The soul of a horse

"To understand the soul of a horse is the closest human beings can come to knowing perfection."

~ Author Unknown~

In my quest to photograph western theme subject matter for an upcoming exhibition I found myself on Memorial Day at Tom Sawyers where my daughter works taking care of their beautiful horses! I have to admit that I've always liked horses but they were a bit intimidating to me. But after taking photographs and helping water them I developed a much deeper connection with them...in fact I even feel in love with many of them!! Cornbread, the cream colored one in particular was soo sweet!! Yes, there is now a horse in my future!!

In plenty there as well, were ground squirrels, rabbits and birds all pillaging the horses tender alfalfa hay! I enjoyed photographing their thievery and antics as well!!

An amazing morning spent in the company of such majestic creatures...hope I can create a drawing of equal beauty!!

Listen to the whispers of Nature.

 Hear the wisdom of the trees. Allow your soul to sing.

~Lazaris~

For the last few months I've been on the hunt for ducks (with cool reflections) in the LA area. I want to create a colored pencil drawing for the Pencil Art Societies International exhibition in August. You would think it would be an easy thing to do, but as it turns out, not so much!! Through a friend who runs tho, I found the Arroyo in Pasadena, CA. It wasn't a large area and to be honest it was pretty much strewn with litter...ugh, thanks Californians. But I hit the jackpot and found two different types of  mallard ducks with babies! To my recollection, I have never seen a female mallard with a blue stripe before. I scoured the internet, searching for answers, but could not find any, so I have an email in to "AskaNaturalist.com"...hopefully I'll get my answer soon! 

I have some good photo references to choose from, so the hunt is over, but stay tuned as I hope to start it at the beginning of June. I have a bear to get to first!

Soulful Sunday

Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week!

~Joseph Addison~

**Cross Town trail in La Canada. "...and begin a merciless ascent along the ridge.  You do get some great views for your efforts, but there’s no doubt that this stretch – which climbs about 700 feet in 0.6 miles – is not for the faint of heart." To get to the teepee: "At another 1.5 miles straight up, you enter a meadow, where you get great views of Strawberry Peak, Mt. Disappointment and San Gabriel Peak, rounding a bend, you see the teepee."

In all things of nature...

...there is something of the marvelous.

~Aristotle~

San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, Pismo Beach, Lompoc, Los Osos

Dolores and friends

With Quiet Solitude aka Edgar completed, I'm diving right into my next drawing, a duck I named Dolores.

Quiet Solitude  Kathryn Hansen  (c) 2014 7.25x10.25

I spotted this beautiful Mallard duck in Santa Barbara while on vacation with my super fun girlfriend at the Botanic gardens on the out skirts of town. Its leisurely paths take you thru a small redwood forest, native plants, and a lovely pond filled with birds and turtles!

With some luck I should have Dolores done in time to enter into a gallery exhibit in the San Fernando, Ca area.

my home town commission

I've been slow in working on this commission as there was no deadline set...never good for me! I tend to drag my feet for some reason on open ended commissions, but once I can find my groove with it then it goes pretty fast!

I was asked to create a drawing that represented my town of La Canada. In the process of walking and hiking around the city this year, my daughter Emily and I have discovered the most beautiful areas I've never seen before in my almost 17 years here...heck I didn't even know we had a dam on the east side...pretty bad I know! I typically spend my time in the town just west of us and not La Canada, so this has been a super fun experience and despite already having my commission drawn out, it's still an on going exploration.

A few years ago the La Canada Trail council created a 12 mile trail in and around the city. We've hit up 4 sections of it in search of the perfect La Canada scene...which I did find! But hoping to hike the trail near Angeles National Forest this Saturday and then one day soon hike the whole trail in one day. Josie our dog is up for it...Emily and I are not quite there yet!

After days of rain and a finished portrait

There is nothing like Southern California after 4 days of rain...crisp and clean! We should  get a breathtaking crop of wildflowers in the mountains this spring because of it! SO exciting to think how beautiful it will be!

I finished Fred just as the Oscars concluded last night!

Fred  (c)2014 8x10 Kathryn Hansen

Now on the drawing board: 

Elsa, a new lion that I've been dying to get started for the past 6 months. I am keeping it small, 5x8 because if it turns out well I'll be entering it in the Pencil Art Society's first International Exhibition. I have sent a few commissioned pieces overseas, but I have never sent framed artwork internationally, I have only entered shows that I can drive my work to, so if I do get in it will be intriguing to pack it all up and ship it out! 

Percy will be back on my board as well! He needs to be done by the end of March as I want to enter him in the Birds in Art Show in Wausau Wisconsin.

AND

I am holding a cat contest over on my Facebook business page. If you would like to enter, the winner receives a matted print of their beloved kitty! Just send me up to two photos at kh@kathrynhansen.com. Best of luck!!