Urchin Totem

It's cloudy and drizzly and dark today....my favorite kind.

The midday natural light was so soft and dim that I quickly snapped a couple photos of a portion of my natural history collection display shelf.

Stacks of urchins and jars of feathers...An old book plate depicting varieties of anemones that I framed up a while back...Crab shells and rocks and various bits and bobs...In the studio, I have this old box of mostly bird illustrations that I've cut up and set aside for collages and inspiration. I've used some of them, but I really just enjoy looking at the melange of different bird heads and colors all living hectically (yet peacefully) together.

Nut Keepers

I just finished and listed another painting for the "Hall of Mystics" collection--this one being very teeny (framed as-is it's just 4x4.5").

"Oracle"

acrylic and gold composite leaf on illustration board

2.5x3" (framed: 4x4.5")

{ Sold }

Quite a while ago I saw footage of an albino squirrel frolicking about in Seattle and have wanted to paint my own interpretation ever since. They're a bit rare in nature, but they do exist. Pretty neat.

I love how the gold leaf crackled a bit on this one.

Meanwhile, at the wildlife shelter, baby bird season has come and gone along with the summer months. Whew! It got a little crazy at times with all of those teeny tiny mouths to feed (for almost two months we had over 90 animals in our care to feed, medicate, and take care of--babies and adult animals alike), but most made it and were happily released into the wild. It's currently baby squirrel season and so our main building is alive with the little squeaks and silly noises of mini squirrels... They're heartbreakingly cute. So warm, fuzzy, and small! And they grow up so fast (too fast).

I'm off to enjoy a few last rays of sunshine today and then it's back to the paints.

{baby squirrel image by Robin Purcell courtesy of West Sound Wildlife Shelter}

A Coat Made Of Graphite Dust

Just some recent pages from the sketchbook....

It's the first of September! And as such, the start of my favorite season. Knee high boots, layers of sweaters, walks on crispy leaves, hands around warm cups of tea, shorter days and longer evenings.... I can hardly wait! Fall around here literally lasts only a couple of weeks before the long and cold drizzly days of winter are upon us, so it's definitely a season to savor every minute of. The weather is already starting to change, though that first "crisp" fall day is still somewhere on the horizon.

But that's okay. I'll just go pour myself another cup of coffee, sharpen the pencils, ready the paints, and pretend that it's here already.