An Ostrich Egg for Betty White

I had a brush with celebrity earlier this month - I was thrilled to be able to meet actress and animal advocate Betty White (yes, that Betty White - from the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Golden Girls, Boston Legal and The Proposal).



Here's the back story: I've been drawing animals in pen & ink on ostrich eggs for many years, since I worked at the Sacramento Zoo as the Volunteer/Events Coordinator in the 80's. These eggs are presented as awards at Zoo events, offered as silent auction items and gifted to major Zoo donors and supporters. I'm very fortunate to have maintained a relationship with the Zoo staff and they commission at least a dozen eggs from me each year. By last count, that's well over 200 eggs that I've "inked".

I was honored when my Zoo friends commissioned an egg as a gift for Betty as a "thank you" for being the featured guest at a fund-raiser for the new new "Tall Wonders" giraffe habitat expansion project. Just knowing that a piece of my art would be in her collection was exciting enough, but then I was invited to the event too! Below is the egg, with a giraffe drawing, of course.


When the egg was presented to Betty, I was standing on the other side of the room watching with butterflies in my stomach. I honestly got chills when the Zoological Society's board president handed the egg to her and she seemed truly touched an happy to receive the gift. She then sat down with it clutched to her chest for a little while.



It was a wonderful evening and I felt like I was part of the staff again - I hung out with a couple of Zoo gals at the raffle table, chatted with folks I'd worked with ages ago and got up close and personal with a couple of critters. Event attendees were also able to get a sneak preview of the new giraffe habitat. As for Betty, she was funny, gracious and sweet - an amazing woman and she admitted during the Q & A session on stage that she was 87. I sure hope I can be that spry and sharp when I'm her age!





There wasn't much time to have a conversation with her, but thanks to Valorie Schneider (the current Volunteer Coordinator) and Mary Healy (Zoo Director), I was able to have two photos taken with Betty and chat with her a little bit. I also got her autograph on my name tag.







Yes, I was fairly floating when I left the event and walked back to my car that night and I suspect I had a grin on my face the entire drive home!

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Taking a Stand Against Copyright Infringement

I received a threatening e-mail yesterday. It comes from a Marykay Bond and what I've posted below is unedited. Now, those that know me or have even just been following this blog, know that I'm a professional and I work very hard to present myself that way. I wouldn't normally put something like this out there, but I want this out in the open for everyone to see.

"Ann Ranlett,

Why are you attacking my art?
Have you ever held a piece of my art in your hand? Has any one in that group truly saw a piece of my work?
It saddens me when I see an artist such as your self running with "pack mentally".

There in not one ounce of proof that anyone can show that my art is not real.
This is all hearsay and was started by one jealous artist and it has snowballed out of control.

These people seem to think this is all some sort of fun game; but what they do not realize is that there are internet stalking laws; there are slander laws; and many other laws that are also being broken.
If anyone slanders my name I am going after them with the full force of the Law!

These people like to hide behind made-up pretend names and say things about me using my real name and my business name's; this is SLANDER!

I will get a court order to pull all of ebay and YouTube records which will show the exact address of each ones servers through their isp address; which can be traced directly to their front door step of their homes, no matter what pretend name they are hiding behind.

I have never attacked your art or your name. I do not even know you so I know you do not know me; but if you choose to slander my name you are going down with them!

Regards,
Marykay Bond"

The e-mail speaks for itself. I will not dignify her comments/accusations/threats with a reply. But I won't call her out here, either. And I won't post her eBay id or web site. You can do your own research if you so choose.

I am trying to figure out what prompted the e-mail and the only thing I can think of that would make Ms. Bond feel I'm "attacking her art" is a comment I left on a Flickr photo (scroll down to the comment by AnnRan5). Yes, I'm assuming what the other commenters are saying is true, but I'm also aware of copyright infringement on eBay, so I really don't doubt them. I know artists whose photos or artwork have been used without permission. The photographer who took the cat photos and posted them on her Flickr page did not authorize use of that photo in that manner - it's obvious from her own comment. It's extremely frustrating as an artist and a photographer to see others' work used without permission, it has not happened to me (that I know of) but I'm as vigilant and protective of my work as is reasonably possible.

