Darla and Pochacho

This is a work in progress, among many of the others I have going. Thank you everyone, I'm scratching as much as I can. It's a small piece, but it's fun.

On Monday, I become a foster mom for Pochacho. He's in rescue and has been fostered. He's gorgeous and sounds like he'd be wonderful...I wonder if he's going to end up staying with me.  This is a first for me, but I've wanted to do Senior Dog rescue for a long time...I love the older ones.

Spunky, Continued

I've been very pleased to work on Spunky these few days off. Here's an update...the ears are really helping. Right now, the eyes look a little off, but it's shading. Able to really put some time into it due to the high winds and storm.

Christmas Deer

I participate in a trading card exchange every year. The group is, unfortunately, getting smaller and smaller. This time, the Christmas Exchange, I drew the gal that has been organizing this exchange for the past few years. She is a superb artist in her own right. I wanted to do something for her that was extra special, but since she lives in the Netherlands, I have to get it off to her very quickly to get there in time for Christmas. Size is 3.5 x 5 inches. I'm also going to create prints and a christmas card out of it.  The baby has a heart shape on his/her nose and I'm going to make it Red.

Spunky went to Crafts on the Coast

Finally, good things have been happening. I passed probation and am now a full-time employee. I was at an arts and crafts show all weekend. It was my best show ever. I brought Spunky to work on and got a lot done. There's still a long way to go. I am very pleased with what is done though, he's really becoming an excellent example of how far I've come on this medium.  I was also invited to participate in the Highland Games next year as a vendor, but...they require 50% celtic and they want me to do dogs. I don't think they understand how long it takes me to do one of these, but I'll give it my best show.

Chip

Uh Oh, she's sneaking into my heart, big time.

Spunky, the picture continues

Burrr, winter is coming. I broke down tonight and put the little portable heater in the kitchen and hung the sheet so just the kitchen stays warm and I'm not trying to heat the whole house. Anyway, the scratching started out rough, but once it warmed up, it smoothed right out. I'm also playing around with a shammie (recommended by another scratcher) and like how it smooths out some of the rough lines (she recommended it for skin). The only distraction tonight was my kitten "Chip" being attached by the plastic bag she was playing with...she looked like a comet streaking away when it grabbed her by the leg, a little black/silver ball of fur with a white tail comet behind her. Fortunately it released (only stuck on her foot) very quickly but it was the perfect length of time to settle her down for the rest of the night. Back to the Spunky Man, I can see he's going to need a lot more scratching to get him as white as he is, but it will get easier and easier.

Karen

More Muzzle

Lips, Lips, Lips

Shading is very difficult here, or maybe I'm just getting old and can't see as well.

Spunky's Nose

Noses are difficult. There's so much detail and shading and it's such a remarkable organ.

Spunky 1

I started with the eye. Since he is so light, I started coloring him right away to help me keep everything aligned.

Spunky

Spunky just had his 15th birthday and his owner asked me to do a picture of him. Since I've known him forever, and just love both him and Sue (and Bella by picture), I agreed. I started tonight, with the eyes because if I nail the eyes, I can be forgiven anything. Spunky is predominantly white, but there's shades and shades of white. Here we go, I'll post a picture later. 8x10 black ampersand museum quality scratchbord.

Looong Time Ago

I have been busy, so to speak; desperately trying to survive. I'm still working on it, but have some hope for the future at the moment. I've lost 57 pounds, amazing what happens when you can't afford to eat, isn't it?  I lost Red in April to Kidney Failure. I so miss my heart dog, he was such a shooting star and I'm glad I got to bask in his fire. Love you, Red.

I've started back working on some artwork. Here's two of the Black and Tan Series. The first one is Parker, and the second is a dog called Sam. Both pieces are 5x5.

Blade

Another of my Pay it Forward pieces. Less than 2 x3 inches. I saw one photo of this old guy, got permission to use it and here he is. He passed several weeks ago. I am sending it to the owner if she wants it. I'd be more than happy to do something like this for you too.

