Bison are some of my favorite animals and I could watch them all day long. This was a painting that took a long time merely because I was rather intimidated by the multiple figure factor and the fact that I had never painted a bison before. Drawn them countless times but never painted them. So all in all I am pleased with the result and hope others are too.

This isn't finished yet but  I wanted to say something about how these drawings come about. I start with 'what if?' and in this case I began to think 'Do you think dragons have tea? ' and if they do, 'who do they invite?'. From there it wad easy. cats and elves and good conversation are the ingredients that make this a fun and cozy reality.

This was the most fun I could have and still be legal. The colors are luminous and bright with that hint of mystery that makes a painting real. And this painting is the first where I really made consciencentious and intelligent decsions  based on what I was seeing. Taking down and pulling out and deciding what is the focus and not the focus. Very exciting.

So the universe isn't a happy place all the time but we can imagine it so....

So the thing is there is such a thing as too bright. I had to knock down the brightness of the books and darken the hat so as to emphasize what I wanted to emphasize. The best thing about a still life is they don't move. The effect I want to capture is a sense of wonder and magick and the feeling of cozy tea parties and 'anything can happen'.