The illustrating commences....

Well, one down....a few more to go ;) I finally got the first illustration completed for my little story. I admit it was a little slow going, its hard to get inspired to paint the exact same painting that you just pained ;) I was never good at that....the sketching and reworking and reworking. Because in my case, you always like the first try better and then you can't recreate it. That's why I dont draw facial features when I sketch. Better to save the spark ;)

But no matter that she's the 'second time around girl', here is the illustration:

Pretty much the same exact scene but some subtle changes. I made the bearded traveler stand out a little better from the path and moved her gaze up to eye level with the reader instead of down to the side. My husband says he likes this face better, although I sorta like the first face best (as per usual!) but someone had commented that she looked sad in the first one, so I tried to perk her up ;) to me, my girls don't look sad. Just thoughtful. Is being lost in thought sad? Surely not! But here's a closer view:

She's got little knit mittens and hat, and a fur lined coat (it's obviously very cold where she's at!) I'm really excited to share my little story with you guys when its all done. It's got a big dose of Old Timey to it, that's for certain. It's something I would enjoy reading at any rate, and whether I like it or not has always been my gauge of the success of anything I make. If you dont even have your heart in it, why would anyone else?

On the home front, we're settling in for the big snow storm of the season. It was literally 76* out this saturday. We had all the windows open, I had on a tank top and a hippie skirt on Friday! It was so much like spring that I knew I'd have a hard time letting it go. But led it go we did on Sunday. Its back to frigid temperatures and its just gray and miserable outside at the moment, the literal calm before the storm. We could get a foot of snow dumped on us tomorrow and while that's not much in many places, it sure is a lot for us out here on the southern prairie. Although we do get snow a few times a year, each time people just freak out and forget how to deal ;) you couldn't pay me enough to go to the grocery store today with all the people trying to frantically buy last minute provisions (ok, maybe I'd go for $200, but I'd complain and stress out the whole time!)

But we have a full fridge and pantry, and some wood stacked at the back door. There are enough books to read, yarn to knit, pictures to paint, rabbits and dogs to cuddle to get us through the next few days.

Stay warm and stay crafty my friends!~

~H

Rules to Art By

Whatever you would do, begin it. Boldness has courage, genius, and magic in it. ~Goethe

This is my quote of the week. Thanks to Laura, for sharing it with me. But do you know sometimes how you’re trying to work through something, and then suddenly you hear what you just needed at that moment? I love when that happens.'

2011 is going to be about trying new things for me. It is, in many ways, me coming out of my comfort zone to boldly go after something I’ve wanted for a long time. Like since crayons J

Often times though its easy to talk ourselves out of big dreams. And one of my favorite ways to talk myself out of stuff is to think “but what do I know about doing this? How do I even begin?” But then I realize that, three years ago, I didn’t know how to get my art out there for people to buy. And I slowly figured it out.

It wasn’t a perfect process. In many cases, I learned by messing up. By having those experiences that you cringe to think about but they burn themselves in your brain and make you stronger. And sometimes the lessons weren’t painful at all--- sometimes a kind soul would share their wisdom with me and open a little door for me to crawl through and get closer to the world I longed for.

I’ve been daydreaming this post for a while now, but I thought it was high time I took action and become a kind soul to any of those new artists (or crafters, or anyone) out there who is little down the path from me but wants to come along. So, with no further fan-fair, here is a little about what I’ve learned along the way to the business of arting:

photo taken by Tara Mason

• You must believe you’re worth it before others will believe you’re worth it. This pertains to everything from fighting for your time to pricing your artwork. I know as artists, or wanna be artists, its really hard to say no to things or to price our work above bare minimum. Because we feel sorta snotty. Or like ‘who the heck does she think she is?’ It took me a while to finally gain my backbone and think “hey, my time is valuable. And so is my talent.”

