A Picture ReDo

I think sometimes it pays to look back on your artwork and really look at it.  If you’re not happy with a piece after it’s all completed, sometimes it’s good to set it down and wait awhile and really look at it and see if it could be improved in some way.  Maybe make the colors more saturated, try another media to see if it works a little better with the picture itself.  Whatever.

Well, that’s what happened here.  I love pastels, but I tried rendering an old watercolor picture of Santa singing with his reindeer (originally designed for my husband’s Christmas birthday)  with pastels.  I never really was happy with it.  Pastels work lovely on portraits, but when I have a lot of detail work in a picture, it just doesn’t cut it.  I can’t work in the tiny details, and it looks like there is no “punch” factor….it just sort of sits there, almost like a bad copy of a picture.

See for yourself here as I have attached the original pastel and the new watercolor.  I think I will take the watercolor.  It’s so vibrant and I can see all the detail work.  This is also what the art licensing companies look for, vibrancy.  So that’s what I am doing now.  Taking my portfolio and re doing all the old pics that just “sort of sit there”.  Hope you like this new one!  Enjoy!

Two more Scarecrows…and a Santa

Here are two more scarecrows to continue the Friendly Scarecrow series.  I really like the one where he is jumping in the leaves!

I had sent my online art portfolio to Porterfield’s Fine Art and the president of the company sent me back some encouraging words within 10 minutes of sending it to them.  He suggested I try acrylics for more color saturation as art licensing companies look for saturated color. He said he could not use my art this point in time. but it was “Awfully good”.  I’ll take it!  Usually you get nothing back but a rejection letter.  This was nice.

He did like my scarecrow and my santa holding a present, which explains the reason for all the scarecrows.  The more the better!  Hope you like them.

 

 

Santa In Pastel

I forgot to post this picture.  I keep creating the Christmas designs because that is always the most popular with any kind of Licensing company or Greeting card Company.  So even when it is hot and summer-like, I probably will still be pumping out Christmas.  Oh well, at least it’s a fun holiday and you can think of so many ideas.

But anyway here is the latest and as you can see it is in my new banner overhead.  I posted one with and one without text, just for interest.  Hope you like it.

Santa peeking

Magic Of The Night Pastel Drawing

This picture was just a whimsical piece I needed to add to my portfolio.  I love snowmen, and love to draw them at odd angles for interest.  This was perfect.  For days I had the drawing half done, with the snowman just looking off into blank paper.  I couldn’t figure out what to put as the background, so I left the drawing half done and off to the side until this idea came to me.  It’s just a cute random Christmas drawing.  It was fun to just not be so picky and have fun with this.  Like I was back in grade school with my blank manila paper and crayons.  Love it!

Hope you like it.

Magic Of The Night

Shushing Santa

Hello, I know it’s been awhile, but I have been busy with my daughter who is graduating on Thursday and it has been prom, practices and such.

I did have this piece a couple of months ago but then stashed it in a drawer.  For some reason I didn’t really like it.  The other day I found it and thought I could work on it a little more and then was a little more happy with it

It kind of reminds me of a Norman Rockwell type painting.  Hope you like it.

Oh yes…and I will also show you my daughter, Kelsey on prom night.  Almost made me cry!

 

Shushing Santa Pastel Painting

 

Daughter Kelsey-Prom night

Three New Pastel Drawings

I just completed these 3 designs this weekend because I needed to add more to my portfolio. The pastel section of the portfolio seemed like it didn’t have enough, so there you go.  I made Santas and a Halloween design, as these sell the best. You can check it out at: http://cherylmcnulty.webs.com/.  I direct art companies here through email.  Tell me what you think so far.  Hope it’s colorful enough!

Thanks all !  Cheryl

Santa With Reins

 

Vintage Santa With Tree

 

Vintage Look Girl In Jack O'Lantern

Singing Santa and Reindeer

Here is a pastel picture I just completed, based on an old colored pencil drawing I did awhile back.  It was originally drawn for my husband’s Christmas birthday, and Santa and the reindeer had party hats instead of the santa hats.  It also had text that read, “Merry Birthday To You!” at the top.

