A Cup Of Magic: Magical and Faerie Ball July 27th

A Cup Of Magic: Magical and Faerie Ball July 27th: A Cup of Magic will be appearing at 'The Blind Pig' in Sowerby Bridge, Halifax on July 27th.  The fair is free to enter and there will be lots of amazing artists selling there and lots going on, so it should be a great day.  The faerie ball in the evening is £20 and will include music, fancy dress and a buffet.  Details of how to purchase tickets are on the poster below.  If you're in the area, please do drop in and say hello.  It would be great to see you. 

Sketch Fest number 33

It was sketch fest again last weekend. It's seems that lately, I can only manage two sketches each time.  Here they are: the first is 'The Littlest Fairy' and the second 'The Patchwork Dress'.  Both sketches have been sold now and I'm so pleased they have found a home.  The next sketch fest is the weekend of March 15th, so I'm going to put that in my diary and make sure I make time to do lots more sketches this time. It's so much fun :)

The Littlest Fairy

The Patchwork Dress

Happy Birthday to My Little Man, Dougal Dog

I haven't written much in a while because I have been grieving.  Before I start, apologies for the long post, this is more as a remembrance of Dougal for my husband and I than anything else but I would love to share Dougal’s life with you, especially as it's Dougal's birthday today. He would have been twelve.  He was put to sleep on the 28th January 2013 after suffering from lymphoma cancer for over a year and we have been devastated and miss him so much.

A painting I did of Dougal as a puppy a few years ago, called 'Chasing butterflies'.

 Dougal was born on the 19th February 2001 and he came to live with us in Chepstow when he was 8 weeks old. 

Dougal and I have been inseparable ever since, he was my soul animal mate. When he was tiny, I would carry him around in my coat.  He was a cheeky, playful and mischievous little pup who made friends with everyone, but his inquisitive nature got him into a lot of scrapes and adventures.  He grew into a loveable dog, adoring people but was a bit wary of other dogs until he got to know them. His best friend was Murphy, an old English Sheepdog, who taught him everything.  This is Dougal with Sarah and Murphy on Dougal's first birthday.

Over time, there were two new additions to the family. Daisy-Belle joined us in 2002 and Millie-Moo in 2006.

The Clan

Dougal's favourite things were walks with his sisters, rough and tumble games with his dad, swimming, snoozing and cuddles from me :) 

Flying Dougal 

Playing with Millie

Tuggy with Daddy

Walkies with Mummy, Daisy and Millie

Swimming and chasing splashes... the dirtier the water, the better.

Afternoon snoozes

Cuddles

He also loved sitting at the window and barking at the postman and the neighbours cats:

Usually on his own but sometimes with his sisters.

Before falling asleep on his favourite, soggy, white teddy.

Dougal was diagnosed with lymphoma in October 2011.  He hadn't been himself for a while and I was worried so I took him to the vets, thinking I was just overreacting.  I cried so much when we were told it was lymphoma. It felt like I had lost him already.  My husband and I discussed chemotherapy with our vets and decided to go down that route.  We weren't ready to give up our little boy yet.  The vets from 'Island Vets' in Stafford were wonderful and the chemo worked well, it didn't make Dougal sick and my little man went into remission, I think it was in spring of 2012.  

Dougal was fine until mid December.  After a bone treat one day, he was very sick.  I thought he had probably overeaten, but he was becoming more lethargic and he wouldn't even eat his favourite treats, so we took him to the out of hours vets on 21st December and the vet wondered if the cancer had spread to his stomach.  The vet gave him antibiotics and we took him back the next day for a follow up checkup and his temperature was normal again.  We were so relieved and thought he just had an infection, but we were wrong.  Over Christmas he became poorly again and we had to take him to the vets in Carmarthen, where my parents in-laws live.  The vet noticed his tummy was enlarged and she gave him antibiotics, which seemed to work for a while and we had a lovely Christmas, although I was sad as I knew this would be Dougal’s last.  Here are some Christmas photos.

A tired Dougal sleeping on Grampy's foot after opening his presents

                                                Boxing day walk on Llanstefan Beach

When we returned home, we took Dougal to the vets and they gave his stomach an ultra sound scan.  We found out his spleen and liver were enlarged and the cancer had progressed quite fast.   I knew time with him was short now, so I cuddled him and played with him as much as possible, although all he wanted to do was sleep.

