.... here's yet another remarque. I've also shown the (very overworked and constantly featured) rabbit enlarged so you can see the rather rough technique better -- but bear in mind that it looks better than this scan, it's only an inch and a quarter high from it's feet to the tips of its ears, that it's on horrible coated card and.....

Enough excuses

MIKE

www.SibleyFineArt.com
www.Starving-Artists.net

Kevin

Doing the remarques must be very difficult given their reduced size. Do you use a magnifier as an aid in doing these?

"We must become the change we want to see" - Gandhi

You're right, it's hellish difficult drawing on this coated card especially as it impossible to erase -- although I can reduce the density of tone with Blue-Tack. But "intimidating" it isn't... as I shall explain in a minute...

Thanks Becca! As a breeder of Cairns you'll certainly understand the breed. The ones I'm using belong to good friends of ours - they have seven and nine Jack Russells all living in the kitchen - it's a BIG kitchen. To see that lot ratting is an amazing site! But what I really love most about them is their black button, bright, intelligent eyes.

I don't use a magnifier at all - I never do. I want my drawings to look both realistic and hand-drawn at the same time and I think any use of a magnifier would make the detail unnaturally tight.

In fact I find drawing these remarques very satisfying and very liberating!

Satisfying because I get to draw dogs in poses that I couldn't use for a major drawing - You will not be surprised to learn that sales of prints of dogs with their heads in holes are not good! Satisfying as well because I can draw one in a day instead of my usual two months.

Liberating because I can start with the bare bones of a study and just work everything out as I progress across the page. But more so because I cannot get bogged down in detail in a study of this small size. The process is great for teaching me how to quickly analyse the photo and situation and isolate the essential detail. The essential detail is all that is required to explain coat texture, movement, colouration and so on... As you will have guessed this has spilled over into the techniques I use for my major studies, which are becoming looser in style and not so detail-orientated.

MIKE

www.SibleyFineArt.com
www.Starving-Artists.net

Quote Mike I know I will sound quite dumb....won't be the first time...but what is remarque?I always enjoy your work and I love this little rabbit...

A remarque (or Remark) is an original drawing in the bottom margin of a print.

To see an earlier answer to the question you asked (with example print) take a look here Vickie...
http://www.artpapa.com/forum/DCForumID32/19_2.html

MIKE

www.SibleyFineArt.com
www.Starving-Artists.net

Quote I have a question about the dog, i was wondering do you have your own animal models that you follow with a camera until they do what you want them to do to fit the picture?,cause that looks like a lot of detail to be just making up without a photo?

I have 9 photos of the rabbit and 380 photos of the Cairns. From these I can get enough information to understand what it is I'm drawing - plus experience from past drawings. As is often the case I went out to photograph the Cairns (in two sessions) with preconceived ideas in mind. I tried to manufacture similar experiences for the dogs so I could photograph them doing what I wanted them to do - for instance, I wanted one coming down a bank so I had it released at the top of some stone steps with its favourite toy at the bottom then snapped it as it came down.

But - as is also usually the case - the photos themselves dictated the final drawing. I spent about a week sorting through different combinations, pulling out poses that really interested me, until some of the combinations began to tell a story. I had to reverse one of them to achieve the final result.

The remarques use the poses that I couldn't include in the print.
Here are the photos I used (I used the rabbit's body off one and the head from the other)...

MIKE

www.SibleyFineArt.com
www.Starving-Artists.net

Quote I tried taking my own photo of a friends pure white Maltese...but he is a pretty small dog and even from 3 ft away i get mostly washout?

If you've got a camera that you can manually adjust then aim to under-expose the photo. You're not trying to take good photos - you need to take photos you can work from. If it's an automatic camera then try putting something bright behind the dog (like a white sheet) so the camera adjusts to the sheet and sees the dog as being darker. Personally I use use a Canon A1 SLR with a 400mm zoom lens and a motor drive.

The reverse is true for a black dog - you want to over-expose the shot. This burns out the highlights but preserves the detail in the coat. Then take other photos with other settings to make sure you've got enough information to restore the coat to its former look and colour-density.

MIKE

www.SibleyFineArt.com
www.Starving-Artists.net