Last project before Christmas: I made this little guy out of holey old socks for a certain adorable black dog I know...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone, and thanks so much for visiting my blog this year! All the very best to you in the coming year,

Jennifer

Sometimes it's nice to do a quick thumbnail sort of sketch – loose and gestural. This is from a photo we took a couple of years ago on our trip to Scotland:

©2012 Jennifer Georgeadis. 9cm x 10.5cm, watercolour on sketchbook paper

At last, the finished painting. Today I worked mainly on texture, and reclaiming some of the warmth I'd lost in the colour from yesterday. Portraits can be tricky, including pet portraits. Sometimes capturing a likeness can come down to the angle of a single brush stroke!

©2012 Jennifer Georgeadis. 25.5cm x 25.5cm, acrylic on gessoed canvas

Today I worked on laying in more of the darks and building up some definition in my latest painting:

©2012 Jennifer Georgeadis. 25.5cm x 25.5cm, acrylic on gessoed canvas

I've often wished I could draw in church, and yesterday I got the chance. This was a sketch I did while I listened to St. Gerard's choir sing during the Joy To the World carol concert:

©2012 Jennifer Georgeadis. 26cm x 17.5cm, watercolour on sketchbook paper

Today I was putting in washes of local colour, slowly refining shapes in the painting as I went along:

©2012 Jennifer Georgeadis. 25.5cm x 25.5cm, acrylic on gessoed canvas

One of the things I'm working on this week is a commission for a friend. Here is the underpainting wash, done in Raw Umber on a square canvas:

©2012 Jennifer Georgeadis. 25.5cm x 25.5cm, acrylic on gessoed canvas

A guerrilla sketch of Lori while she does dictation, way past going-home time...

©2012 Jennifer Georgeadis. 16cm x 18cm, ink and coloured pencil on oatmeal sketchbook paper

Another quick character sketch:

©2012 Jennifer Georgeadis. 16cm x 21cm, ink and coloured pencil on Kraft paper

Finally I had enough daylight today (plus excellent artificial lighting) to take a good photo of my watercolour. Here is the finished piece:

©2012 Jennifer Georgeadis. 19cm x 28cm, watercolour on 140lb. watercolour paper