Ward Parkway Art Fair 2008

I thought I would post some pics of James and I performing and exhibiting as Featured Artist at the 45th Annual Ward Parkway Art Fair in Kansas City last month. It sure was a cold couple of weeks up there, but it was great! Thanks to all of you that came out to see us, many of which I haven't seen in years. We also would like to thank our huge supporters in donation of their time and efforts helping us install, man the gift shop, and help pack up at the end. And the huge applause goes too: Dave, Junior, Nic , Ryan, Robert and Teri for the awesome photos! We love you guys! And last but not least, Thanks to Jamie for getting us up there for this event. We know how hard you worked for it:o) See you all in August.

It has been almost a year!

Wow has it been a long time. I'm not sure I even remember how to do this bloggin thing! So we will give it a whirl. To catch up on some news, James has been painting in pastels and creating some awesome works. I too have been painting but mostly getting ready for our exhibit coming to Muscatine Iowa and Powell Gardens happening this spring and summer 2008. Below are some of what we've created, starting with the grasshopper pastel that James finished last month (only his 5th painting).
Below is a finished pastel that James did....isn't it awesome! His very first one to boot. It is a Polythemis moth some of which we hatched and reared back in 2005. They are huge moths found in the Midwest US.

This pastel was quick-1 hour and came out great! I caught the cactus in bloom right outside our RV before we left for Denver in spring 2007

And finally, below is the finished pastel of the prior blog from 1 year ago. I actually did finish it! Unfortunately haven't had any time to take that easle out into the desert this past winter or spring. Maybe next winter:o) Until Next time!

A Big Change of Pace

To start...all I gotta say is "this bloggin is nuts!" the pictures somehow never seem to end up in the spot I intended with the dialogue to go under it. Any how, this pic above belongs down below under where I am pictured painting. This is a close up of the plein air I was working on at Gates Pass, sorry for any confusion:o)

With the Sonoran Desert Cactus in bloom (one pictured above), I decided it was high time I get myself a French easle so I could do some plein air paintings outside. I've only wanted one for the passed 25 years, and finally here it is. James and I took off for the hills and I began my first paintings out in the open air since the early 1990's.

The day was beautiful! We went up to Gates Pass and you can see the rock formations in the background that I'm looking at for the painting. (Above picture is what I talk about here....)Below is a close up of the pastel in progress, about 20 minutes in. The lighting changes so quick, so all the plein air pieces I started this day will be done in 2 parts. Need a day with little wind, so I can have my umbrella up to protect me from the beating down sun.

Below is James standing in front of a towering saguro cactus right near camp. Look how tiny James is next to this collassal cactus! They are beginning to bloom now which is early for them, and some like this one, don't even have any buds.

A look at my references for the Tarantula Painting

I have entered the third week and third coat of oil paint on this massive painting, and it continues to evolve.

This is a detail shot of the Tarantula hawk wasp (pepsis wasp) sitting on the "pearl" found in the Saguaro cactus arm skeleton that I found. I thought it would be perfect for the background of her while she is stalking the tarantula as a predator.

Above is a close up pic of the rare "pearl" we found in this saguaro cactus arm skeleton I am using for the painting. It appears that a healthy live saguaro will develop a scar tissue to any intruders or foreign matter and this particular pearl is believed to be the left behind evidence of an insect that burrowed into the cactus us when it was alive and well. Being very rare as an occurrence, we stumbled upon something that fit right in with what it is we do with an insect focus.

I must admit, this to be the perfect piece of saguaro cactus that I imagined for this painting. James and I searched acres of the Sonaran Desert, and as the hours passed, it became apparent to me that we were literally looking for a needle in a hay stack! What a great and exciting find we made for this painting.

Painting Progress

Nine days in on the painting at the Desert Museum. The visitors have been awesome, and the interaction while painting has been so exciting. I finished the second coat of paint on Sunday and begin the third coat on Wednesday when I perform again. I will take a pic of the saguaro arm skeleton reference I am using for the background habitat and post with next blog, so that all of you can see how intense and twisted it really is. Thanks for tuning in!

New Painting at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Pictured above is day 4 working on this massive new painting at the Desert Museum. I am painting a female Tarantula hawk wasp in her hunt for an Arizona blond tarantula male as he crosses the desert in search for a female. You can see my specimens at the lower left next to my paint palette and did I mention this painting is 60" x 120"! I have until April 22 to get this one done....and I'm excited about this one.

