Not Otis...

 After painting two trinket boxes with a picture of Otis the bear on the lid, it was a welcome change to be asked to paint this gorgeous mother bear and cub.  This is bear 910 and her adorable little one, as seen at Brooks Falls, Katmai Nation Park, Alaska.

Because the lid painting is so light, I made the decision to paint the rest of the box a light blue to match the water rather than the usual black.  It's going to look good - I just have to add the lining fabric and it is done, well in time for Christmas.

I've also been fulfilling some more stuffed Otis orders and have more stuffed cub toys on the go. On the easel is a pet portrait - it's been a while since I did one of those!

Floof...

I made a small floofy bear cub...he's already spoken for and off to the USA.  There will be more of these.
 

It's Finished!

 This has taken months and months of knitting, swearing and tearing of hair, but so worth it!  Can't wait to wear it, although the weather is not cold enough yet.

The Holiday Let...

As soon as we found this rusty shack while exploring the countryside on the Isle of Wight, I knew I had to paint it.  So that is how I have spent the past couple of weeks, taking a break from bears and thoroughly enjoying the challenge of getting this right.  It is painted in watercolour, which can be a bit unforgiving if you make a mistake.  There was one area where I had been a little heavy handed with the masking fluid (I'm not telling you where!) and when it was removed I thought I had maybe ruined the whole picture.  But with a little work and a few touches of acrylic paint, you wouldn't know.

Apart from the building, I also enjoyed painting the little 'doorway' through the undergrowth into the next field, with the sun shining to illuminate it.  It makes you wonder what you would find if you followed the path...

This will be in my Etsy shop shortly once I have taken some decent photos of it in daylight.

Next up - back to bears...

Watch The Birdie...

 When I saw this pattern (Birdsong by Manja Vogelsang) I had to buy it and have a go.  My first colour choice was a no-go - the yarn arrived and was not as it looked on the website.  Other colour combinations were scotched because they were out of stock, so I ended up with pale grey and a soft crimson.  I like it!

However, as the yarn needed for this pattern is baby yarn, it has taken a very long time indeed.  The bird pattern was a nightmare to do - the whole jumper is knitted in the round in one continuous piece, so the number of stitches had to be exact and the pattern repeated four times - I had to painstakingly count and mark the number of stitches in each row on the pattern in order not to lose my place.

Once the birds were done, it was plain sailing but has taken weeks and weeks of knitting.  I'm on to the second sleeve but have reached the point where the knitting is so boring that I fall asleep after only a few rows which is not helpful!  I did joke that this would be ready to wear in time for Christmas - not sure that is too far from the truth now!

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!

I'm Still Here...

I just noticed how long it has been since I last posted - I've been busy with one thing or another, mainly stuffed bears and knitting that bird jumper which might possibly be finished in time for Christmas.  We've also been away on holiday for a week - the above was our rustic Airbnb accommodation...

...no, this was it, a really nice wooden cabin/house next to Calbourne Water Mill on the Isle of Wight.  After the past few months, we were all in need of a peaceful break away from everything.  Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate - wall to wall sunshine for the whole summer and it chooses to rain every day for the week we were away!  We managed to dodge the most of  it, and only got soaked a couple of times.

It did put a damper on going to the beach though - we only went twice and the second time it rained.

We found plenty to do, we had free access to the Water Mill and it's attractions - ducks, geese, the museum and an 18 hole crazy golf course.  We also saw family for the first time since 2020 which was great.  

So now it is back to the grindstone and painting those bears...