Holly...

Back in the summer, the American magazine Travel Guide ran a competition for it's readers with the first prize being a painting of their favourite bear done by me.  I have finally completed the winner's painting - I'm only so late in doing so because the winner could not decide which bear to choose for her prize, so commissioned me to do a second painting of the other bear!

This is bear 435 Holly, who lives in Katmai National Park, Alaska.  She is quite something, being fairly old for a bear and yet still producing cubs which she raises in a calm, well practised style. She has also won the annual fun Fat Bear contest in the past - as you can see here, she gets large!  This has been painted in watercolour on paper.

Up next, another commission, another bear...
 

Otis Visits Red Square...

 A couple of weeks ago I posted one of my Otis stuffed bears to Russia.  He made it through customs and immigration and this week I received this amazing photo.  Looks like Otis is already having a wonderful time taking in the sights of Moscow - now we know what he gets up to during the hibernation period, haha!

Thank you to Angelika for letting me use her photo and for taking such good care of Otis!

Grazer...

 Another stuffed bear complete - available in my Etsy shop now.

Bears & Blankets...

This week I have made a Holly bear - she sold within 2 minutes of being in my Etsy shop...

...an Otis bear - he's still available, but not sure for how long...

...and completed the lacy crochet blanket that I have been working on over the past few weeks.

 The blanket is also in my Etsy shop.

Currently on the easel is another bear painting, although at the moment it is just the background whcih has taken me a week to finish - tomorrow I start painting the bear, yay!

How It Starts...

This is my current commission - I thought you might be interested to see how a painting like this gets started.  Initially the bear was drawn out carefully in pencil, with a sketchy background as in this case it is mainly leaves, with the water flowing around the rock that the bear is standing on.

Then I begin to paint in the background, carefully around the outline of the bear.  Usually I would use masking fluid to protect the edges of my drawing, but I have run out so on this occasion I have just had to take my time and do it the hard way!  Once the paint around the outline of the bear is dry, I rub out the pencil marks so that when the time comes to paint the bear, I have no dark smudgy lines showing through the paint.  I will do this throughout the painting in order to keep the pencil marks that are visible to a minimum.

The reference photograph I have been given was taken by the lady this is for and is a little bit fuzzy - she told me she was so excited that her hands were shaking!  So as I go, I will try and sharpen it all up a little - I do have quite a few other photos of this particular bear that I can call upon to get details of the face etc. to work from.

This is in watercolour on paper.  I have two more bear paintings to produce between now and Christmas if possible...it's going to take some doing!

Otis...

Just completed this - the bear 480 Otis, painted in watercolour on paper.  This was a private commission.  I have painted Otis many, many times, and thought it might get boring but this one kept my interest the whole way through.  The reference photo just had water around him but I was asked to make it that he was sitting in his 'office' - the area at the back of Brooks Falls where Otis likes to sit quietly and gorge himself on salmon.  I have also painted 'the office' so many times that I don't need a reference photo any more!  Painting all that fur was quite a challenge - so many curls and ruffles!  It took a great deal of concentration not to lose my way with it.

This is part of a double commission, the other being of bear 435 Holly.  Good job I like bears...

Interlude...

I have a ton of work to complete before Christmas (hopefully) but had to take a few days away from it to paint this little chap.  Sometimes it pays to take a step back from the commissioned work to do something for yourself in order to keep your work fresh - I mean, I love Otis the bear, but to paint him three times in a row gets just a little tedious!

So this is a young bear at Katmai who as yet has no number and is currently referred to by the unfortunately nickname of Bucky - long and involved story as to why, which I won't go into here.  A few weeks ago he was lying on a rock just watching the world go by and we got some great close-ups on the live web cams.  I collected a few images as I really wanted to make a painting from them, it was such a sweet moment.  Since then, the urge to get this done has been strong so I went with it and am very pleased with the result.  Watercolour on paper.

He will be in my Etsy shop shortly - and for me, it's back to Otis once again!

A Little Boaring...

Last week my son showed me a picture of a cute stuffed toy, a wild boar piglet.  It was being sold by an unknown company somewhere overseas and he didn't want to chance it.  So I said 'I bet I could make one of those'.

