Today begins Week #19 of my 2009 weekly graphite portrait giveaway! Each week, one winner will be selected to receive one 5×7 graphite (pencil) drawing from their photograph.

Last week’s winner was Karen with her stunning German Shepherd, MoJo. She shared a beautiful poem about their relationship:

I am worried…..
you are there.
I am so sad…..
you are there.
I reach out and touch you…..
you are there.
I am so very joyful…..
you are there.
I will never take for granted one minute of our lives…..
that we have been blessed to share.

KAT

Thank you so much for sharing, Karen! I know I’m not the only one who can relate to those words!

A note on framing for portrait winners: I recommend the Nielsen Bainbridge Archival Gallery Frame, available through Dick Blick.

Weekly Contest Announcement!

 

Each Monday, I post the weekly Call for Entries along with the previous weeks completed portrait (above). I may change the subject theme each week, or leave the theme open, so please pay close attention to the details in each announcement.

Entries will be accepted through Friday afternoon around 5PM CST, at which time I will close comments and select one winner from the entries received. I’ll announce the winner on Saturday and post the completed portrait with the following week’s Giveaway announcement.

Qualified entries will include a valid e-mail address, and the comment should include one link to a photograph owned/taken by the entrant. If you do not have a place to upload photos to link one, you can e-mail it to gallery *at* intricateart dot-com. Your entry, however, should be included in the comment section below, with your story – should you choose to include one.

The Selection Process: In case you’re curious, I’ll share my little artsy process in selecting the winner. First – I do not read any entries at all during the week. I do not read them because I don’t want anyone’s entries to have any more time than any others to settle in my creative brain. At the end of the week, I close comments. When I sit down to go through all of the entries, I read the story first, and open the photo link in a new window. When I finish reading, I flip over to the photo and my initial reaction is what I go by.

If your entry is not chosen, you may enter again. I encourage you to include a short story with your entry.

WEEK 19 : CALL FOR ENTRIES
Theme

: Open (pets, animals, people)

Deadline

: Friday, May 8, 2009 (5pm CST)

To Enter

: Leave a comment, include a link to your photo. For e-mail submissions,

leave a comment with your story

as your entry, attach your photo to an e-mail separately, and send to gallery *at* intricateart dot-com.

Note: *G* Rating only

Your challenge? To inspire me! Choose your photo wisely – I will select a winner based on how the photo and/or story moves me.

Good luck!!

 

Put this button on your blog to remind yourself to enter each week!
Link it to:
http://intricateart.com/browse/blog/getting-creative/graphite-portrait-giveaway/Or just copy and paste this code:
<a href=”http://intricateart.com/browse/blog/getting-creative/graphite-portrait-giveaway/”><img src=”http://intricateart.com/wp-content/uploads/leannewildermuth125.jpg” title=”Leanne Wildermuth, Artist by Nature” alt=”Weekly Portrait Giveaway” border=”1″/></a>Get the latest updates – Subscribe by Email!
Don’t want to wait? Commission your own 5×7 graphite custom portrait
for just $70.00 right here in my shop!
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Have I told you recently how clematis and I have had a tough relationship for several years? I get one beautiful bloom last year, and bam – a squirrel climbs down my fence, plucks it right off, and eats it.

No, I’m not kidding. I could have – no, wait, I did. I screamed. I was FURIOUS and I chased that little bugger off my fence. (Me: curlers in hair, flowery housecoat, fuzzy pink slippers and a rolling pin. Not really, but it’s how I see myself in my head.)

Imagine my delight then, when I scoped out my clematis from last year making a return. Part of me wants to put those bird spikes all along my fence just to keep the squirrels from eating it, the other part of me (the reasonable, rational, nature loving part) knows that if it’s meant to bloom, it’ll bloom. Obviously, at this point, I’m pretty certain I have the patience of Job when it comes to clematis.

So, let me tell you what I think made a difference. A friend of mine (*waves at friend*) told me once that clematis need to have shade over their roots. Seriously! A full sun plant that wants shady roots. WTH? What a picky little plant. Alright, well, I had some logs and branches from our crazy storm that I keep around the yard for natural hardscape. I took half a log and leaned it up over the base of the vine, and kept it in the dark. And also? I don’t know what lived under there this past winter, but dang! Poo, much?

I digress.

Every little measly spindly little vine that God eeked out of this nearly failed (sixth) attempt at a lush clematis vine is turning green and growing. Every little one. I am beyond thrilled and will certainly be purchasing a bee-bee gun this weekend. Okay not really, but you’d think about it, too!

And all the brown thumbers in the house said “Amen”!

I know she doesn’t look like much now, but she’s going to be just lovely when she grows up!

We once had an unknown monstrosity growing in our yard. It had to have at least three different varieties of bushes within it, and was mangy and – well – unknown. We trimmed it a couple of years ago but that thing was out of control. Ten feet tall and climbing – without trimming I don’t know what it would have become.

It was time to say goodbye to that big sun-blocking-my-garden bush, and hello to a new, improved plant. One that can be properly identified, even!

The Sensation Lilac (I bought from my local nursery) is a gorgeous deep purple flower with a white border. They’re gorgeous, and I bought a plant mature enough to give me a few blooms in its first year with us!

We did buy a Yankee Doodle in its first year this past weekend, too, but I just couldn’t wait. I had to run to a landscaping nursery and see if they had some more mature plants – and what a great find!! I’m going to have to find Yankee Doodle a new home (and I think I may already have a taker!)

