Aphelion Art

"Tassels"

2011-12-15T20:30:00.000-08:00

An 8"x10" board that I worked on this week. The tassels are put on the bridle as decoration and are often seen on bridles that were historically used as decorative attire for the horse for fancy events. They may go back historically as a form of fly preventative to keep insects out of the horses eyes, but I could be wrong about that too :) This quarter horse I photographed at a junior rodeo and I thought the tassels and fancy bling buckle made it visually interesting. The original is available for sale. e-mail me at cathy@aphelionart.com if you are interested in more information about it.

"Tassels" - 8"x10" - Scratchbaord Art

Great article by Jim Bortz - Talent...or Skill?

2011-12-08T12:04:00.000-08:00

I am reposting with his permission a great blog posting by Jim Bortz, a fellow wildlife artist. You can check out his blog at: http://jimbortzart.blogspot.com/

Talent... or Skill?
by Jim Bortz

When someone tells me that I’m “talented,” I know it’s a term of admiration… though unknowingly misguided. Don’t admire my talent, for it is such a small part of what I do. Admire my dedication, skill, and sacrifice. Those are the qualities of which I’m most proud.

It starts out innocent enough. Someone at a show or exhibit will be gushing over my work, tossing complements about like rice at a wedding (no one throws rice anymore, do they?) and all but making me squirm with at having to say “thank you” so many times. Then the words come out that make my blood boil. “I wish I had your talent. This must come naturally to you.” Really? Like I eat a couple of tubes of paint for breakfast every morning and crap out finished 12x16 canvas later the same night (never mind how painful that might be. Or the fact that if it were physically possible to “shit out a painting”, the “important” galleries in London, LA, and New York would be fighting over my so-called “art.” But I digress). And I know they mean nothing hurtful by these words, so I just smile and nod hoping they don’t notice my white knuckles as I grind a fist into my leg. If they only knew the mind-boggling stack of past failures it took to get here and the paralyzing knowledge that there are many more failures to come... the years of study and frustration to achieve a level of competence where I wouldn’t throw up at the thought of showing my work in public... the amount of research and planning it takes before I ever dip a brush in paint.

I love what I do, but there is no “magic” in the process. It’s simply work. Not the kind of work you do with a wrench or shovel. I’ve done plenty of that in my time. And not unpleasant work, but a continual task of study, experimentation, evaluation, and then application of a learned knowledge. It’s a skill… not a talent. The magic happens when someone stands in front of a painting and says something like, “I’ve been there” or “I can almost smell that water.” Now that’s magic!

I don’t deny that it’s possible (maybe even necessary) talent may play a part in the stages of artistic development. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an obsession with drawing. Still, I didn’t understand much about it until I started studying the work and teachings of others who were highly skilled at the craft. To dismiss what any skilled craftsman or woman does as some whimsical gift by a higher power is an insult (though it’s almost never intended that way).

There will always be folks that disagree with me on this subject (though very few of them are professional artists), and that’s okay. I’m not really hoping to change anyone’s mind. These merely the ramblings of my own tormented mind (discussed in an earlier post). It’s fine that there is some mystery to art. It adds an element of romantic notion to what I do. But I’d much rather that romance be directed toward the finished piece than any mistaken enchantment in its creation.

Cathy's thoughts on the topic:
I am re-posting because it is a topic that I have almost posted about myself several times, but never been able to figure out quite how to do so without offending. I get told that I am "so talented" often with both my photography and my artwork in recent years and each time it causes a bit of a clenching of my jaw. I know it is a well meaning comment, but the term talent indicates that the skills you see before you are something that someone was born with, not requiring further development, and I know that is only a very small part of it. And yes I am talented, but it is maybe 1% of what makes me the artist that I am. As a matter of fact throughout high school I was little more than an average artist, but I enjoyed it and I pushed myself to improve through practice and seeking honest and constructive feedback and learning from those who were more skilled than me. I have literally spent 20 to 40 hours a week for over 10 years learning my artistic skills. I have messed up many drawings and deleted hundreds of thousands of bad photos, but through it all I have taken my 'talents' and learned and honed my skills, and honestly I still am still learning and still honing :) I learn new things with ever work that I create. Yes, it is nice to be talented, to have a natural affinity for something, however like most artists (or top sports figures, or world class musicians) talent will only take you a little ways by itself. To truly become a good or even great artist requires much more than talent - it requires sweat, tears, and MANY hours of hard work. I once heard an art teacher say that they would much rather have one hard working student than ten talented, but lazy ones (and that the hard working one will usually go further with their art in the long run that the talented one), so go forth, work hard and prosper, with or without any natural talent!

My thanks to Jim for allowing me to re-post his article.

Scatter - Magpies - FINISHED

2011-12-07T12:40:00.000-08:00

I am calling the magpies done:)

"Scatter" - 18"x16" - Scratchboard, Ink and Iridescent Medium
Black Billed Magpies

Updates on Works In Progress

2011-12-05T07:27:00.000-08:00

Well last time I tried to sign in blogger was down, so I am glad it is working again.

My art web site has officially now moved to http://www.cathysheeter.com/ and has a new color scheme and some other changes to the layout. Please check it out and let me know what you think. My photography will stay at http://www.aphelionart.com/ and hopefully I will get that too updated by early next year (not easy to sort through 500,000 photos on three different hard drives and decide which images are my best!)

I continue to have multiple art works on the go.

I am getting close to done on the black and white portions of "Coming At Ya" (36"x24") though still doing some 'tweaking' all over to get everything the way I want it. I'm actually going to hold off coloring it as I have heard from an outside source that I was accepted into a show that I will need a large, impressive, black and white piece for, and I am not sure whether I will have time to make another one between now and that event. I should hear officially in January (and I don't think my outside source knows 100%, so not expecting either way). If it does not get into that show I will be doing some subtle color on it.

Anyways here is a picture from a last week (I have done a bit more since then, but it is snowing outside, so can't get a good updated picture right now). Still a ways to go though.

"Coming At Ya" - Palomino Quarter Horse - 36"x24"

I also have been working on a piece with a couple of Black Billed Magpies. While not really a favorite bird to many, I really enjoy all of the corvid family (crows, ravens, magpies). Even though they are scavengers they seem to have a true sense of humor and intelligence. While not as beloved as the birds of prey to me, I still really enjoy them. I am temporarily calling this work "Scatter" as a title, but not sure if that will be what I go with. Size is 18"x16" and it has been a bit of an experiment. Not only is the background more 'contemporary' than my usual works, but it also has some iridescent medium added to the colored feathers, so they truly do have a bit of iridescence to them from different angles. I was a little worried that it would make it look cheesy but it actually is quite subtle and nice I think. It is not quite done yet, but it too is fairly close.

"Scatter" - Black Billed Magpies - 18"x16"

And when I need a break from scratching I return to my harris hawk wood burning. Many people really like how this piece is going so I will definitely finish it, just not quite sure when :) I find burning to be even slower than scratching and also shading large areas starts to hurt my fingers a bit. I hope to finish it by April to possibly enter it into "Birds In Art" Size is 18"x24"

"Landing Gear Engaged" - Harris Hawk Pyrography (wood burning) on birch plywood

I also heard back that I will be included in the Colorado Governor's Show again in 2012. I did very well at this show last year and am excited to be included again this coming year. I believe the opening is April 28.

Progress on "Coming At Ya!"

2011-11-16T12:18:00.000-08:00

This big board (36"x24") I started way back in May. Sometimes I have to set aside these big boards and take a break on them and then work on some other stuff to get renewed energy and fresh perspective. Anyways I am back at it and here is a couple of updates.

Little Grizzly Bear

2011-10-31T13:20:00.000-07:00

I felt like doing a quick little board and desided to go with this grizzly bear that I photogrpahed at the Denver Zoo. I like how his fur and shape of his head is almost a heart shape.

This piece is only 6"x6" in size

Mother May I?

2011-10-24T18:10:00.000-07:00

Well this piece that I did a few months back I decided to color, as I felt it was missing 'something'. Here is "Mother May I?" in color.

Spotted

2011-10-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

Here is the piece that I mentioned in my last post that I said I would post when it was done. I started it on my trip to Michigan and finished coloring it today. It is from one of my photos (as usual). Size is 14"x11" and I am pretty pleased with how it came out. I will probably do a little more tweaking over the next few days, but it is pretty much done as it sits here.

Here is the black and white version. I knew I was going to color it so the whiskers had to be added after the color was put in to make them more pristine white and not risk getting colored ink on them. The lack of whiskers definitely made his jaw look funny.

And here it is after coloring and with whiskers!

"Spotted" - 14"x11" - Original Available

As always, I love hearing your comments nad feedback!

News

2011-10-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a while since I have posted, so my apologies to those that follow along on here. The days just go by too dang fast! Here we are toward the middle of October and it seems like the new year just rolled around not long ago at all!

The cover of my 2012 calendar.

Anyways firstly please check out my 2012 calendar. These are high quality calendars printed on heavy weight paper featuring 14 of my scratchboard images. If you enjoy my art this is a great way to get to see it all year round. Many people tell me they have kept my previous ones alter the year is over just to enjoy the art. These calendars are a reasonable $15 each plus S&H. To order go to http://www.aphelionart.com/calendar2012.html

Next news is about the International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA). We have officially launched and are now taking members! It has been months of hard work getting everything in place, but it is quite exciting to watch it become a reality! Members joining in 2011 will have their membership carry through to 2012 too! We have all different level of membership designed to suit everyone from novice up to expert scratchboard artist! Some of the perks of membership will include a quarterly newsletter, reduced rates for entering our 2012 exhibition and workshops, publicity on the web site, and of course being connected with a group of other scratchboard artists. For information on joining please check it out at http://www.scratchboardsociety.com/

And then updates on art. I am still working on the wolves. Also have a new leopard piece that I am going to wait to post until it is finished. But here is an update on the wolves. Getting there, but still not done.

Where Wolves?

2011-09-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

Well I didn't make as much progress as I wanted on the pair of wolves, while I was in Michigan, but did make some headway and I am pleased with how it is progressing (and also started another board, which I will eventually get around to posting).