I've had great crowds and visitors peering in on my creative process and demonstrations. Folks from all over the world, and the response has been awesome! The paintings look great in the gallery space and I'm getting a ton of ooowws and aaahhs...that's what makes me tick, just what the doctor ordered. It feels good to put the show on again after our 3 month vacation.

Above a quick pic of the progress, just 4 days into it, she is coming along nicely. If your wondering about the background, James and I went out into the natural desert here and searched for a saguaro cactus arm skeleton, and to my delight after searching all day, we found the perfect specimen for the painting. I will take a pic of it and blog in a future post. The piece we found also has a something very special about it as I have been informed by the botanists at the Desert Museum. Stay tuned.

"Achilles and Hector" is finally finished!

Above is the finished pic of Achilles and Hector. Hector is the mantis nypmh you can barely see in his beak and was the last of details added to the painting. I finished him on January 28, 2007 and had a huge turn out with about 100 people for the varnishing and signing on January 30.
Above is a detail of Achilles head and added feathers under the eye from previous progress photos.
This pic shows the details of the belly, back, and tail feather ....these feathers were extreme to paint but the colors were so fun and challenging!
Pictured above are my Aunt and Uncle that live here in Tucson and they joined us for the varnishing and signing party. This was the first large painting of the exhibit that they had seen in person and they just loved him! I think he turned out great! And I have already started a new painting at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum this past Saturday on a large canvas...pics posting soon.

Webcam Launched!

Hey Project InSECT Fans! This is Project InSECT friend and web designer Lacey Lewis reporting in for Jessa and James.

Achilles was in fact finished by Jessa's goal date, and images of the completed painting will be on the way soon. She and James are now busy performing at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, thus updates have been slightly delayed.

Can't get enough of the awesome bug art? Check out the webcams! Watch live to see Jessa perform live 10:00 - 18:00 MTZ Wednesdays through Sundays, or check out the webcam archives while they are not performing.

A few more days to go

I am getting so close to wrap up, I can taste it! Above is near completion of the breast feathers. Below is finish of the belly feathers and meeting of the tail feathers. You can also see where I filled in the inside of the fore wing. Today I am going to finish up the long awaited tail feathers and hope to plug the baby mantis in his beak by the end of the weekend! Wheeewww!

Getting Closer!!

The breast feathers have finally begun to take shape and will upload more pics tomorrow. These were taken two days ago..and I've put in 20 hours since then. You can see how rediculous these tiny bird feathers are and to give you an idea, the white and grey feather area measures about 8" x 12" on my canvas and took 2 solid 12 hour days to paint.
Here is a pic taken further back and you can see where I have blacked in the feather shapes on the underside of the wing and the rest of the breast feathers are to come!

From Dizzy to Cross-Eyed

The back feathers have begun and boy is he popping bright now. The way these iridescent back feathers overlap is real crazy to sort out which is what and what is where. I got all of them laid in yesterday with only shadows and highlights left on each one, I would guess there are near 200 feathers tips on his backside. Above is a detail of the way they look so far, with the base carve out of feathers I left in the bottom right corner. I love the color palette on this particular part of the bird, very fun to mix and paint.

Getting Dizzy

Hi all, I just put in a 14 hour day on the painting and I got most of the iridescent throat feathers done along with a patch between the shoulder blades on the move. I had to take a photo of him from a right angle as I do have bad glare due to the lights I am working under on this big painting, so he does seem a bit ascue. I do have to say, standing in front of the painting, is a bit crazy because the colors are so intense it messes with your vision, and the iridescent throat feathers make me go hummm??!! WOW
I thought I would throw in a close up of the throat feathers, although it is no where's near the same in person...They really do look iridescent with regular ol' oil paint..and made my eyes go nuts while painting...quite dizzy in fact, and don't know how much of this maddness I can handle again in the future. But I am quite pleased with the outcome. 1 more week to go and counting....Stay tuned for updates!

More Throat Feathers

These feathers are taking forever...I finished the top and back of the head except a few minor spots of toning and highlighting. The throat is half done from top portion. I was delayed today in getting any painting done, in which I had hoped to put in a long day and get the rest of the ruby throat finished, but unfortunately, James has been sick with a cold and this morning I woke up with the nasty myself. I have a one week deadline on this painting now, and with seven days left and many more feathers to go, I see that cold or not, I will be painting around the clock to make it happen. I feel like I'm running in the Tour De France with this one.

