Aardvark, Shark, Lark, Ark, Dark

Aardvark with Shark and Lark

Sailed in their ark (in the dark)

This is a pocket item for Ballookey.  It's watercolor on 140 lb cold-pressed Arches paper, 7 x 10.  It was entirely painted with the water brushes that you fill with water.  I got two new ones and wanted to try them out.  One is a fine point Koi that came with a field set, which I'd never used, so I used it last night and in the wee hours this morning when I couldn't sleep.  The other is a Niji flat.  I painted most of the painting with Niji and then added the detail with the Koi brush.

This is theoretically for the series I am doing of San Cassimally's book, Animal Carnival.  However, as you can plainly see, it is in a different medium and different style than the others, so I will probably redo it?  (Or redo the others?)  I just really wanted to play with watercolors.

Botanical Illustrations in Ballookey's Moleskine

Ballookey's Moleskine arrives in Detroit
in time for spring.

2-page spread
Glechoma hederaceae
click images to view larger

Glechoma hederaceae
botanical diagrams

Glechoma hederaceae
botanical painting, acrylics

I'm in a Moleskine Exchange group and a new Moleskine arrived belonging to Ballookey who did the horse in the first picture. I did 2 botanical illustrations of Clechoma hederaceae.

I am sorry to report that I am not only still sick, but I am also getting worse rather than better.  I have a medical procedure scheduled May 30, which is supposed to help and I hope and pray it does.

I kind of messed this up a little, and I apologize.

Eel Revisited

Moray Eel
mixed media
acrylic, gouache watercolor
click image to view larger.

Here is the completed version of the painting  started in the previous post.  It is in Andrea's Moleskine, part of the circulating Moleskines in the group I belong to.

Happy Mother's Day!

Me, Mary Stebbins Taitt
with my mother's day gifts
Click images to view larger

Moray eel, in progress
in Andrea's book
with new paints

I was very excited to receive a package from my kids for mother's day, new paints.  I plunged right in and have been having fun mixing violet, yellow ochre and blue in Andrea's book.

I wish a happy mother's day to your mothers, grandmothers, wives or to you, if you're a mother.

When Confronted with our Worst Nightmares

"When Confronted with our Worst Nightmares
I like to fight back with Flowers"
Collaboration Andrea and Mary
mixed media
water color, acrylic, pigment pens, colored pencil
click image to view larger

I wanted to do the girl (standing in for my child-self) in water color, but ended up coloring the background with black Faber-Castell pigment marker (A gift from Hennie Mavis) and then painting over that with glazes of blue acrylic.  I drew the flowers on the girl's pajamas with colored pencil and then painted them in with watercolor.

I have a lot of dreams of being chased down dark alleys by men who intend me harm.  They are nightmares, because I wake up terrified.  Not sure if that's what Andrea meant.

Click on the image to see it much larger.

I am still sick and my work is going slowly.

Gnu is his Canoe

Mr. Gnu in his canoe
Raced Yak in his kayak
click image to view larger.

This is my second painting in Andrea's Mole, an illo for San Cassimally's Animal Carnival.  It is done in acrylics.  It took me ten days to paint it and two more to scan and post it.  I regret to say I'm still sick and it's taking a lot out of me.

I posted the steps (4 coats of paint) here, but don't have time to do it again.  At least, not now.

Like Snail, who chose the rail, Crane also took the train.

Crane and Snail ride the train
acrylic on Moleskine watercolor paper
by me, Mary Stebbins Taitt

Like Snail, who chose the rail,
Crane also took the train. 

San Cassimally, Animal Carnival

This is my illustration for San Cassimally's Animal Carnival, which I am no longer officially illustrating.  I did it for Illustration Friday last week ("train"), but because of my illness, I was unable to get it done in time.  (Took me a whole week, so I may be running late!  Sorry).

This is actually on my LAST page, I think.  (The other pages are still blank.)  Because of my pain, which is usually worst in the mornings, I can't paint until evening.

Watch

This is an experiment. I created this digital image from two photographs I took.  I posted it to cowbird and from cowbird to Pinterest and from Pinterest here.  Weird.  If you click the image twice, once here and once at Pinterest, you'll end up at the Cowbird story, with a much larger image.

Self-Portrait of the Artist in a "Dark Matter Mirror"

Self-Portrait of the Artist in a "Dark Matter Mirror," for Andrea.  (by me, Mary stebbins Taitt). I haven't had a Moleskine sketchbook from the exchange in a long time. I've been filling in some of the old Moleskines (may post some of them later), and I also bought two strange nonMoleskine sketchbooks. This one I got at our local Renaissance Festival hand made paper and cover, leather. The piece is done on the inside of the front cover on the leaver with markers.  The leather is very rough and stained with droplets of leather stain from the outside of the front cover.

The outer red, yellow and orange circle represents the persona I present to the world--sunny and pleasant.  The inner circle represents my hidden dark thoughts and feelings, my anger, rage, pain, shame etc.  The rays are the love I give out to the world and the snakes are the anger, rage, pain and shame that escape from their internal prison and cause hurt feelings and misunderstandings.  They also represent the chaos that underlies and spills out of the "safely" imprisoned negative qualities.

This book is too big to fit on my scanner (what was I thinking?) and the leather is thick, sturdy and doesn't lie flat, so I apologize for the quality of the photo.

Hummingbird, Pastels

Hummingbird, Pastels
by me, Mary Stebbins Taitt