Run Rabbit Run

I think, for whatever reason, back in my art school days, I wrote off gouache as a viable medium.  Watercolour was the way to go, its transparency being somehow superior to gouaches relative opacity.  Poor naive me.  Missing out all these years on the thrilling roller coaster that is gouache.  I may be exaggerating, but truthfully I didn't realize the colours were so vibrant, or the surface so appealingly matte.  Just look at that owl's hot pink outline!  Zing!

P.S. Those little pink legs at the top of the image belonged to a hot pink deer.  I was cruel and cut the paper clean across it. 

This is for a good friend of mine, she'll know who she is.  I think it will come pretty close to what she imagines a healing hermit would look like.  Or not; in fact, the longer I look at it, the more I think it will fit rather awkwardly into her mind's definition.  And no, the hermit is not naked, just wearing a skimpy bathing suit because it is really hot there, and also, she's a hermit, so who's going to see?  Unless she is more of an urban hermit, like one that lives in High park or something, because where else would that snake find lawn ornaments?  Also, she would have to replenish her first aid kit sometimes, and even though her hair is very long and hermit like, it looks suspiciously smooth and well tended for a true hole-in-the-ground dwelling hermit.   

When I was around 7 years old or so, on one of our family's many trips to the Chatham Public Library, I came across a book that I thought was just hilarious.  It looked different then a lot of the other children's books, and I loved the black and white drawings, as well as the absolute rudeness of the characters. A few years ago something made me think of that book and I tried to find out if it was still around.  This was difficult as I couldn't remember the title or author.  All I could remember was a bit of one of the rhymes '...they lick their fingers...' and that it was black and white illustration.  After some serious hunting around on the internet, I found it!  The book was called 'Goops and How to Be Them' by Gelett Burgess, the Goops being extremely naughty, round headed, unpleasant looking children getting up to no good.  Though I didn't realize it at the time, the book was intended to teach children proper manners.  Here is a little excerpt...

'The Goops they lick their fingers,
and the Goops they lick their knives;
They spill their broth on the tablecloth,
Oh, they lead disgusting lives!'

Good stuff...

Over the wall with ye, Little Rabbit..

Amanda F. came by last night and we had an enjoyable time of eating chips and drawing an image for this weeks illustration friday word, which is 'prepare'.  Apparently, this bird is preparing for some sort of fight or battle.  Not sure why he is dressed as a clown.  Clown fight maybe?  I'd pay to see that.

I am indebted to Amanda for the suggestion of chevron pants for the bird clown.
So dynamic and stylish! 

Question: Why must all my bird people be brandishing swords and knives, or, as I like to call them, shivs?

My partner B and I have a table in the living room that used to be my grandfather's.  It has a hinged glass top and we use it to display our considerable collection of... stuff?  Childhood memorabilia?  Things from outside?
Anyway, B has this mouse that he has kept in a sucrets tin for many many years.  The mouse was never alive at any point in their relationship, I feel compelled to add.  So B found this mouse when his family lived on a farm; it was long dead, and had dried out so much that all that remained of it was an almost complete skeleton and a partial covering of delicate mouse leather.  It died in a rather elegant position, which B has maintained by carefully protecting it in the aforementioned tin.  And one day I drew it.  So many tiny ribs and vertebrae, what a pleasure..

A little drawing with a 3d papier mache cat head. 

'Terrrrroooooooop! Terrrrrrrooooop!' or whatever sound it is that elephants make...

The cat family sketch redrawn and coloured in photoshop...
I kind of wish I had a dress like the older sister has on...