Otis...

 A few weeks ago I bought a black canvas - I thought it would be an interesting experiment to paint on rather than having to put on several layers of black paint in order to create the surface.  The subject was of course Otis - I have painted him on a black background on many trinket boxes, but this would be the first time on an actual canvas.

I had the same smallproblems with the canvas as I do on the trinket boxes - it takes several layers of lighter paint in order to get the colour to 'pop'.  However, shadows and darker colours were a lot easier.  All in all, I am pleased with the result and will invest in some more of these canvases.

The real Otis has not appeared on the Explore.org bear cams this year.  It is getting late in the season and my thoughts are turning to the possibility that last year was the last time we would have seen him. His final appearance on the cams last year was in a high speed chase after a couple of other bears - in all the years I have been watching the cams I have never seen him run so fast and for so long, so he was fit at the time!  There are other factors that should be taken into account - last year there were not so many salmon, so perhaps he has found a better fishing spot; there are a lot of testosterone filled big bears at the falls this year, a concern for an old bear; and the human visitors seem to be getting more and more each year.  I guess we have to keep our fingers crossed and hope that dear Otis makes an appearance in 20224.

I have someone interested in this painting, but if they choose not to purchase it, it will be in my Etsy shop soon.

Radio Silence...

 Apologies for being MIA for the past month or so - I have been working on a knitting pattern for Nudinits which has taken up a fair bit of my time as it is very complicated to design.  Unfortunately I cannot show it, has to be kept under wraps for now!

Talking of Nudinits, we were all over the media last week after a pair of knitters in Shepton Mallet used our patterns to create a display of naked Morris dancers in a charity shop window.  Someone passing by objected to seeing woolly naughty bits and complained...and the rest is history!  Great publicity for Nudinits once they started to mention the book that the patterns came from rather than assuming the ladies came up with the designs themselves. Read all about it here

As for painting, I am suffering the worst case of artist's block, just totally uninspired.  Rather than sit and gaze out of the window miserably at the rain, I decided to paint another Otis trinket box - this one just needs lining with fabric then it will go into my Etsy shop.  Hopefully with the recent sunshine I will feel more like putting brush to paper.

Moonlight...

I painted this last week - I have had it in mind for a long time, but commissions for dog portraits had to take priority.  This is Otis swimming in the moonlight, referencing a snap taken last year on the Explore.org bear cams.  Unfortunately, I just cannot photograph the painting successfully.  The above picture is slightly too dark...

...and this one is way too light.  I have tried 3 different cameras and they just do not like this painting!  The true colours are somewhere between the two photographs.  This was watercolour on paper,and will be in my Etsy shop shortly.

On the easel - another bear...
 

Otis Is Back In The House...

After what must be nearly a year, I'm back to sewing Otis once again. 

This one is taken, but there will be plenty more coming soon - if you'd like to pre-order, just get in touch.
 

Catching Forty Winks...

 I completed this fun commission over the weekend.  Earlier this summer Otis the bear was caught napping while leaning on a fallen branch - I guess if you are tired enough, anywhere will do!  This one is watercolour on paper.

It was nice to paint him in a different pose for once - my next commission is back to Otis sitting in his 'office' which I have painted numerous times.  Just as well I don't get bored!

Otis...Again!

Yesterday I finally completed this one - it took much longer than usual, probably because there was a lot of detail to include, plus Otis has an awful lot of fur!

Watercolour on paper, a private commission.

My life seems to revolve around Otis at the moment - three more paintings of him to do, plus a couple of stuffed toys.  It's all good, who doesn't love Otis?
 

More Otis...

I seem to spend most of my time these days either making or painting bears, mainly Otis.  This is my current commission and although I have painted Otis more times than I can count, I am still enjoying this one immensely.  It's good to be painting after the 2 month enforced break, I don't care what the subject matter is!  Just as well, as I have three more commissions, all Otis...

I've also been sewing some more Otis stuffies - they don't hang around for long and I am only sorry that I cannot be any faster making them.  They are a little labour intensive when it comes to cutting out the fabric and pinning/sewing it all together.  Two more in the pipeline - when I get time to use the sewing machine!
 

Bears, Boxes & Eagles...

I have been painting, honest!  Here are the lids to a couple of trinket boxes that have been commissioned.  The first is, of course, Otis in his favourite fishing spot.

I have painted so many Otis boxes with the same picture on them that it made a refreshing change to be asked to paint a different bear.  This is Popeye, a magnificent boar who also lives at Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park.  

Both paintings look a little faded here - photo taken in the earlymorning light and they also need varnishing which brings out the colour.  I have one more to paint - Otis again, but in a slightly different pose.

As it has been really hot here this week, I can't bring myself to knit or crochet the current WIP's I have on the go as it would be the equivalent of sitting under a blanket, so I crocheted a little eagle just for fun.
 

It's Hot Out There...

As Mr.B has almost recovered from his knee replacement surgery, I am starting to get my time back as I no longer have to be on hand as much.  So I have started sewing Otis stuffies again.  These two are already spoken for.

As is this one.  I am also painting a trinket box, part of a commission for three of them, and have a line up of four painting commissions waiting in the wings.  So it is all go once more!

Meanwhile inthe garden, everything is growing well but I am especially happy that I have managed to get a couple of chicory plants to flower.  Last year they were just leaves on plants that I grew from seed and did not flower.  This year they are over 6 ft tall and I just love the delicate pale blue flowers that only last for a day before being replaced with more.

 

The greenhouse appears to have been overly successful - looks like I will need a machete to get near anything!  In there are three large tomato plants, two long cucumber vines, a smaller tomato plant and somewhere at the back, a melon plant.

I have been picking runner beans, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and have a lot of cherry tomatoes just waiting to turn red.  Hopefully everything will survive the next few days of very hot weather.

Otis...

I completed this yesterday - it has taken weeks!  This is Otis, of course, in acrylics this time, on board.  It is a private commission and will be heading off to Canada shortly.  It was a lot of fun to do a larger acrylic painting after what feels like a very long time.

However, I am going to give myself a rest from bears for a few days and play with some new watercolours that I bought a while back, painting something, anything, that isn't brown!
 

Currently On The Easel...

It's been a long time since I painted a larger detailed acrylic, so even though the subject is one I have painted more times than I can remember, I am still enjoying the process.  I would say that Otis is three-quarters done, then only the water left to complete.  Hoping with today's sunshine giving me a decent light to work by, I'll get a sizeable chunk painted.
 

Slight Change...

I've been sewing Otis stuffed toys for a few years now, but have always been very aware that the fabric I used did not match the real bear's fur exactly.  People didn't seem to mind, and I could not find an alternative, so I carried on.  However, the other day while at Hobbycraft, I discovered a fur fabric that was almost perfect!

 So I have made a new and improved Otis!  I am very happy with the end result - this one already has a home, but there are 4 more in the pipeline.

You watch though, next time I go to Hobbycraft, there will be no more of this fabric...

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!

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!

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...

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.

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.
 

Otis...

I've been a bit quiet on here lately - as usual, the run up to Christmas has been very busy and also I have not had much to show.  However, here is the painting I have just finished for the winner of this year's Travel Guide summer competition in the USA.  The winner chose to have her favourite bear, Otis, as the subject of the painting and once I got the Christmas commissions out of the way I could devote my time to this.

It is painted with watercolour on paper, using a wonderful reference photo by Olatz Azcona Munarriz and a composite imagining of the background, 'the office'.    I thoroughly enjoyed painting this and am glad to report the recipient is very happy too!