Bagheera

I saw the new Jungle Book film as soon as it came out, and began this drawing the day after, but due to a house move and a new job I have only recently completed it. In the film, I was so taken by the new rendering of Bagheera (the ultimate hero of The Jungle Book) that I just had to draw him. His mix of grace, bravery, cunning and morality make him by far the most compelling character in a story where the character bar has already been set very high. I used a screen grab from the film as a starting point, and referenced some photos of real panthers to increase the realism.

Unfortunately Blogger is eating some of the quality of this image during the upload. I think it's time that I moved to a new platform. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Izzy

It's been a while! Life is crazy right now with work, moving house, travel, my sister's wedding and all sorts. I am finding the occasional moment to create, but not that many to update my blog. So here's a quick one, a portrait of Izzy the cat. Izzy was a house guest with us for a little while a few months ago and is simply darling. Sadly we had to give her back to her owners, but not before I'd managed to make a little portrait of her!

How to Lip Paint a Red Eyed Tree Frog

My video tutorial on how to lip paint the Red Eye Tree Frog from Shyre's 'Sunday' music video. Have a go yourself!

Sunday - Shyre

Many years ago I face painted my lips to look like a leopard - for no real reason, I was unemployed and bored. My good friend William Long - a very talented film director and editor - saw it and always wanted to take the idea to use it in film. Talent clearly runs in his family, as his cousin is the drummer of Canadian band 'Shyre'. Will was finally able to put his idea into motion by creating this beautiful music video for Shyre's wonderful song 'Sunday':

Will asked me to be part of the team to paint the animals for the video. I think in total we painted 23 animals between three of us - it was a very busy day! The models are all friends of mine and Will's. I've never noticed it before, but apparently my I select friends with really good teeth! We shot the video in the front room of his house. 

Below are the animals that I painted:

Crocodile, Brown Bear, Cheetah, Red Eyed Tree Frog

Fox, Crab, Giraffe, Tiger

Giant Panda, Humpback Whale, Toucan, Bat

This was a really fun project, for a great up and coming band. Make sure you check Shyre out, like their Facebook page and buy their music!

Music: Shyre (http://www.helloshyre.com)
Video: William Long (www.longfilms.co.uk)
Artists: Hannah Harding, Hannah Lott and Tom Sanders

Riding

This is the view I know most, riding through yellow fields of oilseed rape, or wheat, or bluebells.

I had a different type of wildness as a teenager. It wasn't drinking at the park, or sneaking around the corners with this or that boy. My wildness was in forests, across fields, and through solitude. I jumped trees, raced deer and trespassed like a highwayman. And never alone. I hope that when I have children they will have the same chances. 

Group Selfie

Patch, Ricky and Bramble

A little portrait of my three horses, and our two resident red kites. 

Holly and Ivy

A portait I completed before Christmas. Aren't these two the sweetest?

It's always hard to do a double portrait; you may get one sitter right, and then ruin the other. The little blond one was by far trickier due to colouring, but they do compliment each other very well.

When I compare these to portraits I did a few years ago, I am able to get so much more detail out of the pastels. I'm not sure practice makes perfect, but it certainly does bank improvement. If anyone wants to commission me for some more practice (they make great birthday presents) send me an email at herwhitehart@yahoo.co.uk 

Prices start from £150

Fossa

My friends will know, that I hate lemurs. They are pretty much the only animal I cannot stand. So when I discovered this fossa, and that they eat lemurs, I liked them instantly. A strange little creature though, don't you think?

Zebra

I'm not sure why I haven't drawn a zebra before, they're similar to horses, and their stripes are so graphic, they really are my thing. I had a lot of fun with this one.

Inspired by a photo by Kristi Decourcy.

If Wishes Were Horses

 You can now vote for and buy my new 'If Wishes Were Horses' cushion over on the Ohh Dear website. Just click here.

I painted this design with the horse mad little girl in mind (just like I used to be.) It has 10 horses in different colours, so whether bays, chestnuts, palomino's or appaloosa's are her thing, she will love it. She can name each of them and cuddle up with them as she falls asleep. 

These cushions are made out of a gorgeous faux suede, and are very plump and soft. Those of you who bought my Wildflower cushion last year will attest to the excellent quality. Be sure to check out some of the other designs as there are some gorgeous ones, and you make great savings when you buy 2 or more. (Or just, you know, buy 4 of mine for all your horsey friends!)

Lazy Saturdays

I think sloths are one of the sweetest, strangest animals on this planets. This one looks like she's got her war paint on. Here's a fun fact about sloths: they have algae living on their coats which turns green in the wet season, and brown in the dry season, thus helping them to be camouflaged all year round. Yes, that's right, sloths had green hair before it was cool. So hipster. 

From a photo by Carol Schaffer

Bond

It's been a while since I painted a horses portrait. This is Bond, a show jumper belonging to my childhood friend. He's handsome, isn't he? 

This portrait is in pastel and took about 30 hours to complete. 

#SaveTheBees

A few months ago I wrote an article for Rhythms on the decline in bees and ways in which we can help save them. You can read my article here. Above is the illustration I produced to compliment.

Off the back of this I was asked to produce a guide to making your own bee house. Below is my final illustration, you can read the completed article here. 

It was wonderful to produce these illustrations and to write about this topic as it is something that I am passionate about - and if you enjoy things like eating then you should too! Bees are essential to our survival, so we need to make sure we look out for them!

Rhythms have launched a Bee Keepers "Badge", containing actions you can take to help the bees in their plight and have some fun whilst you do. Bee sure to check it out. (Yes, sorry, sorry I did go there.)

Eyes

Generally, I can't work on a piece for too long. I can usually stand a couple of hours, perhaps a few more if I'm finding it compelling. Sometimes I get distracted much earlier than that. But I'll always finish the eyes. The eyes alone can make a piece.

Hello There

Caracal

This is a cat that's not often talked about, which I can't understand. She's very striking with her Egyptian eyeliner.

Vulture

Ah the vulture, vilified as much as eagles are glorified. They feed off carcasses, and it's their reputation for circling above the bodies of the dead that has earned their dark reputation, whereas other birds of prey swoop in for the kill so we hold them in high esteem. Well, that's human logic for you.

Drawn from a photo by Marcus Holland-Moritz

Iguana

Even Madonna can't strike a pose like an iguana. Beauty isn't found so much in perfect features and proportions, it's much more to do with self-security, an inner confidence (but not cockiness) that radiates. This guy certainly has that.

Drawn from a photo by Edwin Dalorzo. 

Resting

I am hopeless at resting. Whenever I do nothing I feel guilty about it. But it's not healthy to be a slave to work, so sometimes I schedule in 'downtime' where I do nothing but stare at the fire. I usually cave though, and that's when I do these little biro scribbles.

Nostrils

There is nothing better than the soft touch of a horse's nose.