Of Millipedes and Mantises

Hello, hello! I hope every one's week is going well. The ocean-themed pieces of this past update were all successfully listed and are now available in the shop--hooray!

I just listed another "Hall of Mystics" piece as well:

The Do Gooder

acrylic and gold composite leaf

6x4" on 7x5" wood plaque
sold

I don't paint a lot of insects, and yet, they litter the pages of my sketchbook. This piece was on my work table for quite a long time and was almost scrapped. If I get stuck on a piece long enough I have to fight the urge to paint over the whole thing and start anew.
I'm glad I saw this one through to the end though. The mantises were the last to be added and the whole reason that this painting was finished. It's funny when that happens.

Off to do the finishing touches on another painting! I'll share that one with you in just a few days. Happy Wednesday, gang!

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}

Mysteries In The Deep

"Constellation Oarfish"

acrylic and gold composite leaf on hardboard

12x14" framed

{ Sold }

I finally wrapped up work on a new painting (part of my ongoing "Hall of Mystics" series) and got it all framed/photographed/listed for sale today. Whew! This one almost didn't get finished. About halfway through I got so frustrated that I shunted it to the side. I just wasn't really feeling the color scheme. Fast-forward to last week when I finished the oarfish himself and now, I'm so glad that I didn't scrap it. I'm happy as a clam with the colors, too! Weird how that happens. Sometimes it's just hard to fully visualize a piece until the very last stage.

Oarfish are really really bizarre. So much so, that I'll link you to a brief description of them over on Wikipedia. It's amazing that there are still tons of creatures in the sea that we literally know nothing about (case in point--encounters with oarfish swimming in their environment are practically non-existent...and yet, they live in every ocean in the world).

"Wandering Jellyfish"

acrylic on cold press watercolor paper

3.5x4.75" on 4.5x5.75" paper

{ sold }

And I also whipped up a small and deceptively sweet little jellyfish painting on watercolor paper that is now for sale in the shop. I love drawing jellyfish. Possibly my favorite creature to draw? Maybe?

Okay, gang! I have another painting to unveil and some sketchbook peeks to show you in the next day or two. Hope you are all doing well!