Drawing Animals In Pencil

The Internet (as a Pen-and-Pencil Drawing)

Benjamin Redford

You could see it as an amalgamation of lights, studded across the surface of the Earth. Or as an explosion of nodes, rendered in exquisite pastels. Or as fiberoptic cables, arranged in neat rows under the surfaces of the world's oceans. 

But none of those is the actual Internet, the collection of knowledge and emotion and philosophy and cats that allows you to read these words right now. Nor is, technically, "Internetopia," the artist Benjamin Redford's detailed drawing of the Internet. Earlier this year, Redford launched a Kickstarter campaign asking people to suggest elements for a massive, Where's Waldo-style rendering of the Internet and its wares. His proposal? A black-and-white drawing, etched in pencil and pen. The work overall, he said, would be broken down into cubes, each one financed by individual donations, and each one inspired by suggestions from the crowd. 

Redford ended up with a drawing that consists of 3,012 cubes, pledged for by a total of 220 people. It took him months—"three months of solid drawing," as he puts it—to complete. The rendering spans more than six feet in length, and nearly five feet in height. It depicts superheroes and houses and balloons. And one naked man, because Internet. (But, Redford notes, "only two penises.") Hidden inside the drawing is also, appropriately enough, Waldo.  

There are also dogs and cats and frogs and, in one case, a very large shark. This is the Internet, after all. As Redford put it: "A very high percentage of requests involved animals in some way, shape or form." 

Benjamin Redford

Benjamin Redford

Benjamin Redford

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 Via The Huffington Post

Painted pumpkin pals: How to create cute critters without carving (photos)

Pumpkin carving is a classic fall tradition for many families, but carving tools can be tricky or dangerous for younger children. Plus, it's fun to mix things up sometimes. This season, we wanted to try a new take on pumpkin crafting. We settled on carving-free pumpkin creatures, achievable with acrylic paint and a few other supplies.

I got together with two colleagues and brainstormed ideas for these pumpkin creatures. We came up with designs for a fish, pig, lion and bat. Then, we created them. If you want to make your own pumpkin animals, here's what you'll need: 

Supplies:

(I found all of these at Fred Meyer)

A dozen or so paper plates

4 sugar pie pumpkins, about the size of a volleyball

Acrylic paint in red, yellow, blue, black and white

Cup of water

Pipe cleaners — at least two black, two orange, two yellow and one pink

Small buttons, two blue or green

Tacky glue

Scissors

Paintbrushes

White cardstock or poster board

Pencil or pen

Instructions:

Lion:

1. With pencil or pen, draw on the lion's facial features: Eyes, eyebrows, nose and mane/hairline.

2. On cardstock or poster board, draw one circle with a diameter about 1/3 as tall as the pumpkin and two circles about the size of quarters. Also draw two eyebrows. Cut out each item.

3. Paint the eyebrows black and the bigger circle orange or yellow (this will be the nose). Select two buttons and glue one in the center of each smaller circle (these will be the eyes). Set these pieces down to dry on a paper plate or old newspaper.

4. Paint circles of yellow and orange on the back of the pumpkin up to the mane/hairline, then trace the hairline in black paint.

5. Cut a 4-5" piece of black pipe cleaner and six 1-2" pieces of black pipe cleaner. Bend the longest piece in half and curl the ends up.

6. By this time, the nose, eyes and eyebrows should be nearly dry. Once they are dry, arrange and glue the pieces of pipe cleaner to the nose to make a mouth and whiskers.

7. Once all these materials are dry, glue them in place to the pumpkin. Once dry, outline the eyes with black paint.

8. Cut a yellow pipe cleaner and an orange pipe cleaner into thirds. These are going to help form the lion's mane. Alternating colors, poke three pipe cleaners on each side into the pumpkin around its widest point, working from the stem downward, so that they form half circles and barely touch the adjacent pipe cleaners. If your pipe cleaners aren't very strong, you may need to poke holes in the pumpkin first with a small nail or skewer.

8. Proudly display your lion pumpkin indoors or under a covered porch.

Bat:

1. Paint the entire pumpkin black, including the stem.

2. On cardstock or poster board, draw two wings, two mid-sized triangles (ears), two small triangles (fangs) and two circles, about the size of a nickel. Cut these items out.

3. Paint the ears and wings black, and paint a black dot in the center of each eye. Set these pieces down to dry on a paper plate or old newspaper.

4. Once all these pieces are dry, fold the inner edge of each wing and ear about ¼ inch, just enough to have a surface to adhere to the pumpkin. Glue the wings, ears, eyes and fangs in place to the pumpkin.

5. Proudly display your bat pumpkin indoors or under a covered porch.

Pig:

1. Paint the entire pumpkin pink, including the stem.

2. On cardstock or poster board, draw two ovals for ears, about the size of a tablespoon, and two circles for eyes, about the size of a pingpong ball.

3. Paint the ears pink and paint a black dot in the center of each eye. Set these pieces down to dry on a paper plate or old newspaper.

