clear a path by walking it, boldly

tara sophia mohr

 Watchful (c) 2012  Kathryn Hansen

boy...i am soo happy to be done with this piece...the ivy was really starting to drive me crazy! in the past i would have just abandoned it, yet always lingering in the back of my mind as yet another drawing that was never completed...i have quite a stack of those! so i guess i am proud that i didn't let this one slide...that i stuck it out even tho i really wanted to draw something else...like the giraffe below. which i am loving because i am really seeing how daffy looking giraffes are...not that i didn't notice before but when so intimately involved with drawing a subject it just really dawns on you!!

 

"Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms." 

~George Eliot~

 Romeo (c) 2012 Kathryn Hansen

romeo was the  rush portrait i had to draw and send out to australia in two weeks time! i put in long and sometimes late hours to complete it but he was fun to draw!! always a challenge to fit a fast portrait into my busy life (especially with kittens vying for a prime spot to lay down on my drawing board after a good tussle...see below!!)

coonie

coonie, one of our fosters, has a terrible case of ring worm...and he's given it to all of us...emily getting the worst of it. but that may be because they hang in her room during the day when we're not home. he had to go to santa clarita for a few days to see the vet and be quarantined. 

nyan

nyan, his foster buddy, has really missed him! 

so far none of the other animals have gotten it!!  knock on wood!!

a gift

Lucy (c)  2012  Kathryn Hansen

this past saturday night i stayed at home since my boyfriend was out of town at a funeral and my youngest daughter was at an overnight babysitting gig. i was all excited to finish "lucy" as i never stay home on a saturday night to draw! i poured myself a delicious glass of red wine, my oldest daughter was snuggled up tight next to me on the couch, we were watching iron man on tv when all of a sudden my daughter was shrieking at the top of her lungs. my head jerked up, i knocked my wine glass over with my drawing board...wine spilled everywhere...i looked over to see what the heck!! shortie had brought me a gift...a rat larger than our foster kitten coonie! He ran off to my bedroom and that's where i spent a good portion of my saturday night...chasing after a giant rat. after much imploring, i was able to talk my daughter into finally helping me. we exhaustively managed to capture him and get him safely outside. not exactly how i had envisioned my night going but i did complete lucy...my original goal...just had to stay up later than i was expecting!

 

coonie wiped out after all the activity!

shortie, the gift giver keeping a watchful eye on all the commotion

until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. 

~anatole france~

coonie

josie

nyan

diamond, upside down...as she likes to sleep!

 since i am working on a secret rush portrait that needs to be done by wednesday night and shipped overseas on thursday, i can't share any progress shots. but as i sat on the couch most of the weekend drawing, the animals loved snuggling up around me and walking all over my drawing board! had to nudge our foster kittens, nyan and coonie off more than a few times!! it's hard as they are so sweet...but i was on a mission!

The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire.  

~Sharon Ralls Lemon~

Perfect Bliss  2012 (c) Kathryn Hansen 

lucy is up next in my 5x7 series...she is a bit complex in her details but i think she is going to look great when completed! and since i just finished "perfect bliss", i think i'm going to start work on another horse that emily took photos of in wisconsin this past summer. just in a horse mood i guess!