"The continued existence of wildlife and wilderness is important to the quality of life of humans."

~Jim Fowler~ 

2013  (c) Obama the Elephant by Kathryn Hansen

red dot and award

fighting the crowd at the reception on sunday, i got half way through the gallery when i noticed the "honorable mention" card below my drawing!! i almost did a cartwheel right then and there, because you see, i have never won an award for my art before! so you can imagine how incredibly over the moon i was to see that sweet little tan rectangle below Tamu! along with his red dot...but i already knew he had sold because the gallery called me the second day of the show to give me that fantastic news!

after we received our awards, we gathered in the back for a photo shoot...the others must have gotten awards before because you can tell they are not as happy as me!!

and i am still hard at work on Obama...altho i have to finish him up as quick as i can because i have two commissions to get to...and one is pretty large with a background!

Pet Photography Tips featuring Bella & Ricky

you wouldn't believe how many potential pet portraits i have turned down because of one thing...bad photos. i get people sending me everything from cartoon images to blurry dark photos. any artist will tell you that the quality of the photos you send us will determine the final piece of artwork, therefore you want to send the best possible photos so it's a true representation of your beloved pet!

so, here are my personal recommendations for taking great photographs of your pet(s).

lighting

  always take photos in natural lighting. avoid direct sunlight by taking photos in the morning or evening when the light is less harsh. (okay...i know i broke my own rule here, but this was the only time we could get together..i'll make adjustments when drawing it). do NOT use a flash as it not only creates red-eye but it dulls the image as well as flooding out features and the texture of the coat.

 

keep in mind the color of your pet's coat. a black lab should not be photographed in the shade. and golden retrievers should not be shot in bright-middle of the day sunlight, where the texture of their coats can get washed out.

if your pet absolutely cannot go outside, have them sit near a large picture window. have them positioned so the light shines to their side or back.

placement

 get down on the ground and get eye level with your pet. get both full body shots and lots of close ups as well. take full on shots and three-quarter views too and make sure your pet is large in the frame. always have on hand delicious treats and favorite toys to help catch cute expressions and their full personalities.

other tips 

take lots and lots and LOTS of photos (i took 70 photos on this shoot)...until you start editing them, you can never be sure which photo will best capture your pet. and be patient...they don't get what you're doing and it may take a session or two to get the perfect photo. it's always very helpful to have someone else there to lend a hand. just remember~no hands in the photo! (my daughter emily was a ginormous help!) if your pet won't sit still, they can hold their collar in the back, away from the camera.

now go forth and take beautiful photographs!!

the start of a brand new year!

as i dropped my daughter off at school this morning i took a deep breathe and thought, phew...back to some normalcy and routine again...yay! 

not that we didn't have an amazing holiday, we really did! just after what seemed like endless weeks of celebrating, routine is what i was beginning to crave.(not carbs and sweets any longer!)

so my first drawing of the year is Obama...the elephant! 

 we immediately met this giant fellow (they LOVE our president over there, so named this local resident after him.) when we arrived at the "elephant bedroom camp," which is located on the banks of the Ewaso Ng'iro river in Samburu Kenya. you can see we got super close to him, to the dismay of the establishment...the guards and workers where frantically waving fallen palm fronds to keep him back while we took photos, but then we had to move it up to the lodge away from the river.

 Obama (i don't know why i love saying that, but i do!) took a long time to draw out...his trunk was challenging to get right...but now it should be easy going...except that ear...i can see that will be challenging as well!! stayed tuned!