Tag Archives: pen & ink

Three Cats and a Bontebok, Totally Fancy

Three Cats and a Bontebok
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liner, gel pens

Pierre Gruyere, Ragdoll Prince with Royal Ward, and Duchess Bontebok. I may need to dial back on the ruffs. Sometimes they come out much better than other times! But I do not feel the same about the snood (the hairnet kinda thing on the Duchess). Partly because it’s called a SNOOD. Next time perhaps there’ll be a wimple!

Lots of progress pics! I’ve been asked several times how I do the slideshows. It is a free* WordPress plugin called “Portfolio Slideshow”.  I have been using it for almost two years and I like it. Though I’ve been thinking I should do a video.

(Bontebok reference photo.) Thanks for dropping in!

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*Of course if you find a plugin useful, it sure is nice to give them a donation.

The Princess Violet, Sheep and Songwriter

Princess Violet and Fiona Riona Bologna
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

The Princess Violet was a difficult sheep child, a source of rarely ending exasperation for Fiona, her governess. When feeling particularly cheeky or impatient with her studies, Violet would sing little songs about a wise old fruit seller called Fiona Riona Bologna who sometimes played matchmaker to a succession of curious characters in a small Italian village.

Copic marker art cards for Paint Party Friday. Thanks for dropping in!

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Lord Stinkeye Chihuahua, Pen and Ink

Lord Stinkeye
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

A fine person called Sarah (The WonderStrumpet!) posted a pic of her dog Tigi in a discussion about fancy clothes, so it seemed clear she was hoping he would end up in some. And so he  has. (Though his nose is too big in my version, arrrgh.)

Side-by-Side Chihuahuas
Two photos by Sarah, with Lord Stinkeye between
(Also, I cropped the photos.) :)

Not too bad! He doesn’t look like a Stinkeye, but perhaps he was more ornery in a misspent youth. (And to be fair, she didn’t say he WAS a stink eye. Only that he gave her one. And who hasn’t given a stink eye or two?)

Hello to Paint Party Friday! And one more thing. I made a Flickr set of fancy clothes (human and beast) Woo!

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Love Triangle, Fancy Feline Edition

Lady Hisst
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copic markers, uni PIN pens, gel pen

You may remember Lady Mrowr from just a few days ago. This is her sister and rival, Lady Hisst. Both are currently vying for the affections of Sir Thom Kyatten, Duke of Dandelion (below).

Lady Mrowr, Lady Hisst, and Sir Thom Kyatten, Duke of Dandelion
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

I know I was hooked on themed mermaids just a short week ago, but I may be switching to animals in elegant attire for a while. Super fun, you should try it. :)

Submitted to Paint Party Friday! Happy PPF! Thanks for dropping in!

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Fancy Dress Animals, Their Time Has Come (Again)

Lady Mrowr, three stages
2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Lady Mrowr is my latest and favorite fancy-dress art card. She is a cat similar to a Peterbald type (with somewhat narrower ears). And now I think I will do a whole bunch of animals in fancy clothes ATCs*. (She was done a couple weeks ago but hadn’t made it to the blog yet!)

I included some earlier dressed animals below.

Four Animals in Fancy Dress (click to enlarge)
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Here we have Harrington with Ascot, The Theurgist Tarabelle, Fox Maiden and Vincent Mundy. You probably know by now that I really like to name things. The two dogs above are probably my favorite dogs. (And they still live at my house!)

Thanks for stopping in!

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*ATCs – Artist Trading Cards, size 2.5″ x 3.5″. Lots of folks sell and trade em!

Copic Markers Post #267 (or so)

Forest Grace and Afghan Hound
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, ink

On the left is another spirit mask. And at the risk of tiring all my kind visitors, below are the three spirit masks with the animal faces and botanical crowns which I am now calling the Forest Graces.

The afghan hound was created for a “Dogs” swap. Bit of a new style, with less black and mostly brown fine liner. From this reference photo. I like him! I am going to try to incorporate more hatching. Perhaps I’ll go find some hatching instructional videos. :)

Three Forest Graces
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

I like to look at at these particular spirit masks all together. Maybe a couple more and I’ll do a set of some sort. Or a print. Or cards. Hmm. Thanks for dropping in! Lots of progress pics.

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The Maiden and the Parasaurolophus, Ink Art

Imogene and the Parasaurolophus
Each 2.5″ x 3.5″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

Another day, another two inked art cards with an unlikely connection! The parasaurolophus and Imogene are faces number 17 and 18, which puts me slightly ahead of the February curve!

This is a detail of a larger tapestry that hangs in Imogene’s front hall. She claims it was inherited down several generations, originally stitched out of the imagination of a talented great aunt from Quebec whose husband was the owner of a parasaurolophus skull.  The story is somewhat tenuous, as the  parasaurolophus was first discovered in the 1920’s, after the woman in question had died.

Incidentally, this creature (who probably looked totally different than this!) lived 75 MILLION years ago (according to Wikipedia. Hold it, confirmed at BBC Earth). Did I mention – SEVENTY-FIVE MILLION YEARS. I can’t even.

Here’s my last week’s retrospective (as inspired by denthe):

Faces 10 -16, 29 Faces Challenge February 2014
The Slumbering Herd

Thanks for stopping in!

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Tale of Two Giraffes

Welcome to Day 19 of the 30 day challenge!

A New Friend
5″ x 7″ Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

This giraffe was a request by a friend at illustratedatcs.com, intended for a nursery. I offered to add a bunny, but ended up adding a ladybug. On a very tall flower. I think s/he’s pretty cute.

My first try was a giraffe in acrylics, because of the painting challenge. I’ve done quite a few paintings recently so wanted to continue the run. But alas! The giraffe, while not finished, was just feeling too somber for a nursery (see below). Anyway, I was under a deadline to produce a giraffe and figured my best chance for success would be ink, my old standby.

Here’s the painted giraffe in progress. (Stay tuned, it may change dramatically between now and the next time I post it!)

Giraffe (in Progress)
5″ x 7″ Acrylics on canvas board

Note to subscribers! I am posting every day this month for the challenge, but only emailing twice a week. Just so you know. Thank you! (Also, apologies for dust and eraser bits on the scanner!)

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Monochromatic Elf for Challenge Day Nine

Day nine of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. This is an experiment with ink and gel pen over an acrylic background. I’ve convinced myself that the actual acrylic canvas process will be greatly improved with various additional products I hope to pick up this weekend like acrylic glazing liquid and tiny jars with lids.

Blue Elf in Field of Loops, 2.5″ x 3.5″
Ink, marker and gel pen over acrylic

This blue elf is Maiden Number 139. I think I prefer the next to last image below, before the white gel pen. Should have stopped there. Knowing when to stop is not something at which I am an expert!

Thanks for the visit!

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The Challenge Continues, Mostly in Ink

It is, in fact, day eight of the Thirty Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. I skipped day seven in hopes of catching up on the weekend. Work has been more tiring than usual, probably because of the recent holidays. Bah!

Posh Treehouse
2.5″ x 3.5″, Copics, fine liners, white gel pen

This stylish abode belongs to a gnomish clock maker. He is inside right now, cleaning the hands that belong to that clock window on the top floor. This is Tiny House #34.

It is for this reason that I am also submitting this illustration for the topic “Time” at Illustration Friday, from which I have been absent for ages! Topics are posted each Friday, and anyone who illustrates the topic in some way is invited to submit their link.

Hound in Progress, 5″ x 7″ acrylics

Above, we continue the gripping adventure of the unfinished hound. As you can see, I really need to reference a photo for the direction of that hair on his face. Stay tuned! Thanks for stopping in!

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