Hello, and welcome to my lens! I specialize in animal and fantasy art but also create still-life and floral designs on occassion. Please take a look at my auctions and don't forget to check out my webpage! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to send me an email.:-)

Colored Pencil - I specialize in colored pencil designs because I love the way the pencil lays down in layers upon the paper. I use a variety of pencil brands but the majority of my work is done in Prismacolor. Don't bother with cheap pencils! In my opinion, it's worth the price to get the best pencilAll of my creations start out as line drawings on transparent vellum paper. I draw out the details with a technical pencil and then transfer the image to my final drawing surface. Typically, I burnish the vellum paper on the opposite side to make the transfer which means that the final piece ends up being a mirror image of my original sketch.

Paper choices: All of my colored pencil illustrations are drawn upon acid-free surfaces. I enjoy a variety of paper types, my favorites being the smooth side of pastel paper, heavy Stonehenge paper, and Strathmore Artagain. Paper that is fiber enhanced, (flecks of fibers for a flannel variation), is my preferance over solid colored papers. For me, the end result is richer.

More on paper....
Tooth!!! Paper tooth refers to the texture of the paper. I prefer using paper which has an even, medium tooth. If the paper is too smooth then the pencil won't go on in multiple layers and you'll be stuck with a muddy mess. Layering color is really important for a painterly look and both the quality of the pencil and the paper are key.

I've had people ask how to make the pencil look like paint. The trick is layers. Lots of them! In essence, what you want to do is "mix" your colors onto the paper. In simple terms, to get green you start with yellow and then add a layer of blue. The more different hues you mix in, the richer the end result. Tip: Keep your pencils very sharp when layering to avoid overloading the paper too quickly. Use a gentle touch until you get to the final layer when you can burnish the colors together for that painted look. If you find that you have lost the papers tooth and thus ability to take on more colors, then spray on a light amount of workable fixative and that should help.

Do you want to learn how to create fantasy drawings of your own? To get some tips, visit my blog for various tutorials and new fantasy art designs.

Dogs, cats, horses, birds, I love them all! In addition to creating custom pet portraits, I also enjoy drawing wild animals. As with my fantasy drawings, I typically paint with colored pencils. I say "paint" because I use a burnishing technique which looks more like paint than the chalky style some folks think of when they think of colored pencil work. I have quite a gallery of animals and fantasy themes in my Cafepress and Zazzle stores if you'd like to see examples. Most of my wild animal art and non-custom illustrations are sold on eBay. I recently did a series on parrots which was alot of fun. My cockatoo painting continues to be my most popular bird design in reproduction. I'm always happy to see my doodles get a good home.