Lurch - A Very Fine Bear...

 I completed this yesterday - it's a portrait of a bear known as 'Lurch' who lived at Brooks Falls,  Katmai National Park in Alaska.  He was a big and powerful old bear, took no nonsense, and I used to like seeing him on the live cams.  However, this July he stopped appearing and a decomposed body was found nearby that was pretty much identified as him by the teeth - it was quite sad, but part of the circle of life.  I didn't plan on painting him, I just happened to see this great photo someone had taken that I wanted to paint from, and the fact that it was Lurch was just lucky.

This has been painted in acrylics on canvas board, and was kind of a follow on from the wolf I painted earlier this month, both close up portraits with no background on square canvases.

 I'd like to do more in this style, just considering which animal to focus on next.

This watercolour portrait has been kept under wraps for over a month as it was a Christmas present for my nephew's wife in the USA.  Hopefully they have opened it by now - I've not heard anything...

Steep Learning Curve...

Took my new camera for it's first outing yesterday - fog was possibly not the best weather for it, but I gave it a go.

I still have not got a clue what all the buttons and dials do - my son gave me a bit of a tutorial yesterday but I think it's just going to be a matter of trial and error in the end.

I suspect taking photographs with one hand while holding a straining dog lead in the other probably wasn't the best way of doing it either...

Peanuts!

I crocheted Snoopy to keep Woodstock company - this is a good little kit.  Next up (when I get the time) Charlie Brown.

Post-Christmas Post...

 Well, Christmas is over for another year - I hope you all had a wonderful day full of family, love & laughter and that you got what you wanted under the Christmas tree.  We had a low key but fun day and now the house smells of cooked goose and is sprinkled with glitter. 

One of my presents was a kit to make the characters from Peanuts - who doesn't love Peanuts?  By the evening I had sobered up enough (!) to attempt the first one - Woodstock.  Next up, Snoopy!

A couple of days before Christmas I discovered that I was so well organised I had time to spare, so started a painting.  This is Lurch, a brown bear from Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park, who sadly passed away this summer.  He was a big old bear, full of character and rather anti-social, but I did like him.  I was lucky enough to be given permission to use a photo taken by one of the cam watchers on the Explore.org site.  I hadn't planned on painting any particular bear but did want a particular pose and this one fitted the bill - it's kind of matching the previous wolf painting - and it's just a bonus that it is of a well-known and loved bear.  This is in acrylic on board.

My Wishes To You...

Polar Bear...

I knitted a polar bear - it's the same pattern as the brown bear I made last week, but due to the stretchiness of the Snowflake yarn, he is about twice the size!  He's also quite fat but that makes him cuddly.  Love this pattern, it takes just a couple of evenings to make.

A Wolf, A Cake & Mince Pies...

 I did manage to finish this yesterday, plenty of time left before Christmas.  This is a portait of a wolf called Maia who lives at the Wolf Conservancy in Reading.  I have painted this on board using acylics.  While I have a bit of free time, I want to do another portrait - a bear this time - in a similar fashion on a square board. 

 The Christmas cake has been iced - decorating cakes is not my forte, so I keep it simple.  There's enough alcohol in the cake to make you forget about the decoration...

Plus some more mince pies...