Here is the update on "Sibling Rivalry"

I am headed off on Monday to Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP. I love that part of the country and try to go there once a year (usually at peak fall color which also happens to be around my Birthday). As a matter of fact the images for "Sibling Rivalry" were gathered on my trip through that part of the country last year (at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, MT). I will be spending a few days there on this trip as well. The reference images for "Edge of Darkness" came from there as well. Where do you like to go and take reference photos? Wolf works are some of my favorites to do and also my best sellers, but getting good references is not always easy.

Progress on Sibling Rivalry

2011-09-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

Here is an update on the wolf piece. I will be taking it with me to Michigan next week for the Society of Animal Artists show opening in Travers City. I will be staying with an SAA friend for a few days afterwards and she is going to take me to her art class and I offered to demo scratchboard for them.

Updates

2011-08-31T15:41:00.000-07:00

I was notified that my scratchboard and ink piece of a white tiger, titled "The Interrupted Drink", won Viewer's Choice at the Bennington Center for the Arts "Art of the Animal Kingdom XVI". Thanks to all who voted for my piece! It was totally unexpected to me :)

"The Interrupted Drink" - Original Available

Here is an update on "Comin' At Ya" the big horse piece that I am working on (36"x24"). Still a long ways to go.

"Comin' At Ya" - WIP - 36"x24"

And I have also started a new piece titled "Sibling Rivalry" sized 16"x20". As you may figure by the title (and random tooth) there will be a 2nd wolf in the image

"Sibling Rivalry" - WIP - 16"x20"

International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA) continues to take shape

2011-08-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

First Ever Scratchboard Society: International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA)

Scratching, as an art form, has been around since the first people painted and scratched on cave walls. Today’s scratchboard is much more refined, allowing for intricate detail and a wide variety of styles. Scratchboard Art involves using a variety of abrasive tools to remove darker color to reveal a white layer below. Artists may leave the artwork in black and white or color it with a variety of mediums. Scratchboard Art was historically used for illustrations in the advertising and publishing industries as an alternative to engraving. It has recently experienced a resurgence in popularity, is now finding its way into fine art circles.

In recent years an International group of artists have been experimenting, pushing boundaries and honing their skills in scratchboard, working to move beyond illustrations into the creation of fine art. It was discovered that a large portion of the general public and art community had little knowledge of this medium. When entering juried shows, often show organizers do not know what category to put scratchboard art into and some would even exclude it from shows without ever seeing the work or understanding what scratchboard is capable of in the hands of fine artists.

Initially brought together through an online art community called WetCanvas, the first International Scratchboard Exhibition was held in Indianapolis, Indiana in 2008 with a second one held in Alamosa, Colorado in 2009. While these shows were very well received, they were not juried and not inclusive to all scratchboard artists or promoted to those that were not part of the online community.

With almost all other mediums having their own societies representing them and helping to promote their interests, it was felt that a similar society dedicated specifically to Scratchboard Art was overdue. ISSA has the goal of lifting the profile of scratchboard art internationally; providing exhibitions to showcase this art form, organizing workshops, uniting all artists working in the medium, and endeavoring to continue educating about the medium to the arts and public communities.

In July, 2010 discussions started for creating a formal society dedicated to Scratchboard Art with the aims to reach and include all scratchboard artists everywhere. After this meeting work began on the society’s bylaws, the development of a board of directors, and a lawyer is presently working with us on incorporation and the process to obtain 501c3 non-profit status. The ISSA will begin accepting members in Fall of 2011. Its web site, presently still under construction, can be found at http://www.scratchboardsociety.com/.

Membership within the society will include a variety of levels to encourage artists from novice up to professionals. Top tiers of membership and all shows will be carefully juried to encourage and promote excellence in the medium. At least one international show of scratchboard art will occur each year. In 2012 all scratchboard artists, worldwide, will be welcomed and encouraged to submit for jury to the inaugural ISSA International Exhibition of Scratchboard Art.

The Founding Board Members of the ISSA are Lorna Hannett and Sue Rhodes from Canada, Patrick Hedges from Australia, Diana Lee, Ken MacFarlane, Cathy Sheeter, and Sandra Willard from the US.

"A King On His Throne" - A Scratchboard work by founding ISSA member and artist Cathy Sheeter

Back From Africa and some bird photos

2011-08-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

Well I had a long, fun and productive trip to Africa, coming home with many reference photos (though completing zero art) and memories. But I am HAPPY to be home (at least for a couple of weeks...LOL).

We saw LOTS of animals in SA! An incomplete list off of the top of my head includes Elephants, Impala, Springbok, Steenbok, Bushbuck, Greater Kudu, Common Duiker, Bush Duiker, Klipspringer, Eland, Blesbok, Gemsbok, Waterbuck, Blue Wildebeest, Black Wildebeest, Red Hartebeest, Burchell's Zebra, Mountain Zebra, White Rhino, African Buffalo, Warthogs, Bush Pigs, Hippos, Giraffes, Lions, Leopards, Side Striped Jackal, Black Backed Jackal, African Civet, Honey Badger, Spotted Hyena, lots of Mongoose of various types, various bats and tons of birds!

Here are a few photos of birds that we saw in South Africa throughout our trip. South Africa is a premier birders spot with over 900 species calling it home for at least part of the year. And while I am far from a hard core birder I do enjoy documenting and looking up the species that I saw. Since I didn't even have a bird book for that part of the world (the cheapest one I saw was about $35) I had to sneak peeks at the bird books that were being sold in each and every gift shop to get my IDs :)

Yellow Hornbill - a VERY common species around Kruger National Park

This is a Crombec (not sure what type). They have virtually no tail feathers to speak of, which makes them look quite funny. Before I looked up the species I thought maybe his feathers had been pulled out by a predator, but nope... that is just how they are!

Collared Sun Bird - These little guys are Africa's version of a hummingbird, though they do not hover, they do LOVE nectar from aloe plants. This is a male sitting on a Marloth Aloe flower.

Greater Blue Eared Starling - South Africa has many starling species. Several of them are incredibly iridescent (they look anywhere from black to green to blue depending on the light) from head to tail (not something that you can capture all that well in a photo). These guys are very common, but nevertheless the beauty of them is something I never got tired of.

Many would consider the Lilac Breasted Roller as one of Africa's more beautiful (and trademark) birds. I never did get the 'killer' shot of one that I wanted but got a few shots I can't complain too much about.

White Capped Shrike - These little guys flock together and like to talk a lot. I think their fluffy look is very cute :)

Pied Kingfisher hovering above a river. I WISH I could have changed the lighting situation on this photo to illuminate his head better, but it is still a neat thing to see. I also got photos of a brown hooded kingfisher and a giant kingfisher.

Update

2011-07-07T15:56:00.000-07:00

Here is an update on the big horse. I didn't have a very productive week as the transmition on my jeep went out and I have been car shopping this week - have not bought anything yet. I also leave for almost a month to South Africa in about 10 days so making final preperations for that trip too.

start on new big board

2011-06-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

Not really much to look at right now, but this is the start of another 36"x24" board of a horse and rider. It will be colored. I need to give him eyes soon so he doesn't look so scary :)

Another show, another award... YEAH!

2011-06-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

I am working on another 24"x36" board right now, but don't have enough going to show it yet.

Greeley was a success so far and still open for another week or so. "Bee-Mused" won the artists choice award on the opening night. This is a bit different than people's choice since it is only the other participating artists that get to vote on the work. It sold to a repeat client. "A Distant Gaze" also sold to a repeat client! Yeah!! :) I was told yesterday that Bee-Mused is in the lead for People's Choice as well.

Me with "Bee-Mused" It was sold and also selected for "Artists Choice" award at the Greeley Stampede Invitational Western Art Show.

A scratchboard society? Its about time!!

2011-06-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

It is long overdue for scratchboard art to have its own society and myself and handful of other motivated and dedicated scratchboard artists from around the world are working hard to make this a reality! It will be called the International Society of Scratchboard Artists or ISSA for short. We presently have an official board of directors, by-laws, and have a lawyer working on getting us incorporated and eventually getting our 501(c)(3) non-profit status! We are working hard behind the scenes to get everything in place (by-laws finalized, a website, etc.) to start taking membership. We will start taking membership in autumn 2011.

One of the key aspects of the society will be continuing to get scratchboard more known through exhibitions and education. We want scratchboard to be able to take its rightful place among other fine art mediums! We also want to unite scratchboard artists since many people work in isolation feeling that they are the only person working in the medium. This truly will be an international group with our board members already including individuals from the USA, Canada and Australia.

One of the highlights of the society will be an annual juried exhibition (and workshops). 2012 will be the official launch of the society and it will kick off with, what we hope is, an amazing exhibit of some of the best scratchboard art in the world! The show will be in Austin, Texas mid-year next year. Yours truly is the exhibition director, so if you are interested in getting information about the show send me your e-mail and I will send you a link to the prospectus once it is available.

I think this is going to be a fabulous thing to help promote our medium in the fine art world and hope if you are a scratchboard artist (whether casual or serious) that you too will be excited to see this take shape!

Whats new?

2011-06-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

Well quite a few things actually...

First the Greeley Stampede Inviational Western Art Show opens up tonight in Greeley, CO. It will run through July 4 in conjunction with the Greeley Stampede Rodeo and other events. For more info click the link above. I have been selected for People's Choice Award the past two years (the only years I have been in the event) and the purchase award in 2009. Hope I can make it three for three ;)

One of my pieces was published on the front page of the Greeley Tribune - the local newspaper in Greeley either yesterday or today (a friend on facebook told me). You can see the article and images at: http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20110622/NEWS/706229960/1051&ParentProfile=1001

I also just returned from our annual scratchboard group get together. We have been having annual workshops since 2009 and they never fail to be one of the highlights of my year! The group throughout most of the year is connected through the online scratchboard forums on wetcanvas.com If you are interested in scratchboard there is NO better place to learn the medium as well as interact with a bunch of really fun people. Once a year we find a location to hold workshops taught by members on the forum. We have people come from all over the US as well as often having a few Canadians. This group has the BEST sense of humor and keeps me rolling for the whole time, as well as sharing lots of great ideas and techniques. You can find our workshops from 2009, 2010 and this year on youtube too.

