I thought I'd show this project in its earliest stage. This is the initial sketch before being transferred to the final surface of Bristol board. I am in the process of darkening the sketch, so it will be easier to see through the Bristol on the light box. As you can see (or hopefully can see!) this is going to be a little squirrel in a tree. I fell in love with this picture partly because of the lights and darks of the squirrel, but mostly for the birch tree that he was found on. The limb has such a nice contrast on its bark, and it is so defined in detail and goes out of focus as it recedes into the background. The background itself is so blurry that it makes a nice frame around the central focus of the squirrel. At least that is what I hope the finished piece will convey! ;-)
I know that there are some (even a close friend of mine) that find squirrels to be quite a nuisance. ( They do have fun emptying bird feeders.) But in their defense, I find them to be hours of fun to watch. I had one in my backyard a week ago that was thrilled to find the bits of hot dog buns that were thrown out for the birds. He frantically went around digging tiny holes, depositing the chunks of bread, covering them up with dirt, and carefully patting the earth smooth over them. He must have hid a couple dozen pieces! He treated himself to a couple of chunks for all of the hard work as the sparrows ate happily along side him. I have never seen a squirrel do that before, and unfortunately for him, we received a steady rainfall that night. Rain, dirt, and bread? Oh my! I am sure all the earthworms were very thankful for Mr. Squirrel's contribution to their underground food pantry!! All this natural entertainment and all it cost me was a few left overs... Some of the best things in life really are free!
Here is the next update to the squirrel drawing. As you can see, I added in more of the background to the right and completed his other hand and tail area. Now, I will move on to his whitish under belly and feet. The right side of the background will be considerably lighter and not as busy as the left. With the holiday weekend upon me, I hope to get the time to finish this one. (Sorry for the washed out photo! Graphite does not photograph well in a sunny studio. I promise to get a better pic of the finished work. )
Long time since the last post. What have I been doing?? Believe it or not, I have been hatching chicks. This little guy here is named Fred. Fred is a little turkey. He and his brother were born within a few hours of each other. His little brother, whose name is Gene, had trouble coming out of his egg and was delivered by yours truly. We have since found out that Gene's inability to hatch himself out was due to a problem with his left leg. At the present moment, they are both doing well and are very noisy and active. My son does not like me naming the birds. He believes I become to attached. Who me?? If you hadn't guessed I named them after two famous actor/dancer/choreographers. And boy do they live up to their names. They are constantly moving (or dancing ;-) ) around the cage with those long legs!!
Here is Fred at a tamer moment as his brother was just delivered in the background. He thought he'd take a peek at the outside world.
These guys arrived already hatched on the same day that the two above were born. The majority of them were a couple of weeks old, but the guy threw in four that were newborns. This did not work out well as two ended up dying. So while my son was gone, I pulled out the two remaining little chicks and stuck them in with Fred and Gene, since they are very close in age. At first the little chickens just stared at those long legged birds! What in the heck are those things?!! It was so funny. But in the end, they were piled in a little heap under the heat lamp in the corner. Aren't families great! 