So I did.  I adapted a pattern I found in a magazine for an ordinary pink piglet - had to change the head, alter the tail, put the trotters on the right way round(!) and add the stripes.

 I used some remnants of a velvety fur fabric that I bought a couple of years ago, not knowing what I would do with them.  The whole thing is hand sewn because this fabric is a nightmare to sew on the machine - it slips and slides all over the place.

This is a one off for my baby granddaughter - I am not planning on making any more, too time consuming and fiddly and besides, I don't have any more of the fabric to spare!

Finished!

After weeks, nay months, of work in the evenings, this crochet blanket/throw is finally complete.  It has turned out beautifully!  I knew when I bought the yarn cakes that I wanted a stitch to show off the fabulous colour mix and luckily a simple zig-zag did just that.

I wasn't sure about putting tassels on the points, but decided to give it a go, using the brighter colours in the same order as the stripes, and it was the right decision.  This is such a lovely blanket, even though I say so myself.  It will be for sale in my Etsy shop soon - I am having difficulty getting decent photos of it due to bad weather and the sheer size of the thing!  If you'd like to nip in and get it before I list it, just give me a shout!
 

In other news, I have been sewing yet more Otises - these three are already spoken for and I have further orders to complete.  What started off as a silly experiment really snowballed and I have lost count of how many stuffed bears I have made over the past 3 years.  Thankfully I still enjoy doing them!

On the drawing board - I am now booked up until about Christmas.  I am currently painting a couple more Otis trinket boxes that have been commissioned and I have three bear paintings to do.  The first 2 are for the winner of the American Travel Guide magazine's summer competition - the lady couldn't decide which bear she wanted me to paint so has commissioned me to paint a second one so that she can have both!

It is great to be busy once again - the summer was dismal, both weather-wise and mentally and my creativity almost disappeared.  Being 'forced' to paint and make things to a deadline has kicked my backside back into action, haha!

Bear Cubs & Boxes...

I completed this last week - bear 435 Holly and her cub, using a photograph that Ranger Naomi at Katmai National Park took last year.  This cub is now ten times the size!  This was painted in watercolour on paper. It was snapped up within minutes of me posting it online and is now winging it's way to Spain.

I've also been working on another painted trinket box - this one is a prize in the American magazine Travel Guide summer competition.  The painting on the lid is of Otis, winner of this year's Fat Bear contest.  I assembled it yesterday after lining it.

I think you will agree, I found the perfect fabric to put inside - loads of fish for Otis to snack on!

 This box is already spoken for but I will be making a couple more at some point between now and Christmas.  I can't say when - they are very labour intensive and I have to fit them in around other work.

It Seemed A Good Idea At The Time...

I've been working on this blanket for weeks now - I bought some gorgeous cheap yarn cakes and thought I'd try something different from the usual granny square throws that I've been making.  This is a very simple stitch to do, but as it is in dc (sc for the US) it takes forever!  It also eats yarn, so I have had to buy some more yarn cakes in order for this to be a blanket of a decent size.  It might be finished round about 2022...
 

Otis...

 I have painted many trinket boxes with a picture of Otis in his 'office' but have used the same reference photo every time.  This year I decided to update it a little, although the pose is pretty much the same because...well, that's what Otis is best known for!  This year he showed up a month later than usual and incredibly thin - as he is an old bear, most people thought he had gone to the great fishing ground in the sky, but no, he was just waiting for the late salmon run to begin.  Since then he has eaten goodness knows how many fish and put on weight paw over fist and now looks fat and ready for hibernation.  So I used a snap I took on the Explore.org web cams of him this year, fishing in his favourite spot and looking nice and fat.

I'm very pleased with how this one has turned out - I have spent the weekend putting on lots of layers off varnish and now the box just needs lining with some fishy fabric.  This box is spoken for already - it will be one of the prizes in the Travel Guide summer competition, but I will be painting another one fairly soon.

Bears & Blankets...

