Another Cute Photo

I know it seems as if I'm taking more photos than doing any art these days but I am painting - I'm just not painting anything I can show right now.

But, back to the photo. That's a cute little frog stuck to our glass kitchen storm door in case you can't tell. He was there when I came back from the barn after tending to Bonnie. It was still fairly dark out and I had a hard time getting a good photo. I tried to take a picture from inside but the kind of glass we have in the door evidently isn't good for shooting photos through as all I got was a yellowish blob!

I don't know what it is with the wildlife lately, but our porch has been attractive to it. Yesterday morning as I was going out to the barn to feed Bonnie, there was a little rabbit not far from the kitchen door! Again, it was still pretty dark outside and I didn't see it until I was right up on it! It startled me good, let me tell you! Of course, I'm sure it was startled more than I was! Since I'd come from around the corner (we have a wrap-around porch and I'd gone out another door) I guess it didn't hear or see me coming.

He hopped down the steps ahead of me and couldn't get away fast enough! The little frog didn't hang around very long either. I'd planned to try for more pictures after the sun came up but he was gone by the time that happened.

Oh, well, at least I got this one! I don't know what to expect for tomorrow morning but I'll look carefully before going out - there's been a whiff of skunk in the air the past couple of mornings!

When Will I Learn?

The lady with the pet food shop who stocks my notecards asked for some cards with bunnies. So I painted this bunny on a paper with a laid texture and it came out awful. The texture was impossible to cover and I'm not one of those who like to see a prominent texture in a painting. Well, I do like it from some artists but it doesn't fit with my style and I don't like it for my work. It's even worse for paintings that will be printed as the texture seems even more obvious.

So, this will be a do-over on a support I like to work with!

I know, I know - why did I even choose the paper to begin with? Well, my wonderful husband took me to Jerry's Artarama on Sunday as I needed a few things for my next commission. I really hate to drive in Raleigh so I was really blessed that he took the time to drive me. Anyway, I got the supplies I needed then happened to see that they had some paper by Strathmore on sale. It said it was made from hemp and "post consumer waste fiber" and, hey, it's good to be green, isn't it? And, besides, I like trying new things. Well, this paper isn't quite as bad as the Tiziano fiasco but I think I've learned my lesson about buying something new even if it is on sale! Fortunately, it wasn't expensive which is why I used it for the rabbit in the first place. If I'm painting something specifically for a card or other reproduction, I don't always use my favorite supports. Perhaps I need to start!

OK, chalk it down as another lesson learned!

A Real DUH! Moment

Imagine my horror and chagrin when I happened to glance at the bunny I'd just painted and realized that one of his ears was facing the wrong way! Sheesh! I gotta quit doing things like that - for one of the challenges at Let's Make Art, I painted a little baby bird with one of it's toes on backwards! At least I have a sort of excuse for that as the challenge photo was very dark and hard to see in the area of his feet.

I'm sure glad I caught the rabbit's ear though as it would have been very embarrassing had someone else pointed it out to me!

All's well that ends well, I guess.

Bunny Rabbit

Bunny Pastel
copyright
Jan Gibson

I don't know why, but I've been wanting to paint a little bunny for some time so I finally finished one this morning. It's only 5"x7" but it took as long as a regular, large-sized painting. I guess it was all that "ticking" in the bunny's fur. It was a matter of going back and forth with one color then a second or third color then back to the first color then repeating the process a few times. I've been told that pastels are painted like oils going from dark to light, but I found it much easier to go from light to dark then back again for this bunny. I do think I'd like to work on the background some more though as you always see things to change once a piece is posted online!

I'm still trying to find more information on framing pastels without glass and emailed someone who has been experimenting with framing colored pencil paintings without glass. The artist, Gary Ruuska, was kind enough to email me back very quickly with information he had presented in an article in FMP, Ann Kulberg's online magazine for colored pencil artists. It would be wonderful to find a method that works well and doesn't darken or change the painting during the sealing process. I had planned to use this bunny for experimenting but since I waited so long to paint him and actually like the way he came out, I think I'll wait to experiment on another painting that I don't like quite as well!