Now One of the "Women Artists of the West"

At the end of 2013, my application to Women Artists of the West was accepted! I'm now an Associate member of this long-standing organization. I've recently completed two pieces to submit to their upcoming show in San Diego in May. I'll find out by February 28th if either/both are accepted. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend the show this year.

The first piece is a miniature drawing of a Sandhill Crane. Show organizers requested that each artist submit at least one miniature - anything measuring 12" or less on a side, frame included. This crane is on a 3" x 5" scratchboard which I'll mount to a 5" x 7" board and put in a 5" x 7" black frame. The white outline is the edge of the scratchboard.

The "all scratched" version

The final version, with color. I used colored inks and India ink wash.

The second piece is a scratchboard drawing of a border collie pup. I'm Facebook friends with a border collie breeder in Australia and some time last year, she posted an adorable photo of one of her pups. When I saw that, I knew it was a "must draw", so I asked her permission to use the photo and she graciously sent the file. The format is long and narrow, so I cut a 12" x 9" piece of scratchboard down to 4" tall. The cut edge of the board is a little rough, so it's going into a custom-cut frame, no mat on this one.

"Tell Me More About 'Sheep'"
I used colored ink on the eyes and India ink wash on other areas.

A detail of the drawing

To see earlier in-progress images of this pup, start with this image in my Facebook album and advance forward.

In other news, I gave a scratchboard demo at the Stockton Art League a few days ago and will be giving a demo, followed by a workshop at Rocklin Fine Arts next week. On March 15/16, I'm teaching a workshop at Mendocino Art Center. I'm also working on a new drawing to submit to the International Society of Scratchboard Artists annual show that opens at the end of June.