Mind you, I’m not selling $1,000 paintings because I also feel strongly about regular people being able to afford artwork that they love. A painting does me no good if I price it sky-high and then it sits in my studio for years with a dusty price tag. You want things to be priced so they sell but also at a rate you feel like your time was well spent. With this in mind, be very wary of offers that go ‘I’m writing a book and I need an illustrator. I can’t pay you but you can have the portion of a the profits….” I hate to be a cynic but do you know how much profit a book who can’t even pay its illustrator up front will most likely make? Well, it probably wouldn’t buy you a pack of colored pencils ;)

If the proposition sounds shady, then it probably is. We all, at some point, will get the email. Someone loves our paintings. They want to buy them all! Or darn near all of them. Except….they don’t live in your country. They can’t purchase through your online shop. But gee, they’ve got lots of maneuvering ideas on how to make this purchase go through! You just need to follow all their specific plans…..

This, M’ Dear, is a scam. Sad but true. There are people out there that troll the internet and look for kind hearted, hard working people who just want to make their customers happy and make a big sale. There are countless scams out there, from having you send money to them so that they can ‘send’ you theirs, to stolen paypal and eBay accounts, you name it. The best way to protect yourself is to only make a transaction through your secure shop, be it eBay, etsy, bigcartel, etc. Because if you do your transaction through a secure site, you, as the seller are more protected then you would be otherwise.

I personally do 99.9% of my sales through PayPal. It’s just a safe and secure way of doing things. If you come into contact with someone who doesn’t use paypal, after kindly suggesting that they start, your next alternative should be to request that they send you a money order. A money order is like a check, but better. The buyer has to purchase the money order with cash, so it is as good as cash. But since it is a paper document and is only filled out to be cashed in by you or your business, it is more secure to send through the mail than actual cash. Honestly, these two options are your safest options and my only options as a vendor, for my protection. When it comes to payment, make sure you are in control so that you can make sure everything is on the up and up. If someone wants to finagle with you or do some strange sort of money switch-around, then giant red lights should be blinking in your head and you should start running in the opposite direction. Politely of course.

And one more thing about paypal. When someone is paying you via paypal always send the item you are selling to the approved address on the paypal address. No acceptions, unless you know who you are selling to and feel comfortable doing so. But on a first time sale, it is never a good idea to send an item ‘to my cousin in Estonia for her birthday’ when your buyer is supposedly from Indiana. This is because a) the paypal address is probably hacked and now they’re trying to illegally buy your items with someone in Indiana’s paypal account and have you send the goods to them and b) most importantly--- many selling sites like eBay, for instances, wash their hands of any seller protection if you send your item to an address that was different than the paypal verified address. Then, do you know what happens? When the funds are flagged as stolen, they are returned to the victim’s account out of your paypal account. Think that sounds like a bum deal? It is. So don’t let it happen to you!

• Ah, so there you have it. Those are some pretty big chunks of advice that I take to heart, anyhow. And often times learning them can be a hard lesson. So I hope I save someone a trip down that road. Often times, as artists or people who are self employed, it can often feel like a one woman show and that we’ve got to get it all figured out on our own. That’s not always the case. I hope that you’ve found this info helpful! Come back again and I’ll be back to pretty things and fun projects. Til then,

H

Shop Update

I am happy to report that I finally got several original paintings listed and ready for new homes! They are now located in my little shop online, perhaps there's one there with your name on it? :)

"An Old Fashioned Romance"

Most of them are a grouping of my little 1930s era girls. I really love these paintings. They look like old photographs come to life. You just know that they all have a story.

"Jacqueline"

Yesterday was errand day and today was house cleaning day. I am very much looking forward to painting day tomorrow! What have you been up to this January? Hope you're having a good winter~

H

Sunrise, Monday Morning

Sitting here this chilly morning with a dog at my feet and a sugar-laced cup of coffee. Been up before sunrise and on purpose! My husband and I are waking up early to exercise a few mornings a week.

It sure is frosty out there though. And today is errand day. With the new year I've tried to get more organized and that means a routine. Which is nice because I can look forward to allotted time to paint instead of franticly trying to just make it happen sporadicly.

I wanted to say thanks about all the book encouragement! And that I've been working on it :) this weekend I completed this little painting for it, only to realize that I dont like the surface I painted it on. So, this is an out-take:

I made this on a canvas board and while it looks very nice in person, it didnt scan well. The light from the scanner bounced off the texture of the canvas to create tiny fragments of glare. No good. I'm just glad I realized this before I had several done! So now I plan to do the illustrations on wood, which has a much smoother, glare-free surface.