One thing Dougal loved more than football and white teddies was snow.  We had a snow day on the 18th of January.  We weren't going to take him out as he was poorly, but at the sight of the snow, he perked up.  He didn't run about as he used to do, but he rolled in the snow and seemed very happy.  We took him home and he ate a good dinner and had a good sleep.  

A video of Dougal and Millie on our snow walk.  Dougal is the one rolling in the snow :)

A week after that he started to become very sick, he couldn't keep food down and started to refuse his favourite treats and his eyes became swollen and red. I knew we had to start thinking of Dougal now and not ourselves.  On Sunday 27th January, we took him for a drive (another of his favourite things), then his last walk by the canal in Gnosall, and that evening we put on a DVD and spent a couple of memorable hours with Dougal, snuggled up.  

The next morning, Monday 28th January, was a sad time.  We took Dougal to the Island Vets in Stafford in the hope that it was just an infection, although deep down we knew it wasn't, and the vet said we would be doing the right thing to put him to sleep as his stomach was so swollen with the cancer.  I whispered a little song in his ears while we waited in the waiting room (for some weird reason, he liked my singing) and then we stroked him and spoke to him about good things, such as aunty Debbie coming to visit him in a few weeks and Sarah and Murphy, his friends, waiting for him on the rainbow bridge, while the vet administered the drug to put him to sleep.  I think we were in shock, despite knowing that he had cancer.  We miss him so much.  His sisters miss him too. Millie's moods were low to start with and Daisy carried a toy around with her everywhere she went, tucking it into bed at night, although they are both a lot happier now.  We brought Dougal home with us from the vets and let Daisy and Millie say their goodbyes, before we took him to the crematorium.   

Finally at peace after battling cancer for nearly 16 months, little Dougal Dog was laid to rest on 28th January at the 'Holmes in Heaven' crematorium in Sugnall, near Stafford, with his favourite white teddy and his red blanket. RIP our little boy. You're in our hearts forever and we shall miss you so much.

An Elf Drawing - A Study of Elven Hair

Here's an update on that elf sketch I did the other day.  I've finished it and she's on her way to her new home in USA.  Here she is, graphite pencil on cartridge paper, influenced by renaissance paintings :)

Two new sketches for 'Sketch Fest'

It seems like an age since I last joined in Sketch Fest.  I've been so busy with lots of different projects that I've had no time, but I thought I would have a break from them this month and participate. I managed two: 'A Fairy with Attitude' and 'A Study of Elven Hair'. I'm in the process of finishing the hair on the elf sketch, so I'll upload the finished drawing once its completed.

'A Fairy with Attitude' pencil sketch.  She didn't turn out how I wanted though.  Looks like she has a mind of her own!

'A Study of Elven Hair' pencil, influenced by the renaissance and Botticelli in particular

For those who are new to Sketch Fest, it's a 48 hour creative session with artists across the world.  You are only allowed an hour to work on each sketch, although you can finish them later.  Here's the link if you're interested in joining in next month :)  www.ellenmilliongraphics.com

'A Cup of Magic' Etsy Shop

Natacha Chohra and I have finally started to upload our art to our 'A Cup of Magic' Etsy shop.  We have only listed a few items so far but we will be uploading more very soon.  If you are interested, please check it out :) 

Rilla Alexander: Without the Doing, Dreaming Is Useless

I originally saw this video on facebook, I watched it and thought 'how true this is for me!' One of my biggest faults is procrastinating! I decided to share it as I'm sure lots of my creative friends can identify with the message :D (Sorry, it doesn't fit on my blog page very well).

'A Walk in the Rain' Work in Progress

I've been busy lately with an illustration job but in my spare time I have been working on a painting called 'A Walk in the Rain' for a gift.  I thought I would post pictures of the work in progress.  Thank you for looking :)

The original drawing 

 Work in progress of the painting.  I will post more as I continue.

My little Dougal Dog

I know this isn't art related but my little man has been ill over Christmas and I wanted to make a video of him.  He has perked up a bit now, so fingers crossed he will be okay :)  He has lymphoma cancer.  Sorry about the shaky camera.  There's also guest appearances from his sisters, Daisy-Belle and Millie-Moo, and his Dad ;) Just click the annoying advert off when it comes on a few seconds into the video.

A belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :)

It's New Year's Eve and I know it's a bit late for Christmas cards but I wanted to post a Christmas design based on a sketch I did last year, called 'The Polar Bear Express' :)

Hope you have a wonderful new year and hope all your dreams come true :)