Saucy Little Chippy

Saucy Little Chippy, a photo by Teri DC on Flickr.

I was totally entertained with this little chipmunk. My daughter's two Golden Retrievers are in the kitchen avidly watching this chippy perform all kinds of antics: running, eating and sleeping as though she knows perfectly well that she is safe on the other side. Drives the dogs nuts and if she could smirk she would be doing it. Small things like this are so delightful and entertaining!
Painted on Stillman and Birns Beta sketchbook.  I so love that paper!

A Fun Chipmunk Finish--Vickie Henderson

It's funny how you set a painting aside while you "think about it" and time goes by.

Lots of time. In fact, May through October went by! But I never put the painting away. It was always looking at me when I entered the kitchen, my temporary studio. (Click on images to enlarge.)

Time is always an issue but as I think about it, the pine needles were also giving me a bit of hesitation. What finally motivated the painting's finish was my desire to complete my Red-shouldered Hawk project which began last February, a wonderful five-month experience observing a pair of Red-shouldered hawks during nesting season. I wanted to include this painting in my sketchbook slideshow.

I began the foreground with a light wash saving the ivy leaves. This was followed with negative painting--painting between the needles to save the lighter colors and create depth. To finish, I added some darker painted needles and a bit of splatter.

Painting is always a learning process for me, part of the fun and challenge. So much of what I do is unplanned and intuitive, even though I do consider how I want to approach the subject. In this case, I discovered that the water used in splattering faded some of my darker needles and I had to repaint them. Next time I might try splattering just before I add the final details and maybe add a bit more pigment to my splatter.

chipmunk study

The resort owner where we stayed Wednesday night at the Lake of the Ozarks was amazed their cat accepted me so quickly and brought something for me to draw. I made us late for dinner sketching it--I was so enthralled by the subtleties of the coloring. And of course I'd been frustrated earlier because I couldn't get close enough to really SEE the little creatures, which were everywhere--problem solved!

Tamius striatus makes a nuisance of himself in many areas--when I looked online for more information, I found dozens of sites telling how to deal with that! I guess the cat figured out one of them...

You'll find some lovely photos HERE and a Wikipedia entry HERE

...or explore more about chipmunks and far, far more in my old mentor, Charles W. Schwartz's wonderful book, below!



Charles was wonderfully talented, encouraging and helpful--I've loved his work since I was a kid! (Who knew there was a new edition of his book? The original one is one of the treasures of my personal library...)

Still Captivated by a Chipmunk

After seeing this chipmunk and sketching it in my sketchbook, I had the urge to try a version on watercolor paper. Two things often happen for me the first time I sketch an animal, bird, plant. I get more familiar with the shape of what I’m drawing and I get inspired by the intimacy I feel with the subject.This chipmunk captivated me because of his tiny alertness in a vast world of cunning hawks, old growth hardwoods and a rich forest floor full of decaying leaves, umbrella plants (Mayapples) and ferns. He popped out from under a stone wall and was looking around when he heard a hawk calling. In a blink he was gone again.I am currently using two sketchbooks. An 8x12 Canson watercolor sketchbook and a 5 x 7 multi-media sketchbook by Holbein. The Canson book has great sketch and practice paper that's tough and allows nice movement. But while using the smaller multi-media book that I take in the field, I often find myself wishing for a more water absorbent paper.The use of different papers with watercolor is a valuable exercise. You learn to adjust your application to the qualities of the surface you’re using and different papers produce different results. I have plenty of sketchbooks and papers on my shelf that I haven’t used yet, so I’m giving them all a try. It’s kind of like buying clothes. You can't really know whether you like what you’re buying until you wear it a few times. And both appearance and comfort count.

I generally use cold press papers but this 90 lb hot press Fabriano Artistico was calling me this time. Here's how my little chipmunk looks at this stage before I plunge in for the finish. To see more about how I happened upon this chipmunk click this link at Vickie Henderson Art.