Over the river and through the woods.

Wade in the Stillness
Collection of Memories
Stories to be told

~Kathryn Hansen~

Power to the Pebble (c) Kathryn Hansen 17x11.75 $1720

On the hiking trail in La Canada, CA with my dog Indie.

Hoarding disorder

In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.

~Robert Lynd~

Birds Eye View by Kathryn Hansen (c)2017 10x13.5

These red-capped acorn hoarders live in the ancient oaks in my charming little city nestled in the San Gabriel Mountains north of LA. 

I can easily spot them in the winter months perched in bare treetops. 

There's even a granery tree on the hiking path I frequent that is just riddled with acorn-filled holes up and down the trunk.

Besides their parrot like squawks giving them away, the steady drumming on the trees echo through the trails as well.

They are one of my favorite birds to see and hear out in nature!

 This drawing is Dakota approved! 👍

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!

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

 

~Mahatma Gandhi~

 

Cloven Hoofs (c) Kathryn Hansen 2012

 

progress of the horse drawing:

with carmeggedon II here this weekend in los angeles i may just be able to finish up my horse drawing this weekend...crossing my fingers!

drawings in progress

 i am back to work on my deer drawing! yay! this is where i left it in july, in this post. tedious and confusing at times working on that ivy...but highly enjoying the process!! (of course if i'd quit watching the big bang theory at the same time... :-/ !! i love that show!)

i've also started these two new pieces. 

this is a collaboration between my daughter emily and i. emily took the photos for me this past summer in wisconsin at her very last horse camp because she just turned 16, she's been going since 3rd grade! i begged and pleaded for her to take lots of photos for me because i was in the mood to draw a horse.

she not only took photos of horses but loads of other animals as well...goats, donkeys, dogs, squirrels!!! she went above and beyond...what a great kid! 

i've desperately needed to restock my etsy shop with new work, so you'll see plenty of these small, 5x7 pieces flying off my drawing board in the next few months!!

check out emily's flickr page here

and

if you want to see photos from saturday nights closing show at the liberty gallery in long beach click here!

"I like to draw more than anything, I like to draw"

~David Jon Kassan~ 

 

rounding the bend now...almost done with laying out the specifics! now i will go back around and get into the nitty-gritty details and finish it up! yay!! i'm thinking of calling it watchful or watchful eye. any suggestions?

A good painting to me has always been like a friend. It keeps me company, comforts and inspires.  

~Hedy Lamarr~

                                                       

i think this drawing will be my very best friend for a long while, since it is taking me like forever!!!

accelerating

 covering ground pretty fast considering i hardly drew this week...you know...life gets in the way!!

after i shot off a few photos of my drawing i turned around, looked up and saw diamond up in the crook of our twisty oak tree, so of course i had to snap a photo (7) of her!!

in·san·i·ty [in-san-i-tee]

noun, plural in·san·i·ties.

1.the condition of being insane; a derangement of the mind. Synonyms: dementia, lunacy, madness, craziness, mania, aberration. 

i've been at it awhile, sketching in the details for this new drawing. if you were able to climb inside my head you would be hearing this exchange:

voice: are you insane?  

me: i know, i know...but!

voice: trying to draw all these vines is impossible...what were you thinking? stop! do something easier!!

me: i know, i know, but look how well "out of the burrow" turned out! i felt the exact same way at the beginning of that piece too!

voice: this one is even more complicated...you'll never be able to pull off all those vines!

me: maybe i should tackle something else?

and this conversation goes on and on...trust me on that one!

 

Out of the Burrow

yet something is compelling me forward

i just love the way the sparkling light hits the vines by the tree line! and the start of the path...i really like that a lot! plus that fabulous S curve in the design that my college professor always encouraged us to incorporate. then there's the challenge of it...if i can pull this off i will feel very accomplished!

this may be my new mantra every time that voice starts in on me!!

Ojai magic

at the beginning of the month my wonderful friend julie and i spent a long, glorious weekend in ojai, california.

we had some really cool experiences there, such as a huge tree filled to the brim with egret nests...they make the funniest sounds, a cross between a frog and a child babbling!! we also came across a gorgeous bullock's oriole and a beach lined with seals and a variety of sea birds! we hit up a story telling festival at the local park, a large outdoor book store and a small vintage shop in an alleyway with the cutest french bulldog named sunny! we found a micro brewery tucked away from the main drag and the best tangerine margaritas ever! seriously...they were delicious!!

i am truly blessed to have such a great friend that i can talk to for hours and days on end with and share such an incredibly magical place with. if you've been there you'll know exactly what i mean and if you haven't, for sure put it on your bucket list!!

The Tire Swing

The Tire Swing   2012 (c) Kathryn Hansen

 

He gazed across
The wind-swept meadow
To a lone tree
Standing there

Its jagged, silhouette
Surrendered ‘neath
A sky more firey embered
Than his flaming hair
Which crowned him then

But it was neither tree nor sky
That stole his youthful eye.
It was the tire swing
Whispering, promising,
“With-me, you can fly!”

The boy lept across the meadow
Like a deer panting for water,
Till at last
He climbed aboard his dream.
His round, black, holed
Flying machine.

Then, holding tight,
And bending to and fro
With all his might
Began to drive
Began to glide against
The sinking sun
Till it was night outside

Across the starry littered sky
Beneath the moon’s soft lullaby
Ascending ever higher
Make believing
He’s a flyer,
He smiles,
As he tips a wing.
He is an aviator.
He is the sky king!
And all because of one,
Old tire swing.

Zach McClure

The devil is in the details...

 Natalie Wolchove, from a huff post article about drawing

this drawing has actually progressed pretty quickly this past week...must have drawn more that i realized!! cool!

i have another drawing i want to start of a pathway i took at my sister's home last week...so kinda excited to finish this one up and get going on the next!

switzer falls and a new drawing!

i found a new highly enthusiastic hiking partner lately...my daughter Emily. the last time we went hiking (many, many years ago) her attitude was quite the opposite, using such phrases as "doesn't this place have any escalators?" no honey, there are only escalators in buildings! and over and over, "when will we be there?"

most of my hikes have no destination point...except this hike rewarded us with an intensely beautiful waterfall at the end! and maybe that made all the difference...or maybe it's the 4 years since!!

i just know that this was one of the most stunningly spectacular places i've ever hiked!! and i'm totally blessed that it's so close to home!!

 this is the start of a new drawing, inspired by the theme of "memories" for the brand 41 works on paper competition. when i was thinking of ideas for this theme, my mind flashed back to growing up in rural wisconsin...climbing trees, catching tadpoles, skates that had keys to adjust them, sailing homemade boats down a small creek that formed at spring time in our backyard! even tho we had a swing set and not a tire swing hanging from our old willow tree, this represents all those combined memories. so i am highly enjoying drawing this piece...it makes me feel very nostalgic!

Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things.

  Edgar Degas

 well, i finally put to rest "out of the burrow" (see previous post). i fixed the areas on the bottom of the piece that i wasn't feeling the love for and at least to me it's much better. now for this piece (above), "along for the ride"...ugh...i have reworked the background more times than i can remember and still am not happy with it! i have a few ideas but need to sit with it for awhile. i won't be entering it in the birds in art show as i feel it's just not up to my standards for entering such a prestigious show.

i don't know why i am in such an elephant mood this year...i must be dreaming of kenya!! but here is the start of a new piece. i started with the most challenging part first...the background and making these egrets look like they are in motion and not just hanging in mid air. so far i am not liking the background but am going to keep at it until satisfied!! 

this seems to be a recurring theme lately...highly dissatisfied with certain areas in my drawings!!