New Paint~

I've been away for quite a while, but I've been working on a lot of different and new things.  Mainly trying to find new paints that will work better for my use on feathers.  The feathers have a challenging texture to work with, never mind the thinness. 

After a lot of experimenting and a trip to the art shop, I found what seems to be a perfect match!  This is only a single coat of paint, compared to the normal 2 or more of the past feathers.  Its so exciting!

There are so many different types of paint to go through, and so many different brands.  And the prices go from $1.50 to $20 for a little tube.  So experimenting can get quite pricey if there's not a good way to bring the choices down.  What I've settled on is a type of gouache, which has a relation to acrylics.  It has so much more pigment!  The yellows are the most impressive with this one!

I've also given a few new brushes a shot from Beste.  They're still very tiny, with most of them going from 0 to 10/0.  It may just be my excitement, but they seem to be able to give me a bit finer of lines with a bit more reliability (as in the dragonfly wings)

Black Tail Rattlesnake & Orry Martin

First feather I've painted in a LONG time.  While stalking around Facebook, I came across Orry Martin: Texas Snake Hunter.  Do you know how difficult it is to find excellent reference images for snakes?  I know there is a lot of fear surrounding them, but I've never seen so many blurred photos from a distance than when trying to look for snakes.  There's also a large amount of images where they are striking or stretching...which is just unappealing as a painting.  I was excited for several reasons as I was looking over his page, the first being that he had tons of beautiful photos from a lot of venomous species.

The second is that he is taking on a huge mission to stop the way rattlesnake round ups are done.  I will be the first to say I have a love for snakes.  I have two at home, and have little issue picking up the non-venomous ones outside.  But these round ups catch a large number of rattlesnakes, rip their fangs out, stitch their mouth shut, and then use them for sick entertainment.  Below is an important video on why these are something to be stopped made by Orry in his quest to spread the word.

 So Orry is having a fundraiser for a round up where no wild snakes are harmed!  Why is this important? Other than the fact they are absolutely amazing animals, they are a vital part to nature.  You don't have to like them, but there's no denying how they help keep nature in balance just by what their diet consists of.  He's even having giveaway's on his Facebook page (link is above) every month as he tries to raise the funds to be able to do this.

 After getting over my excitement, I sent an inquiry as to using his lovely photos as future reference images for my work.  I hadn't painted in a while, but I thought this would be the perfect inspiration.

I quickly got the go-ahead and compliments on my work.  There was a half-joking comment made about a free sample, and while I don't normally do that kind of thing, I figured this is a wonderful cause and anything I could do to help get the word out and support is well worth it.

So I chose a headshot of a Northern Blacktail Rattlesnake, dusted off my brushes (metaphorically, I promise they are actually well taken care of) and went to work.

Snakes are a bit difficult to get right because of the number of scales, I can't just smoosh paint and hope it works out alright.  But I feel it turned out beautifully!  I'm looking forward to sharing more in the future!  In the mean time...go check out those links above and help support Orry Martin and the rattlesnakes!

3 Feather Wolf

Way back in December, I had a request for a fan painted with wolves.  Two cubs if I could.  She wanted it by April for her man as a gift.  Now to be honest, I am ridiculous when it comes to commission pieces and I make myself nervous to the point I'm scared to work on it.  So that being said, I waited till mid March to start it.  Apparently...I work better under pressure

It turned out really great!  It was a bit of a challenge to work across three feathers.  I don't have the photo of the ends because the shafts still need cleaned up and wrapped, but hopefully everything in this go round will eventually make it much easier to do another fan in the future!

Feathered Sunshine

Finches in general have a beautiful song.  We would always have several of them when I lived up in Pennsylvania every year.  Where as they're small birds, their bright yellow colors always made them easy to spot in the crowd of sparrows and chickadees.  They also have a very distinct flight pattern, so even if you can't catch the yellow across the sky, you can follow the wave like pattern...flap flap flap drop flap flap flap drop flap flap flap drop.  I'm not sure why that always amused me as a child, but I thought it was the funniest way to fly.

This goldfinch is perched on a branch of dogwood.  I haven't seen any since I've moved to the island, but I'm hoping that one of these days, I'll spot one amongst the birds that visit the museum gardens.

Writing Spider

As I believe I had stated before, I'm not fond of spiders.  I personally have a strong dislike for the 8 legged creatures, even if I understand where they fit in the ecosystem.  However, we have very large visitors to our porch every year that I've become quite accustomed to.  We have several writing spiders grace us with their presences every year.  And while they are on the large size of spiders, I've gotten to kind of like them.  I still don't like them that close to me, or would be willing to hold one...but I've stopped trying to swat it with a broom.  They make huge webs, with a thick zig-zag pattern down the center.  Every now and then, we catch them bouncing up and down like they're using their web as a trampoline.  I'm not sure whether they're trying to attract bugs, test the strength of their work, or just having a bit of fun.

A Lovely Amur Leopard

Way back when I started this painting, I had in mind to gift it to a woman that is doing some work for me.  However...it kept looking horribly disfigured.  I'd see what was wrong, try and fix it, but to no avail.  It would just look screwy in some other way.  Only after I sighed and said "fine, it'll stay here, I just want to get it done" did everything magically work out.

