Peeps, Tiles and More Drawings

Emily and her peeps

Took a few moments today, despite the return of the cold weather, to snap a few shots of Emily and her peeps. Both new additions have been given names. The peep with the orange feet is named "Honey" (according to my son) and the other is named "Sage". Fitting names I believe.

Other than a few seconds stolen trying to get a few shots of my chickens it was, without a doubt, an indoor studio day. Most of the day I drew since the urge was very strong but I did take a short break to play around with those Xylene transfers again. They transfer fairly decently on unglazed tiles. Not sure where I'm headed with this tile but its been a fun diversion.


Brr...it's cold out there!

Xylene transfer and oil washes
on matte tile



Slight Recap of my little mouse story:
(This is the part where he goes to rescue her)









"All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and when they catch you, they will kill you... but first they must catch you."
~Richard Adams "Watership Down"

"No Danger Too Great"
Graphite, Watercolor, and Acrylics on archival bristol

Spring Forward

"Time"
Graphite, Watercolor and Acrylics on paper

This year I managed to remember to turn the clocks forward. Normally, I always forget. There is always at least ONE clock though that escapes the change and as I type tonight I'm going through all the clocks in the house in my mind trying to remember if I forgot. There is always one that will have managed to skirt the change.

Detail of Eberl foal in bay roan

Baking Diversions

"Bananas"
Graphite, Watercolor and Acrylics on paper

One of the best parts about having a child is you always have a partner who is ready, willing and able to bake with you if the urge strikes! Once and a while my son and I both get the bug to bake something and when bananas go bad in our house all bets are off...those suckers get smooched into muffins or bread. Can you guess who the smoosher is?

Of course, the little mice were there in my brain yesterday poking about and at one point they went completely "Ratatoullie" on me. I captured two images from my head as quickly as I could before real work drew me back in. I thought it would be fun to share this recipe. I've had it since I was a teenager and learned how to bake from my grandma. It's an easy recipe with very little ingredients and the spottier the banana, the sweeter the bread/muffin.

So all around, this turned out to be a delightful diversion.

Eberl draft foal in progress

"Bread"
Graphite, Watercolor and Acrylics on paper


Banana Bread (or Muffins)

3 Very Ripe Bananas
1/3 cup Veg oil
1/2 cup Brown Sugar (I've used regular sugar too)
1 1/2 cup Flour
1 /2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees. Mash bananas. Mix sugar and oil till smooth. Pour mushed bananas in the oil mixture and add flour, salt and baking soda. Mix well. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Creative Drains

The drain of creativity

Every time it would rain I would watch water start collecting in my basement. It never seemed to dry up and was always there. I worked about the wetness. I figured wet was just par for the course here in my basement. After all, I haven't even been here that long so I have no idea what is "typical" in this house and what isn't.

There were drains and french trenches everywhere in my basement which were in place when I purchased the house and in these parts water in the basement is typical. My parents would be lost without their sump pump and I know my neighbors all complain of the same basement water issues. I automatically figured previous owners made provisions for this house's winter water issue.

When more and more water started pouring in it became crucial that I do something about it and yesterday was that day. I had no idea how very much this water issue, even a little dampness, was effecting my creativity. When it became apparent that it wasn't just winter water, but a huge break in the line that had been seeping in I automatically flipped out. This water issue has been a huge creative drain on me and although I'm fairly good at keeping issues at bay while I need to work this one became a monster that blew up yesterday when I found out it wasn't just a little issue, but a big one.

I woke this morning knowing that there was no more water issue and that most of what drained into my house had drained out during the night through the french trenches and drains. I am back on a creative roll today. There is an underlying happiness that has been missing for some time. This huge weight was lifted and I can't stop drawing and I can think more clearly.

In Progress In The Studio

Sketches for mouse family commission

Another sketch for
the mouse family commission

Quick desk shot

Little Lonestar in progress

"The Rescue"
Graphite, Watercolor and Acrylics on archival bristol

"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how."
Friedrich Nietzsche

Rain

It was raining here tonight. It was a soft and steady calming rain. It inspired. It always does.

...for she danced in the rain to a beat he could not hear, but the cacophony of droplets splashing from her feet, non the less, enticed him....

"Rain II"
Graphite and Watercolor on archival bristol

Diversions

Framed art

I'm at the very last stages of production on about four pieces. I'm dying to show them off but can't yet. Each piece has needed special attention and continues to need more work. The Bitty Bosco resin's face just wouldn't cooperate with me until I purchased new eye glasses. The Little Lonestar resin's hooves continue to give me fits and hooves are a no brainer for me, but not on this guy. By midnight tonight he will have beautiful hooves. Until then however, I decided to take a much needed "art diversion" and play around with a frame I purchased at a discount store.

This local discount store never ceases to entice me. There is always something fun to purchase that I can either manipulate or can use immediately in the house. Last excursion to said store produced those lovely paper boxes which are now holding all the artwork from my little "mouse adventure" (which will be picking up again shortly. I needed a bit of a break from it to gather my thoughts. Do I kill her? Do I let her live?)

In any case, last trip produced a very interesting frame which I felt could be used in conjunction with some really old bicycle posters I have been dying to hang somewhere in my home. One in particular was a poster of an angel with a bike. Angels are most welcome in my home and this frame was perfect for this one poster. In all honesty, you shouldn't pass up such stores as they offer wonderful opportunities to decorate your home in interesting ways and no one will be the wiser if you do it properly.

If you've never done anything like this before its actually really simple. Basically you just tear the back apart and then pop out their artwork and pop in your own. This took seconds. Now I have an angel picture for my fireplace room which has all the colors that are in my fireplace room which helps to further unify my room.

