The Monkey King

I am going to for go Food Friday this week to show you my newest image.

It's my very first image done 100% in beautiful Faber-Castell Polychromos.

It's called "The Monkey King"

I am very pleased with it even if I moved super slowly on it.

Prints and the original will be available but probably only after the holidays,

I promise to let you know when.

I think I am going to take this weekend off from blogging, so i'll be seeing you Monday. XO.

Seraphina And The Night Owl

Finally I get to show you a new picture I just finished up...

It is a coloured pencil on painted paper and is called

"Seraphina And The Night Owl"



Here are a few details...

Finishing this one up seemed to take abit longer than usual.

I think it's because I am pushing my coloured pencil technique, trying to add more texture,

more free movement and more depth by using the pencils on a painted background...

which I am loving but which has caused me to pause and flounder abit here and there, ha ha.

One wouldn't think starting on a dark background instead of a light one would be so different but it is.

I had many moment of frustration where I thought

'Oh Jeepers just start it over on the usual white backing'...

But I purposely wanted to feel and push past that resistance/what-are-you-doing block that

typically bounces up whenever we try something remotely new.

Don't you love her and her lovely vegetarian owl friend...I sure do

(I'll let you know when prints are up in the shop)

See I told you I'd be back soon with a new picture...yayyy.

Be Well lovelies...Be Well.

XO Mandy & Her Black Beauty, Ella Luna

Abundant In Light

A new coloured pencil illustration

"Abundant In Light"

(A print will be available soon)

I am quite happy with this one and sooo loving the coloured pencils on Stonehenge paper, it's like butter.

Well, we've finally made the huge decision and have booked Ella Luna in for surgury.

I know it's the right move but still, I feel like I can't properly breath....

I always get super anxious over any rabbit ailment, but operations are simply terrifying to me

and leave me quite muddled & useless until our precious hearts are back home and on the mend....... 

(I think a few panic attacks are imminent!) 

So, I am trying to balance my time between bunny snuggles and exhibition work,

which really really needs to get done but I just find myself constantly floating back to be near my girlie. 

The surgury will be to remove the abcess that we've been fighting for over a year now...

she's a tough little nut but the bump has just gotten too big and we don't feel like we have it under control anymore and even though she's an older bun, her doctor highly suggests it's removal...

so we're going ahead with it...

SO do please send Ella Luna some extra good energy on Monday morning....

XO Mandy & Ella Luna & Roo Boo

New Image & Adventures in Huntsville

Here is a new illustration, just a tiny little guy measuring 6"x6" done in coloured pencil.

It's funny and lovely how our techniques grow and change. Just last year I would have said 'no way' to using any kind of black outlining for my work, if I needed black in any area of my pictures I would mix it using browns, blues and reds. Now, without really knowing where I veered off from my 'no black' policy, I find that a nice even black outline on some of my newer imagery really helps them pop and I love the effect. It just goes to show you that even when we think our creative minds are closed to an ideal, they may not be closed tight, ha ha.

So last Friday, on our way home from Toronto, we decided to take a break and spend a few hours in Huntsville. It was a perfect, sunny day and though I've been to Huntsville before, I just fell in love with the place during this short visit. We strolled up and down the main street, went into amazing furniture stores, one of my favourites was 'Saturday Afternoons". We ventured into an adorable local bookstore, had a wonderful lunch at "Aroma" and topped it off with an ice cream cone before hopping back into the truck and continuing the rest of the way home. I could just envision myself moving to this idyllic town and opening up my very own "Bijou's Whimsy" Gallery. It had a wonderful mix of quaintness, dense surrounding forest, and near by water making me feel very at home and cozy. One of my favourite places that day was the amazing 'Shutterbug Gallery', owned by Kelly Holinshead, a local and very talented photographer. This gallery also featured work from some other local people and I was enchanted with the needle-felt work by Sherry Peddie, after seeing her creations I know I will soon have to try my hand at this new artform/craft. Not only did the artwork in this gallery win me over completely but also the building itself, it was so inspiring to see how some one so perfectly turned an old building into a creative gallery space.

Another thing that struck me with this adorable little town was the Group of Seven inspired public murals scattered throughout the main street area...here are some of my favourites.

I hope these mural photos inspire you as much as they inspired me. Until Monday, Take Care and Be Kind to One Another.