But I wanted you to see my characters and get a feel for the story. It is, of course, an old-timey tale :) I want it to feel like a classic. Like Little House on the Prairie meets Tasha Tudor. That's the goal, anyway!

So, this week it will be back to painting for me. But don't worry, I will have new offerings in my shop. It finally occurred to me that I have several paintings that I held back for my fall shows that I have yet to list online. Many of them are dear favorites, so I hope that you'll like them :) of course I'll let you know when they're up. I'll be photographing them and writing up the listings starting today.

Here's hoping its a good week for all of us!~

h

PS: Oh, you want to see some more baby bunnies, you say? Well, we made another video ;) you can see it HERE.

It's hard for me to sit still. I don't know why, but I always have to be busy doing something, although some days I stop and think "what did I even do? Whatever it was, I was busy..." haha.

I've been thinking lately that I really need to get myself in gear about my lofty dream of writing and illustrating. I've had a little Christmas story written that I've wanted to illustrate for about two Christmases now ;) it's time to set things in motion. Because there's nothing that drives me nuts more than a plan that's not in motion.

So I've been rereading the story, editing, trimming and fancying up vocab words, making a storyboard and prepping canvases for my illustrations. I. Am. Going.To Get.This. Done. That is why I'm telling you now! I guess I just need support and some nudges to keep focused. When trying something new it is so easy to talk yourself out of it. And as a Libra, I have a special talent of talking myself in and out of nearly anything ;)

My plan is to self publish, for a variety of reasons. Control. Time. I know there are lots of great self publishing options now where you can get ISBN numbers on your books and even sell on Amazon and various other places. I want it to be a book of quality though. Perhaps I'll give you little peeks as I progress? And fingers crossed, it'll be finished in time to enjoy by Christmas 2011 :)

Oh, and of course a post couldn't be complete without some more updates on the bunnies! They are getting bigger and friskier and even more adorable day by day! Audrey and I pretty much squeal and laugh every time we go by their hutch ;)
On this January 21, they are now 19 days old. Their bright shiny eyes are open and their ears are perked to see and listen to this strange new world! They still love nursing but they're starting to nibble on hay and oats. Its pretty hysterical too to see them itch themselves with a mile-a-minute back leg and groom themselves. And they adore their mama, who also adores them.
It's amazing to think they're edging on 3 weeks old. In another month they'll be ready for homes. I have high hopes for them to go to places where they will be loved and adored! Rabbits are such a fun little pet, great starter pets too. You can bet that these little ones will be super loveable and tame. They've been handled and coddled since they were born. Someone remarked on the bunny video I posted that our mama rabbit seemed remarkably lovable. I'm certain that this is because she came from a loving home to begin with and that since we had her since a 6 week old little wee one herself, she (and Mr. Darcy) have grown up with us and consider us just part of the warren.

Because rabbits, for all intensive purposes, are at the bottom of the food chain (above lettuce at least!) they are by nature fearful animals. Did you know that a rabbit can be scared to death? Because of that, I think raising them in a calm and loving home is very important.

So, if you're in the neighborhood and looking for something cute and fuzzy to love and adore, I've got one with your name on it ;) lol, I've got five actually.....

Well, back to the drawing board! ha!

Have a great weekend,

h

January Meanderings

So it seems I'm wandering aimlessly through January. Does this happen to you? For the past few months leading up to Christmas I had such a set schedule and deadlines to meet. I was focused and I do secretly love a list I can cross off. And then Christmas was over and the holidays were through and here I am....wondering what to paint!

It's not all been wasted time. This past weekend Audrey and I got the fantastical idea to 'big girl-ify' her bedroom which was still done up in in baby pale pink and green. Those colors just aren't us really. And while Audrey is girl, she certainly isn't dainty. So with some paint, a new bedspread and some fabric, I'm slowly taking my love of all things Swedish decorating and making a folky swedish inspired bedroom for her. Above is a little pic showing some of the new bedspread (Which I love! And it came from Marshalls!) and some little critters that some of our friends have made for Audrey over the years (Our friend Holly made the bear, and our friend Beth made the rabbit.)

When the room gets finished you know I'll share some photos, but like what seems to happen to the rest of my January plans....that seems to meander. Perhaps I should just be hibernating?

