move aside pete, it's raining cats and dogs!

remember my post about pete last week...well, just in that one week since, i received two more commissions...so 6 in total now!!! that is a new record for me and it's not even christmas yet!! yikes! sooo poor pete is now set aside cuz there are a lot of cats and dogs needing drawing!!

i finish up jessica and crystal over the weekend. so one down!

Jessica and Crystal  Kathryn Hansen (c) 2013 8x10

and started drawing out moo thursday night but got into the finer details over the weekend.

Moo

also framed up two drawings for a show this coming weekend at st george's church in la canada. there will be 15 artists in all, so if you are in the los angeles area, please pop in and say hi!! it will be super fun!

Pete, Jessica, Crystal, Penny, Leo, and Maddie

sometimes a lot of times i get obsessed with the undertaking of certain drawings and i just have to work on it despite other commission obligations...this time it's Pete! 

at the beginning i just sneaked in a half hour or so in on it, but then i launch into it full blast, so i got a fair amount completed on Pete over the weekend.

but in my defense i also got in a good amount on my commission and should be able to finish it up this week.

Jessica and Crystal

this weekend we also received 3 new fosters, a mama and her two kittens. it all happened in a blur as we got a frantic text pleading if we could take them in as they were on the list to be put down at our local human society and there were no other available volunteers to take them in. how could i say no! we named the mama Penny. i don't think she is even a year old and she was very tired and weary...but friendly, loving her ears scratched and even some kisses on top of her head! the babies, about 5 weeks old were unfazed and just loved the millions of toys we have accrued over the years for our fosters to play with. i think just a bit of time, love and good food will bring Penny around to being happy!

Penny and her babies, Madie & Leo

so this weekend was filled to overflowing with lots of animal energy, from pelicans to dogs to cats!!

you remember Pete

you may recall a recent post of mine, filled with photographs from one of the most beautiful beaches (i think) in southern california. a private beach in palos verdes. 

that's where i met pete!

 it was a warm overcast afternoon, he was just hanging out with his pelican buddies and seagulls on the rocky shoreline discussing the days catch. pete was the only pelican who didn't fly away when i approached them stealth-like, as i didn't have my zoom lens with me. he definitely was not camera shy!

for being soo cooperative and gorgeous, i am creating a drawing of pete (in between my commissions). there will be a surprise twist to this drawing that i am very eager to add! i'm not going to say what it is yet, so we can all be surprised with the end results. for you because you've never seen it here before and for me to see if it actually works!! 

you won't see it till the very end so please stay tuned to this channel for the final results!

Long Live The King of Lewa Downs

The King   Kathryn Hansen (c) 2013   8x8

The ocean is not silent

a beautiful overcast sunday afternoon spent in palos verdes, california

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!

“An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language.” 

~ Martin Buber~

Baby C    Kathryn Hansen (c) 2013  8x10

I am soo honored to be on my 6th year of creating a drawing for the California Wildlife Center for their annual Wild Brunch fundraiser. Each year Victoria, CWC's principle officer sends me oodles of photographs of their patients for me to choose from. But as soon as I saw the photo of this baby coyote sitting inside a large carrier I stopped looking and  knew that this little guy was going to be this years drawing!! My heart melts every time I look at him!!

The Wild Brunch fundraiser is held every September in Malibu, CA. Please check out their website and attend if you can...but if you can't make it, donations are always welcomed!!! They are the nicest people and do such amazing work rehabilitating so many different species of animals!

Now I have to get cracking and send it out!!