Couch Vegetables

Buttonwillow has been giving lessons to her new protégé on the fine art of being a couch potato.
 

 It's an area of considerable expertise in Buttonwillow's skill set.

 Inka is a quick study, except that she seems to be more of a couch string bean than a potato.

Hope your weekend was just as relaxing!

Time to Hit The Road!

But not in a wheelbarrow.

artwork copyright 2011-2013 Susan Faye

I'm heading out tomorrow with my sweetie for a REAL vacation.
At a SPA. 
In the desert! 
With hot springs!  
I LOVE the desert and plan to spend plenty of time taking photos, collecting rocks, visiting art galleries, and soaking in some SUNBEAMS!  

I plan to visit one of my favorite places in the area-- the Living Desert Museum in Palm Desert, where there are wonderful opportunities to see desert wildlife up close and personal.   

"Out of Hibernation", watercolor copyright Susan Faye

This painting is my portrait of one of the residents there-- a desert tortoise that had just come out of hibernation. I took many reference photos of this beautiful creature about nine years ago and then painted this watercolor a few months later. Let's see who winds up in my reference photos this time around!

I'm pleased to announce that my Etsy shop will stay open during my time away.  My son Christopher will be taking over many of the responsibilities of running my growing business over the coming months, and will be filling orders while I am gone.  We'll be listing lots of new things when I get back, so stay tuned!

As for tomorrow, I'm off in search of sunbeams!

New Year! New artwork!

Illustration Friday: Glow

...Best Wishes for a Blessed Christmas and a Joy-filled New Year! Let's honor this precious baby by practicing human kindness each and every day...

Caption This! Giveaway Ends Tonight with $50 Gift Certificate!

There is still time to enter the giveaway for a $50 certificate to my Etsy shop!  Just think up captions for Inka and her friend as depicted in this photo and leave them in the comments section of the original post, where you can read all of the cute entries so far. There won't be any judging (winner will be selected at random) so just have fun!

Here are a few of the entries so far: 

From Carol Mai

From Chrissykat

From Jhitomi

Giveaway ends tonight. You may enter a second caption suggestion over at my Facebook Page for a second chance to win.  For more information please visit the original giveaway post:  

Caption This! (and a Giveaway)

Caption This! (and a Giveaway)

UPDATE: The giveaway has ended and the winner, drawn at random, is BuncoBuddy!  Contratulations, and thank you to everyone who participated!

It's been a busy several weeks here at Susan Faye World Headquarters.  My studio assistant Buttonwillow and Assistant-In-Training Inka have been busy as little elves, helping me fill orders as we've sent my little creations to faraway lands around the world and to every corner of the USA, including Hawaii and Alaska.

Buttonwillow takes a short break from catnip toy production.  I think the fumes have simply overwhelmed her.

Here are just a few of the exotic places that we've sent our little packages off to explore:

• Jupiter (the one in Florida, that is)
• Tentúgal, Portugal
• Sion les Mines, France
• The Bronx
• Wien, Austria
• Kingston, Nova Scotia
• Waipahu, Hawaii
• Port Coquitlam, BC
• Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
• Waxhaw, N. Carolina
• Kranj, Slovenia
• Fowlerville. Missouri
• Crossgates, Fife, United Kingdom
• Dinwiddie, Virginia
• Queensland, Australia
• Istanbul, Turkey
• New Iberia, Louisiana
• Odenthal, Germany
• and Minsk, Belarus

 Below is a snapshot of Inka taking a little break from her grueling schedule.  She seems to be in an intense, yet private conversation with her little friend.  What do you think they are saying? 

Please share your ideas for captions in the comments section of this post. For example--- Inka: "I hear they're serving Spam again in the cafeteria today."  Mouse: "I vote we go to Taco Bell".  Anyway, you get the idea.

THE GIVEAWAY:

On Wednesday, December 19, at 8:00 p.m. PST,  I'll throw everyone's name into a hat and draw one name at random to win a $50.00 gift certificate to my Etsy Shop.  You may enter a second caption suggestion over at my Facebook Page for a second chance to win.

Please make sure that I have a way to contact you if you are the winner, such as a link to your blog or e-mail address included in the comment.
 
You may send the info directly to my email if you don't want to make your contact info public.

Also, if you encounter trouble with the Comments feature, please contact me by e-mail . If you visit www.susanfaye.net , you will find an email link.

Thanks for participating! 

Illustration Friday.... "Whiskers"

Illustration Friday

(theme:"whiskers") 

 

 

A backlit cottontail bunny with whiskers glowing in the early morning sunlight enjoys a tasty grape leaf at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens in Claremont, California.  

This is a watercolor painting on canvas that I painted several years ago after a visit to Southern California.  I used masking fluid to preserve the white of the whiskers and the sunlit edges of the rabbit.

Enjoy!