Prairie Buffalo Sunrise Pastel

I do realize of course that I have been blogging everything but insect work lately, alas, I have been going through a lot of my archives and found many works that have never been publicized or shown to the general public. This is one of these works. A 16" x 20" soft pastel on Wallis paper, which was a study for a large oil painting commissioned for Farmers Insurance Midwest Regional Offices, Overland Park, Kansas in 2002. It was the last corporate commission completed prior to the birth of Project InSECT. So you see, the sunrise foreshadowed with buffalo in the foreground, had a much different meaning for what was to come in my life... huuuummmm:)

Capturing the Desert in Pastels

The desert is a wonderful landscape to push a color pallet...especially when you are painting in the high noon sun. It seems to me to be easier in the late or early sun, as the colors tend to fall in the yellow-orange hue for early day, and magenta-violet in the late of the day. Mixing these colors with green may be difficult, even for veteran painters. The key is lightly applied layers upon layers with soft pastels.

The 3 paintings in this post were all painted as plein air paintings within 1 hour....which can be a challenge to those of us who don't practice this on a regular basis. But when the mood strikes, and the vision is there, it is time to paint! I often challenge myself with a close up of nature in plein air format instead of the overall landscape view.

The blooming cactus of the Sonoran desert in the spring have captured my attention and plein air inspiration. May it be told, I prefer to paint a plein air painting of something such as the cactus up close, especially on the wonderful, sunny, spring days here in my beloved desert.

Pastel Portrait of My Grandfather

I painted this 8"x 10" pastel portrait of my grandfather over a year ago and finally digitized it yesterday. I used a photo taken in 1918 by my great-grandfather, Ed Huebing, whom was quite the hobby photographer creating many photo albums which included a slew of documented information about the town I was born in, family events, and community happenings. I have several sepia-tone photos of my grandfather as a child that I would love to paint....it is a real treat to go back in time and use my family history to create from nearly 100 years later. Although painting them in pastel at this small size it is bit challenging!

To the left is the actual sepia tone photograph I used. It captured me especially because the expression on my grandfathers childhood face is one that I would see from time to time when I was growing up. It is also an expression I wore on my face as a child, I call "frump mode". My grandfather, Merriwell Huebing Sr. passed in his sleep in April at the age of 95. His love of nature, hunting, fishing and his art making inspired and shaped me to become the artist that I am today. Thank you Grandpa.

New Pastel-Cactus Wren

I just completed this little 8" x 10" pastel last evening! I shot photos of these loud cactus wrens in April and just loved the pics I got, thus I was inspired to paint the little stinkers. I mostly took this small piece on as a study for a larger full body pastel in the future sometime. Hope you like!

Sketches for Race Horse Commission

Here are 2 sketches I just completed for a commission. I have not painted an equine portrait in years, but it was initially my beginning in art. My first national media attention, at the age of 16 came from pastel horse portraits, and growing up on a horse farm, inspiration came easily on a daily basis.

The portrait is of Goin' Dancin, a horse that belongs to dear friends and clients out of Lenexa, Kansas. I am fortunate to have spent live moments with this beautiful horse, as he currently trains and races at Turf Paradise, Phoenix, AZ, only 2 hours from home! I would love to hear your feedback, as to which layout you artists out there favor...or other comments as well. Looking forward to painting this beauty at 24" x 34" soft pastel on Wallis paper, and revisiting my love of youth.

My Tucson Desert

I got a new Canon digital Rebel XSi this past fall, and have only found the time to experiment with it this past spring. I captured some incredible images as seen above a horny toad that sat on the edge of a large black ant colony. He blends in so well with the surroundings, in fact, James is such an ant lover, he walked over and surprisingly discovered him. I made the run all the way home to get the camera and when I got back, the little stinker (3" long) stayed still long enough to get some great shots. However, capturing him snarfing down the ants that came his way is another story. I got the timing right, but had the wrong aperture setting....blurrrryy pics!

This past spring has been the first real desert bloom we have witnessed. Above is an Ocatillo bloom, which can be incredible against the blue sky back drop. Most of the Ocatillo's in our back yard desert reach 12 to 20 feet in height, so this pic was taken from afar...The only insect I have witnessed on this cactus plant is a robber fly, which sit and wait for their prey to fly by so they can catch it in mid air, similar to catching a football if you were thrown a pass. I have thousands of these pics...just wish I had the time to blog them all...that is all for now, I will be blogging some new artworks this week...I'm excited!! Been too long.