Big cat medicine is temperamental...it does exactly what it wants when it wants.  I guess this is just yet another example!

It's a Little Bear

I was doing little clay sculptures one night (when they're done I'll post them as well) and any time I went to do a bear...it started to look like something else instead.  And while that can happen with paint...I have more play room than with a chunk of clay that wants to be a badger or a frog.

One Of The Signs That Spring Is Coming

For the past few nights, I have gone out for a moonlit walk, to find a tiny green tree frog sitting on the porch chair.  Being the porch is screened in, I don't want the little thing to somehow get trapped without food, so I pick him up and put him right outside the door.  It's an ordeal that takes a few minutes usually.  The little frog is about the size of a quarter, and likes to cuddle down in my palm to warm himself a little before hopping to the plants.

It's one of the many signs that spring is finally breaking through the cold.  The turtles and the frogs have come out after burying themselves for the winter.  I'd normally say that you can see the plants going into bloom, but around here, our flowers bloom throughout the year and a good portion stay green leaved if they're not flowering.

Ride the Wild Horses

I've noticed there has been a large number of individuals that are claiming horse totems.  So I figured I'd give doing a horse painting a second try...and this time...not spray it with clear coat.

It turned out much better this time, I'm sure part of it has to do with the fact I used a slightly bigger feather.  But only part of it.  This was also trying out a different set of paints.  They mix a bit smoother, and there's a wider range of colors pre-mixed.  But they're also less heavy, so it took a little bit to get used to.  I'll still have to work with them a few more times...but so far so good.

He's Such A Happy Copperhead

I've always loved snakes.  I think they are beautiful and amazing creatures, whether they are venomous or big enough to swallow a five year old.  We have our share of poisonous snakes here on the island, mostly water moccasins and copperheads. I've seen them both, but not very often, and each time, they just wanted to go about their business.  None of them wanted to "run me down" and attack, they said hello and went about their merry way.  Then again, I didn't really startle them by screaming and jumping around either....

I think I've only gained some fear over the years from everyone else freaking out about them and how dangerous they are.  I recall there was a time up in North Park in western Pennsylvania, I was having a picnic with a few friends.  There was a tiny garter snake that I picked up and held.  He was so small he curled up in my palm.  He sat there calmly until one of the guys, trying to be macho, went to poke it.  The snake pulled away from him abruptly and wouldn't calm down again.  So back into the grass he went.

Then I noticed what looked like a tiny head moving in zig-zags across the water.  My first thought was perhaps it was a turtle.  As it came closer, I realized that it had trailing zig-zags behind it....snake!  It swam right towards us, and sat partially out of the water.  None of us moved for a minute, it was a fairly large one, maybe about 5 feet long.  I wasn't familiar with the pattern, and couldn't see it's eyes, so I didn't want to agitate it.  I decided to take a few steps towards it, slowly.  It continued to look at me, staying still.  I got about a foot and a half away from it, and it came a little closer to close the distance by another half foot...slowly.  I never felt threatened by it, I just wanted to say hello.  I guess the guys wouldn't be outdone by a girl, so one decided to jump off the table from which they were standing towards the snake.  (I should note this was the same guy that poked at the baby garter).  The snake raised its head for a second and then shot off in the opposite direction.  It's been a long time, and I'm still not completely sure what kind of snake it was.  It could have been a northern water snake, but I remember it looking more like a copperhead.  I only found out what a copperhead looked like much later, but that experience changed the way I thought of poisonous snakes.

There are Ocelots in Texas

Even though I should know better (and there's somewhere in my head that said "duh") for some reason I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that we have ocelots in the states.  I'm not sure why this confused me so much, or where exactly I thought ocelots did live, but I had no clue they were in Texas.

They're beautiful cats!  I found a few lovely reference photos while browsing about the creatures and decided to take advantage of them and do a painting.  I wasn't seeing very well that day, so I had to go back and touch up a lot of things, but all and and all I'm pleased with the way it turned out.

Adorable Turtle

Turtles are known as one of the great healer medicines. It is said that all healers have turtles and badgers and frogs in their totems.  We have a few turtles at the museum that I help care for, and it's amusing to see how their personalities differ.  They start to recognize those that come to feed them, and when I bring the sponge to scrub their shells.

On a completely different note, I've decided to go back to trying to see how painting animals would go without a background.  I'm not quite sure if I like the background or the feather pattern better.  But I'll probably do a little bit of both here and there.

Snow Covered Wolf

I think slowly, I'm getting over the animosity of the idea of Wolf Totems.  They can be necessary teachers.  I'm still not fond of how many glorify the idea of the "lone wolf" and how it's something they think is worth aspiring towards.  They forget the aspect of working together as a community.  Not losing yourself in a community, but belonging and playing your part.  All the wolves work together, and while you'll have alpha, beta, and epsilon (I think), they've all earned their place because of what they are capable, or not capable, of doing.

It's Better Than Bambi!

