Dijon

"Dijon" (pastel, 6x6 inches)  click here to bid or buy

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, and that your New Year will be full of success and joy!

Dijon is the last of the demos from the Brenham TX workshop earlier this month.

I've been catching up on some post-Christmas portrait orders, and other miscellaneous stuff like driving to Fort Worth to see the Monet exhibit at the Kimball and to pick up the newest member of our family, this sweet little Cornish Rex boy kitten, who is happiest when he's literally attached to one of his new humans. If he can't find a lap, shoulders will do...

As soon as I can manage to get a good night's sleep, perhaps some new kitty paintings will be forthcoming?

Portrait discount ending soon!

Four Generations - a Portrait Commission (conte and pastel pencil, 15x12 inches)  sold

Last chance is fast approaching for 50% off my pencil portraits! Sale ends Christmas Eve at 6pm. Yes, it is officially too late to have your order shipped to you in time for Christmas, but you can have your order done in January, and as long as we can receive and approve your photo(s) and deposit by December 24, you can still get the discount!

A Pet Portrait, conte and white pastel, 10x8 inches, sold

See more samples, regular prices, and ordering info on my Drawing site at RitaKirkmanDrawings.com

Park Trail #38

"Park Trail #38" (pastel, 5x5 inches)  click here to bid or buy

This was my landscape demo from my workshop in Brenham. I've painted this scene before, from one of my favorite path photos.

Popcorn

"Popcorn"  (pastel. 7x5 inches) click here to bid or buy
reference photo donated by Ellen Amis-Stilwell

This is another adorable bunny from the generous and friendly members of the House Rabbit Society group on Facebook. 10% of the sale of this painting will be donated to the House Rabbit Society.

The House Rabbit Society is an international, nonprofit animal welfare organization which rescues abandoned rabbits and finds permanent adoptive homes for them, and through education, seeks to reduce the number of unwanted rabbits and to improve bunnies’ lives by helping people better understand these often misunderstood companion animals. Visit their website at Rabbit.org to learn more!

For information on how to commission a portrait of your house rabbit (or cat or dog or mouse or iguana or...) see samples and pricing on my website at ritakirkman.com.
 

Pencil Portrait Holiday Special

A Pencil Portrait commission, conte pencil and white pastel pencil, 10x8"

This Christmas Season I'm back at the annual fine craft show at Rolling Oaks Mall in San Antonio Texas, and I'm having a SALE!

50% Off All Pencil Portraits!*
(as seen on my site RitaKirkmanDrawings.com. You MUST mention this blog post when ordering to get the deal!)

This is an unprecedented special offer for this Holiday Season only and will very likely never happen again. Expires Dec. 24, the last day of the Craft Show.

Don’t hesitate to place your order now. When our schedule fills up before Christmas we will be completing orders at home in January. If we’re lucky we will fill up very soon, so if you want something for Christmas, order it now!

 If you don't need it for Christmas, order ahead for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, your sister's wedding, your parents' anniversary, your partner's birthday, Aunt Jane's housewarming party, or just-because-you-want-it day! If I have your photo(s) and your deposit by Dec 24, you will get the discount!

See more samples and ordering info at

RitaKirkmanDrawings.com

(You MUST mention this blog post when ordering to get the deal!)

*Sale excludes caricatures, poems, framing and shipping.

Mel (and the House Rabbit Society)

"Mel"  (pastel, 7x5 inches)  click here to bid or buy
Reference photo donated by Angela Hen of the House Rabbit Society.

I had a fortuitous encounter a couple of weeks ago with the Facebook group of the House Rabbit Society. Someone had added me to the group a long while ago, and I was just getting around to browsing it. I was instantly hooked! Total Visual Cuteness Therapy! So I decided to leave a post with a message asking members if they would like to share some photos with me for painting references.

36 hours later I had over 200 responses and more than 250 photos shared by these very generous and friendly bunnies and their humans!

To shorten a longer story, I've decided to make a 10% donation to the House Rabbit Society for any bunny painting I sell that is either of the following:

1) Any bunny painting from a photo that was donated by a member of the HRS or the HRS Facebook group.