My demo was on fur and eyes and I did it on a little 3"x5" board and titled "Eye Spy". Here is the finished project life size-->

Also only about 3 weeks until I leave on a trip for South Africa - I am SOOOOOOO excited!!

"At Attention"

2011-06-03T17:24:00.000-07:00

I finished the colt yesterday and opted to go with the title of "At Attention" since he looks so alert

Mustang Colt

2011-06-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

And this is a little 8"x10" board that I am working on of a mustang colt. He was a late yearling or two year old that I saw for adoption at a sanctuary in South Dakota. They had about 70 horses there in the corrals and something about this guy caught my eye and he is the one I would have taken home if I could have. He had a very sweet face. This was a couple of years ago and I hope he found a good home since then.

I hope to finish this piece tomorrow.

A pic of him from the corrals - I think he is super cute :D

Mother May I?

2011-06-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

This is a new piece I completed last week. I may color it - undecided at this point :)

Size is 11"x14"

I Am Your Leader!

2011-05-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

I am your leader and you are under my control!! Well at least while you are viewing my art. You might scoff, but if fact whether they make a good leader or a poor one, the compositional elements of your art lead the viewer. The way people view a piece of art is influenced by each elements of the artwork that you are viewing and really the way people see it is essentially human nature and beyond their control… but not beyond, yours, as the artist!

Every piece of artwork has a flow to it. It has a way that the average person sees each item within the image or how our eye travels the path of the artwork. While there will be some minor deviation based on individuality, most people’s eyes tend to mostly travel a similar path.

Through human nature certain things draw our eyes more than others. Some of the things that tend to draw our eye are:

-Strong contrast of light and dark (Bright whites, dark shadows)
- Bright colors

- Hard edges

- Lines in general, but also lines that lead in or out of an image (these lines can be anything from a branch or piece of grass, to a cloud or rock formation)
- Warm colors in a cool image
- Cool colors in a warm image

Keeping these things in mind when creating a work of art can certainly make us a better artist. Understanding compositional elements and how the eye moves helps me to make certain decisions about my works. The more complex the composition the more the artist needs to contemplate their decisions about HOW they place things in their art work - what direction it faces, how it is lit, how much contrast is on the item, etc.

Some artists are masters of leading the eye! One of my favorites is when they hide something in plain sight! Here are a couple of examples:

The first thing that the majority of people will notice in this piece by Bev Doolittle titled “Doubled Back” is the strong contrast and hard edges of the bear tracks lead us right up the line of snow to the rock formation that is shaped like a bear. But then the warm colors of the thicket brings us back to other aspects of the image to notice… surprise! There is a ‘real’ bear in the willows! The similar values between the bear and the thicket keep us from noticing it any sooner, just as the artist intended!

Robert Bateman is another one that knows just how your eye travels and uses this for impact. “Winter Reflection Wolf” plays a similar trick on our eyes. The hard lines and strong values of the water with the snow lead our eye there first. We follow it and it only leads us out of the image. But me know there is more so we come back and look harder. Next the lines of the icicles catch my eye, as do the lines leading down through the rocks. Still not all that interesting. Finally my eye catches the one rock with puffy snow pointing upwards and suddenly… bam! There’s the wolf! You wonder how you didn’t see it before, but the wolf is hidden on purpose, by using very minimal contrast and letting him merge just enough with the background that he is obscured.

Probably one of the best known Bateman images is this one:

Robert Bateman - "Midnight - Black Wolf"

Why do you think it is so popular? Not only a popular subject matter, but masterfully crafted by the artist as well!

Of course even when you are not hiding something within the image composition is paramount! How can you keep the viewers eye traveling in a manner that brings attention to the most important aspects of the work and keeps bringing them back to it?

Carl Brenders - "One to One"

Carl Brenders is not known for hiding his critters, but he still uses strong compositions to keep the viewers eye moving, but always coming back to what is most important. Many of his works have a circular flow. His well known image titled “One to One” leads our eye in a perfect circle from the wolf to the rocks, which circle back around to the wolf. Even the lighter color twig brings us back to the wolf. Simple and effective.

Daniel smith - "Sun Struck"

How do the warm colors and light lead your work in this work by Daniel Smith?

As you become more aware of what you eye is doing within a work you might want to stop and think about WHY is it traveling the way that it is. Hard lines, contrast, bright colors? Just as good composition can make an image, poor composition can ruin one just as easily. If all the elements lead out of the image rather than in toward the main subject we tend to quickly loose interest in viewing it. If the work is too busy with no center of interest that too makes us want to move on. If your strongest contrast falls on things that are not significant to the work our eye will go there, rather than to what you are trying to show us. Composition, truly can make you want to leave an image as quickly as you entered it, or it can make you want to sit and stay for a while.

So next time think about your scene and how the viewers eye will travel through your work… Like what direction your grasses are pointing (do they all point out of the frame taking your eye out too). What about branches on a tree. How does your eye flow through them? Does it bring you back around to a location you want it to or again take you out of the image? How does the light affect the travel of your eye? Is there something you can add (or take away) that will improve how smoothly your eye travels through your work? Do you have many strong lines leading out of the image? If you want something hidden is it effective?

After all you are the master and commander of all who view your work!

While I don't consider myself a master at compositions like these artists I posted, I do certainly give them a moderate amount of time and though. How does your eye travel through this new version of "Edge of Darkness". How does the body shape of the wolf and my choice of grasses and values in the background trees help to lead your eye in a circle?

"American Icon"

2011-05-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

icon (ˈaɪkɒn) - a person or thing regarded as a symbol of a belief, nation, community, or cultural movement

I have decided to title my little bull Bison "American Icon" as I think of them as one of the critters that people think of that "makes America, America" (maybe after the bald eagle).

This piece was colored with ampersand inks (as are all of my colored works) and size is 10"x8" and he will be headed to the Greeley Stampede Western Art show at the end of June too. And NO I am not scratching a new board every day. I just happened to have several close to completion at the same time. Also once they are sprayed with fixative it evens out the tones and makes them easier to take pictures of.

"American Icon"
Scratchboard and Ink
10"x8"
© Cathy Sheeter

I also spent a couple of hours working on my harris hawk woodburning...it takes a back seat to my scratchboards when I have works due for shows, but I do hope to finish it one of these days ;)

Harris Hawk Pyrography on Birch Plywood
18"x24"

Bee-Mused - the color version

2011-05-17T15:02:00.000-07:00

I am done coloring "Bee-Mused" and it will be sprayed with fixative soon. Here is the final image and a few close ups to show the details. Size is 24"x25.5" It will be headed to the 2011 Greeley Stampede Invitational Western Art Show in late June.

This piece is a good follow up to my post about story telling that I posted yesterday. This scene is a composite of 6 photos, all merged to fit a vision and hopefully tell a story to the viewer.

My Website is Down

2011-05-17T06:40:00.000-07:00

My website (http://www.aphelionart.com/) will be down until May 24th, as the people that host it for me are in the midst of moving. I apologize for any inconvenience and the 'holes' it creates in my blog, but they should be back pretty soon.

Woman Artists Of the West Show Opens

2011-05-16T14:22:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in an earlier blog post that I had three works selected for the Women Artists of the West annual show in Rockport, TX. I was not able to attend the show opening, which was last weekend. WAOW is an all women artist organization with juried membership and juried annual show. I was delighted to have all three works selected for the show, but am even more excited that two out of the three won awards!

Publisher's Southwest Art Magazine

Award of Excellence full‐page ad - "Yielding"

This is the second time that Southwest Art has recognised my scratchboard work (the first being in 2009 as I was selected as one of their "21 under 31" winners)

and

Honorable Mention Gamblin

Accents on the Figure System - "Rustle in the Brush"

You can view the show catalog and results at: http://www.waow.org/RockportTexas-show/SLideshow-new/index.html

Creating the Story

2011-05-16T13:12:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about being an artist is the ability to also be a storyteller! In history many an artist was used to record facts, whether in day to day life or the natural world. We still rely often on these images to tell us what life was like during those time periods, where few written records may still exist.

While many written accounts may exist today, and likely will into the future as well, this does not stop an artist from telling a story, and in fact most people find images that tell a story to be more engaging than a standard portrait. While a camera may capture the moment in front of us, the artist can capture it in a way that exists only in their head. We can tell you a story about interaction, behavior, mood, and expressions. We posses the ability to adjust the lighting of a scene to be more dramatic, or add elements to the scene that lead your eye through an image in a certain way. We can perfect imperfections (though sometimes the imperfections add interest), remove distracting elements, or transport you to a place you may never see or go. I am not often impressed by someone who is simply a human photo-copier. What I like is a good storyteller!!

Plain and simple - most wildlife artists use photos for their work. We use them to tell us information about the proportions of the animals, how their muscles and body work, other details about that species, and sometimes the pose of the animal. As an artist progresses beyond trying to simply copy a photo you get to add artistic vision to the storyline. I often get asked ‘where I get my photos’ that I work from as they are so captivating. Well… the images come from a variety of places from the wild to zoos… but often the storyline I create is many photos that I use to create MY vision. I have an entire portion of photos on my computer that are background elements (trees, logs, grasses, clouds, rocks, etc. in a wide variety of light sources from side lighting to overcast light) and have no animals at all!

