Friday, August 26, 2011

Mojave Green and Some More Self-Portraits

Oh, we had some excitement around our house this morning. Not good excitement either. I looked out about 15 minutes after I'd let two of our remaining dogs outside and this is what I saw. At first I couldn't believe I was seeing what I was so I called my husband over and he confirmed it. Another snake! This is a Mojave Green rattler which has two kinds of toxins, one for the muscles and one for the nervous system so the vaccines and antivenoms don't work well if a dog gets bit. Very, very dangerous. This one had 7 rattle buds so it was quite mature. At least we got this one before it got another of our dogs!

The other pictures are part of my ongoing self-portrait series with Violette
. I am not happy with my monkey face at all. My face needed to be out as far as the hair edges and then hair added beyond that. It would have made a lot of difference. Also, I think I have to watch the angle at which I hold a handheld mirror as it changed perspective on me and not for the better! Ah well, it's a learning process.

The second, blue and orange picture was done in ball point pen with watercolor added. I was trying to stay cool yesterday which I can as long as I stay indoors with the air-conditioning but it was 108 degrees outside. The official temp is never as high as we seem to get but we have three thermometers outside that all say the same thing. They are two different brands and in three areas of the yard so can they all be wrong? I think not. These were portraits nos. 7 and 8. I am quite a bit behind but that's okay with me. It's the journey, not the speed that counts here.

Hope you have happy events in your day!


10 comments:

  1. Goodness a snake like that in the garden would have totally freaked me out. The only venomus one we have is the Adder (our dog picked up a baby one about 4inches long when he was about 7 months old...luckily we got him to the vet in time for help). Your drawings are really good, I've enjoyed seeing them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm enjoying them too, Timaree! I agree, it's the journey that counts. And yikes! A rattlesnake!? They say we have them here but I've never seen one (thank goodness!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, your snake adventure sounds exciting! These are such expressive sketches, I especially like the colors in the bottom self-portrait. Thanks for visiting my blog...to answer your question, I rarely use photos...I just prop 'en up there and draw away!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm so glad there are no snakes where I live. Glad you caught this one on time. I had to smile at your expression in the first portrait, like even your portrait wasn't happy with the result. ;-) I laughed out loud at the second one, it looks fun. I love these self portraits!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yikes! Another deadly snake! And 108 degrees? I would be most unhappy. Good for you sticking to the self portrait project. It will be so cool seeing them all together when you finish.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, I don't know what I'd do if I found those snakes in my yard! Scary! We have coyotes that walk the fields near my house and that's freaky enough. See you around Jane's class - I look forward to more of your work.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yikes! Glad you were able to get rid of the snake with no harm to you or your dogs. And 108??? I thought it was hot here! I don't think even our heat index is as high as 108 right now, even with the humidity. Hang in there--fall is coming...I hope!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love your portraits - and I bet you are learning loads from doing them every day. And your story of the snake makes me very grateful that I live in a cold wet corner of the UK ...
    Sue

    ReplyDelete
  9. How horrible! And I read about your other dog a few minutes ago...so sad! What a cutey, bright, happy face! We've not seen as many snakes this summer as we usually do, probably because of the drought and the fact that most of our snakes like water. We did have official temps of 108 and 109 four days in a row! Hasn't this been just horrible!? So glad we're starting to cool off some! Great job on the portraits. I think they'll get easier as you go!

    ReplyDelete

I like being part of a community. Please share your thoughts about my blog with me. Hope you have a wonderful day!