Hitting the Paws Button

Been more than a wee while since I've posted. Sorry about that . . .

As of, er, June-ish, SemperFun (the company behind Otto And Anna) went under and I was left without my job. Since then, I've become a jaunty Cat Slave at my local S.P.C.A.

It's long, hard and frequently disgusting work, but I have to say, I actually really love it. I've grown so close to the kitties I take care of and have come to love them dearly. Which is frankly blummen' BIZARRE because I used to hate cats, ha ha.

At any rate, it bears mentioning that I have been doing a LOT of art during this time, but they're all really cumbersome projects that I don't feel ready to post in part just yet. Soon, though! One of the three projects is nearing completion and I hope to have it presentable by the end of the year at the very latest.

In the mean time, here are a few very quick doodles . . .

Given what you (might have) read above, it should come as no surprise that I have gotten in the habit of bringing work home with me, hee hee . . .

My very first foster, named Thumbelina:

We are very short on cage space at the shelter, and kittens can not legally be adopted till they are eight weeks of age anyway, so we frequently foster out the wee, wee bitty ones till they are of age. This ickle ginger was only three and a half weeks old when I brought her home . . . Of course, her size belied her energy. She later came to be nicknamed 'Nom-belina' on account of her habit of nipping at feet.

My current foster, Zippy:

Zippy had one foot (two paws?) in the euth room door, but I managed to find him a home with Sara, who has been kind enough to give him a second chance. I'm just holding onto him until she can come to get him. He's an ENORMOUS longhaired manx and the most docile, gentle cat I've yet encountered. He also had horrific mats in his fur, so we had to shave him down. He's literally half the cat he used to be.

Aaaand my boys, Zekiel and Ru:

These two started as fosters, but they'll be mine for good in a few days. Ru is a black tuxedo bobtail and Zekiel is a lynx-point siamese bobtail. They came in together and had to go home together. Their personalities compliment eachother so well, it's really no surprise. Ru is a bouncy goofball with giant, owly yellow eyes that just staaaare up at me. When I come home from work he greets me by running at me full-tilt, galloping clear up my body and throwing his arms round my neck so he can lick my face. Zeke, on the other hand, is a far more lax and dignified gentleman, though he is an undeniable cuddlebug and will often sleep curled up against my chest when I go to bed, purring away. I really could not have imagined finding a more perfect pair of pets for myself. I absolutely adore them. I'm also beginning to think I am doomed to accumulate cats with varying degrees of taillessness, ha ha.

So yes, that's it for now. More art is on the way soon, I promise. Dry Spell? Pah! NO MORE, say I.

Just jump

Sorry I've been on a bit of a hiatus as of late. I'm in a period of transition right now, and my soul has rather been swallowed by a personal project . . .

So yes, have a painting for now. Things will be back to good soon, I am hoping.

Who are you gonna call . . .?

The first two pages of YET ANOTHER project I have started upon



(it's a two-page spread, hence the line down the middle)

Look! Something shiny!

I finished my children's book last week, and the bound/printed volume is due to arrive at any day now! Exciting stuff.

Here are a few more illa's from it;









And one of an okapi, because they're my fave (and because this post needs some colour, ha ha)

We're painting the town

Backlog of illustrations for Fiery-Coloured!

A speed-doodle of a snow leopard for the 'Snow' challenge;



And for the 'City Features' challenge:



Otto and Anna feed a meter in historic Downtown Annapolis. You'll notice that there is no car in the parking space . . . Well, there is an explanation for that. Annapolis has come to be called 'ticket town' in some circles. Meter men/maids have been know to literally wait by cars wherein the meter has only a short time left, and slap a ticket on the windshield with half of a second of the meter's expiry.

Often when I drive downtown, I find myself upon the serendipity of a good parking space with a substantial amount of time left on the meter from the previous occupant. Thus, if I have a bit of change in my pocket and I notice another promising space awaiting a guest, I like to pay it forward (and yes, I do know this will be utilised because this is a major tourist point and people are constantly coming and going.)

And if you want to watch me paint it . . .

On and on it goes, with no hint of plot!

On the off-chance that anyone is going to be in the vaguely Marylandish area, I'll be present at the following events;

24th April, 2010 (this Saturday)
The Friends of Quiet Waters Park Earth Day Celebration
(link)

and

1st May, 2010 (next Saturday)


I'll be selling Otto and Annastuffs. Both events benefit charities ^_^

I thought that was a species of fish

Today, my boss and I met with two ladies who work for a local news publication, Chesapeake Family. Many years ago, Chesapeake Family did a feature about an art show my parents and I were putting up in a local cafe. My picture was on the front cover of the November 1997 issue. I was eleven years old at the time . . .



. . . The overalls were permissable enough for a child of that age, but I think the mullet has to be seen to be believed.

Spring has sprung

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL OF YOU LOVELY PETALS.

(copied and pasted from Fiery Coloured, for I, good sir, am a lazy bum)

I made this wee statuette in reference to the story of the Goddess, Eostre. It is often said that today's Easter holiday owes a great deal to this Pagan Goddess of Spring, who saved an injured bird by changing it into a rabbit. Every year round spring, however, the rabbit would then remember that it was a bird, and it would lay eggs. Hence, we get the Easter Bunny and Easter eggs.

Now, this story is a topic of debate, just about everyone I've heard it from/asked about it has told me something different. Either way, it's a fun idea and so we get . . .