While I do a lot of close up pieces, I am more and more often finding myself desiring to convey more than just a simple portrait. In piece like “The Naturalist” the wolf had an attentive expression in my primary reference photo, but it was up to me about what he was looking at. There was no obvious focus for him in my reference image. There were no flowers or butterfly. Once I decided it was to be an insect I got to choose which insect. I played with the concept of a caterpillar on its hind legs reaching toward the wolf. It would have worked and even been pretty cute, but I didn't have an image that was really what I wanted so I chose to go with a butterfly instead. However, as a nature artist you can’t go with just any old butterfly so then research comes into play. What butterflies would be found in the same native range as the wolf?? The painted lady butterfly that I included was one that I photographed here in Colorado, however it can be found throughout the entire US including areas where wolves can also be found. even in straight portraits you can add interest by using dramatic lighting or choosing unique but strong, compositions.,

I have seen work on the web and in galleries that is painted in such a style that you would think that you are looking at a photograph. While this can be quite impressive from a technical side (to go "Wow... can you believe that is a painting") sometimes I wonder WHY that person chose to paint that image or scene... because to me it wouldn't have been all that good of a photo, let alone a painting that they often spent between 200-400 hours working on! Just because you CAN paint in every leaf and blade of grass, doesn't always mean that you SHOULD! As an artist it is just as important to decide what to leave out, as it is to decide what to add. Does the element you are putting in your work add to the story of the image or does it detract?

Photoshop is my friend. I use it extensively to compose my layouts and see how they will work. I also use them to create composites with the multiple images I am planning on using. I adjust contrast, dodge and burn, try out a variety of trees or brush in the background, crop in various ways and so on. Much like drawing thumbnail sketches… I create Photoshop layouts to explore compositions.

The primary wolf photo in “Edge of Darkness” was actually taken at about 10 AM. There was still nice side lighting, but through my vision I was able to enhance the light source, deepen the shadows and create the edgy mood that I have in the piece. The background was created from additional photos with similar lighting. I used Photoshop to lay it out, add the trees, play with the rocks, and play with the lighting until I was pleased with the composition and the quality of light.

So while sometimes I do take and use ‘the perfect photo’ for my art, this is the exception rather than the rule.

Here are a few tiger cub photos from a recent zoo trip that are the type that alone are not perfect, but with the addition of other elements can make some captivating artwork and let me tell a more engaging story!

1. What is the cub looking at in the water. A bullfrog? A fish? Both would add visual interest and tell more of a story than the photo alone. What types of frogs/fish live in the same range as a Siberian Tiger? I would likely remove or at least shrink the foreground rock, as it is more distracting than adding to the story.

2. This cub tested the water with his paw before going all the way in. Adding snow to the background and ice to the edge of the pool would certainly let the viewer understand his hesitant expression better and allow the cub to stand out from the rocks more. Also the addition of more water drops coming off of the raised paw could add drama.

3. While you can’t see the eyes on any of these cubs the fact that all three seem to be looking intently at something allows me to decide what it might be. The composition would be strengthened by creating more room underneath them.

4. What has captured this cubs attention? Birds, another cub, an insect? His expression and the HUGE paws are lots of fun… but I can create even more of a story with additional elements. I would likely crop this image and put the cub far to the left and leave more room to the right (perhaps even extending it out).

All of these photos were taken on a rather overcast day and have quite flat lighting. When I think about adding additional elements to the works I will have to keep this in mine, by either adding elements that also have fairly flat lighting, or by increasing the contrast and altering the light source to match my additional elements.

So before you delete a photo because it isn't perfect... think about what you can add to the image to make it complete and to truly tell a story!

News and Updates

2011-05-07T17:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's e-mail inbox was full of news from shows.

"The Naturalist" has been selected for the 51st Society of Animal Artists Annual exhibition "Art and the Animal" which will run September 17 - December 31, 2011 at the Dennos Museum Center in Traverse City, MI. The piece may then be selected to go on national tour to additional museums for up to a year.

"Going for Gold" was not selected for Birds In Art. There were MANY outstanding works that did not make the cut this year and I swear you could make a top notch show with the rejected works from this show!! And I say that in absolute, total honesty. This show is a tough egg to crack (ok bad pun...I know!!). I know top notch artist that have applied over 10 times without ever getting in and others seem to get in every year. I got in on my first try in 2009, but was rejected last year and this one. Oh well... its the name of the game in the art world. It is just their opinion, on that day, with that set of work. Its not wrong, its not right... it just is! LOL... I knew that this piece would not be their traditional bird art... so it could play out either way. My congratulations to those that did get in this year.

I have pretty much finished "Edge of Darkness" though am still making some minor edits to the work before I spray it with its protective fixative. Size is 20"x16" and it will be left black and white.

The bison portrait is finished as a black and white, but I am pondering coloring it. Hmmm....
Any unevenness that you see in the black parts of this photo (or Edge) is a result of the work not being sprayed with fixative. Different tools can make the board shiny or reflective where they are used than other areas that are more of a matte black (the board starts out a matte black). These shiny parts usually look 'more black' and or like odd glare when photographed. Once the works are sprayed with varnish it all evens out and is a nice even shade of black.

And Bee-Mused is in the process of being colored. It is far from done, so it would be a WIP photo of the coloring. I still have to color all grasses (short and tall) as well as the bee and the background. I will continue to work the wolves a bit more too.

What is on the Scratching Table??

2011-05-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

Things have been very busy for me of late. A 10-day trip to Oregon at the End of March, 10-days home (of which I worked 60 hours in those ten days grooming) and then off for another 10-day trip to California in early April, where I was photographer for a large dog show... Once I was home I had to get over 5,000 photos online... then the Governor's Show and my art fair (getting prints ready plus cards, bookmarks and magnets) I feel I have had little time to actually create artwork in the past month! But I have been stealing little snippets of time to work on stuff. These are the two boards I have on the go right now.

American Bison are, of course, one of the great icons of the American West and popular subjects for art, yet I had never done one in scratchboard... well until now! I made a point of taking many bison photos in Yellowstone last year when I visited with the intent of creating some works from them. This big bull had a rather amicable expression on his face when he looked at me and nice side lighting, which can be quite dramatic for scratchboard. This board is 10"x8" in size.

Creating Bison fur has its own set of challenges, as it grows thick, curly and in an unpredictable pattern, and with a variety of density and textures. Trying to create the depth and thickness of fur and the right textures requires lots of layers. It still has a ways to go to perfect the texture and get just enough details on the left side of the board but to leave some mystery for the viewer as well. No title for this guy yet.

I am also working on a new wolf piece (20"x14") which I am for now calling "Edge Of Darkness". I liked the dramatic lighting and non-typical pose of this wolf. His leering expression and the dynamic lighting I felt added a nice touch of tension to this piece. I have actually made more progress since this photo was taken, but it gives you an idea of where I am going. This piece will have foreground and possibly some background.

Now I am off to the UPS to mail my three works that were accepted into the Women Artists Of the West annual show, which this year will be in Rockport, TX. It is my first year as a member of this association and I was delighted that they accepted all three of my works into the show. The three works are: "Yielding", "Rustle In The Brush", and "Charisma". I will not be able to attend the show opening, as I simply have too much going on, but it promises to be a wonderful show full of high quality art. If you are near the area the show will be on display from May 11 to June 4 at the Rockport Center for the Arts. The opening reception is Saturday, May 14 from 5-7 PM and open to the public.

A Most Successful Show Opening!

2011-04-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

The Colorado Governor's Invitational Show and Sale opened this past Saturday. This show is limited to Colorado artists, and you must be invited to get in. You can also submit your work for their consideration, which is what I did and I was lucky and got in. It was my first year in the show (obviously) and other than being told that sales had been pretty good last year I had no previous experience with the show to go off of.

Since it was my first year I had to take in six pieces and they got to choose which four pieces they would hang. Typically they choose two smaller pieces, which go downstairs, and two larger works to hang in an upstairs gallery. They selected my three largest pieces from me and just one smaller work - all wildlife, and they sent me home with my two horses that I had brought as the other two works.

The four works that they chose were "Walking The Line", "The Brotherhood", "The Challenger" and "Patience Is A Virtue"

There was a TON of "what the heck is that medium!??" "and How do you do it!?!" "and how long does it take to do one??!!" So lots of talking and educating (as usual). And people kept coming over telling me that other artists and people had told them to make sure and take a look at the scratchboard artists work!! The sales staff was blown away as well (and if you want anyone in your corner the sales staff would be them)! And By the time the night was over three of my four works had sold, with strong interest in the fourth as well!!

It was really fun to meet the purchasers as well. The people that purchased "Walking The Line" kept debating which room it would go into. The lady told me they had bought a lot of art, but my piece was the one she was most excited about EVER!

And "The Brotherhood" was purchased by a couple that had two boys that were now in college. The whole family loved wolves and the brother wolves reminded them of their sons, especially because of the title of the work!

I am not sure who the winning buyer of "Patience" was, as it was the work that was downstairs (and I was upstairs all night), but when I went down at the end of the night to see if it had sold I was told by the sales staff that it was the most popular work down there!

Throughout the show I think about 35-40% of the work sold... so a good show all around, but I do believe I may have been one of the top sellers of the evening.

So to say it was a successful opening is a bit of an understatement I guess :) I think it is very likely that I will be invited back next year as well. Maybe once you do this art thing for a bit longer than I have you get used to shows where you make lots of sales, but I am not there yet in my career and every sale makes me feel like doing a happy dance still :)

So anyone care to join me in a happy dance?!?

BTW I also have an art fair in Parker, CO this weekend. If you live in the area be sure and stop by the Southeast Christian Church off of Jordan Rd. this weekend.

Bee-Mused

2011-04-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

Thats weird - I swear I posted an update to this piece a bit ago... but it is no where to be seen!

"Bee-Mused" is the title I have selected for the wolf pair piece. It is finished as a black and white, but I have decided to color it, so it is not fully completed yet. I plan for it to be shown at the 2011 Greeley Stampede Invitational Western Art Show at the end of June.

Once again

2011-04-02T21:27:00.000-07:00

Once again I have been lapse in posting to my blog. Well I guess on the plus you don't have to check in on it very often :D LOL With a very busy summer ahead of me I am sure I will not be better about posting to it, but will when I can.

I have finished one small work of a Friesian stallion. It is an 8"x10" piece that I titled "Nobility" Friesians are my all time favorite breed to oogle at, though with a price of $10k almost the moment they are born the chance of me owning one any time soon seems unlikely. Oh well, I still love them!! This stallion is named Nolke Fan De Lege Geaen and I took the reference photo in 2009.

