DrawWithMike.net

Bulldog - Open Edition print by Mike Sibley

This lovely Bulldog belonged to a young couple who allowed me to take almost 180 photographs at a show and then loaned me a large pack of additional photos. I thoroughly enjoyed this drawing but it is the last in the series of 52 breeds. I had a break of a few months before drawing this, but I was growing tired of always drawing at the scale and I felt my work was beginning to stagnate.

The drawing took approximately 115 hours to complete.

Close-ups and Details: https://sibleyfineart.com/gallery_OE.ht ... 1--bulldog

That may have been how you felt at the time Mike, but it certainly didn't show in your work. This is one of my favourites of yours. I never tire of looking at the subtle variations of values in that soft muzzle. Exquisitely done!

Thanks, Laurene. I think the break was good for me and, once I began the drawing I thoroughly enjoyed it. That was followed by an Irish Wolfhound... it progressed as far as becoming guidelines on my drawing paper... but I knew it was time to stop and change direction. So I abandoned that one, told my publisher "no more head-studies" and moved on to the Limited Edition prints, which I've always self-published.

However, I have always been pleased with the Bulldog. It was the 52nd drawing in the series and, by then, I really did know what I was doing

One of my favourites as well - but I like 'Riley' better! Please show him here too! Your animal/dog work is stunning and I can see the enjoyment of drawing that you have in the work.

As you're OK with me showing Riley, I'll do that now, Linda.

How do you feel about me linking to the video I made for you? Think it might be useful?

Although I know I'm going to be very embarrassed by the state of my hands during the six months I took to draw it - all those missing chunks and broken nails! Somehow small-scale farming and art don't really go together - but I manage somehow

I would love to see the video posted there! Useful and enjoyable. It explains the journey of this drawing well and it is a real pleasure to see Riley bloom from your hands.

...and btw, I can vouch that gardening and pruning do nothing much for hands and nails either - you should see the stat of my hands after yesterday's garden clean up!

LindasPencils wrote: ↑Sat Nov 23, 2019 8:46 pm ...and btw, I can vouch that gardening and pruning do nothing much for hands and nails either - you should see the state of my hands after yesterday's garden clean up!

Pheeeew! I'm glad I'm not alone with that problem! But I still feel embarrassed looking at the video.

I have a 720p version somewhere on my server. I'll dig it out tomorrow and post a link to it with Riley's drawing. Thanks. I think it might be useful to some folk - even if it's just "you're an artist - take care of your hands!"

Mike, do you still have reference photos that you used for this Bulldog Portrait? Would love to see reference pics and the final drawing if you have any of those.

I would love to see the final drawing of Riley. You also have a reference photo for this one. Can you post it as well. Would love to see these!!!

I'll see if I can dig them out for you, Kym. But they are old film photos, not digital. And, because I'd take 4 or 5 rolls of film knowing I'd only keep a few of the photos, I used very cheap (think Supasnaps!) processing. Consequently, they tend to fade after a few years.

I know where the photos are - I just need time to dig them out and scan them. However, I also think the principal photos weren't mine but were returned to the dog's owners. As I recall, they were studio photos with the highlight detail burned out, and nothing in the shadow areas either. So I used my own photos to rebuild everything I couldn't see.