The Crown

The Crown (c)2017  9.5x7.5  $900 colored pencil

Sometime around 1875  Elias J “Lucky” Baldwin brought over from India a modest number of peafowl for his ranch in Arcadia.  After he passed away his daughter sold off the ranch to the state of California and Los Angeles county, which together bought 111 acres. The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden was then created and is an official wildlife sanctuary with some 250 different species strutting the grounds of the arboretum!

I love seeing these residents every time I visit the arboretum, and no matter how many times I have seen them through the years,  it's still thrilling!!

 Come out to the LA Arboretum and Garden in Arcadia, CA on March 25th for Peacock Day!! The Pasadena Society of Artists Peacock Exhibition is in the library with the reception from 5-7pm

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!!

looking at the world

“Drawing makes you look at the world more closely. It helps you see what you’re looking at more clearly.” 

~David Almond, Skellig~

 off the drawing board:

Soaring Scotty by Kathryn Hansen (c) 2014 9x12

almost off the drawing board, still needs some tweaking:

Cantik

new commission, Fred:

new small (5x7) drawing, Sonni:

still plugging away at Percy, as he doesn't need to be finished until April 1:

 i am finally feeling healthy again (yay!), and back at work trying to make up for lost drawing time! lots of hours now spent drawing (or playing with kittens)!!

The pride of the peacock is the glory of God. 

~William Blake~

still dealing with this stupid flu that's been going around lately...it's the exhaustion and very annoying, constant cough that still has me down. but trying to plow through it as best as i can, cuz i just hate not drawing! i have read a slew of exceptional books in bed tho!!

also on the drawing board (and hopefully completed by the end of the weekend):

Cantik, my sweet kitty commission

Bella, or as i like to call her tuna breath, the second runner up in my dog competition on facebook.

hopefully next week i'll be showing you many completed drawings and a new commission of a scotty! till then have a fantastic, healthy and creative week!!

the creation of Percy

my daughter emily and i visited the los angeles arboretum a few years ago to see all the resident peacocks i had heard so much about. every where we turned there seemed to be another peacock strutting by!

so my next creation on the drawing board is percy, a beautiful peacock inspired by our entertaining trip to the arboretum! if he turns out really, really well, i hope to enter him in the birds in art exhibit in wisconsin next april...a goal and dream that i've had for an extremely long time!!