Sure You Come for the Art...

...but don't hide it! You know you come for the photos and stories about the critters and kids too!

Well, Guthrie Gator Farm has it's own blog now where I'll be posting more of that stuff. You can accesss it by clicking on the title above. It's definitely the place to see where I get much of my inspiration. So many artists and art lovers are nature lovers - in fact, I've found that if I have a plant question, it'll usually get answered faster in an art forum than it will in any of the many gardening forums I visit!

We feel so lucky to have our tiny slice of Heaven out here and we want to make it open to as many people as possible in as many ways as possible...so come on over and check it out! :)

We also have a page on FaceBook with albums of us, our animals and the garden. Don't worry if you don't have a Facebook account - you don't need one to look. :)

Iguana...

Just a quick update on Mr. Iguana here...I've decided that I needed to show these impressive claws. So far I've really just blocked out the shape of his leg and foot with some pthalo blue and diox. violet in the shadows. I'm loving the way that it's beginning to look as though he is climbing out of the painting!

I'm also working on the drapes of his dew lap...it's quite a challenge to figure out how to depict the folds of it using all of these little scales...but so far I'm enjoying it.

:) Wishing you all a creative day!

"It is so much better...

...to make a big thing out of a little subject than to make a little thing out of a big one. "
Charles Hawthorne

I'm really enjoying this now. The totally 'unthinking' state that comes with the rhythm and repetition of painting all these little scales...well, I'm thinking it may be addicting. It definitely would have been easier to have painted this in a larger format - but, as usual, I didn't know what it was going to be about until I was well into the work.

I'm not sure how far I'm going to go with this...if I'm going to stop with his head and shoulder here, or if I'll continue down his back and legs. He has some wonderful spikes and very impressive claws that I'd really like to show off...hmm...decisions, decisions....

Well, we'll just see where it goes I guess! One thing I'm sure of is that this is only the first of many reptiles that I'm going to be painting. I get new ideas about how I'd like to depict their beauty and 'interesting-ness' every day!

The painting above is about 6" x 9", all watercolor, on Fabriano SoftPress paper.

Karol K on Flickr was kind enough to let me use a wonderful photo of his as a reference. I usually just can't paint from someone else's photo - I really need to have studied a subject in real life in order to paint it...but I know iguanas well and have had a chance to study them up close and personal many times, so I think that's why it's working. This photo grabbed me because of the position of his head and that look in his eye - he seemed like a guy I've spent a lot of time with and known well!

Not the Best Timing...

...but how can you be sorry to have these little guys around, no matter the time of year? :)








Aren't they adorable?! They came as a wonderful surprise Tuesday evening. Sure - the temperatures are below freezing outside, so they're stinking up my sister's garage for the moment...but you just can't blame them...they'd have probably rather waited until Spring too!

Any name suggestions? I'm leaning towards Oreo for that little doeling (on the left) - she's black with a perfect white 'center' around her middle...but don't find it particularly original, so I'm very open to suggestions. The little tri-colored one on the right is a buckling, and while he probably won't be along for a terribly long time - I need something to call him! :)

Well, I just thought I'd let you know what I'm up to this week...it's been awfully hard to paint with these little guys distracting me all the time!

Hope your day's a creative one!

"Precisely the Least...

Watercolor on Fabriano SoftPress Paper
about 9"x6"

...the softest, lightest, a lizard's

rustling, a breath, a flash, a moment - a little makes the
way of the best happiness."

- Friedrich Nietzsche

I just thought I'd offer some proof that I am working, albeit slowly , on something lately. I'm having a lot of fun with all of these bumps and scales - I definitely see myself painting a lot more creeping crawling things in the near future!