I just figured I would make it a general Christmas card design, instead of a birthday one.  I do like the way the colors came together here, they are definitely warmer and softer.  It was harder to render in pastel as it is hard to get into tiny spaces and the control is a little different.  I did it though. I also left a considerable amount of space at the top of the design, so whomever decides to use the design can put their own text on it.  It won’t limit it this way.

Hope you like it!  Let me know what you think, oh and also, if you would, please “like” me on Facebook  (that you see on the side of this page here) it would be neat to see the number of  my 27 fans go higher  and  I’d get more views this way. Thanks all!

 

Singing Santa and Reindeer

Another Santa Pastel Picture

Someone stop me…this is too much fun!  I wish I knew a Santa like this one!  I spent a little more time on this one.

Santa...again.

Pictures In The Making Continued Once More

Okay, I’m finally done with Santa.  It took me much longer than I thought as I was doing the Christmas thing and putting up the tree and putting out the lights, etc…  So sorry for this.  I could draw 24/7 and not tire, but life happens and it has to be put aside.  It’s a constant struggle for me.

But here he is and I am happy with it, but feel I am still not quite done.  It looks like it needs some text or something at the top. I do usually draw in my own message, but I didn’t add any text here so it could be added later with Photoshop.  This way I could add any message I want such as Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas or just a cute quote.  Maybe I will even add a paper scroll with a message on it.  It gives me a little more freedom.

I had trouble deciding what color the girls dress should be.  Since she is so close to Santa’s bright red coat, it had to be an accent color.  If I colored the dress let’s say..orange, it would throw it all off.  I could have gone with a blue of some kind, but it just did not seem Christmasy enough for me. I could have also gone with a yellow, but then the background is mostly golden in color and again, it would have lost the “ooomph” I was going for.  So, I went with the safest bet, red and white stripe, like a candy cane!  That would work, and I think it does.

Well I hope you like the way it turned out.  One down, and a bunch to go.  The baby fairy is on my drawing board now and I’m planning already. This one shouldn’t take too long though, as it not a full-page picture.  I will post it when I am done.

Well, back to the drawing board, and Christmas!  Thanks! 🙂

Santa Hugging Girl completed

Pictures In The Making Continued…

Well, here is the Girl hugging Santa picture I am still working on.  I am taking it slower than usual because I have been away from doing this for about a year, and when you do this, it is harder to remember how to do things like the shading and mixing of color, etc. I do not want to mess this up, because if I do, I will have to start all over again, and I don’t want to do that!

As you see here, the colors are coming out pretty well, and I am very happy with it.  Like I said, every time I come back to drawing after a long period of time, it seems I get just a little better at the technique.  It’s like my technique is maturing as I mature.  Strange!

The coloring process is taking longer than I thought because I am  constantly layering and adding things as I go along. The more layering of colors you do on a picture, the more realistic it becomes, and it seems to pop off the page.  I tell you though, I am soooo tired of holly leaves right now!  The dilemma I am facing now is what color to make the girl’s dress that will accent Santa, not clash and still look Christmasy.  Should it be plain, should it be patterned, bluish,pinkish???? I just don’t know right now, so what I do is keep coloring everything else until the color kind of comes to me.  I can kind of see what the color should be if I look at it long enough.

I am also trying to figure out how I am going to do Santa’s fur and separate it nicely from his beard and hair.  Otherwise it will just lay flat.  What I do at this point now then, is lay a sheet of tracing paper over the design so I can see all the colors through it, and I color over the tracing paper and check colors that way instead of ruining the picture.

So that’s it, that’s what I have so far.  I can only spend so many hours on these pictures each day because of everything else that has to be done,and it just gets to be stop and go.  I will get there though.  I may not complete 24 pictures before the end of the year with Christmas and all, but I will strive for at least 10!  I have to!

Anyway, I will be back with more on this picture and the fairy in a few days.  I am working on two others as well, and I will show you those when I am done.  Thanks for staying tuned!  Until next time… 🙂