Last year while the pandemic was in full swing and we were in strict lockdown, I found it comforting and stress-relieving to crochet giant granny squares for throws.  I think I made four or five and ended up giving them away to friends and family.  Stress levels are fairly high again at the moment for various reasons, so I am crocheting like crazy in the evenings once more.  This is the latest blankie - the camera has not done justice to the colours unfortunately.  It will be for sale in my Etsy shop once I take some decent snaps.

I'm also back to making Otis stuffies - they seem to sell before I have even finished them!

I must sit down one afternoon and cut out some more fabric for them - that is the worst part of making these, the mess and the coughing up of furballs afterwards!

Once the cutting out is over and done with, the rest of the making process is quite fun - I wish I had kept count of how many of these I have made!

One the easel...well, it's the lid to a trinket box, but I am painting Otis as well.  Nearly finished.
 

Tragedy...

 I lived in Greece for many years - my sister still does.  She married a ship's purser who gave up the sea to start his dream business, a riding stables.  This was over 45 years ago.  They started small, renting a piece of land and buying up ex-racing horses that were destined for the knacker's yard.  Horse riding was an elite pastime in Greece back then, pretty much only for the rich, but people could afford to at least have lessons.

Slowly over the years the business expanded.  They bought more school horses,  took on livery horses, entered show jumping competitions - one of the best showjumpers was one of the ex-race horses, an Arab named Aris.  My niece and nephew grew up riding from as soon as they were able to sit on a horse and ended up champions in show jumping and dressage - they even competed in the 2012 Olympics, and my brother in law was chef d'equipe for the Olympic games that year.  Horses and riders trained at Varimbombi entered international events with much success.

Last week it all came crashing down - fire broke out nearby, burning not only acres and acres of forest, but also the whole riding club.  My sister and her family have lost everything.  There is no insurance against forest fires, they happen too often in Greece.  There will be a small government grant towards re-building, but it will not be enough.

There is a crowd funding website - if you feel you are able to give a little towards the re-building, please do, it will be so very much appreciated.  If you can't, that's OK, thank you for reading this far.

https://gogetfunding.com/iobvarympompi/

Grazer...

This is a painting of the bear 128, Grazer, and one of her yearling cubs.  Watching the Explore.org bear cams this year has been crazy, lots and lots of bears and Grazer on the defensive the whole time - she has a reputation for beating the snot out of any other bear that dares to even look at one of her cubs.  However, I caught this tender moment a couple of weeks ago, just after she had been nursing her two cubs in a quiet spot under some trees and thought it would make a sweet painting.  Painted in watercolour on paper and will be in my Etsy shop shortly.

Next up - I've been asked to be the prize in the American magazine Travel Guide's summer competition again this year.  First prize is a painting of the winner's favourite bear, second and third prizes are a painted trinket box & a stuffed Otis bear, so I had better get a move on with the box & toy!
 

Beadnose...

 I completed this yesterday - it is a portrait of the bear 609 Beadnose who lives/lived at Katmai National Park Alaska.  She was a great favourite of viewers of the Explore.org web cams and if you have seen a photo of a bear at the top of a waterfall with a fish just flying into it's mouth, odds are it is Beadnose.  Sadly, she has not been seen for two seasons now - I suppose we will never know what happened to her, whether she passed away or simply moved elsewhere.

This is a private commission and will be a surprise gift for someone.  It is painted in watercolours on paper.

If you'd like your own bear portrait, I'm free for a few weeks, get intouch!

Beautiful Braye...

 Braye Bay, Alderney - watercolour on paper.

When I got this commission over a month ago, I thought 'yeah, this I can do, it will be a doddle' - famous last words!  When it came down to it, firstly drawing buildings has never been my strong point.  Perspective and I are not good friends.  So I drew everything else and wondered how on earth I was going to get that line of houses correctly.  The paper was far too big to use my light box and each attempt to draw them by eye resulted in failure.  In the end, my partner suggested I get the reference photograph up on my computer screen and fiddle about with zooming in/out until it matched the rest of my sketch and then trace the buildings.  Which, thankfully, worked a treat!

Secondly, the sky was fun to paint but so very time consuming!  I was constantly worried that I would mess up the effect of the golden light so had to be very careful and paint each little cloud one at a time - no big splashy washes for this one!