Courtnie the Honey Bee Revisited

Thought I would get back to blogging, as it is something I've wanted to do for over 6 months. I just had a birthday edging me ever closer to 40, and feel that my diary has been neglected...so here are some pics of a painting I performed at the Johnson County Central Resource Library, Overland Park, Kansas in 2005. You can see how my canvas begins pictured below...much like a kindergarteners"mess" with lines drawn all over the place. I love paint for this reason...I can re-draw and paint-over as many times as I need to until she gets there.

She is a 48" x 60" oil on canvas and fuzzy as a bear! She took 5 weeks to complete and will be the supporting role to Mildred the mantis for the 3rd book in our Children's book series. The librarians all said they wanted to hug her as I finished the final golden hairs......Imagine, huggin a honey bee....I find it odd to say, but I can:)

I must give a shout out to Suzanne Berry, a bug painter that has not only inspired me to blog again, but has rejuvinated my adoration and love of insects. Keep painting those incredible bugs Suz! Can't wait to see your next! More blogin to come....I mean it this time!

"How Mildred Became Famous" Our First Children's Book

Here, we finally are, in the printing phase of our highly anticipated first children's book, "How Mildred Became Famous". The pastel illustrations exceeded our expectations. As with most things at first attempt, the learning curve can reach heights of a Mount Everest.... and we finally made it to the top with a lot of hard work and multiple delays along the way, but we finally made it. Please enjoy several images of some of the illustrations below. We'd love to hear what you think. Let us know.

Illustration for pages 12-13

Illustration for pages 14-15

Illustration for pages 20-21

Illustration for pages 30-31

Take a look at some of the illustrations closeup.............
A closeup of an ant crawling on a raspberry.

A closeup of a buzzing honey bee.

A closeup of Mildred after molting with her beautiful new wings.

A close up of a fat hairy fly on a flower.

We can't wait to see it all in print. The next book begins with layouts in March where Mildred meets Terie the Salt Creek tiger Beetle and learns all about this endangered tiny beetle and her habitat. Hopefully, I will have time to blog the progress of the next book on a weekly basis since we have cleared our schedule for 2009 just for the production of book II. Happy New Year. Until next time......

Bug Hunters Ananymous!

Hi all! Finally back online. Thought in some spare time of the midnight hours I would blog again...as that is what my world has come too these days. I chose to blog about some of the awesome insects we caught and photographed while we performed in Muscatine, Iowa during the crazy floods and heat of the summer months of 2008.

(Pictured Below) I captured this Katydid nymph on the little bush right outside our front door on my way to the Art Center in early June. I couldn't believe his color, nor his coloring for such a little stinker. No bigger than a quarter of a penny, he sure posed for the camera with plenty of Napoleon attitude.
(Pictured below) I finally have captured the notorious eluding "scorpion fly" on camera. Believe me, I've been trying a long time, and not only that during the capture of this one, I managed to stay out of the poison ivy to get the shot...that in and of itself is a miracle! Isn't she an awesome insect?

(Pictured Below) This curious creature below was one that James and I had never encountered before in all of our travels. One Monday morning, we set out to go bug hunting at the Muscatine Nature Center and stumbled upon this awesome fly. He glistened gold and had the strangest posture holding his abdomen in a crescent moon shape the entire time I photographed him. We did indeed collect the specimen and he may be a painting in the near future.

The first Mayfly of the season.....did infact show up on time despite the flooding on the Mississippi river just 7 blocks away from our apartment. Photographed on the Lilac bush outside our humble labode....I thought he appeared quite regal, angelic and beautiful for a 24 hour lifespan.

Wilbur the Luna Moth Pastel Study

Hi everyone! We arrived in Muscatine Iowa about 3 weeks ago and have been busy ever since. In fact busy isn't even the word! This town is great! Right on the Misssissippi River, and full of great people and places to go. James is performing over 100 programs in this area of Iowa over the next few months as I paint a 108" x 72" Luna moth named "Wilbur" (as pictured the pastel study to give you an idea). Tonight was our opening reception, and it was fantastic! Thanks to all of you who helped and gave efforts to help us install, and plan. We give you our deepest gratitude. I begin tommorrow morning on the giant canvas, and have a group of 3rd graders visiting the Art Center after lunch to take in the presentation and performance of Wilbur coming to life on canvas. Our schedule is so full, for the summer, but I will do my best at blogging when I can.

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!