My next commission piece.....

Hello,  I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! I have a few weeks off work and I'm making the most of my time pushing ahead with commissions.

I thought I would share with you very early progress photos of the next piece I'm working on, which will be my last traditional commission for quite some time.

I started this guy a few months ago but had to put him aside because I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to cope with him - he is SO heavy!  There was no way I could paint him using my traditional method of 'hair by hair'.  So after some thought and testing I have achieved this look so far by using just pastels and a tiny applicator, no paint or brush!  It looks nicer in person and I think the technique will work out well in the end with the random graininess caused by this technique lending itself nicely to the overall appearance of a dapple grey.

There is a long, long way to go so please totally ignore the head, legs, mane and tail - I'm really only working on the dapples at this stage, trying to get the shape and intensity just how I want them.  There is a learning curve but I'm looking forward to mastering and further developing this new technique!

I'm also going to throw in some photos I've taken of Tayla bike riding recently, I love the ever changing weather this time of year and the fabulous colours nature brings with it! I'm actually really enjoying taking photos of something other than model horses - Uh including my car! :)

 

 I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a health and happy New Year!