Beautiful job, Kim. You've obviously found a model who can inspire you to set the bar higher! I'm curious about the dragonfly. Ours (in Wisconsin) are iridescent violet and blue to blue green. Are Texas dragonflies more brown?

Jean

Thanks Jean! That dragonfly was based on a Yahoo picture - but the ones I have seen here vary. Huge oranges ones in my backyard last week - very bright rusty/orange. Then at the river this weekend I thought I was looking at violet little flowers, but when I got closer I realized they were hundreds of mating dragonflys. I've seen green ones too. I wish I could have caught an orange one - it was very interesting.

Gorgeous! Im a great admirer of your work!

I don't think the Dragonfly is too large. I use to be a huge insect collector when I was younger, and this looks alot like a brown-spotted yellow wing, which, if I remember - is a large species.

Sorry, I apologize me, don't know the types so well. (very rare here) Ought to have informed me before! Was my first impression..
Leslie , one which never leaves the town. ;)

Hi Kim, I've never noticed a brown dragonfly here, but last week one flew right up to me, flitted away and I started laughing. I guess I just have to look closer!

Jean

I think you can make the dragonfly any size or color you like. Do whatever you think works best for the painting.

Thanks Matthew !

I agree with you Michele - I knew it might be too big, but I was painting from my 'impression' of the one that flew near my face a few days earlier.

Mike made some good suggestions for this one and I made a couple small changes on it, but can't photograph it yet. All my supplies are packed up because we are moving in 2 weeks. I do not know how I am going to get through weeks without painting. But, if I didnt pack up the art stuff first I'd never get packed. The area doesnt appeal to me much, but the house we are moving to comes with an apartment that is large and that will be my studio. It's a ranch in a real desert area so maybe the next portrait will have a scorpion in it or something. I even bought a 'snake bite' kit today in preparation. (shudder).

Kim,

How about a Bob White quail, or a White Tail deer. Maybe even a Roadrunner, a Javalina or a Coyote? I guess an Armadillo would be asking too much.

I do mis that South Texas country, my father and I hunted all around there when I was a boy. Will you still be in the Uvalde area?

No Mike - we are going to be in Fort Davis and the husband working in Alpine at the Sul Ross University. I haven't been there yet - so all I know is that it is desert, rocky, lots of snakes...and it's the highest elevation in TX -which means occasional snow and no need for air conditioning even in the summer. I wonder if all those animals you mentioned are there? Do white-tailed deer live where it's desert? Somehow I don't think so, but I am no expert for sure.

Is that your armadillo? If you caught that thing I'd like to know how! I have an embaressing story about chasing one of those...

Mike - you are cordially invited to come visit so you can renew your childhood memories. I have no idea what they hunt in that area, but whatever it is I am sure you could figure it out. We are only going to be there for a year - so it's like this western adventure thing for us. Big ranch we are going to be living on - the kids all want cowboy boots and hats. There are empty horse pens (traps?) there as well- now we know nothing about horses, but I am even considering letting the kids find someone who needs one boarded...one we could ride...maybe. How hard is it to kill a horse? I am just wondering because we have lost an awful lot of fish over the years.

Kim,

Check out this link: http://www.davismountains.com/

You know when you say "ranch" in West Texas you really are talking property. Five thousand acres is considered a small front yard.

I'm pretty sure they have deer and sheep and all the rest of those critters in and around those Davis mountains. The desert does not want for critters. When I went with my father it was mostly to hunt birds, quail and dove. I'm sure I couldn't shoot one of those furry critters.

I think you will enjoy your visit. I think it could be a very interesting place if you go at it with the right frame of mind. Especially if you have a fixed time frame. And thanks for the offer, I'll log that.