I also try to educate when I can. What many people don't realize is that just because an image (be it a photo or art) is on the internet, doesn't mean it can be used by anyone in any manner they wish. Others do realize this and don't care, figuring the odds of the appropriation being discovered are slim. This is copyright infringement. The copyright belongs to the creator of that image, period. Simply put, copyright means all rights to do anything with that image. Even the buyer of an original piece of art or a photograph does not have permission to make reproductions of that work, unless such permission is granted by the artist/photographer. Some time ago, I ran across a great summary of copyright info. Click here to read it (you have to scroll down the page a little bit).

It's a tough situation - as artists, we want to share our art with others and the internet is an amazing way to do that since we can reach people on the other side of the world. On the down side, by doing that, we open our work up to theft. The best we can do is to keep an eye out for unauthorized use of our work (and our fellow artists' works) and to put a copyright watermark on our images that we put on the web. Fortunately, at least in my experience, the positives of having my work on the internet far outweigh the negatives.

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Lorna Doone - Scottish Highland Cow

"Lorna Doone", 5" x 7" Drawing

Lorna and her sister Mary (as in Queen of Scots) are two wonderful and woolly Scottish Highland Cattle. Their owner invited me over a few years ago to meet them and take photos. They're very sweet girls and I got plenty of great reference photos. I just love the texture of their shaggy coats and I knew they'd be great subjects for art.


Color Reference Photo


Reference Photo - converted to greyscale, contrast tweaked

I decided to do this illustration on Ampersand Scratchbord (formerly Claybord Black). And yes, it's spelled "bord". Scratchbord is a 1/8" thick panel with a smooth clay surface that's pre-coated with black ink. I do 98% of my scratchboard drawings on a white surface on which I paint/draw the black areas where I want them, but some images just cry out for an all black surface. To "draw" on the black surface, I scratch in the lines with an X-acto knife (#16 blade) - basically, I'm drawing white with the knife. I can go back in and ink a few places with black to adjust the contrast or fill in an area, but mostly I just scratch away to expose the white surface under the black coating. I can also "re-scratch" the inked areas to soften the contrast. I did that on parts of the horns and on the darkest areas of Lorna's hair. The solid black background is the original pre-inked surface. On this drawing, I also scratched a very thin line along the edge and added some random scratches for effect.


Detail 1 of "Lorna Doone"


Detail 2 of "Lorna Doone"

I decided not to frame this drawing. I sprayed the surface with Claybord Fixative (seals, protects and removes smudges) and have put a hanger on the back - simple! In trying to find a link to the Fixative, I've discovered it was discontinued in 2007 (obviously, I've had mine for a while) and they're working on a new formulation with UV protection. In the meantime, Ampersand recommends Krylon #1305 or #1309.

I won't be making cards or prints of this one - too much black - it'll chew through my printer ink in no time!

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A Nifty New Painting Panel

I learned about these panels from Nancy Holtz, another member of the Auburn Old Town Gallery. She had some paintings on them in the Gallery last year.

Made by Art Boards, they are a natural fiber panel with different painting surfaces adhered to the front. I used the Cold Press Watercolor Panel. There's a bit of texture, but not too much, so the paper works great mixed media pieces like those below. I use ink (a Micron pen) for the darkest areas, then watercolor washes, then I finish up the detail with color pencil (typically Prismacolor).

What's nice about these is they don't need to be framed. I spray the art with a coat of UV resistant spray and that's it. The boards are 1/4" thick and have a slot on the back for hanging. I also tint the panel edges to match the color of the paper next to the edge.

They're a fun way to create a small piece of art. Now that I've done three of these (with 2 more in the works), I'm offering them as an option for commissioned pet portraits. I enjoy working in different styles and mediums and by offering a variety, my clients have more styles and prices to choose from. This "art board style" is a hybrid between my looser "Paintings with Petzazz" watercolor on Yupo pieces and the far more detailed ink on scratchboard or pencil portraits. As you can see from these three paintings, I use vibrant colors. A white dog does not have to be white and grey and a goat does not have to be brown!


"Bailey" - Wheaten Terrier, 4" x 4"


"Goat #1" - 4" x 4"


"Goat #2" - Pygmy Goat, 4" x 4"

You can find Bailey & the two goats on magnets in my Zazzle shop and on note cards in my Bonanzle shop. They're also on all sorts of merchandise (ceramic tiles, mugs, t-shirts, etc.) in my CafePress shop: goats and Bailey.