Can’t wait to share some macro shots of this gorgeous Lilac when she blooms. Hopefully, my thumb was green when I put her in the ground this afternoon!

Today begins Week #18 of my 2009 weekly graphite portrait giveaway! Each week, one winner will be selected to receive one 5×7 graphite (pencil) drawing from their photograph.

Last week’s winner was Stephanie’s adorable Budgie parakeet, Pippin. Pippin passed away a little over a month ago, but while she was here, she made a huge difference in Stephanie’s life. You can read her first entry here, her most recent here.

A note on framing for portrait winners: I recommend the Nielsen Bainbridge Archival Gallery Frame, available through Dick Blick.

Weekly Contest Announcement!

 

Each Monday, I post the weekly Call for Entries along with the previous weeks completed portrait (above). I may change the subject theme each week, or leave the theme open, so please pay close attention to the details in each announcement.

Entries will be accepted through Friday afternoon around 5PM CST, at which time I will close comments and select one winner from the entries received. I’ll announce the winner on Saturday and post the completed portrait with the following week’s Giveaway announcement.

Qualified entries will include a valid e-mail address, and the comment should include one link to a photograph owned/taken by the entrant. If you do not have a place to upload photos to link one, you can e-mail it to gallery *at* intricateart dot-com. Your entry, however, should be included in the comment section below, with your story – should you choose to include one.

The Selection Process: In case you’re curious, I’ll share my little artsy process in selecting the winner. First – I do not read any entries at all during the week. I do not read them because I don’t want anyone’s entries to have any more time than any others to settle in my creative brain. At the end of the week, I close comments. When I sit down to go through all of the entries, I read the story first, and open the photo link in a new window. When I finish reading, I flip over to the photo and my initial reaction is what I go by.

If your entry is not chosen, you may enter again. I encourage you to include a short story with your entry.

WEEK 18 : CALL FOR ENTRIES
Theme

: Open (pets, animals, people)

Deadline

: Friday, May 1, 2009 (5pm CST)

To Enter

: Leave a comment, include a link to your photo. For e-mail submissions,

leave a comment with your story

as your entry, attach your photo to an e-mail separately, and send to gallery *at* intricateart dot-com.

Note: *G* Rating only

Your challenge? To inspire me! Choose your photo wisely – I will select a winner based on how the photo and/or story moves me.

Good luck!!

 

Put this button on your blog to remind yourself to enter each week!
Link it to:
http://intricateart.com/browse/blog/getting-creative/graphite-portrait-giveaway/Or just copy and paste this code:
<a href=”http://intricateart.com/browse/blog/getting-creative/graphite-portrait-giveaway/”><img src=”http://intricateart.com/wp-content/uploads/leannewildermuth125.jpg” title=”Leanne Wildermuth, Artist by Nature” alt=”Weekly Portrait Giveaway” border=”1″/></a>Get the latest updates – Subscribe by Email!
Don’t want to wait? Commission your own 5×7 graphite custom portrait
for just $70.00 right here in my shop!
(Checkout using PayPal)

Rock’s portrait is complete (pending client approval). What a day, what a week! I’ve been painting my fingers off, whiskers and fur flying from my paintbrushes faster than they have in a long time. I did take a lot of photos as I painted today to kindof share a little tutorial about how I layer the fur. I’ll try to put that together for you next week.

I’ll post the final scan once it’s dry. Have a great weekend – I hope your weather is great and the sun is shining wherever you are!!

I am so excited to share Cuddles’ completed portrait, I think this one is my new personal favorite! The feathering and dimension in her portrait combined with that beautiful background gradient, definitely makes me proud to sign my name to it.

I’ve worked quite extensively on this piece the last couple of days, sang a lot of songs, uncrossed my eyes several times, and even forgot to eat.

Here’s the previous progress shot:

My client wanted her beloved kitty to watch over her now that she’s passed over the rainbow bridge, and I am so honored to be able to provide her with a visual reminder of her lifelong furry friend.

Enjoy!!

If you’d like to order a custom portrait and want to have a look at my pricing,
you can do that right here in my shop!

I’ve completed the under painting on Rock’s portrait. I’m using two reference photos – the left is obviously the pose for the portrait, the right photo for coat and eye color accuracy.

I’ve used a palette of burnt umber, burnt sienna, indigo, cadmium orange for the darkest hues in his coat. (You can see my normal palette colors up above the reference photos, too!) I used mid tones for the primary coat shadow and lighter tones for the eye area. You can see the previous progress here.

Once this under painting is dry, I’ll start applying fur one stroke at a time, building those layers from dark to light over the top of these dark colors to give it dimension and life.

Stay tuned, this portrait will be back on my easel tomorrow for the final painting session!

I completed Mari’s portrait today! You can see her previous progress here, and I’ll post the final scan once the piece has dried.

This is a 5″ x 7″ custom cat portrait in oil. I’ve used a canvas panel for Mari’s portrait so it’s a very portable painting, destined for an active person who will take her portrait along on travels.

If you’d like to order a custom portrait and want to have a look at my pricing, you can do that right here in my shop!

I finished the background and started the under painting on Rock’s portrait – I’ll get the rest of his under painting completed today and share it tomorrow.

I expect to complete Mari’s portrait at some point today, so I’ll be posting that completed painting later on. I got about halfway through yesterday before wrapping it up to tend to the girls and get the little one off to her very first swim lesson.

I’ve got a lot on my easel – so off to work I go! I hope you’re doing well and staying dry (and warm)!