highlights of 2013 in pictures

“Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” 

~Brad Paisley~

23 drawings:
7 commissions

1 donation to California Wildlife Center in Malibu

16 drawings

published in Bark magazine

4 gallery shows

3 very distinctive and memorable trips to Joshua Tree with friends and family

fostered 5 adorable kittens

many fun hikes with my dog Josie and daughter Emily

a championship win in spring soccer and a near win at the championship game for the fall season (the opposing team scored in the last 5 minutes 0-1)

now that's quite a year!! 

Wishing you the most awesome, magical, beautiful, abundant and healthy New Year ever!!

the creation of Percy

my daughter emily and i visited the los angeles arboretum a few years ago to see all the resident peacocks i had heard so much about. every where we turned there seemed to be another peacock strutting by!

so my next creation on the drawing board is percy, a beautiful peacock inspired by our entertaining trip to the arboretum! if he turns out really, really well, i hope to enter him in the birds in art exhibit in wisconsin next april...a goal and dream that i've had for an extremely long time!!

Pete got leafed

Rocky Shores   Kathryn Hansen  7.5x10.5  (c) 2013

many years ago i attended an art exhibit at a local gallery and saw the coolest thing ever! it was a pencil drawing with gold leafing accenting a male figure. ever since then i have been dying to try this technique...well 8 years later i finally did it!!!

sarah petruziello from cheaper than therapy posted information on how she gold leafed one of her drawings, so i followed her directions to a t! 

here are some of my observations about gold leafing a drawing: it's a REALLY messy process!! i had little bits of silver paper every where...i even found one inside my computer this morning! also i didn't have enough brushes...i need at least two more larger, very soft round brushes for sweeping away the paper that's not glued down (the little brush i had didn't cut it!). apply a thicker coat of adhesive...i went too thin on the application. only do this process during daylight hours as it's really hard to see where the silver leaf ended and the graphite started even tho i had plenty of lights on! and most of all, which sarah points out, embrace the flaws...in fact i actually really liked that it wasn't perfect (unusual for me!)!

supplies: silver leaf, brushes,  razor blade for scraping the paper off the bird and rocks, matte medium, adhesive and sealant

after i sprayed fixative on Pete, i applied a thin layer of matte medium

next came the adhesive, layering the sheets on top, then gently brushing away the leafing that wasn't glued down. 

most of the extra silver leaf is brushed off

fixed areas that didn't attach by adding more adhesive and silver leaf

and voila!! a silver leafed pelican! 

i wish you could see pete in person...it really does look pretty cool! i can hardly wait to see him framed up in a silver frame to accent the background!!

i will be trying my hand at this technique again with the next few drawings and hopefully perfect the process!

"Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one, is a life diminished.” 

  ~Dean Koontz~

Beaucoup  8x10 (c) 2013 Kathryn Hansen

and almost complete, the last commission before Christmas! a sweet cat that i'll show you after the holidays! but here is a tiny sneak peek!

sweet freedom

i took the days before and after Thanksgiving off from work as i wanted to try some new hiking trails and advance the cause with my commissions. well, i did get a lot of drawing in...not so much the hiking!

but just the sweet freedom of 5 glorious days off of work and being with family and friends through out the long weekend renewed my spirits!! (sleeping in every morning didn't hurt either!!)

~Franklin Canyon Park in West Los Angeles~