Merlot the Fox Fairy

Wow, I didn't realize it's been so long since my last post. Excuse the cliche, but time does pass so quickly - and often unnoticed.

I've been doing a little better on working through the tasks on my list and I'm in pretty good shape for the studio tour this weekend. And today I finally set brush to canvas on my oil painting of three rabbits. Somehow the "to-do's" just all seemed either boring or formidable but hopefully now I'm back on track.

Meanwhile, I just couldn't resist doing another fairy. Working on him was a treat I allowed myself as a reward for finishing less appealing tasks.

The other night I was fooling around with a little lump of Cernit clay, practicing making a human head on the theory that I will get better with practice. It turned out OK but I wasn't really satisfied with it. Out of the four I've made so far, I'm really only happy with one. I'm trying for a cute look on an innocent pre-teen age face but instead I'm getting humanoid. Grrrr! It was frustrating, so I decided to go back to animals which I am much more comfortable sculpting.

The result is this fox, cunningly named "Merlot." Aesop's "fox and grapes" tale has always bothered me because I just KNOW that the fox can get the grapes. He can jump! So I often depict a fox with grapes as my rebuttal!

Strangely, I had trouble giving Merlot a cute expression. Instead I think he came out wily and cunning. I tried to change him several times but with no luck. He was simply insisting on my letting him be himself. So here you go, Merlot! Be a happy fox fairy!

By the way, my process was a little different this time as I made the grape leaf base along with the fox instead of wondering after the fact what the base should be - a step forward that should have come a few fairies ago! As always, working with the clay was so intriguing, the mica powders step was miraculous, and the Fantasy Film wings are more fun that a mere human should have!