The Drawing Process: Pastels, Pencils & Papers

A picture is a poem without words...
- Horace

I have a great appreciation for the arts, not so much 'Modern Art', but the classics. I simply can't appreciate the majority of modern art, how can one appreciate a plain blue canvas with a red square slightly off centre? For me, the art of Sir John William Waterhouse, Monet, Turner, Michelangelo, Lord Leighton, Millais & Degas come to mind (to name only a few); I can certainly sit in front of their work and think I'm some place else...to me, artwork is like a good book, you should be able to loose yourself, stepping over that invisible line of reality & fantasy; it should move you emotionally...

From an early age, I have loved to draw and more recently illustrated Georgiana: Pemberley to Waterloo for my dear friend Anna Elliott and have sold a pastel work or two for people who fell in love with my wolves.

The drawing process for me is firstly deciding on what to draw and what medium I wish to use then I set about sketching the outline, followed by the detail. If I'm working in graphite, it's a simple process of ensuring the shadows are correct and the expression of the subject matter is just right, if I'm working in pastel, then it's a long process of adding layer upon layer, adding the detail in, again, the eyes in my wolves are particularly important to me; they're my focal point, the part of my artwork you are drawn to and make it seemingly come alive...

Below are some of my completed pastel works all centred around the Timber Wolf, unfortunately they are all framed & hanging in my parents house which explains the glare off the glass:

This is an unframed study of a Wolf cub and below that, a large (100 x 40cm) pastel artwork I am currently working on for my son James to hang in his bedroom:

The following drawings are all in pencil/graphite of varying softness, they include studies of my son James, drawings from Georgiana: From Pemberley to Waterloo and also a few others:

Drawing for me is a means of escape - I simply love being able to pick up a pencil and loose myself for several hours in the drawing in front of me and create something beautiful.

All the above drawings are copyright and were drawn by my hand, please discuss with me should you wish to use any. Thank you