Procreate pet portrait

Being absent from the pet blog doesn’t necessarily mean I’m absent from creating. Took some time to reflect and get inspired and then motivated. As a frustrated new dog parent I’m faced with many challenges such as juggling dog training, cat therapy, working my pay the bills job, reselling on eBay and taking the time to believe in myself. I came up with this creation today. Fine tuning for tomorrow. I’m in love with my new found style and have to believe I can create an art series using my trusty Apple Pencil in procreate on my lovely iPad Pro and stick with it. Awfully delightful. Simply joy.

Rudy Giuliani the Bichon frisée

SOOC shots (raw+jpg) of the handsome pup Rudy. This was a warm September day in the front and backyard of the owners home. Important to include the natural surroundings of a dog which includes lots of lush green grass and pretty front porch summer flowers. Trick with all white dogs is the highlights that can by blown out slightly. Must remember to underexpose here!!! But, the buttery bokeh turned out good although next pet shoot will be using a faster and sharper lens. Also raw images appear always dull and dingy until the final edits. Shot with canon 6D. 50mm 1.2 lens. Yasss Rudy!!!

Dougie the Dundee dog portraits

8 o’clock PM natural window light. 

ISO 800. 1/250. F1.8

Canon 6d m2

50mm 1.8 lens

12 o’Clock natural window light from the east. 

ISO 400. 1/250. F2. 

Canon 6d m2

50mm 1.8 lens

This sweet mutt has much more energy than what you see in the photo. He is being tested like a guinea pig. The available light I have to work with is pretty amazing and gorgeous. Semi obedient and full of puppy dog love. We will need a dog wrangler for an outdoor shoot. Preferably in Dundee!!!!

Canon 50mm 1.2 prime lens is ideal for senior pet photography

This fine evening shoot was spent with a precious mutt named Gracie! She is in her golden years now and is totally chill and calm about 90% of the time. Unless mom pulls out a pink squeak toy. That sets her off playing like a puppy. The sun was setting and darkness was upon us, but that does not stop this beast of a lens to perform magic. The 50mm 1.2 L lens is a heavy (yikes it’s hard core for weak wrists-not me!) bokeh beast. Most of the shots were taken at f1.2. And some are a bit ‘soft’. Ugh. This lens is also unfortunately slow to focus. And I knew this from the start. But kinda was in denial a little and then forgot as I get excited to shoot the perfect shot with such an amazing lens. Frustrating. The bad? Heavy. Slow to focus. Soft at 1.2. The good? Perfect for senior pets who are static and just chill and don’t move much. Bokeh is superb. Image quality is L quality. Gorgeous. Unfortunately this magical lens will be a renter for me. I will choose not to buy this guy after all. And that’s just super duper ok with me. I’m still very pleased with these images. SOOC. No edits yet. Can’t wait to see the final results.  

Dark and moody background still life photography

My goal for this project was to be able to create a dark and moody still life vibe with the available tools I have on hand. The objects to photograph are of course my 2 obsessions. And they are vintage decor/planters and plants. I plan to rent the monster queen of bokeh 50mm 1.2L lens this weekend so as to compare lenses. Looking for image quality and mega bokeh comparisons. For now I’m using my trusty thrifty/nifty canon 50mm 1.8 lens. 

Paper background was not my thing because I’ve used it before and it’s not only expensive but could be risky without the proper stands etc.I've tripped many times. I have a small space to work within. So I discovered this peel and stick removable chalkboard wallpaper last year and planned on using it as a some cool wallpaper background for my art. (It sat for a whole year!) Fast forward and it occurs to me that this could serve a better purpose. I have struggled to create the perfect studio and I feel now I may be on to something here. I tried my tripod but he’s on his last legs. Literally need to upgrade him. This is hand held and super steady. No probs. Could be sharper but I’ll touch up in post. So as long as I shoot with a fast shutter. High iso. And my aperture wide open(1.8)And stand far enough from the wallpaper I’m able to blur the possible seam in the wall. I had to line the paper up better and not overlap. That is key to this. No overlapping. It’s barely noticeable but I can see it and if I can avoid the extra step in post by snapping a decent photo then more power to me. Settings for this were iso 800, 1/125,  f1.8 and natural window light at about 2/3pm east facing window. 

This shot is exactly what I’m aiming at. Pure melted blacks and not blown out whites. I shot 9 images for this series I call plants and their homes. Or plant homes. I’m not sure what to name this series. All I know is that I created a series of nine and I’m pretty happy with the final outcome. 

 I just love my vintage pottery collection. And the plants that I've adopted to these homes are truly an obsession of mine. This pot is from a garage sale many moons ago. And the plant was a 6 inch orphan laying on the ground next to a pretty cool vintage pickup truck at a certain green house many moons ago. Propagation was no probs. He’s 4 years old. Just look at how big he’s grown!!!!! Love. 

My new baby.

       

                               

      

SOOC shots. No edits. Canon 6D MARK 2. Nifty fifty lens. It focuses fast. It feels good in my hands. It delivers impressive images. Let me tell you the hardest and most difficult thing with this camera. And that is this, properly attaching my vintage camera strap. Quite literally took me forever. More images to come. In love with this new baby. 

Brand new cool products from Red Bubble!

                                                       

                                                            
                                                            
                                                            
                                                            

Lately I’ve been keeping super busy as to not dwell on the sadness I feel when there is no little man by my side. It’s awfully hard to get motivated. Yet, painting and working on projects on the iPad Pro helps tremendously. Today I improved and enhanced my online shops. Red Bubble has added some nifty new products such as shower curtains and water bottles. Had to snapshot the pages be they only allow to share on fb or Pinterest. Stupid imho. My hand hurts and I need a break. But I’m so happy with these products!