I also have recently gotten several works scanned for prints. The new prints should be available at the end of the month. One of them in of "Arabian Night"

In other news things have been going well on the show front. I have had three works (out of three) selected for the Women Artists of the West annual exhibit to be in Rockport, Texas opening in June. I also had two works selected for the Bennington Art Center's "Art of the Animal Kingdom" also to open in June (Bennington, VT). I presently have a tiny piece titled "All Smiles" (5"x7") exhibiting at LSU "Animals in Art" Exhibit (Baton Rouge, LA).

Going For Gold

2011-02-25T16:06:00.000-08:00

I have been a big slacker about keeping my blog updated and apologise... life seems to get in the way! At any rate here is the progress of my newest piece of a cat stalking some goldfinch. I have titled it "Going For Gold" size 18"x24"

Pyrography - the art of woodburning

2011-01-23T14:49:00.000-08:00

While this blog is mostly about my scratchboard, I have taken a recent dabble into wood burning, also known as pyrography.

I did a bit of burning back about 8 or 9 years ago with a cheap woodburner bought at a local craft store for about $25. It was a lot of fun and at the time I was relatively happy with the results, but I also knew that higher quality wood burners existed where you can control the temperature and use more variety of tips to get different effects (as well as much better results). So a better wood burner has been one of those things that I had thought about getting on many occasions, but it never became a top priority of my disposable income. Anyways this year when my parents asked me what I wanted for Christmas... finally that was what I told them. My Dad is a woodworker, and has been for longer than I have been alive, so I knew he would know where to get one! They got me an optima 2 burner and it comes with a couple of tips. It is so fun to work with and I am hooked!

This was my first project with it and I was amazed how many similarities it shares with scratchboard, so it felt very natural and easy to me, though there is still plenty for me to learn and certain mistakes I hope not to make next time. I am already planning my next project with it.

As you see it here is about life size. It was just a small 5" x 8" blank (at least the working area). The wood is basswood and I purchased it at hobby lobby, a local craft/art store chain. I liked the natural look with the bark on. However I am looking forward to working much larger (this small size was tough to get the details all as I wanted them with the size tips I have right now) and with a variety of different woods to see what I like.

I titled the piece "Caterwaul" and this is it as a work in progress until what I am calling completed (though I may still mess with it a bit more)

Finished!!

2011-01-17T20:52:00.000-08:00

"September Serenade" is officially completed and varnished and has taken a road trip to Boulder to Mary Williams Fine Art, one of the galleries that carries my work. Now it is a waiting game to see if her client likes the piece. If not I will bring it home and likely send it to some competitions or shows. You can see the full view of the piece on my web site with the zoomify feature. I also addedother new works, Vinni and Takin' A Lickin', to my web site.

After heading to Boulder I went up to Rocky Mountain National Park and it was snowing, but I still found a herd of bull elk. It was fun to photograph them in the blowing snow. I have not had a chance to look at them yet, but I guess you could say it was an elk kinda day.

Elk piece almost done

2011-01-12T15:48:00.000-08:00

Last week I got to spend in Tennessee teaching a teacher in-service to 50 art teachers. Almost everyone seemed to enjoy the class and many were excited to take the medium back into their classrooms to teach. It was also fun to see the variety of styles and personalities come out in the pieces they created.

This week I felt determined to finish up the large elk, "September Serenade", which is a 2'x3' board. The background gave me some problems, as seems to be normal for me and backgrounds, but I am fairly happy with how it finished up. The steamy breath got ousted and a more complete background emerged. I have signed it and am pretty much calling it done, though may tweak it a bit more tomorrow if I see anything that bugs me. It is always a balancing act of trying to keep your main subject front and center vs having enough background to make the animal part of its natural environment.

One of my Christmas presents this year was a quiet air compressor to use with my airbrush indoors. I've already used it a little bit and laid out a white clayboard (uninked scratchboard) for a project, but have to finish up some other stuff (couple of small commissions) before I will be making major strides on that one.

Steaming it up

2010-12-30T08:18:00.000-08:00

Well I am still working on Serenade... background trees I am leaving fairly simple and somewhat similar to my other elk piece "The Challenger" on the off chance that they sell as a pair.

I decided to give this guys some steamy breath to balance the left side of the board. Not 100% done yet, but inching closer. The steam is created with very fine grit sandpaper.

New work

2010-12-22T20:16:00.000-08:00

While the elk piece is on a wee bit of a standstill I did manage to finish up a smaller piece (12"x12") I am usually pretty good with titles, but nothing is coming to me for this one so I welcome suggestions.

As most of you know usually eyes are my favorite part of the animal to do so I don't often choose photos where the eyes are not a prominent feature, but I really liked the curve of the neck into the head and then the tongue rounding it out. It just makes a really nice circle for MY eyes. I hope you enjoy it too.

scratch, scratch, scratch

2010-12-09T17:18:00.001-08:00

My cold seems to be clearing up and more energy to work on this one. I am nearly done with ehelk, but there will be some subtle background elements still to go.

More Serenade

2010-12-03T15:21:00.000-08:00

Some progress on the elk, though not moving on it as quickly as I would like with work, holidays and now a cold :(

September Serenade

2010-11-13T14:32:00.000-08:00

I have started a new 24"x36" board of a bull elk, at the request of a collector. It has the potential of being pre-sold if she likes the end result. Keep your fingers crossed for me... but I guess if she doesn't like it hopefully some one else will down the road!

I am finding the angle on the head to be more difficult than I expected, in part because my primary reference is not as clear as it could be and I don't have any other photos at quite this angle. Oh well, I will get it all sorted out.

Here is a bit of detail from the face area. There are a LOT of lines on the face, building up the values slowly in order to get it just the way I want.

These big boards take time and with aprospective buyer on the elk my pair of wolves has been put on hold for now, but here is a bit of an update on them too.

Colored and Finished!

2010-11-10T16:09:00.000-08:00

"The Naturalist" is now officially DONE!

14"x11"
scratchboard and ink
timber wolf and painted lady butterfly

To view it at 100% check out the zoomify version at: http://www.aphelionart.com/zmnaturalist.html

Limited edition prints are available as well as the original!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T20:46:00.000-07:00

Well where do the days go... once again it has been too long since I have had time to post on here!

But like usual I have not been quite idle...

I just finished a decent sized colored commission, but am unable to post it at this time as it is a surprise birthday present for the person who will recieve it, so it has to wait until after their birthday to be shown.

I have also started several new boards including a bighorn sheep kid (8"x10"), an elk (24"x36") and this horse piece (10"x8"), which I am calling Wisdom.

I heard recently that I have been accepted into the Colorado Governor's Show, to be held in April in Loveland, CO.

In other recent show news I had two works accepted into the Colorado Artist Guild art show and ended up winning 1st place in the drawing division with "Patience Is A Virtue".

I also had three works accepted into the Estes Park show "Lines Into Shapes" show and cleaned up there too winning 3 awards. "Walking the Line" was the winner of People Choice and the Mayor's Award and "The Challenger" was winner of the Len Taylor Memorial Award (which I also won last year).

Back from Jellystone

2010-10-06T07:21:00.000-07:00

I am now home from my Yellowstone trip as well, and I believe that will be my final longer out of town trip until 2011. I had a wonderful trip and saw lots of critters, took LOTS of photos and enjoyed spending time with nature!

Now here it is October and I need to get cracking on some artwork! Less computer time and more art time is in order for the rest of the year to prepare for all the shows I anticipate for 2011.

Here is an update on the larger pair of wolves on the 24"x36" board.

As well as a progression on the small wolf (14"x11"), which I am pondering coloring

I am also still working on my commission and will be starting a few more boards very soon.

Cuteness!!

2010-09-16T16:39:00.000-07:00

I spent yesterday at the Denver Zoo and a good portion of that time was spent watching 4 baby siberian tiger cubs, born May 31. How cute are these little ones!! There are two males and two females born to mother, Koshka (Koosh-kuh), and father, Waldemere (Wald-uh-meer). I believe they are both first time parents. More photos posted on facebook if interested.

Catching up! The last few weeks!!

2010-09-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

Well what a busy time my last few weeks have been! My art fair on August 28-29 was a success with lots of people coming through the booth, decent sales and lovely weather. My booth took 2nd place in the fine art category too! Here are some pictures of my booth early Saturday morning before people were coming through. There was a steady flow of people both days. Originals on the back and left side walls, framed prints on the right side.

The left wall (originals other than the Greeley Poster)

Framed prints, cups, calendars, magnets, bookmarks and more on the right wall

Just two days after my art fair I flew out to San Diego for Society of Animal Artists 50th anniversary Exhibit opening of Art and the Animals. What a fantastic time all weekend! About 100 artists (as well as many spouses and patrons) were in attendance and it was so fun to visit with old friends as well as making new ones! A wonderful group of people indeed.

I arrived on Tuesday afternoon to be able to do everything there was to do. On Wed we went whale watching and although we did not see any whales we did find a large pod of bottle nose dolphins, as well as seals, sea lions, and various sea birds. It was a lovely day on the water and I didn't even get sea sick!

Snowy egrets scuffle over bait fish on a boat in the marina

Brown pelican flies low over the ocean

Sea foam from an outgoing tide made great patterns

On Thursday we all bussed to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. I had not been here in almost 15 years, and it had changed from how I remembered. My favorite part of this day was a cheetah demo where a cheetah chased a ball. I am excited to work from some of those photos in the future.

Male gerenuk courts with a female in estrus by demonstrating high stepping behavior. She was ignoring him ;)

Bald Ibis - not exactly pretty in the typical sense, but I loved the iridescent feathers and lighting

Cheetah chases ball as part of a demo

Friday it was off to the famous San Diego Zoo! What a zoo it is as well! Tons of great photo opportunities!

Not really exotic, but this female red breasted merganser had great light and was actively preening

Grizzly bear shaking

Who can resist a meerkat in evening light??

