We have a WINNER!

Hello everyone! The moment has come. Out of 87 unique and wonderful comments, a random winner has been chosen. It is Jorin! Congratulations, Jorin!!!! You have just won a copy of Carla Sonheim's newest book Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals. Thank you to everyone who left a comment. I had fun reading all of your comments. And just so you know, Jorin, the reason my jackrabbit has such big ears is because I exaggerated his ears. He is imaginary (although based on a real jackrabbit.) I love those big jackrabbit ears.

Thanks again, everyone who left comments and visited my blog. If you didn't win this time, do hop back on over to Carla's blog. There will be more chances to win.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

I leave you with my latest painting of a bobcat. This animal is NOT imaginary, rather the painting was based on a photo I took of a bobcat that was in our backyard. It was stalking a rabbit, and you can see how just one paw was in motion:

"Stalking." Oil on board, 16 x 20 inches. ©Karine Swenson2012

Giveaway!!!

I am excited to announce that my talented friend, Carla Sonheim, has another book out. It is called Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals and Carla is giving away a signed copy of this book right here! How cool is THAT? All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. On Saturday, I will choose a random comment from this blog and give the winning name and address to Carla, who will mail the book out to one of you. You should also hop over to her blog, since she is having a TWO WEEK blog celebration with more giveaways to come.

One of my jackrabbit paintings is happy to have made an appearance in this fabulous book. Carla and I have known each other for many years. She was one of the artists I represented when I had my gallery, Cool Mountain Art, in Salida Colorado. She is a talented artist, a gifted teacher and a dear friend. Whenever I see her art, I think, "Carla is one of the most creative people I know!" I am always honored to be a part of her endeavors, so when she asked me if I would like to have a spot in this book, of course I jumped at the chance. I have taken a class from her, and I would recommend her classes highly to anyone who wants to grow creatively. I will also mention that this is her second book, and if it is anything like her first book, Drawing Lab for the Mixed Media Artist, it is well worth adding to your library.

"Badass Jack." Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches. ©2011 Karine Swenson (This is the rabbit.)

What if you don't want to wait for a chance at a giveaway? If you already know you want this new book, all you have to do is click on one of these links:
amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
Q Bookshop
Independent Bookstores

Easy.

Don't be shy. Leave your comments right here!

A Fall Return

Hi. It's been over a month since I have written anything, but I am back again. I hope all of you are doing okay. I will try to catch up with all of my fellow bloggers this week, if I can. Sorry for the long silence. Sometimes a person just needs to retreat and re-group. Maybe that's what I was doing.

I recently watched the movie "The World's Fastest Indian" starring Anthony Hopkins. If you have yet to see this movie, I highly recommend it. Especially the part where Hopkins' character (Burt Munro) says to the neighbor boy "If you don't follow your dreams, Thomas, you might as well be a vegetable."

I will be having a giveaway on Wednesday here on the blog, so if you like trying for a chance to get something for free, please check back on Wednesday! (I am not going to spoil the surprise.)

I am gearing up for this year's Hwy. 62 Art Tours. I am going to once again open my studio for the last weekend of October. Walls are being patched and painted. Wires are being put on new paintings. Things are getting framed, dusted and generally cleaned up. I plan to have everything looking sharp! For those of you on my mailing list, some postcards will be sent out in the next week or so. (Some of you have already gotten yours.) This is a once-a-year event, and it is the biggest event for the art community here in the Morongo Basin. I hope you are marking your calendars for October27th and 28th! More about this event will be available in the upcoming weeks, but if you have questions, please feel free to email me.

It is slowly beginning to feel like fall, and today brings a gusty wind. I had forgotten about wind, it's been so calm and hot. It won't be long now before I am dragging out longer sleeves and (ulp!) SOCKS.

What have YOU been doing lately?

Here is a still-wet-and hot-off-the-easel Cottontail painting:

"Tail End." Collage, acrylic and oil on board. 12 x 9 inches. Karine Swenson  ©2012