I’m showing off... once again :).

[Matt2584]

This is a friend of mine, from my Headway’s, dog, Belle.

[Hidden]

That's amazing.

[Matt2584 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks wife :).

[steve55]

great pic matt. missed them mate

[Matt2584 in reply to steve55]

Thanks Steve :). I’ll try to post my art more often.

[RecoveringH]

You are a professional artist! Captured the eyes wonderfully. Well done Matt, Best

[Matt2584 in reply to RecoveringH]

Thank you H :). I know some people who think my work is really good but not at a professional level, more amateur is what I have been told.

Each to their own is what I say :).

[cat3]

Oh those eyes...............

What many drawings lack is expression ; the finished article is technically good but without expression it's soul-less. You Matt have captured the mood of this beautiful creature so expertly ; I had to drag myself away from its gaze !

I just know there will be countless people who would be proud to own such a stunning portrait of their pet. Pity I'm now pet-less or I'd ask you myself............ xx

[Matt2584 in reply to cat3]

Thanks very much cat :).

You might not have a pet but is there a favourite animal of yours I could draw for you?

[cat3 in reply to Matt2584]

Oh yes Matt...............an Aardvark ! They're so cute in a rather clumsy sort of way and remind me of that children's TV programme 'The Clangers'. My kids and I used to play at communicating in Clanger language (whistling sounds) .................. before your time I suppose.

Look forward to it. No hurry though ; I know an artist can't be rushed !! xx

[Matt2584 in reply to cat3]

You’ve got it right there, an artist cannot and should not be rushed :).

I am in the middle of drawing a cockerspaniel at the moment. Well, I say I am in the middle, truth is I haven’t really started it but am about to though :). But anyway, you are on the waiting list :).

Great choice of animal though, an Aardvark, I haven’t drawn one yet but would like to. I know what you mean about cute in a clumsy way. That reminds me of Armadillos as well. They are cute. Sort of like a pig and a tortoise cross.

I do know of The Clangers. It may have been before my time but then again Tutenkhamun was before my time and yet I know of the ole king Tut

I shall get to work on the Aardvark once the cockerspaniel is done :).

[cat3 in reply to Matt2584]

Take your time mate..................I'm going nowhere (not my most ambitious quote !) x

[cat3 in reply to cat3]

PS, I LOVE Armadillos.........Platypuses...........Porcupines.........Capybaras.............

[Matt2584 in reply to cat3]

Are they hints for future drawings haha.

[Matt2584 in reply to cat3]

What about wombats or koala bears. I saw a video of some guy playing around with a wombat. Wombats are cute.

I’ll have to look at some pictures on the net of capybaras because I forgot what they look like :).

[cat3 in reply to Matt2584]

If you like ?? ..................but no, I'm just saying that although I like all creatures I'm more drawn to the more peculiar types. I collect them on my photo file when I see them online, but my beautiful Sony Vaio laptop gave up the ghost recently, so I need to have the contents of the hard drive transferred to this new one as some files weren't backed up.

The Capybara................imagine an enormous rat (if you will) as big as an adult but furry and very affectionate ! xx

[Matt2584 in reply to cat3]

It would be good to draw the animals mentioned.

Sorry to hear about your laptop, that must be a right bugger.

I did have a quick look on the net of capybaras after you mentioned them. I remembered seeing them once before. They are like huge guinea pigs. Apparently capybaras are the largest rodents in the world.

[cat3 in reply to Matt2584]

Yes, some people in the US keep them as pets (not sure what I think about that, except that if they're well cared for and contented then maybe it's OK ??)

I've seen videos of people taking a pair of them out on leads around the neighbourhood and, I must say, they're really affectionate toward passers-by.

But it was funny when they jumped onto the couch for a cuddle .............what a squash ! They're beautiful creatures though........but maybe not that interesting to draw 'cause they're basically massive balls of fur ! x

[Matt2584 in reply to cat3]

I vaguely remember seeing a capybarabeing walked by it’s owner.

It seems kind of an odd thing to have as a pet really. I know they must make great pets but, I don’t know... it’s unusual.

All this talk of capybaras makes me want to draw one now :).

I am now in the middle of drawing that cockerspaniel and when I am done I can start drawing an Aardvark :).

[cat3 in reply to Matt2584]

Believe it or not (and not by choice) I have a pet pigeon. Obviously it (he or she) lives on the roof with all the others, but every afternoon when I sit outside with a coffee it swoops down and stares at me 'til I put out food.

So I feed it with nuts. But it tries to land on my shoulder and attempts to follow me up the steps into the kitchen. My son called on Friday and caught me talking to it (thought I'd gone loopy) but when it tried to follow me into the house he realised this wasn't your average bird................

And 'my' fox comes every night for supper ; a couple of years ago, on a snowy night, he brought the vixen and three cubs ; absolutely adorable.

Off to make a tuna salad.........been gardening, and starving now ! See you later Matt xx

[Matt2584 in reply to cat3]

You remind me of Jack Duckworth from Coronation Street now, he had pigons as pets :)... only he had an avery. Ikm not a corrie fan no more but I used to watch it.

It’s either Jack Duckworth or the bird lady from the film Home Alone 2 :).

We used to get hedgehogs in our garden but they are pretty scarce now. Shame. Apparently in Scotland they hate them or they used to, they saw them as rodents.

