747, A Magnificent Bear...

 I can finally reveal this painting as it has been delivered to its very surprised and delighted recipient!

This is bear 747 who lives in Katmai National Park, Alaska and is one of the biggest bears around.  He is fairly battered - you may notice that he has only one ear showing in the painting - his other ear was nearly torn off a few years ago, presumably in a fight with another bear, and is now just a loose furry nub.  It doesn't detract from his good looks however!  747 was one of the most dominant bears at Brooks Falls for many years, although he is aging now and not quite so aggressive - I wouldn't mess with him though!

I was asked to paint this bear, 747, by a photographer as a present for a mutual friend.  The photograph he supplied me with was in black and white and showed this amazing bear in all his glory.  I did not use black as such in my painting as I felt it would make the picture flat and a bit lifeless, so I used Payne's Grey for most of it which gives a slightly blue tinge, and black for the deeper shadows.

This is a fairly large painting, watercolour on paper.  I have left a large expanse of white paper at the top of the picture as I felt it added something to the over all effect.

I loved painting this, and was very sorry when it was finished - I did get myself a print made so that he wasn't completely gone!

Izzys...

Inbetween other work, I have been knitted these cute little dolls.  I'm quite capitivated by the simplicity of the basic pattern - no more than a tube of various colours, ending with a beanie hat type top.  The detail is made by gathering the tube at the neck, and then sewingt hrough the stuffing todelineate the arms and legs.  The skirts are knitted by picking up stitches all round before the doll is stuffed.

I have enjoyed choosing different colourways and 'outfits', adding little accessories at the end.

Not sure what to do with them - probably just give them away.  The fun for me is in the making, I don't need to keep them afterwards.

Curently on the easel - a Christmas commission double dog portrait - will I finish it in time? That's the burning question!
 

Tontu...

Here is the second toy for my granddaughter, Tontu, the other sidekick of Hilda.  It's not quite right colourwise & I would have preferred to use a fluffier fleece fabric for the head, but time was of the essence.  It is annoying buying fabric off the internet, you never quite get what you had hoped for, photos can be deceiving.

On the easel - still the rather large bear. I won't be able to show this one for a while as it is a gift for someone.
 

Twig The Deer Fox...

My granddaughter's current favourite books are the Hilda graphic novels.  Hilda has a couple of cute sidekicks, one of which is a deer fox called Twig.  There are very few toys available of this character, and what there are are hideously expensive (Etsy vendors...)

So I made one!  I used some soft fleece fabric, adapted a pattern I found for a deer, and used blak felt for the feet etc.   It took about 3 evenings to complete and will go away now until Christmas.  The other sidekick is a weird gnome sort of thing - hopefully it will be as easy to make as this one!

Currently on the easel - a very large bear!
 

Bear...

Here's what I have been working on over the past couple of weeks.  It's not a Katmai bear, but it is an Alaskan bear, based on a couple of photos taken by an American friend of mine while she was taking a trip to Alaska a few years ago.

This is watercolour on paper and will be winging it's way to Boston shortly.

Next on the easel is a commission I have been looking forward to with huge anticipation - a bear's head in monochrome.  It is to be a surprise gift for someone I know so I will say no more!
 

Knitting...

Working on the next Nudinits pattern book pretty much took over my knitting needles for the past year or so, especially as the items I had to design were human sized, not puppet sized.  So once they were over and done, it was good to take theopportunity to get on with something I have had in mind for a long time.  A while back I discovered a cotton jumper I had started but never got further than knitting the back before abandoning it - too much fiddly lace and cable work I think.  I wanted to unravel it and knit a short cardigan that I have made before and loved. It is from the Knitty.com website and the pattern is called 'Hey Teach'.

There is nothing wrong with the first cardigan I made, it's just a little too short - I am a taller lady and sometimes patterns need to be added to for proportion.  So with the second one, I added a couple of extra inches to the stocking stitch portion.  I was also given some rather lovely wooden buttons last Christmas that have bees etched on them - it was good to finally have a suitable project to use them on!

Of course now that I have finished a summer cardigan, the weather is going to turn very chilly...

I've also been seeing a lot of Izzy dolls all ove the internet lately - I thought they were rather cute so searched out a free pattern on Ravelry and gave it a go.  Not bad for a first attempt - there are things I might do slightly different if I made any more, but that's just me being picky.

Nomore knitting for thetime being - as soon as the fabric arrives, I need to make a couple of special soft toys for my granddaughter for Christmas.

On the easel, a bear.  Suddenly I have more commissions than I have time for, which is fantastic after such a dry year.
 

Wren...

It's been an eventful few weeks - about 10 days ago I was bitten in the stomach by a neighbour's dog...well, as the dog was very small, it was more a tear than a bite, but enough to cause a humungous bruise and a painful 3 cm wound.  I had to get a tetanus shot (and apparently I am now also vaccinated against diptheria and polio, which is nice...) and took antibiotics for 5 days.  Also reported it to the police as the whole situation was caused by one of the neighbour's other dogs being off lead and having a go at my dog whilst also running amok in the middle of the road.

So that put me out of action for a few days. Once I started to feel better I was able to get back to this lovely dog portrait, and once the sun finally came out and we got some decent daylight, finishing it off was much quicker.

This has been worked in Derwent Drawing & Coloursoft pencils on pastel paper, and is a private commission.  

After having once of the worst years ever for sales and commissions, I suddenly have more work that I can cope with in the run up to Christmas!  It feels very good to be back in business - it was starting to get very worrying.

Next on the easel - a bear!