Where there is no struggle, there is no strength. 

~Oprah Winfrey~

Alley Cat (c)2017 Polychromos and Pablo on Stonehenge 8x10

I have to confess that drawing Alley Cat was a struggle. I started her over 3 times! I really don't know what happened, it was a first for me...and made me question myself and my art. All I can think of is I didn't have the right colors to begin with and that super threw me off. But I also couldn't quite see the colors correctly, or decide exactly which colors to use. It was soo weird. I know this summer I was struggling personally with finances... I had a lot of unexpected expenses and little savings to cover them. I'm also very exhausted these past few years from working 70 hour weeks between my full time job and working on my art business...fueled most days only by caffeine! Sometimes the weight of responsibility can weigh very heavily on me...and my to do list is long...like really long!! Most don't see any of this tho as I wear my super woman armor around...but when my water heater went out on the same day as my car was at the mechanics for the third time within 2 months and the plumber messed up the handles in my shower and didn't tell me...all my cracks broke wide open and the flood gates parted!! I was pretty much a hot mess that morning! But that released something deep inside of me that I was clearly holding in. 

Everything has been paid for now, my new drawing of Bob Scratchit is going so easily, the pressure that had built up for months is gone and I am feeling centered-in alignment-again. Phew! I can breathe again. I don't think I'll ever have all my shit together, altho it may look like it on the outside...everything ebbs and flows...that's life. It's how we handle it...I use humor, drawing, my animals and nature to help get me through the hard times. 

When I see certain drawings of mine through the years, memories flood in...Alley Cat will be like that...that I went through a period of struggle, I consciously worked to released it and life went back to normal...actually better than normal. I know I am blessed and VERY grateful for my wonderful life...this portrait will always remind me of that!!

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! 👍

I'm All Ears

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

~Jane Goodall~

I'm All Ears   (c)2017   10x13.5   Sold

We immediately met this giant fellow when we arrived at the "Elephant Bedroom Camp," which is located on the banks of the Ewaso Ng'iro river in Samburu Kenya.  They loved our president at that time, so they named this resident elephant Obama! To the dismay of the establishment, guards and workers we got a little too close for their comfort, so they had to frantically wave fallen palm fronds to keep him back while we snapped a few photos then retreated to the safety of the lodge.

Once common throughout Africa, elephants have been severely depleted due largely to the massive ivory trade as well as habitat destruction. To help, you can contact your local representatives and express your support of the international ban on ivory trading. 

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

2016 Highlights!

Celebrate what you want to see more of. 

~Tom Peters~

22 drawings in all:

9.5 Commissioned portraits (Buddy is half 2016, half 2017!!)...a lot more colored pencil portraits this year and cats too... I didn't draw a single cat last year!!

11 Drawings...the colored pencil pieces are taking me far longer to draw than graphite.

1 Donated drawing to California Wildlife Center

3 Exhibitions...yikes, that's way down from 2015!! But I did receive a Honorable Mention from the PSA International Open Juried Exhibition for Neighborhood Watch.

2 Publications: 

CP Treasures, Volume IV 2016

North Light Books, Strokes of Genius 9:Creative Discoveries

1 Fantastic trip to Wisconsin for a pastel workshop with Barbara Jaenicke

I'm super excited for 2017...I will have my first solo show at the Gilb Museum in April!! Yay!! Along with 4 other shows in the spring...so I have to get crackin' and turn out some new drawings!

So cheers to 2017... May it be a memorable one!! Happy New Year from my family to yours!!!

The dog days of summer are over!

After two and a half years of only drawing dogs for clients I finally received a kitty commission!! 

Cats and whiskers make an irresistible combination to draw!  I find the process of drawing them in colored pencil a completely different experience from drawing them in graphite. Altho I highly enjoy both, each medium has their own challenges! Adding/layering color into the mix on top of values and textures is certainly an adventure, sometimes in fun other times in frustration!!!

Other commissions this year:

Molly (c) 2016 July 8x10

Rossa (c) 2016 May 8x10

Teddy (c) 2016 May 6x8


Kitty drawings in my Etsy shop:

The Dog did it! (c) 2016  5x7  $155

Forty Winks (c) 2016  5x7 $155

But these are days...

...we dream about, when the sunlight paints us gold. 

~Bright Eyes-The Difference in the Shades~

I took a really good and fun pastel workshop with Barbara Jaenicke at Dillman's Bay Resort in Northern Wisconsin with my sister and dearest girlfriend. Despite the lack of pastels absolutely needed for the class, which caused me a lot of frustration, I just really learned soo much!! For now I am not going to pursue pastel landscape painting but I can apply a lot of what I learned to my colored pencil drawings. And maybe down the road I can dive deeper into pastels when I have more time. But the workshop wasn't the only aspect of this trip I was looking forward to, Dillman's was just SO beautiful and the owners super nice and accommodating...a really old fashion enjoyable place!! I was also there to be with my family and friends as well. A super memorable vacation that included all my favorite things. I will definitely go back again!!