Saturday was a busy day with meetings, talks by Robert Bateman, off to the museum to see the exhibit (finally) and the awards dinner. I also did a scratchboard demo at the museum. Here is a picture taken by a friend of me with "The Interrupted Drink" at the museum. Darn plexi-glass picks up a lot of glare :( The entire show of about 150 works was simply spectacular and it was a true honor to have work included in this exhibition.

The piece I worked on for my demo - 14"x11" Wolf

From San Diego I flew to San Fransisco to see my Aunt, Uncle and two cousins (ages 23 and 18), which I had not seen in about 10 years.

It was fun to catch up, but now it is great to be home too!!!

2011 Scratchboard Calendars NOW Available!

2010-08-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

This beautiful over sized 2011 wall calendar (measures 9.5"x12.25") is printed on glossy paper and makes a perfect gift or a beautiful accent to any house! Each calendar is hand signed by Cathy on the front cover with a custom inscription available at no extra charge (please include what you would like it to say in your paypal notes). Every month has a different scratchboard image from Cathy's work. This years calendar features both color and black and white works. Reasonably priced at just $15 (plus shipping of $5 in USA, $8 elsewhere) they are sure to delight!

Last year's calendar sold out, so order early to make sure you get one!

To buy one please go to: http://www.aphelionart.com/2011calendar.html

More Art Fair Fare

2010-08-19T19:24:00.000-07:00

I spent most of today working on more stuff for my art fair which is 10 days away. Coffee cups, travel mugs, aluminum bottles, and candles all with my work on them took up most of my day, though I did get a little bit of scratching done tonight too.

A bit of progress on the pair of wolves. I Have started on wolf #2 though there is still quite a bit of work to do on #1 as well. This is the full board pretty much.

The other project I have been working on is a piece that I will use for a demonstration for Society of Animal Artists in California at the start of Sept. at the show opening. It is another wolf - size is just 11"x14" for this one for ease of traveling with it. I'm thinking about the title of "A Hopper and a Pouncer" for it, as he is looking at a grasshopper.

The tale of the plastic bags

2010-08-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

So last year at my first art fair all and all things went very well. However on more than one occasion I had people ask me for bag for their merchandise - something I had not thought to bring along. So recently I have been trying to find where to buy plastic bags at a reasonable rate. I tried local hobby stores with no luck. I asked at various stores and no one knew where to get them. Sure, I could buy them online, but it was expensive and I just had not gotten it done and now the art fair is right around the corner! OMG plastic bags are everywhere... so I started to think about just saving the ones I had... but thought it would be a bit tacky to be putting my work in target and walmart bags. This dilemma seemed to be much more complicated than it should have been.

Today I went to purchase a product for my gridwalls for hanging the mugs I will be making. They deal with a lot of people that do art fairs and thought they might know. They suggest a local retail store. I drive over there and am quoted $125 for 1000 bags!! Well I was not planning on spending over $100 for bags thank you very much. I stop at party city on the off chance that they sell them. They have small 12"x6" bags, but nothing larger. However I explain what I am looking for and FINALLY I get a lead that they think Sam's club carries them. Fortunately I joined Sam's club earlier this year and am now out just $12 for 1000 bags... now that is what I am talking about!! They won't be large enough for my biggest prints, but should be able to accommodate all the other sizes.

Now I wish it had not taken me like 4 hours of running around to find them, but that should last me quite a while and now I know where to get them :)

Art fairing it :)

2010-08-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

Art fairs are a pretty new thing for me. I did my first one last year, a large outdoor show, and then one smaller one this spring. They are also a fickle beast I have found just in the two I have done. The first one was outdoors, nice weather and quite well attended. The small one was indoors and poorly attended. My sales reflected this.

Anyways the big outdoor one I am doing again and it is August 28-29 in Parker, CO at O'Brien Park. If you live in the area please stop by! Last year I mostly just had prints for sale (plus original work) and did quite well, but this year I am expanding my inventory and will have more variety of things carrying my art as well... this year will include calendars, bookmarks, magnets, mugs, prints and more! I have been having quite a bit of fun making all of these things and hope it will be time well spent :)

Here is a picture of just a FEW of the bookmarks. I think they came out looking pretty good overall. I should have everything else done by next week and will post a few more pictures. After the art fair I may post some of the left over inventory on my website and etsy too.

Featured on "Illustration Pages" :)

2010-08-12T15:49:00.000-07:00

My work is being featured on the highly regarded blog called Illustration Pages. They did a very nice write up and if interested you can read it at: http://www.illustrationpages.com/2010/08/scratchboard-artist-cathy-sheeter.html

I spent today getting ready for my art fair and very little time for art :( My days go by too quickly and not enough time to get my art done recently it seems.

About time for a picture!!

2010-08-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

I know if has been too long! I have been working on a commission that I can not show here, but also a bigger piece 24"x24" (unless I decide to extend it to 24"x30")

This is about 1/3 of the board (or less) and I feel like it is going very slowly! No title ideas yet, but I am sure something will come to me soon.

The Unexpected Show

2010-08-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

Well my frame shop is loving me, so much that they asked me if I wanted to show there through August. I jumped at the chance and enjoyed good crowds and lots of conversation last Friday, for the first Friday art walk in the Santa Fe Art District in downtown Denver. I forgot to take my camera and was busy chatting (last people didn't leave until 11 PM), but the frame shop took some pictures. You can check them out at Furthur Frames Gallery on facebook. One of the most fun things is listening to people talk about your work when they don't know you are the artist. I heard at least one person say that each of the about 13 pieces I had there was their favorite! Thanks Corey and Al for all your help and allowing me to show! Most of the show will be up through August 26th.

The approaching Society of Animal Artists 50th Anniversary show is right around the corner (Sept 1-5) and I am getting very excited. I finally bought my plane ticket and "The Interrupted Drink" should be in San Diego by Thursday! I also set my reservations to go to Cody, WY at the end of Sept for the Rendezvous Royale. While up there I will travel through Yellowstone and the Tetons and enjoy my birthday in one of my very favorite places in the world!! I will be trying to go visit the Pryor Mountain wild horses as well- but only so many days to play before I have to come back home to work.

In other news and events... mark your calendar for my one art fair of the year! I will have prints, calendars, magnets, bookmarks, originals and more at Art In the Park in O'Brien Park in Parker, Colorado August 28 and 29th. Please stop by and say hi!

more show info

2010-07-28T21:41:00.000-07:00

I also just heard back from the bi-annual show OVAL's Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit and both of my pieces were juried in (Intrigue and On The Prowl)! My frame shop is loving me right now - with 6 pieces needing to be framed!!

I started a new piece that will be 24"x24" and hope to post a picture tomorrow. I am not very far along yet.

Pinto 'Stang update

2010-07-21T18:33:00.000-07:00

My allergies have really been kicking my butt for more than the past month and I am so 'done with them'. None of the regular drugs seem to be having much impact, so I feel congested, headaches and tired all the time right now, which is very irritating. They started later than usual into the summer and seem to be sticking around a lot longer than usual for me too. What a drag!!

Anyways, I did make some good progress on the mustang girl this afternoon. I keep calling her a pony, but it came from the fact that I thought I might make her an indian 'pony' with feathers and war paint and such, which I will do eventually a board or two on, but decided not to on this piece. In reality she is not a pony at all, but a horse. Oh well whaterever you call her... here is the update. I decided I didn't care for her markings with almost all white body and dark head. It was confusing to the eye and thus I added a pinto marking on her side back into the image. I still have some work to do on her face, but am getting pretty close to calling her done. I am open to title suggestions too.

updates and such

2010-07-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry for being so reticence in posting updates to my blog! The days just seem to go by so quickly and before I know it I am onto the next one! How did it get to be the middle of July already!! Wasn't Christmas like a month ago??

Anyways... I have been busy indeed.

My art portion of my website (http://www.aphelionart.com/) has had a bit of an overhaul as I try to get my page rankings up and make myself more findable for search engines. Most of the changes were html and behind the scenes things, but I did add a couple of links about scratchboard with some tutorials and FAQs.

From the end of June through July 4 I had seven works hanging at the Greeley Stampede Invitational Western Art Show. Two works were sold (Bending and What Next?) and I also earned the top two spots for people's choice awards with Walking The Line and Bending.

From July 7 through the 14th I was off to Indianapolis where I was a part of a scratchboard artist show and workshops. Approximately 15 artists from all over the US and Canada attended. We shared techniques, styles and tips and had an overall wonderful time! We also discussed the formation of an international scratchboard society and I will be helping to work on that as well. If that is something that you are interested in once it is up and running feel free to send me an e-mail and I will make sure you are notified.

While I was away in Indy I found out that my piece, A Driving Force, has been selected to be published in "Strokes Of Genius III - Best of Drawing". This book is slated to come out in 2011. The original of this piece was donated to the Buffalo Bill Historical Society "Patron's Ball" that will be held in September.

I also learned that The Interrupted Drink was picked as a finalist in The Artist Magazine Annual Competition. While my 3rd place last year was a step up ;) it is still quite an accomplishment to make it as a finalist. They pick around 30 total winners/finalists in each category (of which there are 7) out of around 12,000-14,000 entries!!

Two piece were juried into the American Academy of Equine Art exhibition, a pencil drawing (A Kind Eye) and a scratchboard (Darkness and Light). This show told me last year that scratchboard was not an eligible medium. This year I wrote a cover letter explaining why it should be included so I felt like getting one scratchboard in was a small victory! This show starts in the middle of September at the Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, KY

So I guess you could say it has been a productive month already!! Look for an update on the pinto pony tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Maddie!

2010-07-04T17:07:00.000-07:00

It is my first Belgian Sheepdog, Maddie's, Birthday today. Yep she was born on the 4th of July. I have had her since she was 10 weeks old and she has done everything I have ever asked of her and more! She turned 9, but you would never know it by the way she acts.
Maddie is more formally Champion Isengard's Makin' A Scene CDX RA OA NAJ

She still looks great- don't you think? This photo was taken in May of this year.

2010-07-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

I made good progress on the pinto today. Getting the smooth look of horse hair (especially white) is far from a fast project. I spent about 5-6 hours working today.