Bring on the Color

I've finally gotten started with the irridescent colored feathers as you can see on the top of his head...It is taking hours to get an area no bigger than 3" x 3" done in one painting session. The colors and complications of feather design is crazy, but this is what I call the fun stuff...and for those watching me it's like watching moss grow on a rock (as an artist friend of mine put it)
The results are coming along nicely though....and I will update with somemore pics over the weekend, check in again!

Achilles with background

Here is a more final pic of the background...his beating wings give an impression of the sheer force of a helicopter taking off. This was pointed out to me by various on lookers as I sat on the concrete floor to paint it...at the time, I felt I was fighting with it to make it look a certain way, and out comes this movement of wind that everyone else saw. I guess, I had something different in mind, but am very pleased with it now that I've lived with it for a while.

Coming soon-My blog about an unbelievable and unpredictable internet journey, that will change the course of my family history as I know it and they once knew it. I can't wait for this one!!!!

Our first National Advertisment

This is the photo that will appear in our first full page national advertivertisment in the January/February issue of Wildlife Art Magazine. I painted Hope the butterfly in the spring of 2004 and is my biggest, most detailed insect portrait to date. I like to point out the tiger face design in her wings, as most people miss this about her. To see more about her, visit www.projectinsect.com/gallery/hope.htm

We are drawing closer to the exhibit and performace at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum beginning February 3. The newest addition to our exhibit will be live webcams....we can't wait to implement this feature and look forward to ongoing webcams in the future.

Our Surroundings

Above is a pic I took off the desert trails that James and I walk on frequently right next to the campground. A prickly pear cactus in front and a towering Cholla cactus behind that. The most dangerous thing you will find here in the desert at this time of year are the cactus if you don't watch where you are going. All the scorpions, tarantulas, and snakes have pretty much gone into the winter mode as is does get very cold here at night. Although James and I wouldn't mind coming across a few scorpions and tarantulas anytime.
This roadrunner was a hoot......he came right up to our campsite and stole an entire hotdog from our hotdog pack and ran away with legs moving as fast as the roadrunner in the Bugs Bunny Show. We couldn't get over it, laughing ourselves silly. He was a real pretty bird, and we haven't seen him since the incedent.

Romancing the Past

I thought I would share with you some pictures from my Nanna's old picture books. Above is my grandfather as a kid (on the right) doing some yard work with a friend. Can you believe that is a lawnmower? Boy things sure have changed. The photo to the right is my Nanna with her fishing pole and catch for the day. I would guess these pics were taken sometime in the 1930's.
To the left is my grandfather with his catch of the day, and man did he love fishing...and hunting...and the outdoors. I remember spending much of my time as a youngster fishing with him and watching him tie flies in his workshop for hours and hours. My Nanna was a school teacher and would read stories to my sister and I, collected boxes of trinkets for us to look at and play with and would occasionally break out the toy china for us to have a tea party together. These pictures take me back to my childhood, even though they were taken long before I was born. I will post more olden goldie photos from time to time and share with you some of the history I have become so fond of.

Recent Pics of Achilles

Above is the final carve out of the throat feathers....without microscopic details and highlights. They are soon to come, and I need smaller brushes, so I am on my way to the art store sometime this week to seek out tiny watercolor brushes that will work for the detail on this oil painting.
I finished the texture and lighting on the bottom of the background...it looks quite fuzzy in texture, very soft, and scribbly. It is a bit different then what I originally set out to do, but it grew on me and think I'll keep it this way. What do you think?

Painting fun at the Tucson Botanical Gardens

This past weekend, James spent the afternoons painting his famous tattoos at the Tucson Botanical Gardens. As you can see, he had a line as usual, and was cracking his jokes creating a lot of laughs for the crowd. The girl in front is inspecting her fresh new tattoo, as all the kids do until it is eventually lost to the circumstances of having to take a bath. James prides himself on water conservation, as he alone is probably responsible for saving millions of gallons of water over the years, getting kids out of baths in order to save the art painted on their arms.
This is a close up of what James has become famous for...his arm tattoos! Kids and adults are goo-gaa over them and has he ever come a long way with his painting since we started in Kansas City 4 years ago.
A pic of a butterfly sunning himself in the Butterfly house, where you can also find 100% humidity in the desert.
I thought these orchids were incredible...also photographed these in the butterfly house at the gardens.