Why are elephants so wrinkled?

This dynamic duo are up next on my drawing board. 

After combing through hundreds and hundreds of photos from my Africa trip, I mashed these two elephants together. Lorelai, the mom is actually from Amboseli National Park and her baby Rory is from Samburu but in my small drawing they have always been mom and baby! 

Not sure if I will add any birds to this one as I want the emphasis to be on Rory's turned head, looking back at the viewer. 

I am hoping to have it done in time for the TAG Gallery Open California Exhibit in August, which means it needs to be completed by mid June. Not sure if I will be able to make it but I am going to give it my best shot!

(They take too long to iron!)

A lively trek down Foothill boulevard

I don't know why but I wasn't expecting to see horses trek down the boulevard in our small town Memorial Day Parade but I'm happy they did! 

They've even inspired me to perhaps do another drawing similar to my recent drawing,  Teamwork! Stay tuned...they may be up on my drawing board next after I finish Olive!

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!

geesh...what a weekend!!

this weekend was one for the records...many emotional and physical ups and downs as saturday started off with a bout of food poisoning from a trader joe's vegi wrap, which by the afternoon had me in bed. 

this weekend also had my youngest daughter off on a church retreat, so i was in charge of getting our foster kittens to Happy Strays to be adopted that morning...which could be a long post in itself! needless to say, their separate adoptions fell thru, which is a sign that they were meant to be together! but they are still up for adoption at Petco, which despite not feeling well, i spent a good deal of time at as it was hard to see them cooped up in the brand new, but very small "cattery" there. of course i cried...a lot...as i missed them terribly and knew they were not happy with all that transpired that day. but if this helps them get a good home, it's something all three of us have to endure for a while! this, as i have said many times is the hardest part of fostering for me as i attach (especially to these two) in a nano-second. 

the ups of the weekend were:

that i did get close to finishing up my commission of sammy, which i wasn't expecting! 

and i did received another commission from a former client when i first started creating pet portraits! but i can't say anything more about it, as it's a christmas present!

and i found out that The King and Queen B were accepted into an art exhibit in december at a wonderful gallery! 

and my daughter made her first goal of the season at a late afternoon game on sunday! (they won 5-2!)

and shortie brought me a furry gift in the middle of the night! which only took me half an hour to retrieve from my room and return to the great outdoors...a new record...one time it took me over a day to find the rat (poor thing) he brought me. 

and my sammy brought me a lizard, which he kindly placed in the bathtub for easy removal!

despite all the good things that happened, i hope never to repeat this kind of weekend again!

Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails.

~Max Eastman~

The Chase   Kathryn Hansen   (c) 2013   4x7

next up on the drawing board, beach buds!

a baby titan

 after a very early and lengthy morning of checking into our hotel in Nairobi, we jumped back into our white vans and headed off to the elephant orphanage. 

standing behind a roped off red clay area, mint green robed care takers placed baby bottles the size of which you've never seen before every few foot along the rope.

materializing from behind some vegetation to our left, approximately 20 baby elephants came charging down the path to get their bottles of delicious creamy milk. the crowd was entertained by these tiny pachyderms greedily feeding from the bottles held firmly by their care takers until the last drop was polished off! then the antics started...tug o' war with trunks, goosing, a few fights and a lively game of soccer ensued. i can't tell you how awestruck and overjoyed i was! never had i seen a sight like this before!

so this new drawing in progress is of one of these sweeter than honey baby elephants, who i came to love more than any other animal on our adventurous safari in kenya. funny, i really thought the cats would be my favorites!

"Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms." 

~George Eliot~

 Romeo (c) 2012 Kathryn Hansen

romeo was the  rush portrait i had to draw and send out to australia in two weeks time! i put in long and sometimes late hours to complete it but he was fun to draw!! always a challenge to fit a fast portrait into my busy life (especially with kittens vying for a prime spot to lay down on my drawing board after a good tussle...see below!!)

coonie

coonie, one of our fosters, has a terrible case of ring worm...and he's given it to all of us...emily getting the worst of it. but that may be because they hang in her room during the day when we're not home. he had to go to santa clarita for a few days to see the vet and be quarantined. 

nyan

nyan, his foster buddy, has really missed him! 

so far none of the other animals have gotten it!!  knock on wood!!

until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. 

~anatole france~

coonie

josie

nyan

diamond, upside down...as she likes to sleep!

 since i am working on a secret rush portrait that needs to be done by wednesday night and shipped overseas on thursday, i can't share any progress shots. but as i sat on the couch most of the weekend drawing, the animals loved snuggling up around me and walking all over my drawing board! had to nudge our foster kittens, nyan and coonie off more than a few times!! it's hard as they are so sweet...but i was on a mission!

The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire.  

~Sharon Ralls Lemon~

Perfect Bliss  2012 (c) Kathryn Hansen 

lucy is up next in my 5x7 series...she is a bit complex in her details but i think she is going to look great when completed! and since i just finished "perfect bliss", i think i'm going to start work on another horse that emily took photos of in wisconsin this past summer. just in a horse mood i guess!

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!

forward movement

josie sleeping to my left and diamond sleeping to my right

just have to complete his face, put the finishing touches on and it's a wrap!