Drawing Wild Animals Craftsy Online Art Class - Giveaway! Enter to Win!

Drawing Techniques and Markmaking

Soon to be launched, I wanted to share a little about how special this class is going to be :) (Giveaway details at the end of the post!) This class is directly inspired from my Endangered Animals series and the very techniques and mediums I used to create them. In this class we will use charcoal pencils with Pan Pastels, which is a new and exciting combo. Charcoal is my all time favourite medium, but after 2 decades using it I wanted to mix things up, and incorporating Pan Pastels helped make the drawing process easy! I love this product and wanted to share it with everyone as it has single handedly changed my work in great ways with impressive results.Our main focus will be to understand value, observing the variety of subtle shifts in greyscale, as well creating beautiful line work and mark-marking for the illusion of animal fur, skin and spots. We'll take an in depth look at shading and layering to achieve high realism in facial features and overall details!The concept of Black and White Portraits was heartfelt because my series was personally focused on dramatic intimate portraits to encourage viewers to look these endangered creatures in the eye and feel a connection. Please know I don't want to disappoint anyone ... this class may lack colour, but value is one of the main foundational elements of design. It's how I first learned to describe the illusion of depth, volume and texture. I feel that once you understand value, you understand colour in a unique way too! Your work in all mediums and styles beyond this class will become so dynamic!We put a lot of thought into which animals to focus on in the class projects (Sumatran Elephant, Giant Panda, Amur Leopard) so there would be a lot of examples and inspiration, that way you could apply everything learned to any animal subject you wished. I encourage you to draw what means most to you, and what you feel strongly about in your heart.The decision to research, draw and share these creatures has been one of the most difficult in my life, and I have learned so much. I am incredibly honoured that Craftsy loved these works and created an opportunity where I could share the techniques with you ... I hope you enjoy it, from the bottom of my heart xoxo please share this news with everyone so I can plan trip #3 to Craftsy and film a third class :)  love & light, Sharlena

GIVEAWAY

Banner 728x90 prelanch

Drawing Wild Animals is coming out very soon, and to celebrate, Craftsy and I are hosting a GIVEAWAY!This is your chance to win the class for FREE!

Click this link http://www.craftsy.com/ext/SharlenaWood_Giveawayto sign up for Craftsy or use your existing login information to be entered for a chance to win! One entry per person.The winner will be announced the day of the launch :)

4976_Stippling_03_retouched

Sharlena Wood creating in the Craftsy Studio

Six of Ten Most Endangered Species

I've written before about the heart-wrenching journey when I started drawing and researching Endangered Animals in 2013. It's not over. Yesterday I read this article 10 Animal Species That Could Vanish in 2015 if We Don’t Act NowThe animals listed are familiar to me. Not personally, as I have never had the honour of meeting a South China Tiger or any of the 10 species listed. Not even in a Zoo. I have only been to a zoo three times in my life: once to African Lion Safari when I was really young and left in tears at the sight of a baby Elephant who was crying as he entertained us by dragging big heavy chains and logs behind him, then to the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls/the Buffalo Zoo on the way to the Albright Knox, and lastly to the Toronto Zoo to draw with a friend. Thankfully, the latter visits were somewhat pleasant, creative and educational. I do not agree with exploiting any living creatures in zoos, captivity, experimentation, tourism or entertainment of any sort. My intuition whispers there are always compassionate, respectful and creative alternatives. Such as Cirque du Soleil invokes tears of joy and no animals are required - I love them for that!There is a lot I don't know. I can't separate the lies from the truth all the time, even though I make an effort to research and look at multiple sources. Lies sometimes run deep historically and culturally. When lies begin inside people's spirits, words on paper can be meaningless and may not reflect all people. Values can be skewed, reflecting the few instead of the many. In Canada, we had many protected lakes, wetlands and conservation parks and trails before 2012 when conservative laws were adjusted to ease industry regulations. All I know is that my voice is dedicated not only to the life here on earth that inspires and amazes me, it is to all spiritual beings and conservationists who are truly seeking solutions to create a world where all living creatures are safe, co-existing, sustainable and harmonious.

“Art is A Lie That Makes Us Realize the Truth” ~Pablo Picasso

Living as an artist in a world of smoke & mirrors and not having answers, I sometimes settle on the truth I see. I am not yet a visionary artist that can re-imagine the world. So what is real to me may simply be a photograph of an animal if the eyes are in focus ~ I can connect even if it's no comparison to looking the live creature in the eye. I suppose it's similar to watching a movie or a tv show, and feeling connected to an experience virtually, rather than personally. It's not the same, I know... but sometimes, it's all we have.I recognized 6 beautiful creatures from that article. My heart and breath is heavy as I feel a connection having spent hours studying each millimeter of their face as well as their history and current demise. These drawings are truth to me ... if these animals are truly soon to be gone forever and only a memory, they may be the only truth I ever have to appreciate their beauty and spirit as they are here with us right now. xo xo

Charcoal Drawing Process

No matter how distracted I am, I suppose I always find peace in drawing with charcoal. It was the medium that I first fell deeply in love with, and it's so versatile if you experiment with mixed media drawing surfaces. I'm grateful to still be in love and have a go-to medium I can always call 'HOME' if I ever feel lost or off-track (distracted by all the materials around me! aka Mixed Media 'Curse').

