Pit Bull Pup - Scratchboard Drawing

Just a quick blog update today. In my previous post, I shared an in-progress image of this guy. Now he's finished! This is a 5" x 5" drawing on Ampersand Scratchbord. After scratching to block things in, I re-inked with dots (stippling) and a few scribbles to darken certain areas. Then I scratched more to soften the stippling and achieve the final result.

I'm excited about framing this one and the companion piece (his sister, also in the previous post) because when I visited my favorite frame shop (Wholesale Art & Framing in Rocklin, CA), the owner helped me pick out a gorgeous grey suede mat. I never would have thought to go with grey, since I usually use black or white for my scratchboards, but the grey looks wonderful.

Here are a couple of details of the drawing:




Here's a video of the drawing process:

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Scratchy Connections and Art

I've been in the scratchboard zone recently and it has led to a lovely article about my work. Through sharing my scratchboard works on the Ampersand Art Product's Facebook page (and group page), I made a connection with their marketing gals and it resulted in this post on Ampersand's blog. I'm truly honored to be featured and I've been very impressed with Ampersand's support of their artist customers.

In addition to the scratchboard Papillon portrait I finished recently, I joined the International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA) and I've been working on two companion pieces for the April Auburn Art Walk. This one, of an 8-week-old pit bull pup, is finished and awaiting completion of her brother's portrait.


Currently Untitled, Pit Bull Pup, 5" x 5", ink on Ampersand Claybord

I met and photographed these two and their five other siblings at A New Hope Animal Foundation in 2010. They were rescued along with their mother and have since found new homes. They were 8-weeks-old at the time I took photos. This drawing isn't finished, but is a little further along than this scan. I still need to work on his face.

Work in Progress, Pit Bull Pup, 5" x 5", Ampersand Scratchbord
As is typical for me, I'm juggling a few projects (in various media) at once. I'm also creating a series of photo boards for the Art Walk (see them in my Art Walk show catalog) and nearing completion on this mixed media portrait.


Commission Work in Progress, Caesar, 5" x 5", Watercolor Art Board

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Help Chako Pit Bull Rescue

In the last couple of years, I've become a big fan of pit bulls and I've met quite a few through local pit bull groups. They're such characters and their expressive faces are great subjects for art.



Chako Pit Bull Rescue is one of the local animal rescue organizations I support. They work tirelessly to educate about this misunderstood (yet wonderful) breed and to rescue/foster/adopt pit bulls.

As is the case with so many rescues, they operate on a shoestring budget and at the moment, they could really use some help with funding for their annual insurance payment. As you can imagine, insurance for Chako is expensive, and without insurance, they won't be able to continue the terrific work they do.

Any amount will help, so please donate if you can - thank you!

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The Results of a Busy December

I knew I hadn't posted anything here in a while, but didn't realize it had been an entire month! That's because December was busy. In addition to the usual Christmas season hustle and bustle, I had two pet portraits that I'd promised to have finished in time for Christmas since they were gifts. I also had an illustration project to get underway. I completed the two portraits on time, made good progress on the illustrations (6 of 11 are complete) and made progress on some other portraits I've started.

One of the two portraits is of Winston, a chihuahua mix. Winston had a major health scare recently when he ate something he shouldn't have, but he pulled through and is still going strong at 14.

Winston's portrait is a small drawing (an ACEO) in pencil on Stonehenge paper.





ACEOs are small-format artworks that always measure 2.5" x 3.5". ACEO stands for "Art Cards, Editions & Originals". To see more of them, visit this page of my web site. Some were commissions, others were drawings I did to list on eBay or elsewhere. You can visit this page to see ACEOs in other media (color pencil, scratchboard, ink, etc.)

The other portrait is of Bella, a pit bull/rottweiler mix, painted in my Petzazz style in watercolor on Yupo. The portrait is 8" x 8".





Bella is one of 5 portraits I've done for the same family. I drew a small pencil portrait of her previously, along with a pencil portrait of their other dog, Bruno - see those drawings in this blog post. I've also painted Petzazz portraits of Bruno and their other dog Floyd - see those portraits here.

As for the illustration project, it's a number of drawings of birds & mammals for signs that will be installed at the Bureau of Land Management's Curtz Lake area in Alpine County, CA. Here are two of the completed illustrations, click on either image to see larger versions and find out more.

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"Devotion" - New ACEO

"Devotion" - pencil on Bristol, 2.5" x 3.5"

My latest ACEO is a drawing of a chestnut-colored pit bull with a wonderful white blaze and an expression of total adoration and devotion (well, he could just be begging for a cookie). Although I'm a die-hard border collie fan, I have a big soft mushy spot in my heart for pit bulls. We all know they get a bad rap, so part of it is that I like to root for the underdog, but another part of it is that they have such great expressions they make fabulous subjects for my art. And the pitties I've had the pleasure to meet are big ol' goofy love bugs.



My friend Sandy took the photo I used for reference.


Unfortunately, there are a lot of pit bulls in animal shelters and rescue facilities. There are too many being bred and they're a tough sell to potential adopters because of the negative press. So I decided that this drawing will help support a group that rescues and places quite a few pit bulls: A New Hope Animal Foundation. I had listed the drawing for auction on Art By Us, hoping to spark enthusiastic bidding and raise some money for A New Hope, but it didn't sell. So I'll frame it and keep it here for my upcoming September art show.

If you're interested in some note cards of "Devotion", you can find those in my Bonanzle booth.

I scanned the art at various stages of the drawing process, here's a video:


To learn more about pit bulls (which is really just a catch-all term for a few breeds and mixes of those breeds) you can visit Chako.org or Pit Bull Chat.

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the title for this drawing was provided by fellow artist Judith Monroe - another pit bull fan.

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American Bulldog Portraits

One of my pet portrait clients is the proud owner of two American Bulldogs. If forced to generalize, I'd say an American Bulldog looks more like a pit bull than the English Bulldog (which I think is what most people envision when they hear "bulldog"). And I must note that "pit bull" is a catch-all term for a number of breeds: American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and American Bulldog. These breeds are also lumped into the group often referred to as "Bully Breeds" which includes the English Bulldog, Bull Terrier, Boxer, Bull Mastiff, French Bulldog, Boston Terrier and a few others.

But I digress. . .

I want to share the portraits I did of my client's bulldogs. I finished one portrait a while back and just finished the second one this week.

This is Lexi


and this is Ella

Ella's older now and probably looks much more like Lexi than she did when I took the reference photos for this portrait.

Both portraits are ACEO-sized (2.5" x 3.5") in graphite pencil on bristol (paper).

Find out more about ACEOs and commissioning an ACEO portrait of your favorite critter on this page of my web site.

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"Happy Guy" Pit Bull Terrier Mini Drawing

My first new ACEO for May, a happy, smilin' American Pit Bull Terrier. This pencil drawing is now available on eBay, click on the image to see the listing.

For reference, I used a wonderful photo provided by the director of Pit Prints Rescue. She e-mailed a bunch of great photos, so you'll be seeing more pittie art from me. I'm donating 15% of the final sale price of this piece to Pit Prints.


ACEO format: 2.5" x 3.5"
Graphite pencil

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