Then there was the business of adding in the client's children - she'd Photoshopped them in but put one child in the water, which would have meant the girl would have to be ten feet tall to have matched the spot where she was.  So I had to tinker about with the drawing to place them together on the breakwater and hope that the girl was taller than the boy in real life!

In the middle of all this, my partner fell ill and had to be rushed to hospital by ambulance, where he stayed for three days.  Turned out he had a very severe case of vertigo, caused by an imbalance in the ears which can come on with no warning and no reason at any time, and is totally debilitating.  That was all extremely worrying and for the first few days after his return home, I was basically his carer as he was very insteady on his feet.

Finally this week I got the time to devote to finishing it off, just within the deadline.  It was a very challenging painting but I really did enjoy it - I know this beach so well, having lived in Alderney throughout my teenage years and have holidayed there frequently more recently.  

Next up - another bear!

Bits & Pieces...

I've not been very creative for quite some time now - still having trouble getting motivated.  However, I have crocheted this small lap blanket out of a couple of nice varigated yarn cakes.  I quite like the haphazardness of the colours.

Also knitted a tiny elephant, lion and tiger - there were several cute animal patterns in the latest Lets Knit magazine and I thought to knit them all and make a mobile.  Half way there!

At least I am painting - I have a very complicated watercolour on the go, a scene from Alderney that someone asked me to paint.  It is of a sunset over the beach and I thought it would be a doddle - turns out it is in fact one of the hardest paintings I have ever undertaken, but I am thoroughly enjoying it.  Nice to get the juices flowing again!
 

Lost Souls...

I enjoyed crocheting the first Lost Souls shawl (free pattern by Maryetta Roy) that I decided to make another on and had the perfect yarn in my stash.  This has been crocheted using a cotton yarn that starts off dark greay and gradually lightens as you go along - creates a great effect in this shawl!

This is now for sale in my Etsy shop.

 In other news, the air plant in the bathroom has flowered!  I usually manage to kill off my airplants but this one has not only survived but put out this interesting bloom.  I have been told that once they flower they die...but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

Love's Young Dream...

 I've really not had the time nor the inclination to paint lately - not sure what the problem is, too much lockdown perhaps.  However, I have managed to paint this, even though it took far longer than usual.  This is a watercolour of bear 151 Walker and bear 708 Amelia in a post coital snuggle.  This happened on the Explore.org web cam a couple of years ago.  I was under the impression (as were a lot of people I guess!) that once bears did the deed, they ambled off on their separate ways.  Not so in this case - Walker and Amelia spent quite a long time cuddled up on the grass in the sun, giving us webcam viewers ample time to snap away and take photos.  When I did get around to working on this, I really enjoyed it! It will possibly be for sale in my Etsy shop soon - I have someone already interested in it.

For a complete change, my next commission is an Alderney scene - can't wait, it's going to be difficult but I'm looking forward to it.

Lost Souls...

 I can't believe it's been nearly a month since my last post - things have been happening, but mainly I have been taking a bit of a rest after a busy winter.  I feel very weary after the current lockdown for some reason.

But I have been crocheting in the evenings and finally completed this lovely Lost Souls shawl.  It's made in a silk/merino/mohair mix that I had squirrelled away in my stash.  I could not find any more to buy when it looked like I would not have enough - must be discontinued.  Thankfully once the shawl was washed and blocked, it grew a fair bit!

I used a free pattern by Maryetta Roy - check it out if you can, it is very clever and simple to do once you get the hang of the repeats.  I like it so much I have started another one in some different yarn that I know I have enough of!  This one is already taken, but the next one will be up for grabs if and when I finish it.

On the easel - a small bear painting that seems to be taking an eternity!  I have not had the time to paint as much as I would like - with life slowly returning back to normal, suddenly there seem to be more and more things requiring my attention.  Frustrating to say the least.

And finally, my daughter is now fully vaccinated and Mr.B and I get our second dose next week so we can all breath a sigh of relief...

Fuzzy Wuzzy Wuz A Bear...

