Nurk, heroic shrew at large, meets the King of Dragonflies, a somewhat alarming multi-armed monarch. The King's a nice guy, though, and knew Nurk's grandmother, Lady Surka the warrior shrew, so they get along fine. (Painting with that many colors is a scary thing indeed...) A scene from the ongoing saga of Nurk, which I swear I'll work on in earnest some day...

This was a piece I did over Christmas, inspired by having to buy a dozen children's books for assorted nieces and other small children. There's a fairy tale behind it, wherein a frog bride drives a coach drawn by roosters to marry her prince, some fairies get involved, everyone lives happily ever after, but the real joy for me was that I got to draw frog cleavage.

Here we have the results of the first commission I've sold on Furbid--the three characters are a mouse, a drouse, and a dragon, all of which belong to Draco. (Who, by the way, was a absolutely wonderful client, all of 'em should be like that.) I was inordinately pleased with how it came out, even if the dragon sort've overpowered the scene. (Then again, he's a dragon.) More fun with backlighting! Anyone interested in a commission, I've got one up for auction on Furbid now. Characters copyright to Draco, image by Ursula Vernon.

Nurk! One of these days, I'm going to write that children's book people tell me I should write, and it may involve the saga of an intrepid (and polite) young insectivore named Nurk, armed with native shrewy wit, a cheese sandwich, and an extra pair of socks, out in the wild world in his trusty Snailboat. And before anyone asks--he didn't kill the snail, okay? The snail died of natural causes at a ripe old age, surrounded by family and friends, and Nurk found the snail shell on a beach. Anyone attempting to bring up that grisly scene pencilled into my sketchbook by my boyfriend involving the spear-wielding shrew dancing on a deceased snail will be supressed. It was late, and we were drunk.

Now this is a blast from the past...1998, dredged up the other day, and figured what the heck...maybe someone would like to see how far I've come in the art of computer coloring in four years. Fear the cute punk dragons!

"Cats of Tau Ceti III" This is an old painting from 99--tripped over it as I was digging through my hard drive a few weeks back. High-tech cougar? Felinoid alien? I dunno. This painting and I have a long and bizarre relationship--I am exceedingly proud of it, and I only remember it exists about once a year. I have only the vaguest memory of the act of painting it, and I tend to forget about it almost immediately after viewing. I don't know why! Prior to having discovered it this last time, it was exiled for a year to the barren reaches of my computer. Print available at Rabbit Valley, possibly I will remember it exists this time.

"Lupines"-- bit of a pun, he's a wolf, those are lupine flowers in the background...well, I thought it was funny. This is a bit've a departure for me, but I'd been doing so much line work anyway, I needed a break, inspired by the oil pastel work of Susan Seddon Boulet. He seems a bit creepy to me, but hey! It might just be the deer-head cape with the eyes sewn shut. (Print on Furbid at http://furrybid.transform.to/cgi-bin/auction.pl?furry&1015734891 if anyone's interested.)

I would like to begin by saying that I have absolutely no excuse for painting anything this vilely adorable. I couldn't help it. I did a five second thumbnail in my sketchbook one day, and every time I opened it thereafter, the cuddle rhino was staring at me accusingly. You have to paint these ideas, or else they get mean and feral and start cruising the mental back alleys, preying on the smaller and weaker ideas, and digging in the dumpsters of the brain.

It's a used djinni merchant! And who better to sell used djinn than a hyena. "Ya, ya, special deal, 'coz I like you. Little djinnyeh, only one owner, and he only used her for light housework. Was gonna save this one for myself, you know, but I cut you a deal..." Anyway, I was working for a more expressive, animated quality to the face and figure on this guy.

Frog in Hopi Indian kachina gear, possibly praying for increase in flies. I love kachinas. And frogs. I suppose, given that, this was sort've inevitable. The fact that there aren't many tree frogs in the American Southwest and none of them are bright blue is a detail best left to the imagination.

Cathbad the armadillo, and his pet vulture, Hendrix. I'm unable to shake the feeling that this needs some kind of background, but hell if I can think of one that fits--suggestions welcome.

Another older piece, but one I retain an unnatural fondness for. Predator/prey relationship? Friends? Sheep getting hustled? No idea here, I just paint 'em.

A gryphon and fireflies. I don't paint many gryphons, but I'll spare the lengthy rant about that topic, since space and venom are finite.

An older piece of mine..."And the Salamander Danced With The Secretary Bird." Even after all this time, I still dig the salamander's expression.

"Sundog" featuring a charming canine, the female dog-soldier, and a style I've been playing around with lately, contrasting strong lines and slick texture with rough and realistic fur. Still working the kinks out...

"The Third Billy Goat Gruff" another older painting, showcasing the Heckler & Koch Troll Stopper 9000, because a goat oughta be able to stomp over any bridge he damn well wants to.

"Coatl Dance" my first (and possibly last) attempt at an anthro-snake. Some creatures were just not meant to have legs.

"Atlantis Calling" an older painting of mine of a fishy sort've anthro, and a whole lot of coral and rocks. Painter/Photoshop.