FINALLY ... THE ALOST-COMPLETE SAGA OF THE PAPER MACHE BESTIARY

Owl, not yet varnished. I had to make one eye closed, as it was lower than the other ...  improvising all the time.

Awesome Possum has had one glaze of varnish. It really brings out the color and texture nicely.

Froggy needs varnishing.

... started out from humble origins ...

Mr. P. will be getting a mane and tail made of real horse-hair, courtesy of Bruno.

Mr. Przewalski's beginning.

... and the Basset hound.

Finally, I am almost done. They are all painted, and some of them have had a first spray of varnish.  I hope to have them delivered this weekend.
The next project like this will be a goose, but I will try a different finish - something called "cloth mache". You can read about it on Dan Reeder's web site  http://www.papermachemonsters.com Dan makes fantastic monsters in cloth mache, and also has a wonderfully warped sense of humor.

Thank you for dropping by! Your comments are always welcome!

Two Down and Three to Go - The Paper Mache Menagerie

This Dynamic Duo is DONE!

Awesome Possum

The texture of the dried paper mache sometimes works very much in one's favor. It worked like a charm creating the possum's shaggy coat.

Basset Hound

And, of course, sometimes the texture works against you when you are trying to do fine detail painting.

The lowly beginning of the possum ...

... and the Basset Hound.

I forced myself to sit down and work on the animals today. After painting with watercolors for the past few days, it feels like painting with sludge. However, two of the commissions are completed. I think I will tackle the owl next ...

Thank you for dropping by! Your comments are always welcome!

Creature Feature - an Update on the Paper Mache Beastiary

Froggie still looks good, though had some minor orthopedic surgery this morning. There was a crack in his left forearm - quickly set with paper and paste. He has been gessoed, with a home-made plaster gesso, and sanded. More gesso to be applied ... 

This is Mr. Przewalski III, still in the pre-gesso stage.

Basset hound, being gessoed and sanded ...

  ... love the ears!

Awesome Possum

And the owl, which doesn't quite look too owlish. I am hoping the paint makes a difference ... a BIG difference!

These figures are more work than I originally thought they'd be, mostly with the multiple gessoing and sanding sessions. But I still think they're cute, and am having fun with them. I have started to put together a large goose, as well. That will be finished in a different way - something called "cloth mache". It's all a learning process ...

Thank you for dropping by! Your comments are always welcome!

Oh ... This and That ...

The tugboat has been bought - YAY - and will be sailing off this afternoon to its new home way east of here, in the prairies. The purchaser wishes to remain anonymous, but I thank her very, very much!

Green wave parrot tulip

I am working on ideas for another tulip painting. A friend of one of my sisters fell in love with the one I had done for my aunt, and bought it. As my aunt found the painting a bit overwhelming with its dark background, I will try to restrain my inner drama queen, and keep the painting more in the pastel color range. I have found some interesting references for a parrot tulip called the green wave, and will compose something with those in mind.

Four of my paper mache beasties are ready for gesso. I'll get that done today. But I had to start the horse for the third time - just not right. I wanted to recover the wire I had used for its leg armatures, so I tried to pry the legs off. The paper mache dries SOOOO firmly, I finally had to resort to using a hammer ... HARD! Wow, that stuff dries beautifully! I am still loving the paper mache. Somehow, I find it so calming at those times when I let myself get too wired up. So for my next therapy session, I am making a rather large goose - it will probably stand about three feet tall. Then I have in mind a pig, maybe like the painting I did of the singing pig ... and then ...

Thank you so much for visiting! Your comments are always welcome. 

... and Now a Word from My Paper Mache Friends ...

Here's my Basset hound, with her ears attached.

I have her posing in front of the blue version of the tugboat painting for contrast.
As Pat prefers the green version of the tug work, I will be finishing this blue version soon, and offering it up for auction on my gallery page. Stay tuned ...

Horse, with hoofies attached ...

I have also finished with the paper mache part of the frog. He is sitting on a pile of newsprint that was part of his armature while I worked. Yes, I eviscerated him! ACK!!!

... hole cut out with exacto knife ...

... covering back in place.  The frog, owl and possum are ready for some gesso applications. Then I will paint them, and apply some sort of varnish to seal them. As I work with these structures, I am amazed at how very strong they are - probably at least as sturdy as clay work.

Thank you for visiting! Your comments are always welcome!  

The Paper and Paste Menagerie Is Growing ...

I start with a few sketches to get an idea of pose and proportion.

Then I scrunch up some newspaper into balls, and tape with masking tape.  Legs, fingers and toes, I usually use a wire armature of some sort - craft wire, coat hanger, twist-tie. Then I wrap the wire in paper, too, and tape it.

My next step is taping all the body parts together, and making sure the figure stands solidly, and is in proportion.

Meet Mr, Przewalski, ready for some paper and paste treatment. The Przewlaski horse is believed to be the progenitor of all horse breeds. I think there are still some herds on the Asian steppes, and in sanctuaries world-wide.

Sketches for the dog figure.

It's supposed to be a Basset hound, but I'm not sure if it will be long enough.
Now to get REALLY messy with some flour and water paste!!!


Many thanks  for visiting! And your comments are always welcome.

Something REALLY Different ...

Froggy - armature only

Awesome Possum - some paper mache "muscle" on him, and a hole cut in the top

Owl - with removable head

The Gang - drying out by the bathroom heater.

About two months ago, I re-connected with an old university friend. It was quite funny how she found me. Her daughter-in-law was on facebook, saw my froggy Christmas card, loved it, and showed it to Lynn. The artist's name was very familiar, so Lynn sent me a message ... Are you the Kathryn Ragan who ... I was! She [generously and kindly] wanted so support my artistic endeavors, so she asked if I could make some "awesome boxes". I had never heard of those; I thought she said "possum boxes", and thought it was a cute idea. Now I know what an awesome box is, and am creating some animal-shaped containers in paper mache.
I am having a blast with the paper mache!!! It is gloriously messy, gooey fun! So far, I have constructed armatures [basic support structure] for an owl, a possum and a frog. I have built up their shapes with layers of paper mache [using newspaper, old telephone books and flour/water paste]. Once I have a reasonable shape, I will slather them with gesso to smooth and give detail. Then I will paint them, with acrylic I think, and finally varnish the critters. I may get together armatures for a horse and a dog today, as well as working on the tugboat painting. It has been snowing for three days here, and we have almost a foot of snow - very un-Vancouver-like weather! I am getting a little twitchy being inside, not being able to play with Bruno, so I have to keep busy ...

Thank you all for dropping by! Your comments are always welcome.