Pawtraits

Time spent with animals is never wasted!!

I've written about the subject of photographing your animals before but it bears repeating. To see my first post on this subject click here. And I'll say it again, I couldn't create great portraits if I didn't have great reference photos! I know it's not easy but it's not impossible either...and can be a really fun time with your pet!!

You don't have to have special equipment but if you have a good camera, pull it out and dust it off! Never use your flash tho, instead get your pet outside in natural morning light. If that's not possible then in the brightest room you have.

Do your best to focus in on their eyes...get at or below their eye level. This adds an intimacy to your portrait and captures the soul of your sweet animal.

Also think about what it is that sets your pet apart from others...or what is unique to their personality. For my cat Shortie, when he sleeps or sees me he tilts his head a certain way.

And don't take just one photo and call it done...I can easily take 50 shots at one time, then whittle it down to 1 or 2 really great shots. Set up a few sessions to catch them in different moods. And above all be patient with both your pet and yourself.

Try these few tips and see if you just can't get that perfect shot off!!

The dog days of summer are over!

After two and a half years of only drawing dogs for clients I finally received a kitty commission!! 

Cats and whiskers make an irresistible combination to draw!  I find the process of drawing them in colored pencil a completely different experience from drawing them in graphite. Altho I highly enjoy both, each medium has their own challenges! Adding/layering color into the mix on top of values and textures is certainly an adventure, sometimes in fun other times in frustration!!!

Other commissions this year:

Molly (c) 2016 July 8x10

Rossa (c) 2016 May 8x10

Teddy (c) 2016 May 6x8


Kitty drawings in my Etsy shop:

The Dog did it! (c) 2016  5x7  $155

Forty Winks (c) 2016  5x7 $155

Change?!!

Creativity is always a leap of faith. You're faced with a blank page, blank easel, or an empty stage.

~Julia Cameron~

I've been divinely blessed this year with one commission after another, with super fantastic clients to boot!!! 

One of the numerous reasons I feel blessed is that I have been going  through a creative block of sorts, but thanks to all of these commissions I have still been able to draw and not had to really deal with it! 

I've gotten to the point where I feel like I've just about said everything I needed to say with my current art, wanting to break away from my African work now, and seeing the internet saturated with a myriad of animal portraits these days, has lead me to asking myself countless questions, like; what else can I possibly say that hasn't been said before? Who and what am I doing this for? If I wanted to do this to sell a butt load of work, wouldn't I just go back to painting Landscapes in oil? But that doesn't fit in with my future I've been so intensely thinking about too! It all has to tie together if I want to join the tiny house craze going on now. SO much over thinking has created a block.

So, I've been playing with lots ideas, trying to follow my heart to lead me to what I want to say next with my art. I'm still not 100% sure and have had no time to explore more than just my thoughts about it, but I am hoping to get back to a bit more story telling, a bit more nature and perhaps a bit more of my LA environment. I've been so busy tho that I've not had a chance to spend the day at the arboretum sketching, or going out on a photo shoot to Chinatown with my daughter, or even hike the mountains due to my sciatica.

June has always been my slowest month, but this year it's been anything but quiet. So, I am shooting for at least July to get in a few of the activities mentioned above. Trying to surrender to the creative process, seeing where that takes me with my art.

And hopefully that will lead to being a little less quiet here on my blog as well!!

highlights of 2013 in pictures

“Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” 

~Brad Paisley~

23 drawings:
7 commissions

1 donation to California Wildlife Center in Malibu

16 drawings

published in Bark magazine

4 gallery shows

3 very distinctive and memorable trips to Joshua Tree with friends and family

fostered 5 adorable kittens

many fun hikes with my dog Josie and daughter Emily

a championship win in spring soccer and a near win at the championship game for the fall season (the opposing team scored in the last 5 minutes 0-1)

now that's quite a year!! 

Wishing you the most awesome, magical, beautiful, abundant and healthy New Year ever!!

"I've always been mad about cats."

~Vivien Leigh~

Sammy  Kathryn Hansen (c) 2013  8x10

up next on the drawing board are two 8x10 commissions, Beaucoup, a sweet old dog and "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named"...because he's a gift for Christmas. but i CAN tell you that it's a very adorable kitty!

and Pete the Pelican has made it's way back to the board as i soo want to enter him in an art exhibit in January, but the application is due early December. if you remember there's a surprise element to Pete that i'm super excited to get to! 

ohhh...if there were only more hours in a day!!

move aside pete, it's raining cats and dogs!

remember my post about pete last week...well, just in that one week since, i received two more commissions...so 6 in total now!!! that is a new record for me and it's not even christmas yet!! yikes! sooo poor pete is now set aside cuz there are a lot of cats and dogs needing drawing!!

i finish up jessica and crystal over the weekend. so one down!

Jessica and Crystal  Kathryn Hansen (c) 2013 8x10

and started drawing out moo thursday night but got into the finer details over the weekend.

Moo

also framed up two drawings for a show this coming weekend at st george's church in la canada. there will be 15 artists in all, so if you are in the los angeles area, please pop in and say hi!! it will be super fun!

Our task must be to free ourselves... by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.

~Albert Einstein~

A Little Birdie Told Me (c) Kathryn Hansen 2013  

 progressing on my commission...the sand isn't as hard as i was expecting! that's good news!! so far i'm very pleased with how everything is going. but now i'm getting ready to go on a short vacation with my amazing girlfriends to joshua tree, so i may not get a whole lot more completed till next week. 

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!!

“Time spent with cats is never wasted.” 

 

~Sigmund Freud~

 

  Buttercup  (c) 2012  Kathryn Hansen

crazy week drawing by drawing

sunday afternoons progress

only got in a little bit of noodling on monday night because of another ortho/dental appointment.

 tuesday night was a bust for drawing...yet another ortho/dentist appointment (4 long visits in one week...yikes! but my daughter will have a beautiful sparkling smile by the time this is all over!!) 

wednesday nights progress in and around my daughters soccer practice.

thursday night i lucked out and did not have to attend back to school night as planned, so i got a nice chunk of time to draw after dinner.

friday night...well it is friday night...spent a lovely evening drinking wine with my sister and watched the blue moon emerge!

saturday afternoons headway...almost there! yay!