I went on holiday to south Spain with my family last week so the updates have been a little on the quiet side, but I’m back in chilly old England now so I can get back to finishing that german shepherd portrait! I also took plenty of photos while I was in Spain including numerous beautiful sunsets and some very lovely hibiscus flowers that I am dying to draw.

I brought my entire set of Luminance pencils with me on holiday to Spain (my mother thought I was mad!) and have done lots of doodling in my sketchbook. I also worked on and completed a new piece. I’m going through a bit of a bird obsession at the moment, there are so many beautiful birds out there and I want to draw all of them!

This time though it’s a ruby-throated hummingbird. I was pretty loose with my technique and took quite a few liberties with this piece as I didn’t have any paint thinner or Zest-It with me while abroad.The great thing about the hotter climate in Spain was that it felt like my pencils were melting onto the paper. The only disadvantage is that it ate through my pencils! My light cobalt blue is now half the size it was before drawing this piece and it was brand new! 🙁 I used mostly Luminance pencils for this with a few Polychromos, and a white Caran D’ache Neocolor II to bring out the highlights. The piece is called “High Perch” and is 12.5 x 20cm. Reference used with permission from WildlifeReferencePhotos.com. Hope you like it!

EDIT: This is where I’m up to with the german shepherd portrait at the moment. Completely forgot to post this work-in-progress shot!