the completed painting, finished yesterday afternoon. It has taken what seems like an awfully long time, but before last year's manic run of commissioned work, this is how I used to paint, slowly and painstakingly. I don't know if the results are any different but I feel a lot happier in my mind that I have done my absolute best and no corners have been cut.

This has been painted using acrylics - Liquitex this time and I was very happy with the results although it did take a while to get used to a new brand. The colours seem to be richer and I was able to create the hues I wanted with very little effort. The only annoyance was that they weren't as opaque as I am used to and needed going over several times in some places, but in the long run I think this contributed to the richness and depth of colour.

This painting is for sale, but first refusal has to be given to the lady who supplied me with the photographic reference - I am so grateful to possess over 300 photographs from her holiday in Namibia, so many of which are going to be used for future work. I plan to start another one today - squeezing as much into my last day of 'freedom' before the day job resumes tomorrow....how many weeks until the next school holiday?

Getting Things Done......

It's been a productive week all round - thank goodness for school holidays! I've been working every day on the cheetah painting and I feel it is coming along quite nicely. With all the 'rush jobs' I've done over the winter, I'd forgotten just how slow and time-consuming one of these wild-life paintings can be. It's lovely to be able to consider every brushstroke and work over a piece until I get it right, but I have a constant niggle at the back of my mind (which must be ignored!) that I'm not painting fast enough. I'm very conscious that I only have a couple of months until potatoes start to be dug out of the ground and my illustration job will take off again for the summer and all personal work will have to be put on the back burner for three months or more.

I've also been getting along famously with my sewing machine for a change. It hasn't thrown a hissy fit once and neither have I, so between us we have made three more little bags/purses from Japanese fabric and now they are awaiting their felt mascots.

Finally I can show the little crochet cupcake I made for Laura by way of a small thank you for the cupcake pendants she made for me. She has called him Colin (oh dear....) and I'm sure he will enjoy his new home. I am considering making more of these for sale in my shop (or to order) - what do you think?

Crafting has to be put on hold for a couple of days due to Easter and my loved one being home from Belgium for the weekend. Creativity will have to be channelled into cake making and lamb roasting instead! I miss Greek Easter and all it entails - red painted eggs, Lambarda candles and church processions, and best of all a whole lamb roasted on a spit over a charcoal pit dug in the garden, all washed down with an excess of beer and bonhomie. Makes the English Easter seem very pale and lacking somehow.

Spotless!

I've swapped stripes for spots in this one! This painting is in acrylics - I'm using Liquitex for the first time and they are quite different to the Daler Rowney/Winsor & Newton acrylics I usually use. They are much more like oils in texture, quite slow drying too, and have taken a bit of getting used to. I like the effect though, worth the time it is taking. Hopefully with the Easter holidays coming up and a fortnight away from the day job, progress might be a bit quicker.