Pinto Continued

2010-06-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

I worked on this piece more last night and some today too in between updating my website and adding some new sections.

summertime... BUSY

2010-06-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have been on the go for the past month and will be off to Indiana in early July too.

Despite that I am trying to make time for my art, of course!

I believe I have pretty much finished up "A Rustle In The Brush" (16"x20"); I find backgrounds are hard to get good photos of as they always seem to loose some detail.

I also started a new horse piece of a pinto indian pony; obviously still a long ways to go. Size is 14"x18"

updates

2010-06-23T07:34:00.000-07:00

Right now I am donating 15% of all sales done through my web site (www.aphelionart.com) toward Oil Spill Relief efforts to help wildlife. Now is a great time to buy, as you will not only get great art, but also help out!

I have made more progress on Rustle and also started a new piece while in Oregon. The background is still being worked on, but getting closer to completed and just a little more tweaking.

This small macaw piece I will be using as a demonstration at the Indianapolis scratchboard convention in July. I will be doing a demonstration on how I color my work and also on doing feathers and different textures.

Travels and Such

2010-06-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

I appologize to those following along on the tiger. It will be a bit before I come back and finish her, as I am going to be traveling for about 10 days to Oregon and won't be taking it with me. Then I will be returning and busy, busy with the opening of the Greeley Stampede Western art show. I hope to squeeze some hours to work on her toward the end of the month.

My artwork will be gracing the poster for this year's stampede event since I won thier purchase award last year.

working the background

2010-06-03T11:48:00.000-07:00

More background is being added. It is primarily being created with the fiberglass brush for the foreground plants and a nail buffer for the stalks in the background. Diluted ink is added to help push the elements 'back' so that they are not too bright and do not distract from the tiger.

And more...

2010-06-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

The depth of fur that you see on the body is created with a comination of a scalpel blade done in somewhat randome directions, followed up with a light touch with the ultrafine fiberglass brush to soften the lines. By leaving some lines darker it looks like the fur has clumped together.

Developing the foreground brush

More Rustling...

2010-06-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

New Piece - A Rustle In The Brush

2010-05-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

A new tiger piece I started on Wednesday. This piece will have a moderate amount of folliage and environment to go with it.

Sometimes when you open the box...

2010-05-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

...you find good things! Today I finally got around to opening my box that I got back from LSU Animals In art Show a couple of weeks ago. As I am unpack my piece, "Shaking It Up", out comes an envelope as well. Inside the envelop are two articles printed in local newspapers during the show (one that my piece is mentioned in) and also a People's Choice Award ribbon! Woo Hoo! It turned around a day that started out not very good and put me in a much better mood.

My list of awards still astounds me; that my work can win awards so consistently under so many different judges is well... amazing. With this win, this year I have won awards in every show I have entered.

To Black and White

2010-05-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

I feel like I should write an ode to black and white art with that title, but in this case I actually mean completed to black and white. My bear that I have titled "Patience Is A Virtue" has been completed to black and white. It will be colored at a scratchboard symposium in Indianapolis in July as part of a demonstration I will be giving.

Bear-ling along

2010-05-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

I have spent several hours for the past few days working on my bear. She is about 2/3 done to the black and white version (have to finish her muzzle, the rock in the lower corner and the leg that is resting on the rock). I will be taking her along with me to a scratchboard workshop on July and using the piece as a demonstration on coloring black boards.

For now I am calling it Bear Prayer, but she looks more contemplative than praying to me.

Bear

2010-05-21T17:19:00.000-07:00

I started this grizzly bear sow on Wednesday. Size is 12"x12"

Arabian Night completed

2010-05-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

Simple and effective, at least that is my goal :) I like it when I can let the black do some of the work for me and let the viewers eye fill in details in the shadow.

Detail look at the scratchwork on the piece

Scratch by scratch

2010-05-15T06:28:00.001-07:00

I got a couple more hours of work in on the Arabian horse last night.

Arabian Night

2010-05-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

I started a new piece about 3 days ago that I am tentatively calling "Arabian Night" It is from a photo that I took a couple of weeks ago during a photo shoot of two Arabian Stallions. The photo in and of itself is not really all that spectacular, but I liked the light in his eye. With a bit of photoshop to add drama and contrast I decided it would make a nice board. Size will be 18"x36" which ends up being pretty close to life size with this crop. It has been progressing quite quickly so far.

Spraying - ARG!

2010-05-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

If there are two things I hate doing in my art one is framing (I always get dog hair in it!) and the other is spraying my work with fixative (I always seem to get dog hair in it!!) Spraying for me is far more nerve racking than actually creating the work. I know of many disasters from spray fixative that has gone bad, drips, runs, crystallizes, turns cloudy, ink sluffs off, etc. either during the spraying of as it dries. Sometimes it has been with brand new cans and other times with cans that have been used with no problems before. I have had some issues myself when I sprayed a piece outside in winter - the spray literally froze before it hit the artwork and it looked like my cheetah was in a snowstorm! Fortunately I was able to fix the piece by spraying again in a warmer environment. So when it comes to spraying big works like "Walking The Line" I have to hold my breath and cross my fingers and toes that everything goes well. Then I ALWAYS get dust and tiny particulates in it. It seems inevitable! If I only did 8"x10" pieces I would breath a lot easier, but the larger the work, the more stuff gets into it.

Anyways I sprayed "Walking the Line" and "Tailwind" today and knock on wood everything seems to have gone ok (except the dust issue, which I have yet to ever avoid). Both of these pieces will be going to the framers tomorrow in preparation for Greeley Stampede.

I can't seem to get my camera to pick up the background elements when it exposes the image, so by overexposing a shot just to show how much of the background isn't showing up (excuse the glare on the right side too)

Small donation to Greeley Stampede

2010-05-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

My little bear that was posted below will be donated to the Greeley Stampede Western Art Show's quick auction. The funds that are raised will go to thier scholarship funds. The auction will be on June 23 at the opening for their art show. I did add some minor changes since this image including a signature, but didn't take a photo.

after a bit of a break

2010-05-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

I had a nice visit with my friend Lee in Salt Lake City last week, so no update on the blog, but now I am home and have 5 million photos to review (of dogs). I am happy to say that I got a reply from F&W telling me they will look into rewording the contest contracts in future years, as other artists have also complained.

Here are some pictures of my girls from the trip - and even a photo of me with them taken by Lee.

In more related art news I am excited to say that my piece "The Interrupted Drink" has been selected by the Society of Animal Artists for their 2010 show "Art and the Animal". This is the 50th aniversary show and the competition was very stiff, so it is quite an honor to have a piece selected. The show opening will be at the San Diego Natural History Museum in September. I will be attending the opening weekend. On the flip side my piece was not selected for Birds In Art this year. Oh well I will certainly try again next year. I have seen quite a few accepted AND rejected works from BIA and there are some amazing works that did not make the show this year, the level of competition and work is astoundingly high! I do not envy the jurors for these shows. Here is "The Interrupted Drink"

Before I left on my trip I also had to decide which pieces I was sending to the Greeley Stampede Western Art Show. The final selections ended up being 5 scratchboards and one pencil piece; 4 are horses and 2 are wildlife. Sizes range from an 8"x10" piece up to the large cougar (24"x36") Now I am spending a fortune framing everything so hopefully some of them will sell.

Boycotting F&W Art competitions

2010-04-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

A fellow artist recently pointed out to me that F&W have a clause in their competition contracts that makes an artist give rights to F&W to do whatever they want with your artwork images! I have written them a letter and encourage other artists to do the same asking them to let us keep our rights and change the wording on their contract! Below is my letter.

F&W runs the following art publications: "The Artist Magazine", "Southwest Art", "The Pastel Journal" and "Watercolor Artist". ALL of these magazines hold contests and all of them make you sign this same contract giving up your rights!

Dear F&W-

I was recently going to enter two of your contests (The Artist Magazine and Strokes of Genius 3) with my artwork and just as I am getting ready to hit submit I scroll through your contract and see the line at the end that reads "I hereby grant the Sponsoring Organization the perpetual, non-exclusive, world-wide right to publish, republish and repurpose my artwork in both print and digital formats, including, but not limited to books, promotion materials, websites, databases and as part of downloadable digital products." perpetual, non-exclusive, world-wide right ... to you! Where are the artists rights? So you can sell t-shirts, mugs, prints of MY artwork if you should want to? I think not!! I urge you to strongly consider rewording this clause to grant you the rights to publish the work and use it on web sites and for advertising, but please remove the extreme wording that makes me give away all of my rights!!

I encourage you to reword it to include terms similar to those found on the Best Of Artists competition which reads "All participating artists retain full copyrights of their images. By submitting your images and entry form you grant Kennedy Promotions LLC the right to publish images of your artwork in print within the Best Of Books and on the Internet within BOAA and the Visual Art Guide for the purposes of promoting your artwork and will not hold Kennedy Promotions liable for any infringement of your copyright." This is a nice clean clause that I would be happy to agree to, but until the wording on your entry forms is changed and does not grant "perpetual, non-exclusive, world-wide right " to F&W I will never enter another one of your contests. And maybe I am just one artist (though you would have been getting over $100 on my entries alone), however I will be encouraging other artists (of which I know MANY) to NOT enter your contests as well until this has changed.

There is no need for the wording that you have in your contract if your intentions are only to use the images for publication, advertising and web sites. Please change them so that I can feel comfortable entering your contests again.

Regards-

Cathy Sheeter
www.aphelionart.com

Tailwind Completed

2010-04-27T17:08:00.000-07:00

I am calling this one done, though have not sprayed it yet with fixative. I have done some research and found out the name of the horse in the photo and it is Circle Bar Pistol, an AQHA stallion. I photographed him at the AQHA Ranch Horse Versatility competition in Denver in January. I am contemplating contacting his owners and sharing the work with them. My piece from a few months ago titled "Distant Gaze" is of another stallion from the same event by the name of Chic Packin.