BUNNYGRIFFS! . . . Come to think on it, I want to declare my responsibility for coining that term right now. I can not be certain the concept is my own to claim, but I'm going slap my hands down on this tabletop and say 'Bunnygriffs in name, copyright Fala Lee Hayes, 2010". Hurrah! . . . Or would it be more cute spelt 'Bunnigriffs'? Arararararrr.

Further backlogged drawings for Fiery Coloured:

For the Coffee and Tea challenge;



And for the zodiac challenge;

There's no need to embellish

This is the painting I did, as filmed in the post below this one. La la la . . .



(the 'link below' business was added because I uploaded this to DeviantArt as well)

Who needs April? I'm already a fool!

Managed to throw this together for the new O&A YouTube Channel;

Officer, I was in my kitchen, cleaning a dish . . .

I've got lots of art to post! I've also got company on the way in about half an hour and a sink full of dishes to wash! Hence, a quick bit of news, for now;

Otto and Anna is given a bit of spotlight on Simply Modern Mom! CHECK IT OUT
(Thanks out to Lisa and to SimplyModernMom.com for the feature)

There's also a contest, should anyone like to enter ^_^

Artses to be posted in a day or two. Till then, I'm off to scrub the dishes!

Just a wee bit

A very quick little mini-comic created as a placeholder for the new Otto and Anna webpage I am building;



These are the first three panels of a much longer story. Otto and Anna is going to be a webcomic! I'm excited!

Ruffling your feathers, again

Further assorted flavours, today;

Final design for the grandmother character in the last post;



I keep forgetting to post this . . . It was gift I made for my parents to put up in their new kitchen;


I made the tea pots out of sculpey and the liquid out of hot glue, then painted over the lot.

Last week's challenge for Fiery-Coloured was "Blue." Here's my entry.



And three illustrations from a children's book project;

Makes you want to stretch out your arms toward a green light across the water

A commission I just finished;

Twenty four hours of being twenty four

Well, it's midnight on the 9th of March and I've been twenty four years old all day. Er, horray? Possibly?

More importantly, I've got a backlog of arts to be posted. Here we go!

Sketches for a grandmother character in an upcoming Otto and Anna venture;



A speed-painting of my gator-hunting Cajun, Zekiel Arcenaux;


Remember that big bowl of paper cranes a few posts back? I made them into Valentines. I made a tonne and sent out . . . just under a tonne. Here are the last three stragglers of the bunch;





Here's the last two pieces I did for Fiery Coloured;

For the 'Cute and Terrifying' challenge, in which we were to pick something and draw it as simperingly cute as possible, then take the same thing and draw it as nasty and grotesque as possible;





And for the "X" challenge, I designed a tic tac toe board . . . With X-Men playing pieces. Anyone who knows me saw that coming from lightyears away, he he.







The pieces are made of shrinkydink plastic with felt X's and O's glued to the back. 'X' pieces are X-Men, naturally, and the 'O' pieces are members of the Brotherhood team. My printer was low on every ink but magenta, so the final colours were a bit of an accident, but I think they actually match the board rather nicely as is.

Here are the original marker drawings I did for them;







Good night, all!

Now, we just need to make jackets . . .

Hallo, petals. I realise you lot are positively SPARKING with concern, so I shall begin by saying that I did, in fact, NOT die. The trip back from Kentucky was snowy, but otherwise, smooth sailing. We are on the proverbial roll, people.

New graphic for the club website:



And some itty bitty icons (again, for the website)



Aaand because I can not POSSIBLY allow this post to be entirely brightly-coloured, adorable and cheerful, have something wholly monochromatic, angst-steeped and depressing:



My entry for the Silent Films challenge, over at One Fiery Coloured Moment. Be sure to stop by over there so you can see Sara's entry as well!

Inks gone Wilde

Greetings from the Chicken State! Indeed, we have, at last, made in to Kentucky. The drive was long and the snow, relentless. But it has been nothing if not productive. Wish me luck on surviving the trip home, won't you?

In the mean time, I have things I can post . . .

I started up a joint blog with Sara, in which we will take turns giving each other weekly challenges to be answered in art form. Since I am on such an Oscar Wilde kick as of late, I declared that our very first challenge be . . . Oscar Wilde (fancy that).

Here's what I came up with;



Anyone who knows anything about Mr. Wilde, himself, will find this picture pretty self-explanatory. For those unfamiliar, I shall supply these Wildean maxims;

"In life, there are only two tragedies: One is not getting what you want. The other is getting it."

"It's perfectly monstrous how people say things about a man behind his back, which are absolutely true."

. . . And some preliminary sketchbookstuffs which lead up to the above illustration;











. . .

Go check out One Fiery-Coloured Moment to see Sara's contributions, as well as to see what we produce for future challenges!

Can't have any soggy origami . . .

. . . Why yes, that is a colander full of paper cranes. And what are they for? Well, before I answer that, allow me to pose a question of my own . . .

WHO WANTS A FALA VALENTINE?

If you'd like a valentine from me, either email me and tell me so (email address is at the top of the page), comment here, or just generally let me know. They might be a wee bit late on account of the snow (we got another foot of it today), but I'd love to send them out, either way.

We can rough it

More more more!

Rough pencils for Page One of the newest Otto and Anna comic:



I sent the above drawing to be finalised and it was well-recieved, but she thought that the contest ought to look more like an event than a street scene.

So, I brainstormed . . .



. . . and revised!