The Orange Neighbour Cat

I like to take pictures of people's pets. I always try to grab a few photos on my phone whenever I come across a dog or cat. This picture is based on a photo of my neighbours cat when it wandered over to our house one day. I thought it was an interesting photo, but had a few artistic flaws which I made magically disappear with artistic licence (my brother sitting just inside the frame, for example).

Looking at it now, I probably should have used a couple of shades of orange fur to get his cute little head markings, but aah well. Maybe next time I draw him. Overall, I'm very pleased with how it came out, especially the background. I've seen pet portraits with patterned, busy backgrounds by other artists and I like the effect. I'd like to work more of my patterns into the rest of my art.

"On a Mission", Photoshop, January 2013

Kids Animal Illustrations

A few other things I've completed during my blogging drought - kids t-shirt designs. Or kids wall art designs. Cutsey little animals, for whatever purpose. Hoping to get them printed somewhere like Cafepress in order to sell them online or at markets. Still just trying to build up the confidence to put feelers out and get expressions of interest. I know a few people with kids, so I guess that's a good place to start.

"Purple Quokka", Photoshop, January 2013

"Contemplative Panda", Photoshop, January 2013

"Yellow Duckies", Photoshop, January 2013

Also thinking of putting them up as collage sheets on Etsy. I've sold some cat silhouettes on Etsy before, just need to put them back up for sale and add a few more images. Feeling pretty confident about this at the moment. I've been getting a lot done lately, learning new things and generally getting a pretty consistant style together. This blog is definitely helping me to see my progress, and hopefully that will continue.

Two Purple Roses for Valentines Day

Whoops, it's been more than three weeks since my last blog post. I'm surely not the only blogger that suffers from procrastination, but that's just lazy. At least some of the time I've spent not blogging has been spent making art. This is what I've been up to today. Valentine's Day is coming up, and I've seen an artist selling collage heart artworks on Facebook. I was wondering if I could create something that someone would be interested in buying.

"Two Roses", Photoshop, January 2013

I'm still in two minds. I like it, but my insecurity kicks in and then I feel like it would be silly trying to sell a print of it. I keep telling myself there's no harm in trying, nothing to lose for not giving it a go, but I'm reluctant. I'll probably post on Facebook closer to the date.

Also wondering how best to sell it. I could make a one-off print, and advertise it as an original artwork. I feel like people put more weight on traditional art (particularly paint on canvas) than digital art, so it's hard to make it feel like an "artwork" and not a "drawing". Alternatively, I could make up greeting cards, stickers, magnets or something like that. But they have their own costs involved, which make it tricky if they don't sell.

For now, I'll probably just keep doodling on Photoshop, with the intention of somehow selling my work, but never really getting around to it. Either way, if you're looking for some purple rose based art to give to your Valentine this year, let me know. I might be able to hook you up. :)

Green Wolf Avatar

I've just been doodling a few 100x100 forum avatars today. This is the first one to be coloured. I might add a few others to this post once I've finished them.

"Green Wolf", Coloured Pencil, January 2013

Right now it's sideways and I'm not entirely sure why. Too tired to figure out why that's happening, so for now, I suggest tilting your head slightly.

EDIT: Added the wolf right way up and a few other old images in avatar size, just to have them displayed on my blog.

"Assorted Avatars", Assorted Mediums, 2012-2013