Little bit of this, little bit of that - Portraits and Animal art

Last night I finished up a kitty memorial commission...almost.  I have just a LITTLE tiny more to do but had to let the piece rest to be able to add that tiny extra touch.  I am finding the combination of brands of colored pencils really works nicely with my style, which I think of as realistic with a splash of impressionism!  Or is it "robin-ism"?  I just do what I feel like!

Next on tap is a double dog portrait.  I'll be doing a thumbnail sketch first since I'm making modifications to the almost perfect photo that will be the base of this portrait.  Really helps to see if there's a composition problem before I commit to the large size.

Another cool thing coming up for me is that my art will be featured on a Philadelphia dog site!  I am doing a small piece of a puppy in the park for a raffle for this relatively new site.  Helps us both out.  I'll let you know the site once I'm on there and if you want, you can try for the free piece!

Yesterday Otto and I spent a ton of time outdoors and will be today too.  Just can't let these gorgeous sunny days go by without being there.  We've had so much rain that it makes you really appreciate when it's dry.  I've been shredding leaves and putting them in the old veggie garden which is penned to keep the rabbits out to become leaf mold.  Next year it won't be the garden anymore...it's gotten too dark, the trees we've planted are getting nice and shady and so I'll have to dig a new one out in a more sunshiney spot!

I've been REALLY fortunate that I've made some new internet friends who are trying to help me out by posting my links on their sites, passing out my cards, tweeting about my work, etc.  I'll be doing a whole post about them soon.  Oh..and I'm secretly doing another child's portrait!  So that's the little bit of this and little bit of that I'm up to!  Thanks so much for visiting with me (too bad we can't just sit down together for a cup of tea!) 

Thanks again for visiting my blog.  I'm animal and childrens portrait artist, Robin Zebley.  I'd love to work with you to create the portrait of your dreams!  My email is HERE.

Rabbit Woodcut Relief Print - Printmakers Exchanges

I am really excited that I joined up a printmakers' exchange recently that involves some really talented printmakers. Here's what we did: We each printed 19 handpulled relief prints. We sent them to a volunteer coordinator who collates them, which means in return, I'll get original prints from 19 other printmakers! Our theme was "Printmakers Gone Wild" and our interpretation of the "wilds" outdoors. I LOVE to decorate our home with original art, there's just nothing like having a one of a kind piece of art that nobody else does! With handpulled prints, all the prints are similar, but not identical. Each one has slight variations that make it totally unique!

Here's mine. I liked that the theme fit in with my series of urban wildlife. Rabbits are a constant in my garden...last year I hated them, this year I fenced the out of the veggie garden and like them much better! For wild things, they are incredibly fearless, they let me come so close before bounding off.

I carved this out by hand outof a 5.5" x 7.5" pine, printed on Japanese printmaking paper with oil inks. The paper is real soft and pliable. All the dark made for some pretty timeconsuming and tiring printing, since I do it all by hand the old fashioned way. I really thought about buying a press but you know, one of the things that really attracts me to printmaking is doing something modern and to the minute yet with a method that reaches back through time.

The carving was really fun, though. I had fun figuring out how to do the short little hairs on his head, then the longer fur on his body and finally the grass.

I printed extra, it's an open edition so I have some for sale! The paper itself is 8 x 10, so the border I left makes a perfect "mat" to fit an 8 x 10 frame. Or, for an even more dramatic presentation, an 11 x 14 frame with an 8 x 10 mat, all standard sizes. Just email me if you're interested in purchasing one, they will be signed by me, titled "Rabbit". Price is $15, unframed, with  $1 shipping.  Original art like this makes a fantastic Christmas gift!   To purchase, just email me HERE.  Thanks so much, and enjoy! Robin

I'm artist Robin Zebley. My portrait site is http://robinzebley.com/. If you'd like to see my whole blog, click on the banner at the top. And I'd love you to follow my blog, click to the left. Know someone who loves animals? Please pass my info on! I depend on word of mouth, and truly appreciate all of the wonderful people who have helped me in this way! Robin