Two bears, a fox, and a Hercule Poirot rag doll.

I've been on a real "bear kick" lately! I'm not certain why, but in the last three weeks I've drawn and painted two illustrations with bears:

Bear Maiden

If I'm allowed, I really love this painting. It developed from a sketch, where I was just sort of playing with some loose ideas. I'm still not quite sure what is going on here and I think that's why I like it so much. The girl is some sort of rebellious Victorian wild child, in her pine bough crown and feathers. And her bear friend is remarkably patient and well mannered to not only allow rides but also daisy chains. I love this pair.

Detail of the Girl

Detail of the Bear

A series of photos showing how the painting progressed
during one of Luke's afternoon naps.

I used masking tape to help create the birch trees.
One of these days, I'll write up a tutorial on this if anyone is interested.

And this charming fellow on holiday is the second bear I painted:

Bear by the Sea

Such a jaunty little hat....

He popped into my head with his little beret and red umbrella one day last week, and I just could not stop thinking about him. And so, there he is!

One New Year's resolution that I can't believe I forgot to share (especially on a blog devoted to my art and personal goals... Really?) is that this year I am going to offer more original watercolor paintings in the shop. I have mostly only sold prints, and hoarded many of my paintings over the years. As such, I have many of my paintings still safely tucked away. A few favorites are staying with me (I can't help myself) however, in 2014 I am going to try to send more paintings out into the world. I'm going to try and list new paintings regularly, and add some of the older paintings into the shop here and there. And so, I have listed the Bear Maiden painting here and the Bear by the Sea painting here. Yes, these are actual real deal brush to paper paintings!

If there's a painting of mine you've been longing for, send me a message. If I still have it and it's for sale, I will list it for you. Full paintings complete with backgrounds will be around $125, and paintings with just one figure and little-to-no background will be around $85. (Sadly, no, I am very sorry, my original Penguin with a Red Balloon and Octopus Drinking Tea are each not for sale. I know they are requested the most, and I apologize profusely! I may list Otter on a Laptop, though! I have not made up my mind...It would need to go to a good home, where it would receive lots of love).

In other news, I've completed the letter "F" in my Alphabet Animal series!

F is for a fox in flip flops wearing a fez.

I just love a jaunty hat.

Lastly, since we love Hercule Poirot so much in our home, I made Luke a rag doll of Agatha Christie's Belgian detective right before Christmas. (It was sort of a gift for Luke and Ryan, which is good, because they've both been playing with him pretty equally).

They're going to solve so many mysteries.

I really love making toys for Luke and a few of our young friends. I hope I've gambled correctly here and someday he loves Poirot as much as I did when I was a kid!

Thank you for checking my new projects out. I hope everyone is enjoying the New Year!