Today begins Week #16 of my 2009 weekly graphite portrait giveaway! Each week, one winner will be selected to receive one 5×7 graphite drawing from their photograph.

Last week’s winner was the one who best fit the Easter theme for the week – a Pug Bunny named Brewski! Brandy saved Brew from being euthanized, and he’s been a wonderful part of their family ever since. You can read Brandy’s entry 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 16 : CALL FOR ENTRIES
Theme

: Pets, Animals (1 subject only)

Deadline

: Friday, April 17, 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
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My good friend Pam gave me an interesting and extremely flattering award yesterday, the Zombie Chicken.

Now, in standard fashion, I am flattered and honored that anyone in their right or wrong mind would think of me when dishing out any kind of blogger-created award.

Usually, I bookmark the award and have every good intention of paying it forward, but… uh… well, as many of you know, I am full of good intentions.

Pam, however, dished out a heaping helping of guilt and pressure along with the award. Ahem. Get this.

I know from experience that waiting to post awards is never good; I end up losing them and the blogger from which they originated.

Aaak! You mean, I have to not only graciously receive my award (for which I am humbled and thankful. Every time.) but if I don’t pay it forward, karma bites me in the butt? Butt…. Butt…. I have other posts to publish! And stuff! And things! Aw crud. Okay. Just for you, Pam. And those who I may have lost (have I lost you?) because of my failure to pay it forward:

The rules of the zombie chicken say…

“The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken – excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all…”

Now, I know a bunch of excellent, graceful and persistent bloggers who regularly produce remarkable content. I don’t, however, know what the heck a zombie apocalypse is. I’m also not sure I’m intimidated by a wrath of zombie chickens. But I’ll play along, because the artwork is cute. And if you drew that? You deserve an award, too. I’m also not sure how I’m going to limit my list to 5, so pardon me, Zombie Chickens, if I exceed my limit.

Without question, Pam herself is deserving of the award. I love her blog, I love the way she thinks, and I also love her dogs.

Sarcasmom is always an enjoyable read. YellowRose is thoughtful and inspiring. Usedtobeme is consistently introspective and personal. Mir’s blog will suck you in and never, ever spit you out. Lisa’s Chaos is just beautiful. Melissa is fun and creative, June is kind and nature loving kindred spirit, Melissa @ Inspired Room and Laura make me feel at one with my inner home-makeover cravings, and Pricilla has to be my newest, most favorite blogging critter.

Is that more than five? Oh well.

I have seen a lot of blogs and bloggers come and go, and while I know that we’re all here because we crave interaction, I also know that the amount of time I interact with others is always limited. I wish for more, but it just doesn’t happen. I always hope that you all know that I love you and appreciate you and that if I had more time to give to each of you, I most certainly would.

For each of you who make the time or take the time for me, I appreciate you and hope that though my gestures may be small, you know that they’re packed with a punch.

I pray you all have a blessed Easter, and enjoy your weekend!

I was hoping to paint wet in wet and complete ACE’s portrait in one session, but that isn’t going to happen. The salt and pepper variation in his fur makes that much more difficult – the light turns dark and dark turns light to mud, so I’m stopping for the day and will finish his painting in the next session.

Still, he’s a lovely work in progress – and I’m enjoying the green and blue tints in his eyes!

I’ll update again with a pic of the completed portrait within the next few days.

I’ve completed Mari’s under painting as well. I really like the tones in this one, I used cadmium orange mixed with a bit of indigo and magenta into white for the shadows on the white, and it’s given her such a warm tone. Her pupils were washed out in her reference photo so filling them in really puts her personality on the canvas!

As promised the background shade is much more accurate in this progress shot now that the under painting is complete. Those bright colors definitely needs something to balance against!

You can see her previous progress here, and her initial sketch against the photo here. If you’d like to just go ahead and order your own custom portrait (this one is a 5″ x 7″) you can do that here!

I spent a good chunk of the day painting today after updating my portfolio with 8 new projects!

Cuddles’ under painting is complete. A bit flat and muddy right now, once this layer is dry I will go through and apply all the detail fur and feathers, and she will be a glowing, angelic tuxedo kitty.

You can view her previous work in progress stage here.

Today begins Week #15 of my 2009 weekly graphite portrait giveaway! Each week, one winner will be selected to receive one 5×7 graphite drawing from their photograph.

Last week’s winner was Pricilla, an entertaining account of her life on the farm – as a pregnant goat!

I am the head goat on the Happy Goat Farm. I want to tell you how much I love it here with the other goats and cats. It is all because of the publicist and the male person. They take such good care of us. For example; all of the cats were wandering around hungry and without a home before the publicist took them in, fed them and gave them a warm place to sleep. The male person is not so happy about the cats as the publicist but he loves her so he deals with the cats.

You can read the rest of her entry 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 15 : CALL FOR ENTRIES
Theme

: Pets, Animals (1 subject only – Easter related if possible! Chicks, dogs with bunny ears – get creative!)

Deadline

: Friday, April 10, 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)

Glory of the Snow
Lots of action out in the garden – there are so many little green things I don’t know where to begin! A big part of me just wishes I had a truckload of mulch and half a brain cell to remember all of the appropriate names for everything I’ve planted. heh!

I will be digging up a huge section of my perennials over the next few weeks, putting them in containers so we can easily move them around in the future. I’ve decided I’d like a portable garden, so when the time comes and we’re ready to move, I’ll be adding “gorgeous garden not included” on the sale flyer. haha! Okay maybe not so drastic, but darnit I’ve invested a ton of time, energy, love and care into my yard – though I do kinda get starry eyed thinking about fresh dirt to do it all again.

Variegated Crocus
I wanted to share a couple of things – first, the gardening gloves that I absolutely love. I found these Ethel Gloves through Taba last summer and they are a gardening girl’s dream come true. They feel like second skin, and they make ya feel so fancy, if ever a girl could feel fancy while she was playing with shovels and dirt! Right now they have a birthday special, too! (I have not been paid for those links, I genuinely love them and think you should have a pair! Now go! But don’t forget to come back. And Ethel? If you should pop in, I’d love another pair. They’re kinda like high heel shoes to a gardener.)

The other little bit of excitement is the arrival of my Jumbo Stargazer Lily bulbs!!! They’ve apparently sold out or something, but I jumped on that sale when I received the announcement via e-mail and now I’ve got 24 of them to sink into a portable container (’cause those? DEFINITELY staying with me!) those bulbs are gi-normous. I’ll get a pic of ’em in my hot little (sexy, gloved) hands when I get them in dirt.

Other than that, I’m waiting for my tulips (I’ve got some Ice Pick tulips coming up but they’re pretty tiny at the moment), peonies, butterfly bush, delphinium and this year – I get to see some hollyhocks! (I hope!)

Can you tell it’s sunny out today? And the birds are singing outside my studio windows? And that my gloves have been washed and are at the ready? And that perhaps, there’s an 100% chance of dirt and mulch in my immediate future?!