Even MORE!

OOAK Hand painted
Mouse Card
(Acrylic on Bristol)

Day three....I'm a painting fool. I can't stop. Images and critters and horses galore are all bursting to come out. I guess it was only a matter of time before the illustration side in me was going to explode. I've only been ignoring it for a long time now. Every so often I draw my mice on porcelain, but haven't done an all out illustration on canvas in several years. Needless to say, I'm having a lot of fun.

All those years of painting 3-D pieces really helped me build more confidence when I paint on a flat surface. I know each artistic endeavor helps all others, but when I stopped illustrating I did so because I was frustrated with the business and frustrated with my skills. I had plateaued and didn't know how to get to the next level so I turned to painting what I loved: model horses.

"Start of Winter"
2" x 2" acrylic on canvas
SOLD

It feels great to get the paint from my head onto the canvas just the way I envisioned it. It feels great to be off that plateau I have been on for so long. Now, I wonder, how will my 3-D pieces be effected after this grand explosion of the flat surface? It's a very exciting time and I can hear my portable easel whispering to me. It might be time for new, but familiar adventures.

How sweet are these mini canvases?
Shot showing sides

"The Dancer in Purple"
2" x 2" acrylic on canvas
SOLD


"Humpf"
2" x 2" acrylic on canvas
SOLD

October 1st

Peasant Stomper in progress

The first of Oct....

It's a cold, windy first of the month. The heat actually came on in the house and that smell of the warm air steamin' up through the radiators brought back memories of coming home from school in the fall. Something about that smell that just makes me want to hunker down with a nice pot of tea and draw.

Today I let myself just fall into that mode and drew...mice, of course. What else would be scampering about in my brain? Some peeping chicks perhaps, but I haven't actually taken my sketchbook out to the hen house to draw them. I certainly should because they will be grown before I know it. Until then, I'm letting the mice scamper about as they please. They are getting ready for the harvest.

They're back!

Last Fire

Dainty cup with original sketch

Today I fire all my Valentine's Day projects for the last time. The last fire on any project is always a nervous one. Anything can go wrong and in past cases it has. I must remember to always vent the kiln for the first 45 minutes. No ifs, ands, or butts with this rule. If I don't vent, I loose my reds and purples. In the case of most of the work in this batch I'll loose all my pretty Valentine's Day reds.

Overall I'm fairly pleased with the way my idea transformed onto the porcelain. In the past I have sketched out the mice for porcelain design, but not the actual color blocking. This time I planned it all out and I found that the entire project went more smoothly. Flying by the "seat of your pants" doesn't seem to work well with china painting. I think I'm ready to take on that tea set now. ;)