Happy New Year!!

 Looking out the window on a rainy New Year's Day 2025. Thank goodness we had fresh snow for Christmas, which made the day even more traditionally festive! We even had a special visitor to our yard.

A Bobcat

 Attracted by the bird feeder activity

A big yawn and stretch before leaving

                                                                

I hope we will have another sighting of this beautiful animal! 

Now that the holidays are over, I will be looking for inspiration for my next printmaking project. I may try one incorporating the bobcat, as the white snow makes for a nice contrast. We have also had bluebirds at the feeders again this year, and their colors are so striking.

While I get ready to take down the Christmas tree, and put away decorations, I wish good health and happiness to all in the new year! 

Working on a new print--Ogunquit Crow

I haven't posted to Illustration Friday in a while, but I have been working on a new block print. I took pictures last summer while visiting the Marginal Way in Ogunquit, Maine. It was a rainy morning, and I saw this crow hanging out on the rocks by the ocean. I did a few sketches to figure out the layout and colors for a reduction print, and chose a  Gomuban plate for this piece. The advantage of this plate is that it can go through the press, but is softer than linoleum.

After six colors it is almost done. I have to finish carving away the gray layer, and then the final layer of ink will be black.

 

Whiskers

Illustration Friday "whiskers" (colored pencil and watercolor)

I had a very nice Thanksgiving holiday with family, and I am especially thankful for the long weekend to get organized for the month ahead. On top of all the Christmas insanity, I'm getting my work together for several art shows that have deadlines in December. I've also been working on a couple of prints. I finished a new reduction print of a crow which I'm hoping to get on my Etsy shop today. Here's a sneak peak of it.

It's very similar to a smaller 4"x 4" print I had made several years ago of the same subject, but this one is 5"x 7" with 2 layers of ink over a red-orangy rainbow roll.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! Yesterday was mild, but today the wind picked up and brought in some much cooler, wintery temperatures. Brrrr...