Facebook, Links and Website

Anyone that reads this blog regularly will notice that the design has changed a little. This is because I am in the process of redesigning the website and wanted something vaguely similar in design to the new site. It will change again a little bit but not a lot.

When I changed the blog, I lost all my links so if anyone is interested in swapping animal art related blog links please contact me, my details are on the Laura's Pet Portraits website.

You will also notice the Facebook button in the sidebar. Any blog posts I create automatically go to the Laura's Pet Portraits Facebook wall and the Facebook page is also updated with odd snippets of news and also updates and work in progresses on my art projects - currently a Coloured Pencil painting of an Arabian Horse. All you need to do is click 'Like'!

2011 plans

Welcome to 2011. I have quite a lot of things planned for Laura's Pet Portraits this year. I haven't been working on my artwork a lot at all in the last year, so this year I am really going to get back in to it and make it a big priority, here are a few of the things I would like to get done:

Website redesign - The website needs a little bit of a re-organisation and change in design I think. I want to produce something a bit more crisp and stylish. I have an idea in my head of what I want it to look like, so hopefully I will be able to create it! This will be an ongoing project so it may be a while before it changes but hopefully in the next few months.

Exhibitions and Societies - This year I would like to join a couple of Art Societies, particularly those concentrated on graphite art and animals. This then should enable me to submit some art for exhibition which I've never ever done but always had a vague sort of idea that I would like to, so this year will be the year it will happen.

Different Subjects - I tend to mostly draw dogs in my commissions and generally they are in pretty standard poses. This year I would like to work on a wider range of subjects, particularly wildlife such as Big Cats, Wolves and local Scottish Wildlife and maybe even some birds. And I'd like to draw domestic pets but in some interesting poses or in action.

A-Z of Art - This is a little project I have come up with to help keep me motivated to draw and also to help with the goal of drawing different subjects and interesting poses. I will work my way through the alphabet and apply a theme for each letter. Then do a drawing for each theme. It can be any subject but they will all be pet or animal related and I will include a variety of mediums and sizes of artwork - I haven't set many rules!! Just that by the end of the year I need to have got to Z!

All artwork will of course go on the blog, of commissions as well as my A - Z project so there should be lots to show you this year. I will be back soon with my 'A' theme.

Happy New Year to you all.

Website Design

Today I spent some time working on the new website design. It's looking pretty good and i'm quite pleased with it so far. I have done most of the layout design, just need to style the navigation bar, then I will need to amend all my pages with the new navigation and a few bits of different code. My website is handcoded in HTML and CSS just using notepad. It took me a while to learn it but I really enjoyed it and love playing about with the design. I like the fact that I have access to all the code and can change all of it if need be - so much more control.

I use CSS to control the layout and look of the design, so I just need to make one change to the style sheet regarding the layout or a change of colour and the change happens site wide. I still get excited when I have a web page with no layout or colours - just blue links, Times New Roman font and everything all in one long line - and I just add a few little bits of code to the style sheet and press refresh in the browser and everything changes! Some little changes make a huge impact. I find a font change makes a big impact, and changing the background and text colours can also drastically improve a design.

Anyway - enough waffling - maybe one day I'll organise myself and do a little intro to CSS.