February already!

A Happy New Year (albeit a bit late) and I hope that for everyone 2009 was a great year and that as we embark upon a new decade that 2010 promises to be even better.

I have some good and bad news to share.

Al Mansur Primo
Coloured pencil on Colourfix
Copyright Rita Woodburne

First, the bad. My 2009 ended on a very unpleasant note when, two days before Christmas, my beloved horse very unexpectedly passed away. Al was truly one of a kind and I suspect it will be a very, very long time before I find another horse that can hold a candle to him. Shortly after he passed I wrote this small tribute to him because, to be honest, it’s hard to read what you’ve typed when you’ve been crying. :(

“When your time ended, my heart broke.

You are irreplaceable and will be forever loved. I miss you immeasurably and you will always be my “best guy”. Thank you for teaching me so many life lessons in your own life and beyond.

Many hugs, snuggles and knickers.”

I still miss him a lot and suspect that I will for quite awhile. That said, each day gets a bit easier and I hope that one day I will find another horse that I can find joy with.


Now I think it’s time for some good news.

"3 Times Tempted"
Coloured pencil on Mi-Teintes
Copyright Rita Woodburne

My art website will be updated later this year and since I don’t have a wedding to plan or school to concentrate on I will have more time to dedicate to my art. The Other Half and I had a wonderful honeymoon in Mexico and got oodles of pics, some of which I plan on using for a few pieces I have in mind.

So that's the news for now. I would write more but I have some artwork that's calling me! ;)

Where the Wild Things Are

What was it I said in a previous post? The fun (or was it weirdness?) never ends for an artist living on a farm? Yeah, I’m pretty sure it was something like that...

What also never ends when living on a farm with woodlands is the endless sightings of wildlife and close encounters of the heart-pounding kind. However, this time there were no mylar balloons involved, I’m happy to say.

"The Last Bale" ACEO
Copyright Rita Woodburne

Let me preface this post by saying that I love wildlife and getting up close to an animal, particularly one that you wouldn’t normally be able to, is exciting and educational as long as you exercise caution and don’t do something stupid like try to pick its nose. That said, when the animal itself takes the liberty of coming closer to you with very little hesitation it can be a bit nerve wracking to say the least and that educational experience can quickly turn into an event that results in one having to change one’s pants... if you get my meaning. So here’s where my tale begins...


On Monday morning Rosebud and I were out walking in the woods as we normally do. We made our way back into the hardwoods and as we were rounding the corner to head back I heard some rustling over the fenceline. I looked over and through the trees I saw a tawny coloured animal and I remember thinking to myself: “Oh look! A baby deer! Awww, isn’t that adora... wait. That’s not a deer...”
It looked at me and I realized I was looking at a coyote, a rather large coyote, with a rabbit hanging out of it’s mouth. Yum.

"Arctic Gaze"
8x10, coloured pencil on Mi- Teintes
Copyright Rita Woodburne

It was at this point that Rosebud also saw the coyote and decided that it might be a good idea to chase it at which point I yelled at her resulting in her stopping, the coyote running and then her wanting to go after it again.

Apparently this coyote was hell bent on getting to the other side of the property because it back-tracked, hopped over the fence line towards us, went back over again when Rosebud went after it again (which is odd because she’s about half the size of the coyote) and then finally just when we thought it had high-tailed it out of there it crossed about 6 feet in front of us. And again... Rosebud went after it. I, in turn, went after Rosebud yelling her name and to “... get your fuzzy little hiney back here! That doggie isn’t for playing with!!”



After our exciting excursion through the woods the rest of the day was, at best, uneventful if not simply downright dull. Since then we haven't seen anymore coyotes although we have heard them and just earlier this morning the radio reported that a black bear had been spotted a few towns over from us.

Yup, the fun and excitement never ends...

Thwarted... by my spine.

"Beyond Black & White II" ACEO
(sorry about the crummy pic)
Copyright Rita Woodburne

What was the title of my last post? “I’m Back!”?

Yeah... it should’ve read “Oh, my back!!” I’ve been KO’d by a back problem that hit me the day before the Lilac Tea, which I was unable to attend because I decided spending the afternoon in the ER at the hospital would be soooo much more fun... not.

I’m still not functioning properly but I’ve gotten a lot better since it hit me. The physiotherapist says I’m a “fast-healer” which is good (at least that’s what I’m assuming) and figures it’ll be another 2 weeks before I can walk and sit with little difficulty. So please, until then refrain from inviting me to go swing-dancing... ‘cause it ain’t happening.

On the plus side it hasn’t hindered me from working on art and I’ve gotten a few projects out of the way and some more ACEO’s done so it turns out there is a silver lining, albeit a small one, to being gimped up for the past 3 ½ weeks.

"Vantage Point" ACEO
Copyright Rita Woodburne

Also, much to my amusement I’m pretty sure the cats think I’m one of them now. I came to this conclusion as I had adopted the lifestyle of spending most of the day lying around only to get up to get something to eat, go to the bathroom and bathe. I also came to this conclusion because of their incessant meowing at me in an attempt to communicate their displeasure at me taking up their sleeping space. That’s changed now, of course, since I’m much more mobile than I was even just a few days ago.

Although it’ll be awhile longer before I resume regular posting you can rest assured, dear reader, that regular posting will indeed return eventually.... think of all the art and gardening I have to catch up on. So if you’ve e-mailed me recently and I still haven’t gotten back to you this post is also to let you know that you’ll be hearing (or is it reading??) from me later this week since I can now sit long enough to work on the computer a bit.


Last but certainly not least, I wanted to give my sincere thanks to those who’ve called, e-mailed and stopped by to wish me well and for a fast recovery because it seems like all the good thoughts are working! Keep ‘em coming... if you wouldn’t mind! ;)