It’s been half a year!

In my last post I wrote that I was working on a big painting that I had started in the garage, I’ve now completed it. If you’re interested you can see ‘Neither Fish nor Fowl?’ in the Gallery .

I also wrote that I hadn’t been sketching much and was concentrating on Jasper my Springer Spaniel’s training with the wild idea that I would have a calm dog watching me while I painted…not likely at least until he has passed the turbulent teenager years and then we’ll see!. However before 2022 had disappeared I did manage to paint Jasper’s portrait and here it is:

I did use a photograph for reference which I tend to avoid because the challenge of capturing something is gone and it becomes more like copying but I think that after a year of sketching and observing him from life, I have been better able to capture his expression.

What now? Well at this time of the year the grass is long in the park where I walk with Jasper and he loves it, he’s in his element springing around and so I’ve started sketching him again, with another possible painting in sight.

This sketch is from memory using my bic pen:

I’ve also got a new project that might start soon, with a larger animal than Jasper and I will keep you updated on that too.