Beginning my Autumn Fox Painting

I never did get around to doing a painting to take my Etsy shop's summer banner from, so I'm determined not to have the same lapse for fall.  Here's the very beginning.

Except for a few final touches, I feel that I have to complete the trees before I proceed to either the field or the fox since both will overlap the trees to some extent.

At this stage I've worked two layers over the left part of the trees, but only one in the right portion.  It's interesting how the placement of the darks suggests a break in the trees just right of center.  It feels like you could walk back into the trees directly back from the fox's shoulders and enter a little path that would turn to the right behind the bright orange tree.  In reality, I put the colors on more or less randomly and then only saw this effect once I took the photo.  I plan to capitalize on this happy accident.

So there's a real-life example of how common wisdon - "step back from your painting" - is wisdom indeed.


Ready for Hibernation

 



When I make a little animal - needle-felting, clay, or whatever - I try to add a detail to make it special.  In this case, I remembered a group of flannel fabrics that I had bought some years ago to make a bear theme quilt.  Why not use a bit of it for a quilt for this little bear?  As I worked on the quilt, I realized that the addition of the quilt made this piece a hibernating bear!

 

I really like this method of needle felting that yields a posable animal.  I could pose him perfectly, holding the blankie and perhaps sucking his thumb.  He is indeed ready for a long winter's sleep!

 

When I began making him I intended to make something for my Etsy shop to raise some funds for Idaho Black Bear Rehab.  But now that I see him I'm not so sure I want to part with him.  So I'll probably making another for in the shop.

 

I'm so glad I came across needle-felting - love it!

Mice for my Christmas Card

Today I finished the little painting that I'm going to use for my Christmas card this year.  The young mice are sleeping soundly this Christmas eve.  They have to be asleep or Santa won't come!  But what's Madelaine doing?

She can't help but be enthralled by the light of that most beautiful of stars.  She knows it signifies something special - far more special than presents or sweets.  And, indeed, she's right...

More on Mary Crawford

 I forgot to take a scan after the watercolor pencil layer, but this is what is looked like with the watercolor pencil and then some regular colored pencil over that.

To apply the watercolor pencil - that is, the water that you use with it - I had to first spray the graphite with workable fixative.  Sometimes I have problems with water sticking to it and this was one of those times.  This shows itself especially in the mottled background.  But two coats subdued the mottles somewhat and then a bit of colored pencil helped even more.  I'm not unhappy with it because I knew it would probably happen and I think it's kind of interesting.

Then I applied more workable fixative because of the colored pencil.

The final step was to add a bit of acrylic paint.  I added it around the eyes and a bit here and there to intensify the colors in the fur.  But mostly I used it for the sheer layers of the clothing.  I also used Daler-Rowney white acrylic ink in a crow quill pen for the netting work on the sleeve.

I think she's lovely.

Mary Crawford - the pencil stage

I've started another Jane Austen cat.  This one is Mary Crawford from "Mansfield Park."  At this stage, the pencil drawing is nearly complete.  The challenge is that putting them in human clothes changes the shape of the body and, in this case, of the shoulders and upper arms.  It's a bit disturbing, and I suppose it takes a lot of practice to get it right.

The next step is the watercolor pencil.

Elizabeth Bennet

A few of my art friends have advised me that I should make prints of some of my 2D artwork for my Etsy shop.  I've resisted the idea because I don't want to buy a bunch of prints and have them hanging around and not selling.  The only way it would work for me would be "print on demand" and that doesn't work with going to a print shop.  So the only viable solution that I can see is to print my own.

Then the next problem is that I've never had a scanner that did any kind of decent job on drawings, and drawings are something I really like to do.  After doing some research on home scanners, I bought the Epson Perfection V550 Photo Color Scanner.  The "photo" part threw me a bit since I'm scanning artwork and not photos, but I took the plunge.

Here's the scan of a small piece that I just finished - a mixed media drawing of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" heroine Elizabeth Bennet.  It's graphite, colored pencil, and a bit of acrylic paint.  I'm really happy with it and very glad I made this purchase.  The next step is the printer!

The Dangles Really Make It!

After I finished the bead embroidery, I added beaded dangles.  My intention was to suggest branches in the jungle, and I especially like the ones at the top that hang slightly over the tiger's head.

I'm still wondering what to do about the necklace cord, but I'll probably end up using braided black leather after all.  But in the meantime, I have to finish the edges with tiny little whip stitches to hold the ultrasuede backing in place.

Despite my doubts about the shades of green I chose, I think this is pretty (if not fierce!)