Henry obviously has made his choice ;) this boy practically lives on the couch! He's particularly fond of this pretty little pillow that we got from local crafty gal Christine Sharp Crowe, which is so sweet (And if you're on the other side of the Red River, she makes them with "Texas" too!)

And while I am just sort of hanging around looking for some inspiration, it's good to be surrounded by the creativity and prettiness from others. I can't help but be inspired by it. And I know that my inspiration will come again and I'll be painting as fast as I can go so I can capture all thats floating around in my head. But creativity is like that. It ebbs and flows. But right now, I'm just on a quiet ride :)

But don't fret....I'll have more things to show you soon enough!

Til then...

~H

Baby Bunnies! Live! ;)

My Swedish Romance

I should have known from the moment I opened up that Kirsten doll the Christmas I was 9 that I had an intense love of Swedish things. I just didn't realize it ;) I mean, I have never been to IKEA. Yeah, take that in ;) lol, but it seems to have stayed with me through the years in everything from my intense love of the color red (come on! it's practically a neutral at my house!) to my habit of painting on the walls. I've slowly come to realize that what I thought was just a random and kooky sense of design and fashion actually has an origin. It even has it's own country!

And oh, it even has books! So sign me up! I have been waiting for days for this book to arrive from California to my little prairie mailbox. Its called The Swedish Room. It is full of pages upon pages of my dream rooms. Paintings everywhere on the wall....a slight air of decay but at the same time clean....decadence and simplicity. Oh, be still my Swedish lovin' heart ;)

Here is a sneak peek at some of my favorite rooms:

This room is what I imagine would happen if I were locked up in the attic Jane Eyre style ;) Slowly but surely the entire room would be covered in paint! I love the figure painted in the landscape as well, you dont see that a lot in home folk painting. I also sorta love the addition of the mounted 'head bone' as my daughter calls those things ;) mixes just enough raw rustic vibe to what could be a really intensely formal room.

And this little bedroom? How gorgeous is that? I love again how it somehow manages to mix the ornate with the completely simple into a look that really works. I love old timey things, but I'm not a fan of frou-frou. I think this is a perfect marriage of simple and regal. And I totally want that bed.

Doesn't this bedroom look like a secret attic hideaway? You could probably guess from my paintings that I like things to look a little roughed up and old. This room looks so old that is is positively a fairytale. It's enough to make you want to take a hammer to the crown molding ;)

And this doorway is my favorite! You would think that several rooms that are stenciled would look overwhelmingly busy, but because the colors are so complimentary, it works in a big way! I love this because perhaps my favorite thing about my own house is the area where you can see then stenciling of the livingroom, into the kitchen with its stenciling, and then off that the bold color and stenciling of my bedroom. Its a lot of paint and things going on. But because the stenciling are all complimentary colors, it doesnt look jarring (it actually looks pretty awesome, but I'm just sayin....lol....)
And this. Sigh, the prettiest bedroom ever. At this point in the book I would turn to my husband and ask "so you think you could live in there with me?" (he usually says yes) Those flowers on the walls...amazing. I am just so stunned by the beautiful art and detail of these old rooms and walls. Most of these paintings too were done by itinerant painters--- professional craftspeople who just went from home to home and village to village fancying things up. You know that's what I'd be doing if I was born back in the day. I love too the colors--- red, green and cream right now are just my favorite color combination. I know for most people it says 'christmas' but I think done in a discrete way, like this, it is timeless and works for any season.

Ah, so that's what I've been doing. Getting lost in the land of Swedish style. It makes me eager to be braver in my own house and decor. I'm not usually one to be afraid to draw on the walls (My mom let me paint murals on my wall when I was a teenager) so who knows what this spring will bring ;) The little house is turning Swedish, can't you just see it? And maybe some day I'll drive the 4.5 hours down to dallas and see an IKEA for myself ;)

Til then....

