He may well have a really sweet, loving, happy go lucky temperament, but somehow I doubt it. He was 'guarding' the cloisonné factory we visited on our way to the Great Wall. It was out in the countryside, in the middle of nowhere seemingly, but I found watching the life going on, down the drive and outside of the gates, more fascinating. The small country road opposite the gates seemed to be a main thoroughfare for farmers going to and from their land with all sorts of strange vehicles and loads. It was Mark who spotted the road sign on the little road - a circle with a line through it, so a warning, with a picture of a car with a huge flame and sparks (?) coming out of the roof! What could it mean - do not blow up your car here? I found the image on Google Images ("Chinese road signs") but am none the wiser as to it's meaning.
I didn't realise until I drew in colour how hard it is to get a good colour scan. I tried a photo but that's not much better. Although it was the face and mane that initially attracted me, I began to see all sorts of subtle colours in his grey fur. I'll talk about those on my other blog but here is a photo of the pencils I used, and a little bit of self indulgence - I can't remember where I saw it now but an illustrator had all her pencils in colour coded pots and I knew I needed to sort mine out instead of having them littered all over the desk. Trouble is, now I think I spend more time admiring the pretty colours instead of using them!
Btw, if you haven't heard that today is Drawing Day 2008, click on the link and join in!
10 comments:
I had to see your flaming truck sign, so I looked it up myself. Maybe it means no flammable cargo? (Or else your car will blow up?)
Felicity!! THIS IS JUST STUNNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are so great with these pencils. I am speechless!
Felicity- WOW! This is so beautiful! I can't even imagine what else you could do to this gorgeous drawing. It looks totally finished to me! He is so fluffy- you're amazing with your skill and technique. Thanks for sharing!
wow Felicity - this is just beautiful!! i love the fur it looks so soft!
We can all thank this little imperious dog for having provided you with the occasion to work your incredible, elegant, subtle and labor-intensive ways with colored pencils.
Wonderful, Felicity. I sometimes think coloured pencils have been waiting for you to come along. :)
I also love the way you have your pencils arranged. May we please have a wider shot to see how you have done that. I must say I have been guilty of just sitting looking at my art supplies and colour charts instead of actually using them. ;)
your sign reminded me of a day in northern Thailand when some border guards got a bit excitable talking to our group. They kept holding up two fingers and pointing down this steep path, then pointing to us, then two fingers again, then gesturing at their legs. We're like ... um, what, you want to show us something down there? 2 of us can go at a time? We need to be wearing shorts?
We gave up trying to understand them and let them sneak us into the no-man's land to look at the opium poppies. Someone who could speak the lingo turned up as we were leaving, and explained that we'd got it wrong on all counts. What they meant was "don't you idiots go down that path over there; that's the Burma-Thailand border, and there are mines by the river" ...
Beautiful drawing! From my own experience, with attending many dog shows when I was a child, the Pekinese breed have a very fire-y and protective nature.
Truly brilliant.
I don't seem to visit blogs anywhere near as much as I used to - or would like to - these days. Flickr is so much easier. And quicker. I always enjoy coming here, though. Not just for the amazing artwork either. Your writing is just as good. A visit to your blog is always food for thought.
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