RIP my faithful little fluffy Furby

                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                      
                                                     

This past week has been long and hard. Furby, my long time fur baby was put to rest after some serious seizures that had been progressively getting worse. I am still dazed and confused and of course am having difficulty focusing. Furby was a huge part of our family for 17 loving years. I have documented his life basically on my blog here for ten years and have gathered a wonderful collection of photographs and some videos. He was my faithful companion. My best pet model. My favorite to just be around and hold. I am beyond grateful to have shared 17 years of precious memories with this little blonde furry friend. You are at peace now little man. I will miss you.

Drunk Cat Series

   

Part of the cat series I’m working on. This one will be titled drunk Cat Series. Cats who are drunk/high from too much plant eating. I’m really happy with this piece and it’s color composition. It’s a retro look I’m going for. Plus it sorta has a screen printed vibe as well. Simple lines and geometric shapes with a few carefully selected retro colors is the aim here. Love this piece. 

Basic kit lens vs nifty fifty

I love this comparison of images. The top image is taken with a Canon EF 50mm F1.8 aka the nifty fifty lens. Also some simple edits in Snapseed such as contrast and highlights, curves, tones, sharpness and ambiance. It’s rich and dramatic and moody and has pretty good tonal range. Plus the charm of a good looking cat. 

The bottom image is taken with the Canon EFS18-55mm F3.5-5.6 kit lens. As you can see the kit lens does a mediocre job. It’s flat and boring and simply just blah. And my model knows it!! 

But, I will say that this camera/lens does a pretty good job as a video camera. Which is what it was originally intended for. Leia used it for her YouTube videos for about a year in 2017. Then I purchased the 50mm lens in mid summer of 2018. I’ve used it for a year now and have taken 4-5k photos. Now that a year has flown by it’s time to upgrade. Keeping the nifty fifty to use with the new eos rp that came out this year. Stay tuned for the new. The smaller (body) The bigger (ff sensor). Can’t wait!

First attempt at dog portrait using ArtRage painting app

A work in progress painting using the ArtRage painting app. It’s realistic paint blobs are fantastic and I truly love that! However it can be a little frustrating to figure out all the buttons and techniques. I hope I discover quick hot buttons soon. They really need to simplify the way to create layers and color palettes. Maybe I just need more practice. Oh and patience as well. Final touches, highlights and details should be complete by today. I miss my black lab Kenobi. 

Plants Cats and a Television Set

I think I’ve come up with a style that I might be happy with. I need to simplify and narrow down colors. I don’t like things too fussy or complicated so I may continue to omit details in this cat series. I do however think I’m onto something with my signature. Like the name within a box. Freehand. I always circle my ‘i’s. And I do need to include my surname. I thought about Kim k. Then Kim k w. Now I’m Kim k. Widmark. And the 30 second speed time lapse vid (which only took me 4 hours) shows a lot of changes within this piece. Like I’ve said before. It’s a labor of love and I’m not striving for perfection. For that’s the ultimate enemy of progress!!!

Bird wrapped in rainbow feathers

    Working on painting this darling painting bunting bird. There are plenty of reference images on Pinterest but I still am having trouble with this one. Especially his feet. Bird feet are super hard and tricky. They have this prehistoric vibe about them that I have not been able to master. Oh well. Practice. Create. Everyday. He’s cute and certainly wrapped in rainbow feathers. Love is love. And let’s lets respect all humans. This bird is simply love. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

Gorgeous quick edits with Snapseed

                                                              

I’m obsessed with this photo editing app called snapseed. Highly sophisticated and professional. Will enhance your photos to a serious pro level. Some examples above. Love it. 

10 years of blogging 2009-2019

My main Blonde Pom man

I painted rummy

I painted my cat. It was kind of a challenge throughout as I sometimes get confused with my multiple layers then I can’t decide on backgrounds and the different mediums and brushes. It’s all a labor of love though. 3 hours of therapy. And painting cats is never boring. I figured out how to include a video of the whole entire crazy messed up process using procreate. Only traced the initial shape from the reference photo I took. Final artwork has the simple charcoal background. Which seems to add a bit of moody drama. I’m happy and that’s all that matter. Cats.

Endangered Green Magpie Artworks

                           

  

                       

                                         Uploading the time lapse video may just be impossible using blogger. Not having any luck. This image was borrowed from Pinterest and no artist name was found so I can’t give anyone credit. Using my own images in the future. This bird was simply a delight to paint. I don’t typically trace but it worked and is helping me learn this new skill. I prefer to not trace and refer to the reference photo instead. The procreate app is so sophisticated I am just barely entering the land of magical creations. Fine. Perfection is the enemy of progression. That is so true. I’m happy working and creating at the speed I’m currently moving. I plan to do a series of birds now. Of course. Wild. Native. Endangered. And simple regular old backyard finches. They are so fascinating to me. Little birdie.....

Procreate finally adds FONTS to the app!

Finally I can now add TEXT with the new add on text application from Procreate!Yippee! This is super basic for my  purposes and I am constantly learning new moves every day with this amazing and super duper sophisticated app. Today I completed these two guys. Cleaning up and figuring out my style that I want to bring forward. Simple pieces with retro colors and a few fun details. Playing also with the signing of my Artworks. Kim k studio/kimk_art/puppycat_art. 

For now it’s still a work in progress. Feels good.