~H

Madonna of the Blossoms

This time around I decided to try my hand at my own style of a Madonna and Child. And this is what I came up with, "Madonna of the Blossoms." Of course as I painted her, snow fell softly just outside my window ;) after all these snow scenes I've painted, this is what I was doing when snow finally decided to fall ;)

"Madonna of the Blossoms"

It's such a sleepy day here this morning. Yesterday we just stayed in our PJs. What was the point of getting dressed to look out the window at falling snow? ;) I put this painting in my SHOP, just in case you might need her at your house!~

And because I'm sure you're anxious to see how they're doing, here are the little babies yesterday morning at 8 days old:

Awwww, right?! They are pretty furry now and so soft and sweet. Their ears are fuzzy now and not so 'stuck' to the heads, so now they're soft and floppy :) I'm curious to see how their ears start to 'lop', although as adults they'll be able to perk their ears up. My bunnies do that, they'll cock an ear up to listen closely, they love to be nosey ;)

I noticed yesterday that the babies now have their whiskers. Did they grow overnight? I'm not sure, but they're pretty darned adorable! Some are now getting bigger than others, although everyone looks fat and healthy. The larger spotted baby always insists on peeing on me when I pick it up ;)

Their eyes should open in the next few days...they're 9 days old and I read it usually happens around day 10-12. I cant wait to see them and them to see me! And you know I'll take photos ;)

Now....should I get dressed today? Hmmmm....

~H

The Queen Has Spoken

It's a very cold and gray afternoon our here on the prairie. Our first little flakes of snow for the season are softly falling outside. Winter is here!

And while it is cold and gray outside it is warm and full of color inside as I day dream about royal jewels and fancy dresses and strange furs (because what animal is all white with tiny black flecks like all the royals love to wear? Is there such an animal?)

This is the latest painting I've been working on, inspired by a portrait of Elizabeth I of England:

I'm still in my renaissance mood :) This time I've gone royal though, and I'm currently reading Antonia Fraser's "The Wives of Henry VIII" so...there ya go ;) I love looking at all the detail work of these old paintings, especially the royal portraits. I'm surprised though at how homely everyone looked back then ;) Or perhaps homely to me in 2011 was total gorgeousness back in the 1500s? At any rate, I took some artistic license with Elizabeth's face to give a prettier look while still keeping her features pretty similar. Here's the finished piece:

Of course this painting looks so much prettier in person (as they usually do!) the scan just doesnt capture the nuance of color and shading in her face. Or all the crackle, which is subtle but more noticeable in person. The colors are deeper in person too. Ah well, maybe you'll just have to see her in person ;)

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Oh, and the baby bunnies are doing well! They are the cutest and fattest little things! Which is amazing to me because I have yet to see my mama rabbit nurse. She does it on the sly ;) rabbits only nurse twice a day--- late in the evening and in the early morning hours. Ah, how handy that would have been when I myself was a nursing mama ;)

But I know from their fat bellies that they're well fed and they're moving around in the nest and mewing at eachother like little baby kittens! Here is a photo of two of my little babies and the two main colors we have:

The white with spots is a 'broken torte' and the darker one I believe is my regular torte. I also have two black tortes, which look much like the regular torte but the gray parts are a darker deeper color.

If you want to keep up with more photos of the babies as they grow, you can visit THIS album in my flickr sets. I dont want to be abnoxious with too many rabbit photos here on the blog, but I just cant help myself from taking photos ;)

And if you're a local friend and are considering a rabbit for yourself, I am certainly looking for homes for all these little guys! Their parents are both purebred Holland Lops with papers and everything (the babies dont have papers because I'm just raising these guys as pets and not show animals) they get to be about 3-4 lbs in adult hood and make great pets, and are pretty easy to care for. They also make great apartment pets or small home pets because they dont need a ton of room, are kept in a cage or hutch and dont make lots of noise.

But anyhow...I need to go check on my little brood right now! And decide what next, or who next to paint. So far I've gotten requests for Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and Queen Victoria :)

~H

Botticelli Study

Lately I've been in an even more old-timey than my usually old-timey mood ;) I'm talking Renaissance era! It probably has to do with the fact that I got hooked on THIS program by the BBC that explores the entire English Monarchy. My favorite era is ofcourse the Tudor era (well, so far) and the art and grandeur of the time.

