Cards, eggs, and washing chickens

After watching the chickens roaming around this afternoon, I realized some of them needed a feather-cleansing...in the posterior regions.  So I donned the rubber gloves, got out a basin and proceeded to give several VERY ANNOYED ladies a splashy bath time.  I won't say it was a great success, but it was an improvement.

After that nonsense, I got back to the main goal of the day:  photographing my greeting cards and posting more illustrated eggs for my Etsy shop.  Click on the photos to be taken to the actual listings.

I love the bird feet here.  Bird King (Detail)  Illustrated Egg, ©2014 Kristin Richland

She could be a spooky ancestor!Vampire Lady & Cyclopean Fruit (front)  Illustrated Egg, ©2014 Kristin Richland

Here's what awaits you on the back of that same egg...Vampire Lady & Cyclopean Fruit (back)  Illustrated Egg, ©2014 Kristin Richland

Five card designs uploaded today!  Headed to A Party, 5x7 greeting card©2014 Kristin Richland

Also, I've been busy making notes for my "Unlock Your Inner Creature" drawing class next month. Seven out of eight spots have been filled which is very gratifying.  I'm having fun looking through my stack of sketchbooks (and adding to my latest one) all the while paying attention to just HOW I come up with creatures.

Headed to the Party

Phoenix Books in Essex is hosting their annual Newt Night this month, and this year they're hosting a "Peepers and Creepers" exhibit as well. 

My friends there have fond memories of my Frog in the Forest piece, so I thought I'd revisit a little piece I made around the same time.  

This idea started as a tiny little colored pencil piece on 4x6" watercolor paper.  This time around it's acrylic on a 16x20" canvas panel.  I rushed a bit at the beginning, but I'm giving myself a little more time to fine-tune it before bringing it to the shop.  Feel like I'm setting new records for myself in terms of finishing pieces!

Stage 1 painted while Monty Python's Holy Grail (and ALL the extra features) played in the background.

Stage 1, thought I was finished but my in-house critic said..."hmmm."  Back to the easel!

Stage 2 painted while Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie played.  At this point, I decided it's not a good idea to try and have a subtitled movie playing while trying to paint.  Too distracting.

Stage 2:  Brightening things up a little bit.  Brought some blue-tones into his belly, not sure if that's working yet.
VERY happy with the umbrella.  Trying to get that same feeling elsewhere in the painting.

A better mushroom.  Stalk still needs work though.

Stage 3 begins this morning (though we're fast approaching noon.)  After being heavily fueled with a pile of doughnuts from our local baker ladies, a giant omlet and a big mug of Earl Grey tea, I'd better have enough energy to see this thing through.  Would like to deliver it tomorrow!

By the way:  here's the original little sketch.  I ran out of paper so his boots are cut off.  Little did I know the legs would be one of the hardest parts in re-creating him!  Trying to be at peace with the fact that the new version is exactly like the original in other ways.

Frogs for PW!

Here are a few of the frog 'studies' I've been trying to re-create for P.W. My goal was to recapture the feel of the original that sold at Art Hop, but without copying exactly. Well, there are a fair number of attempts, but still I'm not quite sure I've got it. Patient P.W. has been waiting for ages to see something (anything!) so here they are for her perusal.


Out for a jaunt with his mushroom umbrella and acorn. 4x6 inch.



Walnut ink wash, colored pencil and black ink. 4x6 inch (I like his eyes.)


Quite a departure from the 'original' I wanted to give him more landscape. (For 4"x6" I was able to squeeze in a good amount.)


Breaking away from the original 4x6 size, I went to 8x8 and then cropped to about a 5x7 size here. A few nice moments in this, but also a few technical issues. This led Rick to recommend me doing more figure studies for Frog.



These sketchbook images are from this evening, I'm trying to emphasize his "dancing" posture.

Maybe something a bit happier

How about something a bit more cheerful this week?
We've been visited by a crazy selection of birds lately: hawks, new chickadees, goldfinch pairs, something that goes "brap" at me and might be a nuthatch, and today two broods of turkeys with their moms. And I'm still hearing the hermit thrush on quiet evenings. A most fantastic sound that I am in love with.

Tonight however, the music in the studio is drowning out most of that. I'm creeping closer to the finish line on "Frog in the Forest" after staring at it perplexed for way too long.
Another piece I've gotten myself into is Frog related again, but that's being done as a trade so I won't post it until it's in the recipient's hands. And it's going well enough I may get it professionally scanned.

Our 4th was excellent, by the way. We had AndreZero & Carol over, and there was much eating and drinking. As usual! I couldn't have asked for better weather--it's really been amazing up here.

Listening to while posting: Four Ton Mantis by Amon Tobin
(and thank you, auto-save function)

Paintings in progress

Here's a few pieces that have been in progress for awhile:
The Kitchen Table:
Colored pencil & acrylic on watercolor canvas; 11"x 11"
Frog in the Forest:
Acrylic on canvas; 16"x 24" (if I remember right)
A quick study of a different frog face for Frog in the Forest. I missed using pen & ink, though perhaps cold press w/c paper wasn't the best choice for my poor pen nib.
Walnut ink, colored pencil, india ink; 4"x 6"

I'm also itching to get some more underwater pieces started. The squid & submarine hasn't moved past the sketchbook, much to Rick's exasperation. Our trip to the Boston aquarium next month should get me moving on that one.
I also have to work on our anniversary cards. Continuing our 'poster' idea, this one will take off from a pulp science fiction magazine from the 40's. That'll be a new style altogether for me, and a tight deadline to boot.
Time to give Rick back his computer & get back into the studio.

Still a frog. In the forest.

This latest sketch was fun, but working in color shows just how much I really have to consider about the value range. (As to the dead-centered red mushroom cap, well, it's just a test. There is more to the picture than shown.) Also, I think I'm going to show more underside of the mushroom umbrella. The piece which started this whole ball rolling was all about the underside, not the top. I'm happy with those sunbeams though.

more of frog in the forest!

Tonight, I'm resting my achy self, and the tv came through beautifully: I got to watch Great Perfomances' Peter & the Wolf stop-motion animation. Fantastic!

Following are some sketches from Wednesday & Thursday. I'm starting to get a bit better at trees. Real trees have So! Many! Branches! But I'm loving my simple little #2 pencil, it has worked it's little heart out. All the fancy pencils are grumbling in disgust.