Reflecting over the past 2014 year and going through all my files, I found I took process photos of one of my favorite works! 'Woodland Fable' 24”x12” - Charcoal on Birch Panel (which was initially stained with washes of acrylic paint, Phthalo Turquoise with Iridescent Gold). Some of the photos were taken with my iPhone and are not the best quality, but lining them up with a little editing in Photoshop works. Process is always exciting for me - I love to see the steps inbetween and the evolution from nothing to something magical!

ArtStars

Looking back at my first online Craftsy class 'Painting Wildlife: Acrylic Mixed Media' and the hundreds of artworks created by artists all over the world in the last half year.Home Sweet Home, from teaching Craftsy class #2 in Denver, CO, just in time for the holidays. With Christmas magic upon us, all that I love and am truly grateful for is swirling around in my heart.Thank you all, for such inspiration!Craftsy currently has a sale on the top 5 best-reviewed classes of 2014! My class Painting Wildlife: Acrylic & Mixed Media is 50% OFF right now until Christmas Day.Love Light

PET PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS

I've been having a fabulous time drawing a lot of pet portraits since moving to The Beaches. Everyone has a dog here (even the cat lovers!) so now I know I will never, ever tire of drawing these incredible creatures! Commissioning a pet portrait can be personal, or a gift - and the time is now! Christmas is coming up, and since I'm ahead of schedule, I am inviting some more orders. Win-Win! 

Animal Portraits 
Charcoal Drawing

A classic, artist expression of your beloved dogs, cats, birds, exotic creatures.

• Signed charcoal drawing on quality paper

• Standard size is 9"x12" unframed (you can frame in a standard 8"x10") - other sizes available

• Satisfaction guaranteed!

Latest Pet Portrait Commissions

Check out my website for more details. Email sharlenawood@gmail.com with your favourite photo of your adorables face for a reference to get started. Make sure it's clear and not effected, so I can see the detail and capture all the special markings and likeness!

Honey Bee

Since I started drawing Endangered Animals, there has been a decline. In the first few months of drawing and researching them, the Black Rhino was declared extinct. Not even a year later, and the news continues to reel in with desolate results. A report came out today : Honeybee Death Rate is Currently too High for Survival of the Species - See more at: http://livefreelivenatural.com/honeybee-death-rate-currently-high-survival-species-crucial-food/#sthash.tecvPGbj.dpufI will leave it to the scientists to share the importance and viability of the Honey Bee, but as an eco-warrior and artist who does research and keep account of the connection to our brilliant planet, I can tell you beyond needing these creatures that they are absolutely remarkable. .... not only regarding the jobs they naturally and selflessly fulfill, but in their every detail that I have studied at magnification. Such magnificence should be marvelled, respected and loved. At the time I included the Honey Bee into my Endangered Species series, I had a feeling they were too small, and too easily ignored, and I was worried from the beginning.Sad days are ahead folks ...the human condition is proving that we are capable of standing by and allowing such an important living creature to vanish. We are such a destructive species. We have a history of waiting until it is far too late.If it is any inspiration, I do think that many care about many creatures as small as the Honey Bee, and wish every day that we all came together to act, and not allow such heart sick situations to ever happen. Yet with Corporate corruption and deceit, our future seems pretty bleak. Instead of choosing to stop using poisons that we knew damn well were harmful to them - KILLING them - as of now, there will be a change greater than we ever could have imagined because bees are a very important species.  And we let them go.They say you never know what you had until it's gone. Truth is, we knew exactly what we had... we just thought we would never lose it, we took it for granted while we had it, combined with Corporations having control over the demise of our future for their current pocket book. And so perhaps we deserve whatever sad future will be without Honey Bees.

Spirit Quest • Fine Art & Poetry Book

 We received the press copy of SPIRIT QUEST today! How excited could an artist be, after months of work, the final result is PERFECT! We are delighted! Book launch in the works, but it's green light for pre-sales :: click the following link to preview pages of the book and place your order today!

Spirit Quest by Bob MacKenzie and Sharlena Wood

Spirit Quest

poems by Bob MacKenziepaintings and charcoal drawings by Sharlena Wood

In Canada’s Rocky Mountains and the ranges to the west, toward the Pacific coast, there is a palpable spirit that’s impossible to resist.  In these places, one cannot help but feel the presence of a greater power that need not be named.  Those who travel here return changed to the far places from whence they came.  Some never return.  Enthralled by the beauty and power of these mountains, they settle in for the remainder of their lives.  Though it hadn’t been their plan, others return again and again.  Those born in their shadow carry in their hearts the mountain spirit and never forget, no matter where their lives may take them.  The poems in this book explore a boy’s experience of this spirit as recalled a half-century later by the man he had become.  Created by an artist who has also been among these mountains and felt their spirit around her, the accompanying images express her own experience of these places.

Wise Ears

 Prints available at Fine Art America • http://fineartamerica.com/featured/owl-wise-ears-sharlena-wood.html