My piqued interest sent me looking through my tattered old art history text books from collage and I've had the idea of doing some studies of classical pieces, beginning with one of my my favorite paintings, "Madonna of the Book" by Botticelli. And here it is:

This really is just a small snapshot from the whole painting. I've sort of focused in on the Madonna and Child. And of course I am no Botticelli and so I tried to just make this 'my' take on it instead of taking up the undoable task of actually trying to capture the master's work (because that would be an epic fail!) taken as a simple exercise I've fallen in love with my humble piece! I even crackled it a bit to give it some age and depth. Since it came out so well I did a test printing run and that came out beautifully as well! So there are prints of this for sale HERE.

However, I thought you all might like to see the painting in a couple of steps before it got to this final stage. Here's a shot of it sketched out with only the skin tones painted. So far so good!:

Once I started filling in the colors it was looking a little bold and clean for my tastes. You know I like my art dirtied up a bit ;) but this is how it looks all fresh and new, perhaps what our classics looked like just a few hours after their paint was dry:

And so, that is my Botticelli study! Hope you like it :) I'm now itching to try more classics. You just never know what will catch my fancy ;)

Oh! And as for the rabbits, they are doing wonderfully! They are now 4 days old and although their eyes aren't open yet they are getting to be rambunctious little things! When I was checking them over this morning they were so squirmy and fat, and they would squeak and wiggle at eachother as if to say: "You kicked me!" "No, you kicked me first!" "Move over!" "Stop hogging all the fur!"

Lol, they're precious ;) they're also getting a fine fur all over so they have the appearance of being made of soft velvet. So lovely and I cant wait to see all their little eyes open and when they start being more mobile. Miss Lizzie will have her hands (er, paws) full then!

Til next time...

~H

Tasha Tuesdays Post # 45

Hello my friends! Welcome to another Tasha Tuesday--- #45, can you believe it? As an artist I admire and a person whose lifestyle I admire even more so, there's always food for thought with Tasha. She was imperfect, but inspired. She was willing to go her own way and that I think is something to really admire. Something else I love about Tasha is her love and care of animals.

Obviously, with our new baby bunnies in the house, we've got baby critters on the brain! I honestly have a hard time understanding people who don't fall madly in love with animals. How is that possible? How can little puppy-dog eyes or soft pretty fur be resisted? It's unthinkable to me ;) These little guys don't even have their eyes open or any fur yet, and I already love them:

This is Lizzie's nest of babies! All fat and happy and snuggled and warm. They've all got fat round bellies and appear perfectly made and active. Yesterday I inspected the nest a little more and found an extra baby--- so we have 5 pretty little Holland Lop babies! Three of them are dark skinned and two are pink with dark little spots. The pink ones I'm thinking will be white with spots like Lizzie and the dark ones will either be dark brown like Mr. Darcy or, perhaps, silvery gray. Our breeder said that because of my rabbits' lineage, they had a good chance of producing solid gray bunnies. I can't wait to see!

It's hard to fathom where she found the time, but while she was also a full time illustrator, mother to four (and a single mother of four later on), owner of a house with no modern trappings like oh, electricity, she also raised and cared for animals. Along with goats and birds, she was also an avid breeder of corgi dogs, a breed she was very passionate about and immortalized many times in her art.
Obviously, Tasha was not immune to puppy dog eyes or soft cuddly fur either ;)

So on this Tasha Tuesday I'd like to know--- is there an animal that melts your heart? Do you raise any animals? And if you have a little critter, no matter if its a gerbil, bunny, pup, or horse--- give it a little hug and a treat. Because it is, after all, Tasha Tuesday!

Who is Tasha Tudor? Look HERE to find out!

The Heirs of Pemberley (Baby Rabbits!)

You may well remember that last spring we got two Holland Lop rabbits which we named "Miss Lizzie" and "Mr. Darcy" in honor of the Jane Austen novel "Pride and Prejudice." Well, I am thrilled beyond thrilled to report that the Darcy Rabbits have a new litter of tiny precious baby rabbits, born just yesterday evening! They are, of course, the heirs of our rabbit Pemberley ;)

Lizzie proudly watching over her new brood

I don't think I've been this proud over babies since I had my own ;) Our first litter was all lost very tragically due to cold weather. But we moved everyone inside after that and Lizzie and Darcy were soon making plans for their second brood ;)

I had given her a box full of nesting materials and some newspaper which she industriously tore into bits and lined the box with. Then yesterday I noticed her pulling hair for the nest and I knew....babies were hours away! I feel fortunate that this time I was able to more or less witness the birth (in most cases owners don't see the birth at all because rabbits tend to have babies at night. But these were born at about 9 p.m.) She is such a good mama rabbit and covered them with a thick layer of fur, no one was getting too cold this time!

