Tuesday, May 20, 2008

My first commision


Here is the painting I was working on for commission. Isn't it cool. I wasn't overjoyed about doing birds, but I learned much new information and facts about these birds as I painted. Did you know the white bird, or Cockatoo is native to Australia? The blue bird is called a Hyacinth Macaw or Parrot. The most recognizable parrot is the Rainbow or Scarlett Macaw. It is from South America. It nests in cliffs and they fly in flocks that look absolutely amazing. My client is really happy with it. I wanted the foliage to look more realistic, but she was very happy with it and wanted it ASAP and thought the foliage looked 3D in front. It's about the client right? So off it went with a happy customer and I got paid to paint. Now thats what I am talking about.

Northern Widow


Wow! Look what I found under a big plastic pond insert in my backyard! It's a Northern Widow. They are just like a black widow but less aggressive and more uncommon. They have orange red spots all the way up their backs. Like when a Cylon's spine glows. BSG fans know what I'm talking about! There was also a beautiful black widow under there as well. No males, so I think they might have gotten eaten! However the black widow female did have a beautiful egg sac she had constructed. I was in one of my first Buddhist dilemmas. A deadly poison spider in my yard. If I take it somewhere else, am I not making it someone else's responsibility and shrugging it off? If I put it in a field, well that field belongs to someone and what if it bites them? Then it would be my fault. I don't want to kill it, but it can't stay in my yard. What do you do? After much deliberation I destroyed the egg sac and killed the black widow. I was instantly overcome with terrible remorse and sadness and I cried for two hours. Who was I to kill this beautiful black widow or her hundreds of babies? So now I still have the Northern Widow in a Mason Jar and I try to feed it and take care of it, but what a terrible existence, living in a Mason Jar. I need to find a Buddhist nun and ask options of what to do in a case like this. I still feel really bad about the whole thing.