A Dog, A Cat, and An Owl

It was hard narrowing my OCAC portfolio selection to just twenty images. Yeah, just twenty. So, I'd like to share some pieces of mine that did not make the cut, but that I love just as much.

"Bear"

Pen and ink

This piece is a bit older than I would have liked, which was one of the reasons it was removed from the selection. Remember Rapidograph? Yeah, they drove me nuts too. But I managed to pull this out of them before I flung those pens to the curb. I love this piece. Bear was my childhood dog. She passed away while I was in high school and the memories are bitter-sweet. She was such an amazing dog, so sweet, so loving. Tony and I are looking forward to the day we can bring home a puppy for our son to grow up with. It will be a couple of years at this point however, we need to get a yard first. *grin*



"Harley"

acrylic on canvas

This piece I painted for my parents for Christmas last year. Harley (because he was a "low-rider") left this earth last fall, too young. He was the most interesting cat I'd ever met. Of course he was special though, he was a munchkin.

"Young Barn Owl"

Acrylic, fabric and wire on canvas

I love this piece, however, my instructor (whom's opinion I sought) mentioned that it was difficutl to tell from the photo what exactly was happening with this piece. This was the first piece I created with one of my images from the Cascades Raptor Center (CRC). This young barn owl was one of eight that were in rehab at the center awaiting release. I had the pleasure of trying to catch this group from a large flight cage to weigh each one. Quite a unique experience, I will tell you that! When I first saw this photo after I got home I thought, "there it is, there's my muse" I had to do something. I created this piece as mix-media because I love putting materials together. In this case I sewed a pile of little leaves, wrapped wire around them, covered the wire and created small branches. The owl is pieced with a variety of patterned cottons. I glued and then sewed the owl and branch sections to the canvas (that I'd already begun to paint) and then painted the details on top of the fabric sections. Here are some additional images to help you see what is happeninng in this piece: