What is on the Scratching Table??

Things have been very busy for me of late.  A 10-day trip to Oregon at the End of March, 10-days home (of which I worked 60 hours in those ten days grooming) and then off for another 10-day trip to California in early April, where I was photographer for a large dog show... Once I was home I had to get over 5,000 photos online...  then the Governor's Show and my art fair (getting prints ready plus cards, bookmarks and magnets) I feel I have had little time to actually create artwork in the past month!  But I have been stealing little snippets of time to work on stuff.  These are the two boards I have on the go right now.

American Bison are, of course, one of the great icons of the American West and popular subjects for art, yet I had never done one in scratchboard... well until now!  I made a point of taking many bison photos in Yellowstone last year when I visited with the intent of creating some works from them.  This big bull had a rather amicable expression on his face when he looked at me and nice side lighting, which can be quite dramatic for scratchboard.  This board is 10"x8" in size.

Creating Bison fur has its own set of challenges, as it grows thick, curly and in an unpredictable pattern, and with a variety of density and textures.  Trying to create the depth and thickness of fur and the right textures requires lots of layers. It still has a ways to go to perfect the texture and get just enough details on the left side of the board but to leave some mystery for the viewer as well.  No title for this guy yet.

I am also working on a new wolf piece (20"x14") which I am for now calling "Edge Of Darkness".  I liked the dramatic lighting and non-typical pose of this wolf.   His leering expression and the dynamic lighting I felt added a nice touch of tension to this piece.  I have actually made more progress since this photo was taken, but it gives you an idea of where I am going.  This piece will have foreground and possibly some background.

Now I am off to the UPS to mail my three works that were accepted into the Women Artists Of the West annual show, which this year will be in Rockport, TX.  It is my first year as a member of this association and I was delighted that they accepted all three of my works into the show.  The three works are: "Yielding", "Rustle In The Brush", and "Charisma".  I will not be able to attend the show opening, as I simply have too much going on, but it promises to be a wonderful show full of high quality art.  If you are near the area the show will be on display from May 11 to June 4 at the Rockport Center for the Arts.  The opening reception is Saturday, May 14 from 5-7 PM and open to the public.