Back up in Pennsylvania, we had deer EVERYWHERE.  Huge white tail deer, in large herds, running in the roads, eating the neighbor's petunias.  It was perpetual antics no matter what time of year.  They can't seem to decide if there's an over population of if they need saving.

But outside of the perceived problems that they see up there, deer are a good community medicine.  While ones are eating, others are keeping a sharp ear out for intruders and threats.  The children are kept close by and made sure they're safe.  And while they have to look of soft and gentle and demure, they'll tromp a person into the ground if you're that close of a threat.  Is it common, well, no...but it is in their personality.

The deer here, are tiny marsh deer.  They're not as skiddish, and a little more curious, but about the size of large dogs.  Instead of running into the cars, they'll usually stand at the side of the road and just kind of watch you go by.

I recall one time I was taking a walk going into the evening, and I spotted what looked like a fawn, but with antlers.  I wasn't sure if it was an actual animal, or a foam target.  I crept closer and closer.  When I got to about five yards away, the small buck snorted and then calmly walked away.  It's still a little strange getting used to, but they are still strangely adorable to me.

Bunny Bunny Bunny Bunny.....

Branden used to own a rabbit.  A little black and dwarf bunny he called Lexi.  While many people still see them as cute little fluffy happy things.  I have learned a different perspective of these animals through having one of them as a housemate for several years.

They do have some timid tendencies.  Their noses never stop twitching at fifty miles an hour.  In the wild, they run as soon as they see you coming.  That, of course, is after they've frozen in a panic hoping you don't see them. 

They they're not all fun and happiness.  I was not aware how angry the little things can be!  They are judgmental, finicky, temperamental, and just down right angry.  She would pound on her litter box if you didn't clean it the approved number of times a day.  She would dump her food if it didn't have what she wanted.  She'd thump her back feet to tell you she wasn't happy about having cats in the house, and then proceed to attack the cats...which were twice her size.  I would have never thought that they were such complex creatures before we had the pleasure of having her around.

Revisiting Of Totems

Totems are strange things at times, but they're a good source of inspiration when it comes to what I would like to produce next.

Scurvy of PCP, we'll often pick on for being a raccoon totem.  He's a bit of a troublemaker.  He can troubleshoot like no tomorrow, but in an outside-of-the-box kind of way.  He's resourceful, resilient, and has a small problem with survival instinct.  So the inspiration for this feather has come out of long conversations with him, and reminds me of his antics.

Along with that, I've always felt that one of my totems is a red-tailed hawk (hence the title of the blog).  I had rarely seen a decent photo to help use as a reference when it comes to birds.  Their usually too shadowed, or too far away.  There always seems to be a problem.  Once I found a good one, the painting went much smoother than I had anticipated though.

Hawks are known for saying very sharp things when needed to force people to pay attention.  They're kind of skiddish in some ways.  And if they're injured, they become a bit more fragile than you might think.  Their cry is such that everything stops when it's heard.  They are connected with Spirit, in a way that they bring messages from Spirit so people can better understand.

Swallowtail Butterfly

A sign spring is in the air, will always be the butterfly.  They've been connected with everything from the fae, to warriors of some tribes of native people, to death, to rebirth, to transformation, and that's only the beginning.  To come from such a strange little worm like caterpillar, to become such a beautiful winged spirit...

Sometimes it just amazes me that such a tiny creature, can overcome such drastic changes and obstacles...and we humans...have complaints because we have to do such a small change such as shifting jobs.  Kind of puts things into a perspective of sorts.

Wolves In The Walls

While I haven't completely gotten off my animosity of the furred beasts, I have decided to paint another of the wolves.


I still don't have too much to say about them....

And Bears! Oh My!

Branden has always had a kinship with Bear Medicine.  They're very intense creatures, no matter what type of bear you're talking about.  They're strong minded, bull headed, and fierce protectors of their home and cubs.  They're also humorous, intelligent, and resourceful.

Branden had this kind of sad presence when I'd show him all of the paintings I'd done so far, especially because there's so many that have totems of friends.  I had decided to spend a full day while he was at work to see if I could create a feather that he could really relate to...

I never realized how difficult it was to find a photo of a bear that didn't look like it was about to rip someone's face off...

Large Lessons From A Tiny Messanger

I was given a totem reading by a friend once, and I was informed that it was believed I have Hummingbird Medicine.  Hummingbirds are one of the most fantastic creatures around.  They cut through the air, seemingly effortlessly, with no regard to the restrictions that their cousins have.  They are shy in many situations, and will fly off if you breathe wrong when they first start coming around.  But the more comfortable they get, the bolder the tiny birds get.  They'll come up and peck at painted fingernails, and give you a quick fly by to remind you you're not welcome when they're feeding.

Their medicine is that of happiness.  Not naiveness, but happiness.  Taking every obstacle and looking at the positive and fixing it, knowing you can overcome anything that sits in your way.  Knowing when to avoid conflicts and when to show your snarky and sharp attitude to chop the problem down to size.

While it seems like an easy lesson to learn, it's a difficult lesson to truly accept.  So thank you little Hummingbird.