Tear apart backing
and push staples upward to release art

Oversized poster book (which was
falling apart anyway) had the perfect print

New art which caters not only
to my room decor by tastes.

"Intermission III"
Graphite and watercolor on paper
(I like drawing their feeties and she's
been needing lots more attention and snuggling.)

1.50

Bitty Bosco resin before
new glasses

1.50…that's what the tag on the new pair of glasses I just purchased read. Hard to believe I needed a stronger prescription for my eyes, but as of late I have been having a difficult time working on the smaller models. Little by little I was noticing my eyes straining more and more. I convinced myself that everything was fine until I went to take photos. After the shots were finished I'd sit back and be amazed at how awful parts of my work looked. This week I couldn't physically look and work without everything being blurry. I'll need a proper evaluation but in the meantime a quick pair if stronger reading glasses came to the rescue.

Bitty Bosco resin after
new glasses

"Intermission II"
Graphite, Acrylics and Watercolor on paper

Jackpot

Postal Gold

I have the
very.
best.
post office.
EVER.

Anyone who ships out many packages during the year through the USPO will recognize this picture as postal gold. Don't ask how in the world I managed to score Priority tape this morning from the lovely postal worker behind the counter, but I did. Nothing compares to this shipping tape. And yeah, there are two rolls there. Im so buying her Godiva chocolate. She looked like a woman who would appreciate fine chocolate on a hard work day.

Meanwhile, I've fallen in love with the visiting Indian Silver resin. I have been procrastitning on finishing him (and I only have about an hour left to finsh) cause I know he'll have to leave the next day and Im not ready to let him go. There is something about Deborah McDermott's sculptures that when painted, magic happens. The resin looses it's coldness and it seems to breath. I may actually have to pull out my tack and play. I'm sorta curious to see if my Jessica Freedman saddle will fit this guy. Also in the news, the pumpkin I forgot to ditch since Halloween on the front porch is decaying nicely. I'm so inspired by this and may have to draw it/paint it soon.

Decay fascinates me

"The Hug"
Graphite, Acrylic and Watercolor on archival bristol

"The best gift you can give is a hug; one size fits all and no one ever minds if you return it."

Seems Like...

Seems like a no-brainer, but putting the finishing touches on areas like the tail and the muzzle can be tricky and sometimes baffling. The tail in general has a lot of sharp detail. Getting that detail to not only blend but pop nicely can be tricky. Here are some quick suggestions to producing nicer manes and tails using a dry brush method.

Prep tail by adding gesso (allow to dry)
and then add your base color


Cover the entire tail
most especially the grooves.
Two-three coats should cover.

Mix a bit of white into base color then lightly
dry brush onto the surface. Only the raised portions will receive paint.


Simple dry brush technique
used on the mane.

Add darker color in grooves
to create depth

Muzzle color can pose a huge problem. Add too much red and it looks like lipstick. Add too much white and it starts to look chalky and unrealistic. So what colors does one use to produce realistic looking muzzles and how is that paint applied so it blends nicely with the white markings and surrounding areas?


Alizaran Crimson, Burnt Sienna and
some linseed oil used to create the muzzle color.

Just a touch of Alizarin Crimson and Burnt Sienna in linseed oil will produce a very transparent mixture. To this mixture add a bit of Titanium white oils.


Titanium white oils added to mixture

Dab placed right in the middle of
the muzzle.


Taking a dry blender brush
blend the dab into the entire muzzle area.

Finish is smooth and the proper "fleshy"
muzzle color. Additional color (darker)
can be added inside nostrils.

"Hay"
Graphite and Watercolor on archival bristol.

"Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend." ~Albert Camus

Happy Valentine's

I had taken two finger-bowls of champagne, and the scene had changed before my eyes into something significant,
elemental and profound." ~F. Scott Fitzgerald

On every level....

.....drinking an entire bottle of champagne alone on Valentine's Day is wrong! But letting this day go by (which is my favorite holiday of the year) without some type of recognition and without some champagne sipped out of expensive crystal would be utterly, UTTERLY ridiculous. So….when drinking champagne alone we add a spoon to help keep the bubbles fresh when it can't be finished. Yes, a regular spoon seems to keep the bubbly bubbly and then next morning a fresh and bubbly mimosa can be happily enjoyed.

Happiest of Valentine's to you all!

“Wine is constant proof that God
loves us and loves to see us happy.”
(The hearts in the splash and at the base of the stem
happened on their own. I noticed them when I went to
photograph this sketch.)

“Wine gives courage and makes men more apt for passion.”


There has fallen a splendid tear
From the passion-flower at the gate.
She is coming, my dove, my dear;
She is coming, my life, my fate;
The red rose cries, "She is near, she is near;"
And the white rose weeps, "She is late;"
The larkspur listens, "I hear, I hear;"
And the lily whispers, "I wait."

~ Tennyson

More Candy Please

Bee wings

I'm on a roll. All this isn't stopping. Went shopping today all I could think of was mice, illustrations, and painting. The sky was an amazing grey color. Perfect for the canvas. The housewares at Tuesday Morning had mice scampering upon the tea sets and lamps. The lamp mice were throwing stuff at the tea set mice. The tea set mice were winning. Even the shower curtain section held entrainment for my brain with it's colors and designs. So naturally when I got home I had to pull out more candies and I just let the mice have a ball.

Of course, our little heroine is still in loads of trouble. Thank you to everyone who has sent me such lovely letters about the two little mice. The kind words are very much appreciated. As you can see, Im having a wonderful time with these two.

Angel Wings

Ooh work those feet girl. LOL

"The Escape"
Graphite and Watercolor on archival bristol