25/03/2026
Hi All.
After the paint job I did on Paddy's helmet a couple months ago I was feeling somewhat inspired and confident to have a go a Portrait painting - one of my favourite artistic things to do but I thought had been relegated to history.
Sean Connery. Oh how I fell deeply into those eyes while drawing his portrait in 1994. In my opinion he never looked more handsome and of course loved him as an actor too. He still hangs on my wall 🥰
The fawn Great Dane was done using colour pencils in Derwent Colour Pencils. This is actually a colour photocopy of the original as that was sent to Appollo's owner. At that time I couldn't own a Dane myself so this was the next best thing for me. 1995
Jump forward 30 years and in another life in many ways. As per this Year of the Fire Horse, I have latched the gate wide open and charged in with high hopes that perhaps I could try painting portraits as I had never tried let alone on canvas at this scale - life sized. As I have such stunning models to use I have painted 2 of my boys and have to say I am quite happy with results (always room for improvement) as I was aiming for them to look realistic and reflect their personalities. Biggest choice was which photo to use.
Maverick was quite the definition of grace and elegance and a pure gentleman. A stunning sight to see his always glossy gleaming black coat that look like he was in formal wear of a Tuxedo (one of his puppies was named such). Toss in his 95cms at the shoulder impressive stature and he would often stop traffic as a sight to take a photo of. A second glance always required to ensure it wasn't a horse.... But thanks for asking 😆 But forever my cherished Sir Maverick. A true gentleman to his last breath. Painted: 2026
And then there's Rodney. His background and expression on his face says it all. Golden Child / Class Clown. Happy to share his love and 85kgs of fur and flying slobbers. Painted: 2026
30 years between Pencils and Paint. Rediscovery for me on levels I never knew but excited to keep pushing forward to see just how far I can push, going all out in every way I can. I got nothing else to do and absolutely nothing to loose so why not? Best therapy I ever had and that one thing that I could always turn to when times were at their worst. That one staple that I could count on - my coping mechanism. While it may have evaded me for years after TBI, I cannot put into words the elation and sense of self I feel each time I work. Because I am doing this for myself, I put all of myself into each piece and sometimes get amazing reward for effort when you're happy with the results.
I'M BACK BABY 😁
The Pencil drawings are on A4 Paper.
Canvases are 40cms x 50cms - Maverick & Rodney are literally life sized.
Hope you like my work. Please leave a comment if you like it and I will endevour to respond. Things get away from me when I get in that "zone" and that gets full focus as time falls away.
Next project - A Human painted on a large canvas and another bike helmet for Paddy coming my way. Excited Much.
Thanks for listening.
Cheers
