Framed Show Pieces

I finished the matting/framing of the show pieces this morning -- less than 24 hours before they need to be dropped off. Nothing like down to wire...

The show is next week and needless to say, I'm pretty excited. I can't wait to catch up with everyone and see what other work has been submitted.

Also I'm in love with natural frames. I ended up buying 4 extra (of the smallest sizes) to frame some of my recent birds.

In other news, I made the final updates my to my new site! Next up is a new storefront complete with new originals, updated prints and a few framed pieces.

My to do list is still pretty long, but it feels so good to get a few of the items checked off :)

Key Deer and Pelicans

I spent a better part of today going through the vacation pictures we took in Key West.

It's about 95% pelicans.

Oh sure, there are a few family pictures, one or two of a beach, the quintessential food picture, an occasional blurry rooster and a few shots of the 'Caution, Key Deer" signs... but the rest are just pelicans.

The pictures of the 'key deer' warning signs got me thinking however. I've never seen a key deer and I was curious what one might look like. Google responded with the cutest mini-deer you could imagine.

Sadly, they are a very endangered subspecies of the white-tailed deer that is so common in Michigan. Habitat destruction and human encroachment have taken their population down to roughly 400 - 500 deer left in the wild and this is why there are so many signs on the approach to Key West.

After looking at the collection of key deer images, I decided to make my next frame project a drawing of said deer. I have quite a few blank frames sitting around at this point, but felt particularly drawn to using a small ceramic white frame that I found on clearance at Target. It needed a key deer to be happy.

I'm happy with it, though I may end up shrinking the image inside the frame just a bit so the whole circle is visible.
I think after that, I have to do something with Pelicans. I have way, way too many pictures of the birds to not draw them.

Something Different

I've been experimenting.

Occasionally if I find myself getting too comfortable with what I'm working on, I like to step off the trail for a bit and wander down in the woods to see what I find. On such a jaunt earlier last week, I came back to path with a notion stuck my head.

Objects.

I started to think about my work as an object and not a watercolor, print or illustration. Spurred on by my love of the folkart movement, I spent a few days thinking about boxes, frames and diorama-type creations.

And then I went to a thrift shop down the street.

Bad decision in terms of fiscal responsibility, good decision in that I stumbled upon something new to play with.

I found that frame (originally a scuffed ivory/white) and it felt like it needed a rabbit in it, so made a quick sketch with pens/watercolors. All the sudden, it wasn't an illustration of a rabbit - it was an object. I came home with a few more frames that needed a bit of love, so I started printing other work and painting/staining the frames to match.

Overall, fun experiment indeed.

Also I may, or may not have brought home 4 more frames from Target this morning to continue said experiments...

Target was a bit expensive, but the thrift store required a good bit of fix-up (broken glass, missing wall-hangers...etc)

Any thoughts on where I might find intact inexpensive frames?