Commission: Red Tailed Hawk

Being my friend means that if you ask for a piece of art it'll probably take me about six months to complete it. Not because I don't like you, it's because I procrastinate like woah.

I would like to note that a buddy asked me to paint a red tailed hawk in January. I finally sent him a sketched out idea sometime in April...maybe even May.

The sketch was given the thumbs up and so I got started.

Cutting this out took a lot of patience. What a lot of work! 

Coming along. I took this photo to show a size comparison to my feet.


A close up of the face in progress. The final touches include the black lines and the color in the eyes. At this point he's looking more angry than regal. 

The completed piece. It's about 3 feet wide and 2 feet tall. Acrylic painted on 3/4" plywood.

Detail of the wingtip.

Another detail shot. I'm loving the colors of this piece!

I also love how I was completely trusted with the outcome of this piece. The official commission was: "Red tailed hawk, your style." And that was it. How awesome is that?! I assure you, this is a responsibility that I don't take for granted.

Art Adventure: Art Gone Wild at Zoo Atlanta

On June 2nd I participated in Art Gone Wild at Zoo Atlanta, a plein air event where artists are invited to paint around the zoo while guests mingle about. I knew right away that I wanted to be stationed in front of the otters so I drove to Atlanta as soon as I could, set up all my supplies, and proclaimed this little corner MINE. 

The otters were awake and OH MY GOODNESS so cute. They would run from one side of their habitat, jump into their personal pond, sqeak squeak squeak with delight, then hop out and run to the other side to repeat. By the time the zoo opened they were ready for their first nap of the day. Kids would press their faces on the glass only to discover the otters sleeping. 

Still, very very cute while sleeping. 

My set up for the day. After awhile I just painted with the canvas in my lap. 

Progress. 

Lesson of the day: if you ever want to feel really good about yourself as an artist, show your work to a bunch of elementary kids. They'll think you're amazing and won't hesitate to tell you. 

And more progress. By this time of the day I had to move since my shade disappeared in the high noon sun. 

And the final product. I nearly completed the painting while at the Zoo but brought it home for teeny fix-ups and sealing.

Here I am with one of my most favorite artist friends, Peter Loose. He is amazing and so productive. A huge, huge influence on my work, no doubt. 

And I knocked out a quick painting later that week based on sketches I made earlier at the zoo. I knew I wanted to paint a golden pheasant once I saw how amazingly colorful it is. 

These paintings, along with all the other artists' work, were part of an auction to raise funds for the zoo and the artists. How awesome it that? I was unable to attend the auction but I was told that BOTH of my pieces sold. Yay! 

I can't wait to do this again next year. I'll make sure to take off whatever work/projects I have going on so I can paint more than just one day. 

Celestial Folk Art Series - Cetus & Lepus

A few weeks before setting my art up at Bare Bulb Coffee, I worked myself into a tizzy trying to create enough work to fill the walls. Since I was so focused, I forgot to take a lot of progress photos. 

This is probably one of my most favorite paintings. Even in the progress photo, he looks so cute and happy. The canvas is a great size. This one might be pretty hard to let go of when the time comes. 

"Cetus" 12" x 36", Acrylic on Canvas

From Wikipedia: Its name refers to Cetus, a sea monster in Greek mythology, although it is often called 'the whale' today. Cetus is located in the region of the sky that contains other water-related constellations such as Aquarius, Pisces, and Eridanus.

And then here's Lepus, the hare. 

Smaller canvases meant I finished paintings faster. Love!

As you can see on the table, I do use a bit of house paint on my canvases. They're always great for solid, opaque colors. 

"Lepus", 18" x 24", Acrylic on canvas

From Wikipedia: Lepus is a constellation lying just south of the celestial equator, immediately south of Orion. Its name is Latin for hare. Although the hare does not represent any particular figure in Greek mythology, Lepus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is located below the constellation Orion (the hunter), and is sometimes represented as a hare being chased by Orion or, alternatively, by Orion's hunting dogs.

I haven't been able to spot these constellations in my front-yard sky yet, but I'm sure that'll change soon. And I'm in the beginnings of a summer slump, so perhaps I'll get caught up on blog posts. I've been a painting machine lately! Follow me on Instagram for all the behind the scenes action. 

Celestial Folk Art Series - Canis Major

Last week I felt a little "off"...just a little tired and I suspected a bit of a tickle in my throat. Next thing I know I'm exhausted and unable to do no more than cough and whine. Being sick sucks. Having a cold is kinda like running at 60% at all times. Not quite sick enough to spend all your time in bed, but still trying to do everyday things and using up your energy in no time. 

Plus, I feel immensely guilty when I try to take some time off for myself. I mean, what's up with that?  I have to figure out a way to learn that it's okay to let those messages sit in my inbox just a wee bit longer. It's okay to not want to make dinner. It's okay to just be sick. 

Oh well. I think I'm on the way out of this sickness. I've worked on some new paintings lately and here's the latest.

First progress shots. Just filling in background colors.

Then adding little bits of color here and there. 

And then:

This painting is based off the constellation Canis Major, or the Greater Dog. It's one of the newer constellations I've been able to recogize above my house. The largest star in Canis Major is Sirius, located in the dog's chest. 

Weee look at that tail!

The official title is "Laika: Modern Day Canis Major". Laika is the name of the first dog in space. It's a heart-breaking story if you're wanting to read more about her. I wanted to pay homage to her and her short life. I do believe she is a Canis Major!