I've had such a busy winter that bear making has had to take a back seat, despite me having plenty of orders.  However, I am now in the process of catching up slowly - this is Holly, bear 435.

This is another Holly, this time with her mini-me cub - last year on the Explore.org cams this cub was one of the most entertaining things of the whole season!  She climbed trees, she played with other bigger cubs, she had an unfortunate run in with a porcupine, and grew fat and fluffy, ready for hibernation.

She was very like her mother by the end of October.

These bears already have homes to go to - if you would like one too, just let me know - as long as you are prepared to wait for a a little while!
 

Cat...

Just completed this commission - it's a surprise for someone who has had a very rough year and I am hoping it will do the business and cheer them up.  Drawn using Derwent Drawing Pencils and Coloursoft Pencils on pastel paper.

I am now free for the first time in months to paint what I want to paint...now to find some inspiration!
 

Booties Too...

Another pair of these - after showing the first pair, I got an order for some more.  I'm not planning on going into production though, fun as they are to make!  I'll make the occasional pair if anyone wants them but not a regular thing.
 

Boots & Budgies...

Last week we had a new patio door fitted - which meant I had to clear out that corner of the sitting room - which meant I discovered a pile of craft magazines that had been hidden under a side table - and on the cover of one of them was a picture of these cuties with a pattern inside - so of course I had to make them!  They are tiny, about 8 cm long - hopefully will fit the new granddaughter!

The previous week we had a sad few days when we had to have our budgie put to sleep as he had a large tumour on the side of his face and was not well at all.  He wasn't very old, about 4, but I think as we had bought him from a garden centre he probably did not have the best start in life which contributed to his health problems.  It was horribly quiet in the house without him so I set about looking for a new feathered companion.  Turns out that due to recent legislation plus Covid, finding baby budgies is a lot harder than I thought!  However, we tracked down a shop that had 6 little budgies coming in last weekend so we made the drive (down to the coast!) and picked one up - I had to reserve one as apparently there had been about 100 enquiries!  So meet JoJo, a seven week old little chap/chappess who is settling in slowly but surely.  I am hoping this one will also be a bit less frightened of handling than his precedessor as he has had a gentler start to his life.
 

Crochet Baby...

I did not realise when I ordered several balls of baby wool in order to knit a few things for my granddaughter just how far one ball of it would go.  Having given the baby two jumpers, a hat, a pair of socks, and a blanket, I thought that was probably enough for now, especially as my sister appears to have gone on a knitting marathon and made twice that amount of small clothes. But I was left with quite a lot of yarn - so decided to crochet another blanket anyway as we have another baby in the family due in the summer. I've also knitted another small jumper...and there is STILL yarn left over!  I've run out of enthusiasm now - the leftover yarn can be put away for another day!
 

Bear 610...

This was a sweet little commission I had, completed yesterday, as a gift for someone who has been badly affected by catching Covid19 and is still very poorly months on.  This is bear 610 who lives at Katmai National Park in Alaska, and has quite a story of survival.  She was seen often on the live web cams in the far distance as an abandoned yearling cub.  Somehow she managed to survive on her own to adulthood, but what makes it even more amazing is that when she was finally seen closer, she has the most enormous dent above her right hip (you can see the mark in the painting) from what must have been a horrendous injury.  She survived this too - she could have died from blood loss, shock, starvation, predation, and yet is still with us.  Quite the metaphor...

This was painted in watercolour on paper.  I have to say, the reflection took twice as long to paint as the actual bear!

Ringo...

Just finished this little guy - he's a replica of a real lurcher.

He was quite difficult to find the yarns for - firstly because no yarn shops are open and I had to order on line and hope that what I got would suffice, as I had nothing suitable in my stash.

And secondly, because he is one of those shaggy lurchers who aren't one particular colour.

So I ended up using two light brown yarns together in order to get the sizing, and then sewing in a soft cream eyelash yarn to get his fluffy bits - oh, and a different eyelash yarn altogether for his darker ears.

Hopefully his new owner will think it looks like their real dog!

In other news, I spent yesterday morning cuddling my new granddaughter...