Dave's Kitten

I sat the gallery at the Wine Place in Yachats yesterday. It's a great place to go for all your wine needs and Carrie Yano, the owner, might even listen to you Whine for a while. Anyway, I had two small paintings I wanted to finish up, but, I got all tangled up with a new piece. The Scratchboard group is forming a new society, the International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA). All I can say is that the ante has been upped as far as the quality and I'm slowing down but working harder. (I'm also looking for work again).

Dave is the maintenance guy at the apartments I've just left, but he's also the Maintenance guy at the apartments where I'm the assistant. (I've discovered I make a great assistant, just call me Babalouie). Anyway, Dave has been so kind and is so nice, that I'm doing this piece of his cat. He gave me two great pictures, but I really liked is kitten in a drawer. Here's the start.

It's going to be 8x10.

HN Sketch

Here's the latest in my pay it forward series, Hob Nob Paint the Town Red. 2.5 x 3.5 inches....very pleased with this one, especially the eye. I think it's the best eye I've ever scratched.

Finn

I got in a challenge to do five pieces of handcrafts for unknown people and surprise them. This is the first and the next will be one of Jan's dogs. This is a puppy she just bred, and He now lives in Orlando with his new mom, Molly. It is ATC sized.

Cabbage Rose, Revisited

I forgot to post the second and final one. I'm pleased but still prefer the black and white.

For Kicks and Grins Occasionally

I belong to a group that does an exchange of artist trading cards. I've gotten Larry before and really admire his work and his persistence. He likes starlets so I decided to do one. However, I don't have television and have no idea what's out there. When you search the internet for starlets you get some very strange things. I decided to make one one. On wet canvas, there've been several artists experimenting with graphite on the white scratchboards. So, I figured I'd experiment...it didn't last very long before I whipped out the inks and painted and scratched. However, I did leave all the skin in graphite which makes her a very strange starlet. I know Larry will love her. I did give her a great title too..."Do You Like My New Shoes?"  There're are no feet involved and I'm sure her heels would be very round, he he.

This One is a Bust

I'm behind on my resolution to do a piece a day. I thought I'd get caught up today but ended up spending a lot of time on this ATC. Then, I didn't like it colored and scratched the whole board clean. Fortunately, the artists on Wet Canvas have given me some ideas and I'm going to work on it again. I think the idea has merit, even if the piece did not meet my standards.

I watched the Georgia O'keef video that's out. I didn't think I was super-impressed with the movie, or the story of her life, but, I was influenced. Back to the drawing board tomorrow.

Deranged Kitty

I don't know if this one is done or not, I'm going to sit on it for a while. I sandpapered it twice and ended up following my motto "Persistence Pays", and kept on going.

Flamingo 2

The sun is shining in the window and between that and the old monitor I have, the screen is almost invisible. Anyway, here's the second flamingo, completed. I used pigment colors in combination with some acrylic paint and ink. The colors are wonderful with lots of shine and depth which the camera cannot pick up in the middle of the night. Come to think of it, it's sunny out so I could go outside and take another picture.

More Howlite Art, Crow 2 and Flamingo 2

I'm doing the Flamingo as a larger version and trying out some new ideas. I'm letting it sit tonight and will finish it tomorrow. I used some pigments instead of ink and paint and really like what came through, it sparkles in real life.

I had a different Flamingo pose picked out. No matter what I did, it looked awful. That's when I discovered you can remove the permanent ink with sandpaper and an exacto, or fiberglas brush. Cool. I totally scraped off the painting I had done and started over with the same bird. The rock just said it was the perfect picture. Tomorrow, I'll put the black ink, in.

This is another pose of the crow that I used to feed, Marvin. He was such a neat bird, he was right outside in this picture, expecting his treats, and yes, he walked like that, he knew he was top bird.

The other crow piece has sold, but this crow is currently available. Oh yes, I got rid of the golden retriever, gonna do a border collie puppy on it instead for another friend.