Pets on Field Notes

 

12/7/23 Lucky (Maria Ochoa reference photo)

After sketching a raccoon on a Field Notes Birch Bark edition cover, I wanted to make more animal portraits in this fun format. The issue was finding good reference photos that I could use free of charge (like Earthsworld’s apparently endless resource of human portraits). Unsplash, Pixabay and other free photo reference resources are available, but then I started thinking that it would be more fun and meaningful to draw pets of people I know (at least virtually).

I put out a little “contest” in the Field Nuts Facebook group of Field Notes aficionados: Post your pet’s photo, and you may win a portrait of your pet on a Field Notes cover. I gave myself full rights to choose the photos, the media and the timeframe, which means there’s no pressure on me in any way. I got more than 60 entrants (so far – the “contest” goes on indefinitely as far as I’m concerned), and I’ve been delighted by all the pets, including a few unexpectedly exotic ones, like a chameleon, a tortoise and a cockatoo! Cats and dogs make up the majority, of course, so I’ve started with a few. (I already showed the kitty Tucker in my recent ArtGraf post.)

12/10/23 Maggie (John Cline reference photo)

I find that I tend to favor dogs, not because I necessarily like them better than cats but because their heads have more form and are therefore easier to draw. But that just means I need to challenge myself by drawing more cats!

Naturally, my selection criteria include cuteness, but just as important is the quality of the reference photo – well lighted, sharp focus, and preferably with all-important catchlights in the eyes.

In addition to my Nutty contest, I made a few of these portraits as surprise gifts for friends I follow on social media who occasionally share photos of their fuzzy-faced companions.

Initially, I was going to avoid water-soluble media lest the Birch Bark notebook covers got wet during use, but what the heck – now I’m using anything, just to see how it looks. These books are meant to be used, and the covers are not fine art. I’m having a ball trying different media on this fabulous cover stock, which I’m sure was not intended for drawing on, but it’s taking everything like a champ (specific material notes are in the cutlines of the images showing the media at end of post).

12/12/23 Romeo and Denver
(Anne Badgley reference photo)

12/17/23 Bernie
(Richard Becker reference photo)

12/17/23 Kuzya (Jeff Durand reference photo)

This was my first attempt at using watercolor pencils,
and I was pleased that the cover stock took well to them. I used a black Polychromos only for the eyes and mouth, where I wanted a sharper point.

I sketched both Lucky and Maggie (at right) with black
and gray 0.5 Uni Pin technical pens -- a great combo for animals.

I hadn't inked up my beloved Sailor fude fountain
pen in a while, and Platinum Carbon ink was untested,
but at this point, I was confident that the cover stock
could take anything. Denver's ears were so much fun to
sketch with the fude!

Back to a Bic ballpoint for Bernie, which was
the first pen I tried on a Birch Bark cover.