some quick conte sketches

practicing using some bold lines

than having some fun to show the ferociousness of this hungry baboon!

Motherly Love

The red fox is the largest member of the "true foxes" and is the most geographically spread member of carnivora. It is listed among the worlds 100 most invasive species since it is so easy for it to adapt to a new home. It doesn't mean to be a invasive species but it ends up being one because of its natural instincts, feeding and making a family feeding pups until they are of the age that they can then move on and produce their own pups.

The red fox is a very social animal and is a passive animal in most cases people do not fear foxes unless they are a crops farmer. Foxes are omnivores and farmers have had to shoot them because they are feeding on berries or other sweet natural tasting crops.

The Conte Crow

The common crow is more than smart; ravens and crows in the past have shown the ability to communicate with people answering vocally by mimicking language or by other means, tapping with their beaks a number of times meaning one answer or another.

Crows have been seen dropping nuts on busy roads letting cars break them open and then retrieving the nut from the road when the coast is clear.

Also some are known for using bread crumbs (that they would normally eat) to lure fish to the surface of the water and then catching the fish itself proving a much larger meal then a bread crumb.

"If your born lucky even your rooster will lay eggs"

Each rooster is his own, with its own personality and behavior. some are kind and can be just as a loyal friend as your dog and others can seem as voracious as a lion at times. here is a couple shots from a 8"x8" conte picture of a rooster i did.

The Laughing Dog

Here is a pretty quick picture i did when i first got into using conte and pastels, it was done from a small 4"x4" photo. The brilliance of color in  the photo was the key point that inspired me to produce this piece; it is about 12"x12" big .

Conte Basenji

literally just finished this one, it's done in grey and black conte on brown paper. The basenji is a very unique dog instead of barking it produces a more high pitched yodeling sound. we have a dog here at home that is half basenji she is very active and is always looking for a little critter to chase after. love these dogs!

spring hare

This is a new one for me, I've been trying my hand at conte and charcoal lately and have been having lots of fun with it; I never got into using these materials before thinking I couldn't do it but all it takes is a little time and patience, enjoy!

            

close up of the eye