In celebration of the Year of the Rabbit, I finally decided to commit this drawing into finished art work. The initial drawing was done over a year ago. Who knows what kind of day at work I had when I sat down on the sofa to draw; but as the theme is predators and helpers, I was thinking of what advice a rabbit would give. Then, well, I went down a rabbit hole
of what a world would look like if rabbits could give advice. It would be full of color, books, plants, and just a wee cattywampus.
The stethoscope suggest that maybe this rabbit is a heart specialist, one that collects interesting books. She has books on bullies and toxic behavior, but she also has a world atlas and a book on gardening. In the waste bin are the Easter eggs that didn't work out. You can always expect to break a few of those. She also keeps images of a predator and a helper on the wall just to keep her memory sharp.
Perhaps that particular day of work when I first drew this, I ignored my own intuition. That would be deadly mistake for a rabbit. Maybe, that's what this suggests to me. What thoughts come up for you?
Scout and the Space Cats is painted!!!!
Between mid-November and early January, I committed seventeen paintings and did the production work for my first children's book. Ok, I still have to do the cover and do the post production work, but I wanted to share some of my work here.
What are these cats doing that unnerve Scout so much?
It's weird enough where he will cross the street to get away from a cat.
The best fun for me was attempting to portray some of the neighborhood dogs and local landmarks. Look carefully, one of these might be your dog.
How do you defeat space cats? Brooms of course! No cat can resist running from a broom.
If one space cat tries to get away, a small dog on a skateboard will soon fix that problem.
This was the fun part of the work. Now, comes the post-production of photography, book design and (*gulp*) showing off the finished product. I would rather get started on book number two or do another painting or wrestle an alligator, but this is also part of the work. It is work that I have never done before and I am a little circumspect on my skills. The writer Steven King said. "The scariest moment is right before you start." To which I respond, "No, duh!" My goal is to have the book ready before open studios in May. I will do my best to keep to my goal.
The world does feel like it's been overrun with bullies, toxic behavior, and for some fatal violence. There is an antidote to all this, and I promise it's not hard to do. It is to look out for each other. When you feel afraid, ask yourself why and then listen very carefully to yourself. When you see someone who has been hurt, reach out and tell them exactly this, "You're a person and you didn't deserve to be treated that way."
Yale University did something exactly like that for a young girl who was doing her part to eradicate the invasive lantern fly. A neighbor called the police citing that he was scared of what she was doing. That could have gone badly; and yes, this child's sense of safety has been altered. Yale honored her for her work and asked to exhibit her collection of lantern flies. I hope that you will read the article. It really is touching.
Back soon, someday with more!