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New Logo for A Chance for Bliss and a Call to Help!

I wanted to wait to post this until the new logo was live on their site, but I've just learned that A Chance for Bliss is in dire need of funds, so I think now is a good time to post! They need to raise $60K by the end of November '09 or there's a good chance they could lose the ranch. This can't be allowed to happen!!! The animals that live there are supposed to be there until their last days and finding new homes for them would be extremely difficult. Not only because the critters are special needs/seniors but because most of the other sanctuaries and rescues in the area are full and/or strapped for cash too. If you can donate any amount, it would be greatly appreciated - the button below will take you ACB's web site where you can donate via PayPal. If you can't donate, please spread the word. I've set up a summary web page - you can forward the link to your friends - thank you.



Ok, now on to the fun stuff:


My friends at A Chance for Bliss (ACB) animal sanctuary approached me about a logo design and I was happy to take it on. They wanted something that represented them better than the existing logo - a paw print in a horseshoe.



As Deanna (she and Woody are the founders of ACB) pointed out, none of their rescued horses even have shoes, so that logo was outdated. The purple color and font were the only things that needed to be part of the new logo.

Now I'm going to share the logo creation process with you. Deanna sent me some photos of a few of their critters and threw out some ideas. She wanted something that reflected their residents - senior and special needs horses, small dogs (Boston terriers especially) and some other critters. She sent photos of a very senior horse and a gimpy Boston terrier (who held his injured paw up).




I looked at the photos and thought about how to convey compassion and comfort. The gimpy paw really didn't look sad to me, it looked like the dog was reaching out, the way any dog does when it's offering its paw for a shake. So I knew a Boston with paw up had to be part of the logo.

Next was the issue of the senior horse, I knew that trying to draw a senior horse probably wouldn't work because what is obviously a senior horse in a photo might just look like a badly drawn horse in a logo. Then my thinking went to a silhouette logo of a Boston terrier and horse under a protective tree, but the proportions wouldn't work - the dog would be just a speck.

More thinking and pondering lead me to a heart with silhouettes over it. I didn't want a lot of detail (even though I am a detail freak) - so I opted against full-on line drawings. The logo had to be clean and reproduce-able at various sizes. I decided some white would work well, especially since Boston terriers are so very black and white!

A horse head, paw-up Boston and a space on the left for text became my plan. I made a thumbnail pencil sketch of that, not much bigger than 2" x 2". I thought I'd saved it, but can't find it. I showed that little sketch to Deanna and Woody - we discussed it and decided to add a goat. They have a few goats at ACB along with pot-bellied pigs, chickens and geese, so we thought including a goat would represent all the other types of critters. And a goat would be an easily recognizable silhouette. I had taken tracing paper with me when I showed them the first thumbnail, so I traced over that and added a goat. Can't find that sketch either - sorry!

With that draft approved, I browsed ACB's photo album for reference photos. I wanted to put their animals in the logo if at all possible. At this point, I turned to my oh-so-useful computer and CorelDraw to make a mock up with the photos.

I created the heart shape, cropped the photos and arranged them around the heart. I was able to use their critters, although in the end, the goat doesn't look much like their William (we decided the silhouette would need horns). The horse is pony boy Handsome and the dog is Sunshine.


Then I showed the photo mock up to Deanna and Woody for approval. With the "ok" on that, I printed it out at 8" wide and traced over the components with good ol' tracing paper and a pencil. Next, I scanned the pencil drawing and converted it to a black & white image, cleaning it up, making it solid and filling in the horse's neck.




This is the draft with the black & white image.


When the above version was approved, I went to work vectorizing the critters so the logo would be clean, crisp and scale-able. The only thing that really changed from my pencil drawing was the goat. Once I saw it in black and white, I realized the goat was too solid, so I checked reference photos I had of other goats and added the white muzzle and facial stripe. The back edge of the horse's mane is a bit different, mainly because it's time consuming to convert all those wisps into vector shapes, so I simplified. And as it turned out, I like the way the mane wisps mimic the goat's horns.

In addition to the final logo shown at the top, I created a version without text for use in cases where the text might need to be isolated. I replaced the text with a small white version of the big purple heart.

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