2) Any bunny painting purchased by a member of the HRS, even if it was painted from my own photo. (Member must mention this at the time of purchase.)

The House Rabbit Society is an international, nonprofit animal welfare organization which rescues abandoned rabbits and finds permanent adoptive homes for them, and through education, seeks to reduce the number of unwanted rabbits and to improve bunnies’ lives by helping people better understand these often misunderstood companion animals. Visit their website at Rabbit.org to learn more!

Meanwhile, here are some progress shots of Mel, which was one of my demos this past weekend at my Brenham Texas workshop:

Thanks for watching! Please share!

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30-in-30 Goal Accomplished!

My 30 paintings of November!

I've discovered that PicMonkey has added some new features since the last time I used their free collage maker. Most notably the ability to download your finished collage at higher resolutions! I may be able to get this printed up to 16x18 at a pretty good clarity... I might send it off for posters if I get some interest.
;)

I've recently learned about this great new collage maker tool called Canva, check it out!

Day 30 - Vanilla or Chocolate?

"Vanilla or Chocolate?" (pastel, 10x10 inches)  sold

Day 30 in my 30-Paintings-in-30-Days of November! Whew! An amazingly productive month; I should do this more often!

These bunnies were a request from a client who loved my painting from a couple years ago "Chocolate or Vanilla?" but missed out on purchasing it. So I flipped the photo reference and did another for her, "flipping" the title as well. ;)

After my workshop in Brenham Texas this weekend, December will be immersing me in my usual portrait drawing business, with the fine craft show at Rolling Oaks Mall in San Antonio Dec 9-24. Expect a few portrait posts in the coming weeks (and maybe a few more bunny paintings too...!)

Meanwhile, some progress shots of "Vanilla or Chocolate?"

Thanks for watching! Please share!

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Day 29 - Q is for Quail

"Q is for Quail"  (pastel, 8x6 inches)  click here to bid or buy

Day 29 in my 30-Paintings-in-30-Days of November. Almost there!

Coming along nicely in my Alphabet Series as well. Lucky that I had at least one half-way decent reference photo of something starting with a Q!

Some progress shots:

Thanks for watching! Please share!

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Day 28 - P is for Prairie Dog

"P is for Prairie Dog"  (pastel, 6x6 inches)  click here to bid or buy

Day 28 in my 30-Paintings-in-30-Days of November.

Though the prairie dog is native to North America, I've not seen many 'in the wild', but I have a few good shots from the many zoos I've visited over the years. I couldn't resist this little gal's roundness.

Here are some progress shots:

Thanks for watching! Please share!

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Day 27 - O is for Orangutan

"O is for Orangutan"  (pastel, 10x10 inches)  click here to bid or buy

Day 27 in my 30-Paintings-in-30-Days of November. I've been wanting to paint a primate for quite a while. This Alphabet Series has provided me with the perfect intro!

This one was my demo last Friday at the Brenham Fine Arts League. I didn't quite finish it at the demo, so I finished it today. Next weekend (Dec 3-4) I'll be giving a workshop there. I think there might still be a space or two left, but I'm not sure. Find contact info on my workshop page here!

Photographer Michael Mallory got some great shots at the demo, including some short video clips which he posted on his Instagram! Check them out!

Here's where I continued at home:

Thanks for watching! Please share!

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Day 26 - N is for Nutria

"N is for Nutria"  (pastel, 10x10 inches)  click here to bid or buy

Day 26 in my 30-Paintings-in-30-Days of November.

The Nutria, or Copyu, is a large semi-aquatic rodent native to South America, that is actually considered a pest in many of the coastal United States. It was brought here for it's fur in the late 1800's, but when that market later collapsed, thousands were released into the wild.

I never knew any of that 'til I decided to add this cute fellow to my Alphabet Series. This one lives in Landa Park, New Braunfels, and had just snagged some water grasses to take home for dinner.

Thanks for watching! Please share!

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