Karen Jones is currently studying on the Pet Portraits Diploma Course with tutor Heather Jolliffe here at the London Art College. Her recent submissions show her pushing her skills with two very different mediums, oils and pastels.
In her first piece, an oil painting of a puppy, Karen took on the challenge of using oils properly for the first time. She experimented with layering and build-up, but found the drying time, brushwork techniques, and use of mediums like fast-drying oils tricky. Despite the struggle, Karen achieved a solid result and came away with a better understanding of the process and what she’d like to improve next time, especially around tonal values and brush control.
Her second piece is a vibrant pastel drawing of a parrot against a sunset sky. Using her own reference photo for the parrot and a Pexels image for the background, she merged the two digitally before tackling the artwork. Karen noted the fading and smudging that happened over time, which gave her practical insight into how to better manage and blend pastel layers. She used Faber-Castell pastel sticks for the background, and although she found it hard to achieve fine detail with pastel pencils, the end result shows a strong grasp of colour and composition.
Karen’s progress highlights both the learning curve and the rewards of experimenting with new materials and we try to encourage all of our students to do the same. The Pet Portraits Diploma Course is designed for students who want to develop their animal drawing and painting skills, with guidance from expert tutors. To learn more about our course, visit the Pet Portraits Diploma Course page on our website.
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