We get a number of birds in our garden. Thrushes, finches, tits and robins. They say Robins come out in Winter, well we have seen them all year round haha.

So you had a family of foxes come over once, I bet that was nice to see :).

Well, my dinner will be ready soon. Pasty today :).

[Matt2584 in reply to cat3]

By the way, I looked up some pictures of aardvarks. There seems to be 2 different looks/species. There is the giant ant eater which have small ears and long snouts (Which is how I pictured an aardvark) and then there are ones with big ears, like a rabbit, and shorter pig-like snouts.

Which one do you like better or do you like both?

[cat3 in reply to Matt2584]

Definitely the Aardvark. I love Ant eaters too but they're bigger, hairier animals altogether with enormous limbs, very long pointy snouts and big bushy tails. .

You're right about the Aarvark appearing pig-like, and I love their massive feet and ears. Although they both eat termites the Aarvark & Ant eater aren't related as a species.

I could do with one or the other just now to gobble up the ant infestation in my garden ! ...............had an ants nest in a large plant-pot last year ; really intricate, amazing structure, so took it to the local woods and left it in a quiet corner. xx

[Matt2584 in reply to cat3]

I see, I always assumed a giant ant eater WAS an aardvark, thanks for clearing that up though. I must remember they are completely different species.

There used to be a, sort of, mascot/tv host, on childrens television who was an aardvarkand I always wondered why he had big ears haha. I always thought aardvarks were one species.

Ant eaters are good to draw by capturing the texture of the hair but aardvarks are cuter looking :).

I am almost finished with the picture of the cockerspaniel. Once finished I shall post on here.

[cat3 in reply to Matt2584]

A TV host who was an Aardvark ...............and I thought I was nuts ?

Still hot here in Cheshire ; you're down near Portsmouth aren't you ? Hope it's nice weather wherever you are Matt.

Look forward to the Cocker Spaniel ! xx

[Matt2584 in reply to cat3]

Well, I say TV host. It was more likely a human tv presenter and alongside was a mascot who was supposed to be an aardvark :).

Aye, I am all the way down by Portsmouth. I live across the harbour in a run down town called Gospit... I mean Gosport :).

I knew you lived up north and I vaguely remembered you saying “Manchester”. I just looked at the map. So Cheshire is between Liverpool and Manchester. More likely outside Manchester city. I’m not brilliant when it comes to Geography. People can tell me they come from wherever and I wouldn’t be able to pinpoint where exactly it is though :), I would always have to look at a map. And then you get to see how vast UK really is. A friend once told me they went to Rhodes and I said “Oh, is that up north?”. They had a smile on their face so I knew I was wrong haha.

[cat3 in reply to Matt2584]

Haha. Yes we don't really know where we belong since the boundaries were changed. I live in Sale which, since the beginning of time, has been in Cheshire. Then north Cheshire was combined with south Manchester to form a new area named Trafford so that's our official postcode.

But no one really uses it, and all official mail (even Trafford MBC) use 'Cheshire' on Sale addresses. Confused ? me too !

But 'Gospit'...........that's mean Matt ! I worked in Portsmouth just for 24 hours many years ago when I worked for 'Hilti power tools' (for building/shipbuilding industries). We did a week's tour of Cardiff-Bristol-Portsmouth-Kent and saw nothing of anywhere, apart from a walk on the beach at midnight on the Kent coast before setting off back to Sale.

[Matt2584 in reply to cat3]

To determine where abouts you live is quite confusing. It sounds like the big wigs in charge don’t really know who owns what :).

Well ‘Gospit’ is a term I came across a few years ago on facebook when a Gosport “friend”... more like acquaintence... used that term.

Now I am a member and volunteer of Headway Portsmouth and I have a friend who lives in Gosport who also uses the term ‘Gospit’ haha.

The town itself is ok, it’s not a brilliant place but could do with sprucing up, especially in some areas. The main problem with Gosport is some of the people who live there and how they treat Gosport.

Also the council or even councillor is a money-making son of a whatknot :). The council are very very stingy when it comes to parking tax. There is another disabled charity I use and some people use the nearby car park, if you are caught exceeding the limit you get a £60 fine! Disabled people have to go through this too! It’s ridiculous and cruel. I think you know how I do not agree with how money is splashed about these days.

Here is a fact about Gosport though, did you know it used to be known as Turk Town?

Apparently, years ago, Gosport used to have a lot of Turkish prisoners.

[cat3 in reply to Matt2584]

Just looked it up Matt and found a heartwarming article about the Turkish connection :-

historicgosport.uk/turk-town

There's a lovely piece from 'The Morning Post' praising the relationship between the Turks and the locals. I've copied it here :- (referring to the Turks)..........

“will leave Portsmouth without a single angry word, or even look, having passed between themselves and the inhabitants. Much of this is no doubt attributed to the good discipline which has been kept up by their officers, but it is chiefly to be referred to the unassuming bearing of the men themselves and their well-known total abstinence from all exciting liquors” xx

[Calrich]

Amazing fantastic drawing so life like

[Matt2584 in reply to Calrich]

Thanks calrich :).

[Hidden]

Absolutely stunning.

Matt, your artistic skills have evolved over time, right before our eyes. You are a professional Artist.

It is in doing, that we become!

[Matt2584 in reply to Hidden]

Aw, thank you Claire :).

[Cj-195]

Wow!! Matt2584 your art is beautiful. Can you draw pexpletives as well? ✏