4. In the center of the pumpkin, use black paint to outline a horizontal rectangle with rounded edges, about the size and shape of a bar of soap. (This is the nose.) Paint two black dots, evenly spaced horizontally in the center of the rectangle. (These are the nostrils.)

5. Once all the pieces are dry, fold the inner edge of each ear about ¼ inch, just enough to have a surface to adhere to the pumpkin. Glue the ears and eyes in place to the pumpkin.  Once dry, outline the eyes with black paint. Paint eyebrows about 1" above each eye.

6. Tightly coil a pink pipe cleaner around a pencil and remove the pencil. Glue the pipe cleaner to the back of the pumpkin to make a tail.

7. Proudly display your bat pumpkin indoors or under a covered porch.

Fish: 

1. With pencil or pen, draw on the pumpkin where you want the fish's eyes and mouth.

2. On cardstock or poster board, draw two fins and two circles for eyes, about the size of a pingpong ball.

3. Paint the fins orange and paint a black dot in the center of each eye.  Paint four black lines, evenly spaced, from the inner edge of each fin extending out almost to the outer edge. Set these pieces down to dry on a paper plate or old newspaper.

4. Fill in the mouth with white paint, then outline it with black paint.

5. Once all the pieces are dry, fold the inner edge of each fin about ¼ inch, just enough to have a surface to adhere to the pumpkin. Glue the fins and eyes in place to the pumpkin. 

6. Proudly display your fish pumpkin indoors or under a covered porch.

Esteemed Animal Portrait Artist Georgea Blakey, Recently Arrived From England, Now Accepting Commissions in the USA

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SOURCE Georgea Blakey

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Georgea Blakey (http://georgeablakeyart.com/) has earned accolades from every corner of the globe for her expressive portraits of horses, dogs and other subjects. From her new studio in San Francisco, she hopes to introduce American high society to her timeless, exceptional art.

Among Blakey's more unique projects was the immortalization on canvas of the Prince of Wales with his polo pony. Luminaries like Arabella Bishop, Senior Director of Sotheby's Ireland, and expert dog trainer Mike Wombacher have roundly praised her finely detailed work. Meanwhile, her long list of high-profile and celebrity clients has earned her the distinction of "High Society's Number One Choice for Animal Portraiture."

"My goal with each portrait, no matter how large or small, is to capture the subject's essential individuality," commented Blakey. "I have learned how to communicate the love each owner has for its animal and the reflection of that love in the animal's eyes."

Commissioning work from Blakey begins with a simple phone call, followed by a personal visit to get a better feel for the subject and his or her surroundings. She is comfortable working in any medium, from oil or watercolor to pastels or pencil. In consultation with each client, Blakey can select and incorporate certain motifs or additional subjects. Some portraits have featured pairs of animals or architectural elements to provide a sense of place. Painting with the subject posed in front of her is naturally ideal, but when necessary - for example, a posthumous portrait - Blakey can work from photographs.

In England, Blakey's life-size and startlingly lifelike portraits of horses have generated tremendous enthusiasm. A polo player herself before an injury derailed that career; the artist shares a special affinity for equestrian subjects. She was commissioned by The Sultan of Pahang to paint his favourite polo pony.

Blakey's work has been publicly exhibited in venues ranging from the Osborne Studio Gallery inLondon's Belgravia to the Royal Windsor Horse Show. She has been commissioned to work in locales ranging from English country houses to South African game reserves to the polo farms of Argentinaand Palm Beach.

With a new place to call home in one of the nation's most cosmopolitan and artistic cities, Blakey anticipates continuing success within her niche.

About the Artist

Georgea Blakey is a British society portrait artist, specializing in equestrian and animal subjects.
Formerly from London but now based in San Francisco, she has taken on an assortment of commissions ranging from intimate portraits to large-scale murals for high profile and celebrity clients.

Blakey has many illustrious clients from the worlds of the British aristocracy, international show business, media and sport. These include Mike Azzaro, 10 goal USA polo player, Memo Gracida, 10 goal Mexican polo player, Miss World, HRH Sultan of Pahang and Viscount and Viscountess Cowdray. Blakey has also painted Prince Charles with his polo pony. Her portrait was commissioned by The Lords Taverners Cricket Society and was auctioned for charity. Sir Tim Rice, the lyricist partner of SirAndrew Lloyd Webber was the winning bidder.

Blakey was the Senior Art Scholar at the prestigious St Paul's Girls' School in London and also graduated from The Chelsea College of Art with a merit award in The History of Art. She feels her greatest tuition has been working in the field, drawing from life and nature whenever possible.

Those who work with animals know it can often be a risky business and painting them is no exception. Blakey has many amusing anecdotes from her travels including the time she was given a 'love bite' by a randy stallion she was drawing in the pampas outside Buenos Aires. The local doctor's surgery was closed so she was rushed to the nearest vet for a tetanus shot.

Most of the images on http://www.georgeablakeyart.com are available as framed prints in various sizes.

Contact:
Patricia Mitchell
Email
424 272 0369

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141013/151800
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