Finishing an Older One

2010-04-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

A few of you may remember this piece from a few months ago... Anyways I finally finished it up and sprayed it. I couldn't decide about the tail... added it in, scratched it back out, added it in again :) Finally decided I liked it better with a tail than without. It is just 10"x8" colored with inks. I also added the subtle background elements to complete the piece.

A wee little bear and Tailwind progress

2010-04-26T14:38:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday I taught my 3rd workshop... the weather outside was frightful, but the scratching indoors delightful :) I started this little bitty 5"x3" board at the workshop as a demo and finished it at home. He was just for fun.

I have made a bit more progress on my horse and rider as well over the weekend and today and have decided on the title of "Tailwind" for the piece. I am getting close to done, but still more touch ups to do. Not very good photos due to glare today.

A close up where the reins meet the mane and the mane meets the body - all textures have to differ for it to read right to the eye.

Better Photo

2010-04-22T08:13:00.001-07:00

Here is a better photo of the Mountain Lion

And more progress on the horse

Walking The Line - almost done

2010-04-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

close to done with the big couger. Not a good photo, but you get the general idea :)

And a bit more on the horse too

Art Fair Weekend and New progress on works

2010-04-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was my first art fair of the season. Unfortunately attendance was quite low and sales were low as well. I did get to educate more people about scratchboard and still enjoyed the time I spent there. I found some time to work on my spinning grey horse and made friends with my neighboring booths (a photographer and a glass worker).

Here is where the horse ended the weekend

And last week I started to color Charlie, the big mountain lion. Putting that first bit of color on it was difficult as I have spent MANY hours on the board already and color is something that doesn't always go the way that I want it to. Anyways I have already spent another 8 + hours laying in ink, rescratching, putting in more ink, more rescratching... and it is getting closer to me ding pleased with the color version of it. I am finding it quite difficult to get a decent photo of it as it has many layers of ink now and some show through as quite shiny and reflective giving quite a glare.... so excuse the poor photos, but here is the progression of color work on it so far. Still many hours to go.

First layers of ink with minimal rescratching at this point

Now a version with quite a bit of rescratching to lighten things up for more inking

And several more layers of ink and scratching to get to where it is at the time of typing. You will also notice changes to the musculature of his shoulder, as I didn't like the way I had it

Twirling... slowly

2010-04-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

A wee bit more done on this piece. This piece holds some new challenges for me that are going to take some figuring out on how to do them.

My Birds will be flying To Vermont!

2010-04-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

I am excited to say that two of my works were selected for the 2010 Bennington Center for the Arts "Art of the Animal Kingdom" Exhibition that will open in June. This is my first year entering this show, so I am delighted to have work selected. I am planning on attending the opening and have never been to Vermont, so also looking forward to exploring the area and trying to find some local wildlife.

The two works that will be going are:

"Blue And Gold" (20"x14" - scratchboard and ink)

Mantling Golden Eagle (16"x19" - scratchboard)

I also recently submitted my work for the Society of Animal Artists show (it is their 50th anniversary), Birds In Art, and the Coors Western Art Show- keep your fingers crossed for me! All three could be tough to get into this year!

Another mane event

2010-04-08T21:16:00.000-07:00

The piece I started this week will also have his mane as a key component to the piece. You'll have to wait until next week to see more though.

A Driving Force - Finished

2010-04-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

My friesian piece is completed.

"A Driving Force"
10"x8"

Prints should be available soon.

Trotting along

2010-04-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

This mornings update from the Friesian- you can see how I am working the upper muzzle area in fur even though much will be covered over with the mane.

And now this afternoon/evenings update- the last for the day. I think I have picked out a title and am going to call him "A Driving Force"

Friesian Elegance - WIP

2010-03-31T14:07:00.000-07:00

I started a smaller 10"x8" piece today of a Friesian horse in harness. I really enjoy doing the leather work along with the horse- the variation in texture is always a challenge I enjoy. I hope to finish this piece this week. I think I am aiming this one toward the AAEA show if they allow me to use photos with references I did not take (have to re-read the rules). I e-mailed last year to ask what category I could enter my scratchboard in and was told I could not enter it because there was no category! But Julie Bender has entered her woodburning pieces for several years and there is no class for her either. I e-mailed Julie earlier this year and she enters her pieces as paintings!! So this year I am going to send in my entries, put them as drawings and see what they do with them- worst case they don't let anything in. Best case I win some cash or sell a piece! The AAEA show is hold at the Kentucky Horse park, which also happens to be where the Friesian Horse Association of North America's main headquarters are....hmmmm.... maybe someone will see is from there and not be able to live without it! :D

The lovely photo reference was provided by Daisyree Barkkar, a friend from wetcanvas and fellow artist. Thanks Daisyree!

I get asked sometimes how I do it when there is long hair (such as a mane) going over the top of shorter fur. In cases like that I work the short fur in first and then the mane and forelock will go over the top, just as it is in real life. However I do it darker and less dense than areas where it is not covered, as the mane usually obscures the fur and casts a shadow on it. In my next update (or two) you will be able to see this in practice a bit more.

New image of the Kingfisher

2010-03-30T19:10:00.000-07:00

Someone pointed out an inacuracy with my kingfisher board, in that the common kingfisher has very bright feathers on the middle of his back which would be visible from the angle I drew him. I was happy with the way I had it, but after looking at many photos the inaccuracy started to bother me ;) So I went back and reworked his back feathers to be brighter.

maned wolf puppies at Denver zoo

2010-03-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

When I went to the zoo in early March I was seeking out pics of the new litter of maned wolves born at the zoo in late December, but not on exhibit until the end of February. They were out of sight and sleeping on that day so I stopped back by today and battled the throngs of school children and one of the pups (there are three total) was out and about for quite a while. They are almost 3 months old and very leggy and tall already.

Not great photos as it was bright sunlight on top of the snow from two days ago and rather midday, but they are not a critter you get to see all that often, so what the heck :) BTW they are much darker brown when very young and start to get their red coat and markings at about 2 1/2-3 months. You can see they are much lighter red than the adult still. I love the little milk moustache marking on them (adults have it too)!

The little one climbed right on top of Mom and was so cute. Mom gave him a bath and was very sweet to him. Unfortunately the cutest shots were out of focus. My camera needs to go in for some repairs, as it is misfocussing much more than it should, but I just can't part with it... LOL

Look how long thier legs are already!

just for size and color comparison with Mom

The bald eagle also put on quite a show and was screaming and throwing back his head. Unfortunately backlit and I didn't bring my flash with me for fill flash, but still a nice pose.

"On The Prowl" Completed

2010-03-24T07:57:00.000-07:00

Not a huge difference from the last posting, but the little things are important too :) Dark whiskers, softened the hot edge of the front leg and touched up some edges and values... and with a signature I am calling him done. You can see the zoomify version at: http://www.aphelionart.com/zmprowl.html

Prowling... all day long

2010-03-23T16:13:00.000-07:00

I worked on this piece most of today and will likely finish it tonight.

A Bit More

2010-03-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

On the Prowl - WIP and Bending

2010-03-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

I am working on a new mountian lion scratchboard that I have titled "On The Prowl" size is 12"x24" , which looks pretty close to cougar life size. Here is my progress to date.

A close up look - I suppose maybe around the actual size, maybe a bit bigger.

And I guess I didn't post this one that I finished this last week too. Well maybe not finished, I think I am going to work the tail a bit more. This is a smaller piece 10"x8" This ended up being a very tough angle to make look right! Title on this one is "Bending" It is colored with Ampersand Inks

A Kind Eye Finished

2010-03-17T09:56:00.001-07:00

A Kind Eye (Quarter Horse)- 12"x17"

This piece is graphite (not scratchboard)

Original Graphite Artwork © Cathy Sheeter
Original Available from http://www.aphelionart.com/

One of those days...

2010-03-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a new smallish scratchboard (8"x10") and it just isn't coming together to my liking... so after struggling with it for several hours... still not quite ready to bin it... but feeling a bit frustrated.

Anyways decided to give it a break and come back to my graphite piece "A Kind Eye" I think I have the eye close to the softness I want, now just finishing up the rest of it.

Limited edition Prints now available

2010-03-13T06:40:00.000-08:00

Several new works now have limited edition prints available for order. All of my giclee prints are printed on the highest quality acid free materials and printed with archival inks. All are sold with a certificate of authenticity. available for overseas shipping, but please contact me for a shipping quote before ordering.

New Prints are of :
The Interrupted Drink (White Tiger)
The Hypnotist (Snow Leopard)
Blue And Gold (Catalina Macaw)
Windblown (Friesian Horse)
A Distant Gaze (Quarter Horse)
Yielding (Quarter Horse)
What Next? (Quarter Horse)

On most works prints are available in three sizes. Click each link above to see prices or to order.

references and photoshop

2010-03-11T12:02:00.000-08:00

While I do not have any formal art training I did take several classes in high school. One of the things we did time and again was thumbnail sketches trying to work out compositions and layout. Today for many artists, including myself, things have changed. Now photo editing programs (such as photoshop) allow us to composite as many photos together as we desire and move them all around until we get a composition that we want.

Some people may think that when artists work from photos that we simply take that photo and essentially replicate it in our art. Very rarely is this actually the case. Usually artwork is many images put together to come up with an original piece. Often the background will be a few images, the animal may be another one or two (or more), trees or rocks may be from another, etc. I have used up to 10 different images combined into one piece to create the artwork.

Above is a composite of 6 photos put together. This is in fact the same pronghorn from 6 different photos. The advantage of using the same animal over and over was that since all photos were taken within a few minutes of each other the light direction and intensity is the same. The disadvantage is that... well its obviously the same animal and I would have to alter them to make them look like distinct individuals. Because this pronghorn is the same animal I would have to resource some additional photos to find different sets of horns for each one, as this particular animal has a distinct set of horns with a twist at the tip. He also has a distinct whirl of fur up on the top of his back that shows that he is the same animal. Furthermore usually in bachelor herds there are some older males and some younger ones. This would require more alterations. For the completed layout I would also resource some additional images for shrubbery and perhaps some rocks.

So when you are looking at art realize that usually it is not just one photo but often MANY images resourced to create the original work.