This morning I fed her some oats (which according to our breeder helps her milk come in. I must say it's been so handy to have a breeder to call with questions about the rabbits, they are full of so much information and advice you can't get from a book) and petted her so that I would get her scent and then very gently opened the top of the hutch and looked into the nest. While I only slightly touched things (I didn't want her to get too anxious or upset) I was able to count at least four fat little naked baby bunnies all lined up in a row snuggled together. When Audrey woke up we went to peek at them and heard one cry, they sound like baby kittens!

It just warms my heart, and I'm so excited ;) I will be posting more photos as they grow so we can all see what baby bunnies are like. I'm just so glad that this time everyone seems to be safe and happy!

A very good start to 'the year of the rabbit' indeed!~

~H

Gretel and the Rabbits

Happily for me, yesterday I was able to sit down with a painting and take it from start to finish. This is the little black canvas that was sitting on my desk in the photo from yesterday. And here it is now! Gretel and the Rabbits:

Obviously I'm still in a folktale girl sort of mood! And I wanted to paint some rabbits. So, here ya go! This painting is so rich and pretty 'in real life.' I'm having issues lately really capturing things how I want. Because of the high gloss sealer I used, the scan bounced some light off the painting and so I'm not 100% thrilled with how it turned out. Wondering if I should scan before final sealing now....but the sealing is what really makes the color pop.

Trying out a new signature method for the new year too ;) More old fashioned and substantial. Signatures are so fun. Really, I'd been using the same style that I was using in high school art class. So it was about time to change things up, dontcha think?

For this new year I'm tentatively starting work on some embroidery. Cross stitch for this particular pattern, but hopefully with Alicia's book I'll be doing all sorts of fun projects. I am also dying, simply dying to make this bag into a purse for myself. How I love Stacy Nash! It's the perfect 'embroidery meets pirates' ensemble and I love it. However, even I with my always grand ideas know that this might be a bit to take on for, oh, my first real large scale embroidery project? do you think I could pull it off? It's just like painting, right? Oh, if it were paint I could whip this up in a jiffy ;)

Oh no, now I'm in the mood for pirate ships again ;) and folk art girls. And rabbits. And so many other things that catch my fancy. I am in a bit of information overload right now. But I'm sure I'll figure it out ;) so stay tuned....

H

Day One, again....

And so here we are, another year! Time to take stock and to look ahead. Just a moment ago I went back and looked at my January 1, 2010 post and wondered at how it seems at once so long ago and just the other day. Time again to sit back and ponder and hope for a new and better new year. Look forward to gardens planted in the spring. Shows to do. New paintings to create. To follow the muse where ever she may lead.

The studio, today....

And so, as this year beings, here's what's on my mind...

* How much I love coffee and drinking it out of pretty cups ;)

* Continuing to paint wintery folk art girls but knowing I need to turn my attention to spring soon...

* Hoping 2011 is a year I can focus on publishing. More writing, pursuing illustrating. But realizing dreams happen on God's time and not mine and taking pleasure in just being along for the ride.

* Excited to meet at least six little babies this year! Several family and friends are pregnant. And I am always willing to do some sympathy eating. Or baby name pondering. Whatever is needed ;)

* This fall my little one starts Pre-Kindergarten, which is full day in my state. I am excited and curious to see how all that freed up time will effect Audrey Eclectic! (I'm sure in awesome ways!)

* Really learn to embroider. I've started it up a few times in the past year but always lost focus. I think this book will help inspire me.

* I want to read more. This will be a pleasure!

* I want to celebrate my 30th birthday this year in grand style! I'm dreaming about taking a trip....perhaps...Williamsburg?!

I'd love to hear what your wishes for the new year are! Or what you'd like to see for 2011 from Audrey Eclectic. more print option? More original art? More dolls, cards, jewelry, or something other? I'm all ears! And ready to begin....

Happy New Year!~

H