24" x 36" acrylic on canvas.

Fifty Suns and Moons Project Complete!

When I first started painting little suns and moons, I made the joke that I should just paint 50 of them. Make it a whole series, y'know. And look! It became a serious goal and after several weeks of chugging away, I am done!

Honestly, I'm so proud of myself. Usually I lose interest in things like this and end up dropping it for something new and interesting. But I did it! Yay!

They look so neat together!

Almost half of them have been sold or given away. 

The rest are on my bigcartel shop: http://fawne.bigcartel.com/

Just the other day I thought "why didn't I do a time lapse painting video?" so maybe in the future I'll paint another one and record it. That should be fun! 

My next project is another doozy: 40 8x10 owls. Just wait until you see those!

Making of a Cover: 52 Hertz

Kitchen Drawer Illustrated is a community based publication and possibly one of my favorite things in the Middle Georgia area. They're always featuring super neat things from nearby towns: businesses, artists, musicans, events, history, etc. They even did a "Day in the Life" of me a few years back. I blogged about that here.

"Do a Cover for Kitchen Drawer" has been on my to-do list for a long, long time. I even mentioned this goal to several members of the KD staff. It's good to get your goals out there in the universe, right? Perhaps I thought if I kept saying it outloud I might get the initiative to actually create something. But I had no ideas...yet. 

When I got the email from KD about doing a cover, my first reaction was AW HELL YEAH. Then I thought Oh No I don't know what to do! Thankfully I keep a notebook on me at all times where I can jot down notes and ideas for future use. One of those ideas was "52 Hertz". 

From Wikipedia: The 52-hertz whale is an individual of an unidentified whale species, which has been detected regularly in many locations since the 1980s, calling at the very unusual frequency of 52 Hz. It appears to be the only individual emitting a call at this frequency and hence, has been described as the world's loneliest whale.

I had come across the story of the 52 Hertz Whale a few weeks earlier and I thought it would make a neat painting. And since whales are long, so I asked if it would be cool to do a "double" cover and have the image spread from front of back. The idea was approved and I was good to go!

As most of my ideas go, it starts with a late night and some spirits. 

The first layers.

Then details.

Little, little brushstrokes.

And the final product. It's a 24" x 36" canvas. Acrylic paint. 

He doesn't look too lonely, does he? My husband Daniel said, "Well, maybe he's not lonely. Maybe he enjoys his life very much." And I thought that was a good point. 

I've got to say, it makes one hell of a cover. I love it! So happy to be a part of this!

Thanks, Kitchen Drawer!

More Suns and Moons!

A few weeks ago I posted about painting suns and moons. Turns out they were a hit and I've decided that I should paint at least FIFTY of them...because y'know, I like having grand goals and working towards them. A few summers ago I tried to paint 50 small watercolors of tattoo flash and made it to maybe 46 or 47 then abandoned the project.

Oh well, we'll see how this new project goes! Here's numbers 7 through 11:

They're all painted with acrylics and sealed with satin Polycrylic. They're fun to paint! I don't plan any of them out, just draw the face then start painting. It's interesting to see how each one turns out and also challenging to make sure no two look alike.

A friend of mine said that each one has their own personality, and she could probably come up with a caption for each of them. So, that makes me wonder, what would are these suns and moons thinking about? Hmm...

Celestial Folk Art Series - Cygnus

Next year I will be hanging my art in a nearby coffee shop. Right now I am almost frantically trying to come up with the art that will be on display. I'm calling it a "Celestial Folk Art Series". 

I'm enjoying working with wood, mostly inexpensive plywood, and taking the time to cut out the shapes. My dad's a woodworker, so I grew up with plenty of saws buzzing in my ears. I was super stoked when he gave me a band saw and a scroll saw this past spring. My tool collection has grown with the addition of a belt sander and a jigsaw.

I chose the constellation Cygnus because, well, it's one of my most recent recognizable constellations. And it's been above my house these past few weeks. I'm slowly teaching myself how to read the stars at night. 

These creations require a lot of time and a lot of little brushstrokes. I'm loving how it turned out. Can I admit that I don't ever start out with a specific plan? I can kinda see the finished product in my mind's eye, but I usually just let the paint flow and follow my gut. 

I mean, lots of little brush strokes.

This isn't all the way finished. I still have to seal it and add hanging wire to the back, but I couldn't wait to show it off. 

It's about 3 feet wide, give or take an inch or two.

Check out the other pieces in the series: The Sun, The Moon, and Ursa Major.

Fox Skateboard Details

This piece is one of my favorites. I just wanted to show off some detail shots.

I used paint pens, Sign Painter's paint, and acrylic paint. Then topped it all off with a few coats of Polycrylic.

Folk Art Suns...And Moons!

Lately, I've been trying to clean up the studio a bit. I gathered all my unused canvases and decided to just paint, paint, paint. Piant whatever came to mind. And so, here are some folk art suns and moons. They're small, simple, and charming. They're keeping my hands moving and my creativity sparked.

6" x 6" Acrylic on Canvas, 2" Wide

6" x 6" Acrylic on Canvas, 2" Wide

8" x 10" Arylic on Canvas

6" x 8" Acrylic on Canvas

6" x 6" Acrylic on Artist's Board

11" x 14" Acrylic on Artist's Board