Nesting Chipmunk, Sketch. Pen & ink over graphite, 7 x 5 in. Copyright 2008, Tania Nault.
Today, I spent the day being a full-time mom. I know, I know, when you’re a parent there’s no such thing as part-time. What I mean is: both my kids were sick today, my husband had an exam to write, so I stayed home from the day job. Wow, Tania, you must have gotten a tonne of artwork done! Ah, actually, no. The polar bear composition is giving me some grief. I find myself trying to draft a balancing act: tell the story of the polar bear struggling in his environment without having the whole picture become overwhelmingly depressing. I’m also trying to keep my story within the realm of a workable composition.
Between fetching tissues, finding cuddly blankets and making favourite lunches (as visions of polar bears danced in my head) I drew a chipmunk hibernating. Read into it what you will… I think it’ll make a cute board, and I need some cute boards. I have a show coming up with the Regina Federation of Artists on March 28 – 30, 2008. I drew the little guy based on some photos I took last summer (no, they weren’t sleeping at the time, just sitting, curled in a little ball). I just need to find some references for the look/materials of the inside of a chipmunk nest. If I remember correctly, they have a display of rodents hibernating at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum… I’ll have to pop down there this weekend.
Well, it’s back to the drawing board for my polar bear… as soon as I’ve made sense of all the scribbles I’ll come back with a better composition and some thoughts on it. And hey, I’m not too proud to ask: feel free to leave a comment if you have any brilliant ideas.
