A Bunny Named Bunny

Referring to my previous post, I could mention that Bunny #3 (named Bunny), was my favorite. I attended California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (aka Cal Poly Pomona), California, where I received both a Masters and a Bachelors degree in Microbiology (more about all this another time).

One of the classes I took in my undergrad years was Immunology and Serology. Part of the lab work was to inject cute little albino bunnies with stuff (nothing that would make the bunnies sick), then collect blood from them and go through an isolation and purification procedure to get the antibodies the bunnies made against the stuff. When the academic quarter was over, we had a choice of bringing the bunnies home (only catch -- we had to donate some of our own blood for the same class), or leave the bunnies there. If we left them, they ended up in one of the zoology classes' labs where, sadly, they would endure open-heart surgery and then would die. Needless to say, I took my team's bunny home.

Over a period of a few months or so, Bunny had the free run of an enclosed patio. She could hippity-hop around, hide, eat or do whatever she wanted.

The best part was when I called my girlfriend (now my wife). The phone was by a door that led out to the patio. So I'd sit on the doorstep, talking on the phone, often for an hour or more. Bunny would come over, go in betwen my legs and turn around, facing away from me. Then she'd settle down while I petted her until well after the phone call was finished. None of the other bunnies or the guinea pig seemed to appreciate the affection the way Bunny did.

One of Bunny's favorite places to be petted was just a little above her nose. I noticed that when a male and female are together, the male will lick and nibble the female there, and the female seemed to be in bunny heaven when he did.

Bunnies also like being petted and rubbed around the base of the ears. So--if you have a bunny or the next time you're in a bunny's company, consider letting it know how cute you think it is by petting it in those places.

More About Bunnies

My favorite pets of all time have been: guess what? BUNNIES!!!

Bunnies are low-maintenance pets. They can be paper-trained, believe it or not. We've had bunnies that have had the free run of the rooms we kept them in and really didn't have to clean up much after them. They always had a cage on the floor where we kept their water bottles and food, and those little critters "did their business" in the cages. So the cages needed cleaning every day, of course, but the room itself was pretty much OK, except when the bunnies were shedding.

I was never creative when it came to naming them. One pair was a brother and sister--they were simply "Girl Bunny" and "Boy Bunny." The third and fourth (we didn't have them at the same time) were both named "Bunny." Our last critter was the only lop-earred rabbit we had, and it came with a name: "Maggie." The previous owner thought it was a female, until a trip to a veterinarian uncovered the truth: "she" was a "he"! But the name stuck.

We once had a guinea pig, too, in between bunnies. They're cute,too. They squeak and whistle and scurry around in their cages. And they always have this expression like they're constantly startled. Cute. Very cute.

Some day we'll probably get another bunny (or guinea pig). But for now, we're too busy to take on the responsibility of having a pet. And we do have the wild bunnies outside. They won't let us pick them up or pet them, of course. But they're still cute!

No Sun on Sunday

Well, very little sun, anyway. Summer in the desert (or the Southwest in general) means putting up with tropical storms from the Baja area, which usually brings rain to southern Arizona while we get nothing but humid, muggy conditions. At least the air temperatures aren't as high, but it still feels quite uncomfortable. However, the Palm Springs area DID get rain today, enough to cause some flooding.

We don't have air conditioning -- just an evaporative cooler. Since it's dry here most of the time, the cooler works just great. But when the dewpoint is 55 degrees or more, the cooler doesn't work as well, although it's better than nothing. BTW, the dewpoint today was 62 degrees. That's pretty tropical for us dry air folks.

The picture shows how it looked this morning. Instead of the electric-blue skies we usually have, we had cloudy, humid air that almost dripped moisure. (The distant hills are part of Joshua Tree National Park).

Fairies

Fairies are not something you might expect from a desert painter. After all, fairies live in heavily-wooded places, not among the sparse, prickly plantlife of the arid regions.

But even though I really like to paint landscapes, sometimes a change in subject matter seems to free me from my self-imposed restraints. Hey -- we all need some variety, right?

Having said that, I never felt figurative painting (or drawing) is my strong suit. I'm the type who wouldn't be happy unless I was cranking out Rembrandt-quality images!

Still, every so often, I have to give it a shot. The accompanying image is one example of a painting I did last year of an autumn fairy. I intended to contact some greeting card companies to see if any of them might like to use it, but I didn't get around to doing it -- and now it's too late for this year. (Some companies are already poised for the 2008 Christmas card season!) But who knows ... you might see this image on a card -- maybe next year.

And do fairies exist? Hoooo noze ... ?

Desert Heat

Y'know, it's not always easy painting the joys, beauty and glory of the desert wildlands when you step outside the house or car and right into an oven -- at least, that's what it feels like out there. At least we're at 3000 feet/910 meters elevation, so it's not as hot as it could be.

Most of our landscaping consists of cactus, Joshua trees and other native plant species. Except for a few things I recently transplanted, I don't have to water much. However, I do water underneath some of the more densely-foliated bushes -- not so much because they need it, but because it gives the bunnies damp places to lie down on and keep cool. They certainly take advantage of the things I do for them!

If you don't know what a Joshua tree is, I've inserted an image of a painting that features some. These plants, members of the lily family, were supposedly named by Mormon pioneers who thought the branches of the trees resembled the upraised arms of the biblical character, Joshua crying out to the Lord.

Continuing the Continuation

I'm still working on the smoke tree painting -- frankly, I'll be quite glad when it's finished. That could be as early as later tonight or as late as this coming Sunday night, depending on how much more stuff I need to paint into it and how many breaks I take between now and The Conclusion.

The "mistake" I made (not really a mistake, actually) was in choosing a viewpoint that looks like the viewer is standing right there. Most people like that "I can walk right into it" approach, and it isn't so bad when a painting is smaller or even medium-sized. But when it's 36" x 48" (91cm x 122cm), a ground-level view has an almost overwhelming amount of detail to paint!

Next time (and from now on), I expect larger pieces to have a bird's-eye point of view, which is a look I prefer, anyway.

The photo shows the largest painting I've ever done: 4' x 6' (1.2m x 1.8m). This desert view shows what used to be a lake in ancient times: the waterline from the lake is still visible on the closer mountain. The painting appears in the background behind me on my Website Bio & Statement:

http://southwestspaces.com/biography%20and%20statement.html

Not All Fun & Games II

I'll admit -- there are times I wish I was more into making abstract paintings rather than the detailed realist works that I prefer. I love the end result, but sometimes the process of getting to the end isn't always fun. Abstract Expressionists are free to do whatever -- not that this is easy, either. But when I'm sitting there, painting leaves or twigs one at a time (especially on LARGE paintings), the drudgery of it gets to me.

That's been happening this week. I've been working on a large painting of a desert wash with smoke trees. Trying to make the smoke trees look right, and with the detail they need since they're somewhat close, has been enough to make me want to set the stinkin' thing aside and do something else.

BUT -- I'm getting to the end, and something inside me says "Don't quit on it now!" So I keep going, take frequent breaks, and figure I'll finish it by the end of the week.

The attached picture is the photo I'm working from, although I'm making some minor changes. The image shows a smoke tree-lined wash in Joshua Tree National Park just before sundown. And mind you -- I always work from my own photos along with reference material (drawings, color sketches, plein aire paintings, whatever).

Finally, don't forget -- my Website is http://www.southwestspaces.com.