I finally sat down this week and finished my portraits of Daisy the squirrel that I began about 2 months ago. She really posed for me this way which shows just what kind of squirrel she was. She had just had a litter of “kittens” which may be why she looks so maternal!
Slowly but surely Daisy’s portraits are progressing even though I never seem to find enough time to work on my own stuff. I am still excited about these portrait;. Daisy’s expressions and personality are so apparent in all the photos I have of her and it is a challenge to capture them. Let’s face it, most squirrels look alike. I have 5 of them now that I feed (all descendants of Daisy no doubt) and I must confess that I cannot tell them apart. Maybe squirrel features develop over time, after all Daisy was at least 4 years old and the present squirrels are 1 year at the most. It will be interesting to watch them grow and see if my theory holds water.
I managed to put some time into the portraits of Daisy this week and here are the preparatory drawings on the boards. Hopefully I can begin painting this weekend!
Filed under Illustration, Portraits, Squirrels
Last night was my first experience with Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-art figure drawing evening at the Slipper Room. It was different from any life drawing workshop I’ve ever attended because the models are all burlesque performers! Last night we had a contortionist in the spirit of the Olympics. She was amazing. I’ve never been so challenged by body positions in my life. Following are a few 1 minute sketches just to give you an idea of this woman’s abilities. The long poses naturally were much more classical. It was great to be drawing from life again, it has been awhile and I was rusty but I look forward to improving. The place was packed and it wasn’t very easy to see but next time I plan to get there early, have a glass of wine and secure a spot near the stage!
Filed under Illustration, Nancy Drew, Squirrels
I finally finished painting my Christmas card and am ready to send it out, miraculously ahead of time! I usually use a dog portrait or do a special Christmas themed painting of Bingo but this year I thought it was finally time to immortalize my courtyard squirrels. This is Daisy on the left and Pip on the right enjoying some holiday cheer!
I’ve had a sleepless week mostly due to athe presence of pesky mosquitoes in the apartment . I had the same problem strangely enough last October only then it was so bad it reached Amityville Horror proportions. I was hunting down and exterminating half a dozen mosquitoes a night. I was half crazed with lack of sleep to the extent that my friends were beginning to doubt me with questions like “Has anyone else actually seen these mosquitoes?” It was a terrible time for me and just as suddenly as it had begun, it ended and all was forgotten. Until this past week that is when I started hearing that un-mistakable buzzing around my head. Even Bingo was annoyed by them and would quickly jump off the bed and sleep underneath where they don’t bother him. The biggest problem is that once I am awake and even killed the mosquito if I am lucky, I simply cannot fall back to sleep. I just lie there for hours with my head filled with thought until the sun comes up and I drift off for an hour or two before I have to really wake up. Strangely enough in those hours I’ve been dreaming about squirrels; my squirrels as a matter of fact, chewing through the screens and coming into my apartment which believe it or not has happened more than once. It is not a continuation of the Mosquito Amityville Horror but a direct result of my own behaviour. I have a family of 4 squirrels in the courtyard that I feed off the fire escape.
DAISY
Daisy is the matriarch who has been coming around for about 3 years. Pip and Skippy are her children who were born last February or March and then there is the mysterious fourth squirrel who appears but is always greeted with hissing and squeaking from Daisy who is very territorial. They are the jolliest of all creatures and watching their antics always brightens even the darkest of days. Daisy will actually come to the window sill of my studio to implore me through some sort of mind control to feed her. I can feel her beady little eyes boring into me from behind and I must obey. She is the only one I feed by hand as she knows the rules about chewing through the screen. A rule Pip seems to finally get after several successful attempts to enter the apartment. I hope my landlord never notices the patches upon patches on all my screens, I will have a hard time explaining that away. Anyway it is most likely when I am opening the screens to feed the squirrels and birds that the mosquitoes are getting in so you see it does all tie in together nicely at the end.
PIP
Filed under Squirrels
Studio Bingo 
