#1 How it all started..

Never in my wildest dreams could I have thought that one day I would be writing a blog, let alone a blog on dog art..

I understand that might need some explaining, so that is what this first post will be about; how my passion started.

I only started drawing two years ago. Two years and four months ago to be exact. On March 17th 2014 I attempted my first ever drawing in charcoal: a drawing of (who else..) my very own Noa.

The vet had just informed me that Noa's back problems would only worsen if we kept the active live we were leading, so no more day-long walks in the forest or on the beach, no more tracking trails, but an enormous amount of free time on my hands, since Noa would benefit most from resting..

Not wanting to become a couch potato, I thought of all the things I always wished I could do, but never dared trying. And then 'drawing Noa' popped into my head; mind you, I hadn't drawn anything since elementary school...about 25 years ago...and I wasn't a talent back then either..

A visit to the local art store it was! I must say, I felt nowhere near an artist in that store, since I had no idea what I was doing and what I needed to execute my oh so creative idea. But the store clerk was kind enough to help me out and help me decide on which medium to try out. After paying, of course, I walked out the store with a bag containing an A3 sized sketching pad from Clairfontaine, some Willow charcoal, a Talens kneaded eraser and a blending stump.

I sat down at my desk with one of my favorite pictures of my dog and started scratching the charcoal on the paper; harsh and without any feeling. The result...let's just say it resembled anything bút my dog... I couldn't feel less than an artist at that moment...

Not willing to give up, I thought I'd better get to know the materials first, so I started drawing lines. Just simple straight lines. First with the sharp end and the with the side end of the charcoal. Then curves, using the same technique. Then I tried using the blending stump and the kneaded eraser. And that all taught me that it takes a gentle touch, a super high dosage of patience and much consideration to get on paper what your eyes see.

After practicing on about 5 sheets of paper, I made another attempt at drawing Noa...and though it left a lot of room for improvement; this drawing still brings a smile to my face, since it  represents the birth of my drawing passion!