To quote Sweeney Todd...

...Now my arm is complete again...

Business Card for a Friend

Updated my website...

Finally put some more recent artwork on my website header (and changed the color scheme). Looking at it, I realize it was the year of outer space...OR discovering the effects of alcohol on wet watercolor...

RAT EMERGENCY in NYC

Emergency in NYC:

Someone dumped over 100 pet rats (pews from what I hear) on a traffic island on the West Side Highway near 57th Street. I just heard about this last night, and have been relaying info as I get it (my friend who contacted me is not on FB). Efforts are underway to rescue these poor creatures, and I heard as of about 11 last night around 80 have been caught. Contact info if you want to help is: 

Kristin at weberhouserats@haltrescue.com

PayPal: info@haltrescue.com

Vet is: House Paws Mobile Vet 

856-234-5230

Please specify NYC rat rescue when contacting HALT as they also helped take in bunnies from a hoarding case recently.

You can also contact Tiger Buchman at the Empty Cage Collective http://www.emptycagescollective.org who will be fostering some of these rats. Please share. These rescuers need all the help they can get. People who can foster some of these rats are desperately needed. Thanks.

Fine Art America

I set up a page on Fine Art America which can be found here.

Finally...

It's been a long hiatus while I moved into the apartment beneath me...a lot of work but oh so worth it. And I am finally at the point where I can hit the drawing table again.

Embroidery from my Drawing

This was created from a pencil drawing I did by a friend on Facebook. She writes:

Coral Ann SmithThe Rat Fan Club

Hello everyone... This is the completed picture of Drusilla Kehl's gorgeous butterfly rat.. This little creature I have dedicated to the memory of all our beloved ratties who have crossed over the bridge...he is there to guide their safe passage over into the other world... He's been stitched by me using pure silk threads and real whiskers... The whiskers have come from my Gambian pouch rat Peter... I collect them when he's shed them himself... And this little guy has his very own halo... I hope you like my interpretation of your gorgeous design Dru ...

New Store on Zibbet!

I've had a store on Etsy for a long time. Now Etsy is changing its policies and a lot of artists and craftsmen are unhappy with it. I found out about an on line venue called Zibbet, which is all about actual hand crafted items (like Etsy used to be), and figured it would not hurt to open a store there. Apparently Zibbet is being flooded by former Etsy sellers, and may be where folks will now look for unique crafted items. It operated just like Etsy does, and I have the same items in both stores. You can find The Illustrated Rat on Zibbet here.

Big project

Someone's memorial to her passed ratties. Will be 11"x14" and keep me out of trouble for a while. Thank goodness for Photoshop which made the compositing much easier.

Please support The Travelin' Rat!

The Travelin' Rat "Helping rescues wherever we can!" is a small nonprofit organization that donates money to small animal rescues through a variety of fund raising efforts. We are currently accepting donations not only of money but also items to resell to raise much needed funds for animal rescues across the US. For more information about how you can help, visit us at:www.thetravelinrat.weebly.com

 

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DeviantArt

I was reminded by a Facebook post that I have a DeviantArt page which I had quite forgotten about. So I updated it and will pay a little more attention to it from now on.
theillustratedrat on DeviantArt.

The iPad

Well I was going to upgrade my Kindle Fire when the new one comes out in November, but I changed my mind and decided to get an iPad instead. What made my decision was the large selection of art apps it has. I downloaded quite a number of them including Sketchbook Pro (above my first attempt with that), Sketch Ink (might have the name wrong--simulates pen & ink drawing), ASKetch (simulates charcoal drawing) and Inspire Pro (which simulates oil painting). Now the learning begins.
(Plus it's a whole lot of fun to have).

Timeline on Facebook

I just moved the Illustrated Rat Fan Page over to the new Timeline format. I know a lot of people don't like it, and I think FB should have given people the choice whether or not to use it, but I think it's good for showcasing artwork.

Dr. Ph. Martin's Hydrus Watercolors

Today I started using these Dr. Martin's Hydrus Watercolors for the first time on the cat/rat circus pieces. How nice. They are liquid which is interesting to use. The colors are so rich. Much better than the cheapo (but good) pan set I've been painting with all this time. The Hydrus was on sale so I got all three sets. :)

A nice interview with me.

King's River Life Magazine.

EBSQ Blogger of the Week

I am featured on the EBSQ site as Blogger of the Week. It's a nice little promo. Thanks guys.

The Illustrated Rat on TV!

I got a message from a writer who works on the TV show The Protector asking if they could use some of my artwork on the set in one of their episodes. It has something to do with 2 guys who work with lab rats and they wanted rat images in their office and home. They are using four images, plus they bought a bunch of things from Zazzle (hat, mug etc) which they will also be using. Cool, huh? The tentative air date is 8/21. Set your DVRs! LOL. Here are some of the things they may be using.

Fun Stuff: Rat Lover Pride!

Today was Family Pride Day in Hudson and on one block they had Chalkfest, where you could register for about a four foot square piece of street, get some colored chalk and make some art. While most people opted to express the sentiments of the weekend, gay pride, equality etc, my friend and I opted to show our pride of being pet rat owners. It was not really possible to get a decent photo because of the bright sun and shadows but you get the idea.

If you can find it in your heart to help...

These are photos of what's left of the Weaver's family home and Cosy Cavy Rescue. To read their story and see what their house looked like before the tragedy go here.

Please go to Sponsor a Guinea Pig and if you are able, help them. Even a dollar counts. You can bid on my painting on eBay--they will get all the money. Please spread the word. Thanks.

Now Listing on eBid

I am going to start listing auction items on eBid. The seller fees on eBay make it barely cost effective to list there any more. I would suggest taking a look at eBid as it is closely modeled on eBay, but much cheaper to use. If you are interested in this topic and not happy with eBay fees, there is a very active and informative group on Facebook that makes for good reading: eBay Alternatives--leaving FEEBay behind.