An Artist's Year in Reflection

Meral's Pet Portraits and Animal Fine Art  

Hello fellow animal lovers, 

I am a little bemused that a year has past by since my initial blog, but what a journey 2017 took me on and I will be blogging much more frequently this year!
 
This part of my blog may be a little sad but it comes with humour and affectionate memories.......

We lost our beautiful springer spaniel, Max last February and as all my lovely followers know, our pets become so much more than that and when they leave us it is like loosing a close family member. It is so strange how the little things are what you miss the most aren't they? Each time you walk in the house and they are not there to welcome you home, the little noise they make when running in their sleep is missing and leaves the room silent. The dog walk which made you an approachable human being because everyone loved your dog and suddenly you are a leper rambler and look like you must have lost your dog en route. You cook sausages and they are not their salivating, pawing and circling frantically. Nearly a year on and we have finally put up our favourite photographs of him, framed his paw we had cast and I now feel able to draw his portrait. However, I have now taken up running because at speed you don't have time to worry about your social status when passing dog walkers and its harder to stop at every dog you meet for moments of canine affection which allows those lovely dog owners to continue their walks in peace! If you have experienced this feeling what is it you miss most?

So what happened next in 2017 .........

I met lots of lovely dog, cat, horse and other pets owners and had the best time hearing stories of   love, loss, funny experiences and how pets of all types and sizes came into their lives. I met and photographed many dogs for their portrait images which has given me the opportunity to steal sneaky cuddles and face licks! and even had clients meet me to collect their commissioned pet portraits with their pets to say thank you.  

I decided to brave the big wide world of craft and country fairs on a small scale last year and met lots of lovely people including other artists, crafters and pet owners. The support I received has been truly amazing and beyond what I could have imagined for my first year in the public eye. I have completed commissioned artwork for clients across the UK and even had a famous client in America!
My blog photograph is of me (left) with Charlotte the lovely owner of Berts Barrow farm shop at one of their local producers fairs. They have been so supportive of my work and I now have my fine art farm animal prints retailing in their farm store.

So where will 2018 take me....................

I have already booked several craft and country events in Yorkshire throughout the summer and winter months and have decided to be brave and draw/paint live at the events, eek I am slightly terrified! What if I forget the right colours, how many pastels do I take, what do I demonstrate, how will I multi-task talking to clients???? 

My next purchase will be a time-lapse remote and camera tripod so that I can complete time lapse videos with my DSLR camera. You will then be able to watch my artwork coming to life at speed in stages and I am hoping to set up a You-Tube channel. Have you seen any of my time lapse video attempts using my mobile phone on social media? I would love your feedback if so. You can find and follow me on Facebook and Instagram as Meralspetportraits to see up to date progress work and videos. 

In a couple of months I will be back helping on the farm with lambing and calving season. I am really excited this year as the farmer has told me 'Daisy' a pretty cow they commissioned me to draw is expecting her first calve. New life on the farm is always a busy and chaotic, but a beautiful time of the year and I feel honoured that they allow me to share the experience with them. 

I will also be adding to my fine art print collection with 'Maisy Moo' and 'Tilly Pip' and have been asked to consider a hedgehog, stag and hare. What animals would you like to see me add to my fine art prints?

I am now taking commissioned pet portrait bookings for the end of March/April 2018. If you would like to discuss a portrait please get in touch. 

Keep a look out on my social media pages for upcoming competitions, although I will not be running another pet portrait competition until later in the year the competition will be to win a limited edition fine art print of your choice!

I look forward to reading your comments to questions raised in my blog

'Hoof and paw prints forever on your heart, turn your lasting love of animals into works of art' 
​Meral's Pet Portraits  

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