Sketching at the Dog Park Leads to ....

How does the practice of sketching at the dog park end up as finished art work? 

When I am sketching the dogs from life, I try to capture a bit of each dog's personality. In the top right I tried to convey the prancing nature of a Sheltie.  The Border Collie below him always seem to be flying through the air so that is what I focused on with him.

Dogs Stitched on Painted Fabric:

In my handpainted textiles I sometimes like to add a little dog. These images are so tiny and challenging to do on a sewing machine that only the essential elements are included. Those quick sketches at the dog park are perfect for that. 

I am still stitching this piece and although I've painted the two dogs with the dyes a little stitching will enhance the details of the dogs. 

Dogs Painted onto Fabric:

A New Series Begins

This summer I started envisioning a colourful dog series to try and express all those different personalities. Here I are my first attempts of painting them onto cotton fabric with dyes. After a curing and rinsing process the pieces are ready for some stitched details. 

The dog in the middle was inspired by my friend Jill's poodle. In a whole panel of dogs, this is the one that is most commented on. Is it the curly fur or that cute face? 

Free Motion Sketching of Details

Textile Card by Eileen Gidman 
frameable original art

Dogs Painted in Watercolour:

In my watercolour dog series, I do work from photos but in trying to capture each dog's personality I still find it is still beneficial to practice drawing from life. You can see that series here on my website:  'Life With My Human' 

So keep on sketching!