Trodden Path

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.

~William Shakespeare~

Trodden Path    Kathryn Hansen   (c) 29014  9x14

Trodden Path wasn't an easy piece to draw, there were lots of challenges in it for me as I was trying to get it done quickly (because it's a commission) which just added to my frustration. A woman named Mary M, from my FB business page told me to just slow down, so I did, and I actually enjoyed the next few challenges I faced with it...so many thanks to Mary...sometimes stating the obvious to me really works!!

Set a spell, take your shoes off

and meet the Clampetts and their feathered friends!!

My newest drawing in progress. 

I've been wanting to draw this trio for some time now, basically since I got back from Kenya 4 years ago, so I guess it's finally their time! I changed things up a bit, added a few oxpeckers and egrets to the scene for interest. 

As some of you may know I was fascinated by all the birds perched on the mammals there, so I tend to always add them to my work.

Oxpeckers can be invasive birds to elephants, but they also reduce the amount of lice, ticks, and other parasites living on elephants' skin and hair. Egrets also eat parasites on the elephants backs but mostly they eat insects that are stirred up from the dust and grass as elephants stroll thru the towering grasses. 

I am hoping to get through all the wrinkles, folds and grasses in this piece in a timely manner...elephants always seem to take me a bit longer to draw...shooting for the end of this week! 

So y'all come back now, y'hear!

Harry and the annual fundraiser!

This will be my 7th year creating a drawing for the California Wildlife Center in Malibu CA for their annual fundraiser in September. I can't even begin to tell you how honored I am that I get to do this! I swear every time I see an animal released back into the wild (almost 5000 last year) by CWC I get a lump in my throat, I am so thrilled by how all these amazing staffers and volunteers have helped yet another animal in Southern Cal!!!

On the Lookout   Kathryn Hansen (c)  2014  5x7

check out these 4 heartfelt short videos about the work CWC does...they are beautifully created!

*All photos courtesy of California Wildlife Center*