Born free,

 as free as the wind blows
As free as the grass grows

Born free to follow your heart

~John Barry-Born Free~

Elsa  Kathryn Hansen 5x8 (c)2014

Elsa was a bit of a challenge for me, and I felt I was all over the place with her. At times I wanted to quit, whining in my head that it was too hard, but I pushed along slowly and in the end I am extremely content with her! She will be one of two possible pieces I will be entering in the Pencil Art Societies International Art Exhibit this summer. I still need to draw the other one tho!! But I do have till June, so I'm not too worried about it.

~up next~

Baboi, the cat who won my contest over on Facebook at the beginning of this month. I started him last week but I wasn't pleased with it...he needed to be cropped in so his dazzling eyes were more prominent. So, I started over and now I'm just trying to figure all that fur! 

Elsa's story

Just as the sun was peeking over the horizon we saw 4 moms and a little over half a dozen chubby cubs high up on a rocky ledge, gazing out over the land. They were very active, getting in some playtime before the heat set in. We sat and watched their activity for well over an hour.

Elsa is inspired by the magnificent lions we saw that day in Samburu while on safari in 2010. 

I am loving the challenge of drawing Elsa, and as I nail each difficult section I feel a little triumphant, knowing I am expanding my skill level a bit more! As a high contrast drawer, and lover of black and white images, the eventual black background will be very dramatic with the lighting on her face! Can hardly wait to finish her!

on and off the drawing board!

Queen B   Kathryn Hansen (c) 2013   8x8

i don't know why but i keep futzing and futzing with queen b's portrait just like i did with the king, but i think that i finally got it to my satisfaction...maybe! this quote by leonardo da vinci, always comes to mind when i linger over a drawing: "art is never finished, only abandoned." cuz that's exactly how i feel! i know 99.9% of people wouldn't be able to pick out the changes i keep making, but to me, if i don't refine it my eye will go right to those spots every time, so i labor over certain drawings until i feel that it's good enough! crazy making, i know!!

and now that queen b is complete, up next is sammy, moo's brother in crime!

and i think it's safe now to share the commission i could not show you for weeks and weeks! 

House in Woods by Kathryn Hansen (c) 2013

on the prowl again!

queen b is back on my drawing board again and needing to be completed very quickly now, not just because i still have 4 commissions to go but because i want to enter the pair (king leo) in an upcoming gallery exhibit...so the race is on!! wish me luck and cross everything you've got!

even tho i completed my large house commission on friday evening, i still can't show it to you, as it needs to get framed and then given to their client...hopefully next week! but here's a few more snippets of the piece. little leo (our foster kitten) can't stay off my drawing board...too many pencils and erasers to play with!!

The Queens progress

i was making good headway with queen beatrices drawing, but now she is put on the back burner because my commission is due soon and i'm only 1/2 way done...even tho i drew on it like crazy over the weekend! yikes!! 

i am still adamant about completing her before the end of october tho, so i can enter her in an upcoming gallery show.

just never enough time in my day to create!!!

lady diamond showing queen b her place!

Long Live The King of Lewa Downs

The King   Kathryn Hansen (c) 2013   8x8

Leonardo's story

Leonardo in progress

i'm not sure if you realize from my blog just how much i love domestic cats...but i do! 3 cats own me...i'd have more if i wasn't afraid of being classified as a crazy cat lady! but by definition, "an elderly suburban widow who lives alone and keeps dozens or more pet cats" i can't possibly be one as i am not a widow, my 2 daughters live with me, and i have less than half a dozen cats!

but i'm also crazy in love with large felines as well! 

we saw this beautiful boy on a cold late afternoon in Lewa Downs Conservancy in Kenya. he apparently had killed a local farmers cow earlier in the day, according to all the uproar on our guides walkie talkie. (you can see the blood stains on his nose and muzzle)

this bad boy was collared and vigilantly monitored by the game keepers there, so they knew exactly what he was up to. but by the time we saw him, he was pretty tired after his kill, and just laid down on the rich chestnut colored soil the whole time.

then we spotted these rare and strange beings taking photos of us, like we were the main attraction!