Two new pieces - Schmettermaus and Lil' Abby

I feel like I'm on a roll.  I have two new finished pieces to show;

The first I revealed the other day on Facebook, it is called Die Schmettermaus.  This little guy is related to Die Flittermas, however you may notice that his wings are more butterfly-like than fairy-like.  I think he's a different species, though there are very few mystic ethologists in Germany's Black Forest so the literature on these guys is scarce.

Die Schmettermaus, 5x7" Scratchboard/Ink (c) Pam Boutilier

The other piece is called 'Lil' Abby'.  This is a gorgeous little abyssinian kitten based on a reference photo from WetCanvas's RIL contributor Sweet Huia.  I started this little gal a LONG time ago and lost my way with her a bit.  Bringing her out recently for a fresh reboot I softened the shadow under her, added the soft green behind her to let me put in whiskers, a bit of tinkering in other spots and voila!  She looks so much better.

Lil' Abby, 9x12" whiteboard/ink (c) Pam Boutilier 

So the year continues at an encouraging pace!  Next I'll show you the start to finish progress of one of my largest colour pieces to date.  Stay tuned!

Works (actually) in progress

I like the term 'work in progress'.  Perhaps I like it a bit too much because it can be used as a general term that essentially means 'work that isn't finished but I do intend to finish it...'.  Of course nowhere is it stipulated exactly when... which is where my procrastinatorial tendencies come out.

Well here's a quick shot of WIPs that I actually worked on today... the kitten is close to completion and the other two are ready for ink (which will hopefully arrive tomorrow with my Blick's order).

So after a few weeks of complete and utter inefficiency it seems that I might be back in the swing of things.  Finishing older works as well as a couple of new ones are my priorities for the next month or so. 

I also have another piece that I'm excited to show you - I had to keep it under wraps (quite literally) up to this point as it was a Christmas gift.   Due to Circumstances I decided to fall back on satisfying two of Neil Gaiman's three rules... I'm easy to get along with and my work is good, but in this instance it wasn't on time.

Speaking of which, if you have not seen Neil Gaiman's commencement speech from 2012 you absolutely should watch it!

To be fair, this piece was a gift for the in-laws and working on it covertly while they were visiting over the holidays was just too difficult.  They are cool with it being finished in the next couple of weeks, so I'll post a WIP image of that one here very soon.

Happy New Year and cheers to all!  Here's to getting a good start to the year!

~ Pb