Steampunk Rats and Blue Ribbons

I'm pleased to announce that Professor Rattus and Her Royal Court, The Incognito Project has won 1st Place in The Portrait Society of America's, 2013 Member's Only Competition, Outside the Box category.

Professor Rattus and Her Royal Court, The Incognito Project,  24x18, oil on panel

The painting is of my daughter, Carly, and her pet fancy rats, Queenie and Dutchess.

Here's Carly's "Witness Statement" from the book: 

I find that my ability to converse intelligently is inversely proportional to my proximity to a furry mammal. If it’s furry and friendly, I want to hold it and talk to it to the exclusion of the humans around me. My conversation, that may have started as, “Why, yes, I did hear that the Large Hadron Collider created an event that was a hundred thousand times hotter than the sun,” devolves into, “My goodness! Who’s a furry critter? You’re a furry thing. Yes, you are.” Take equal parts Asimov and Conan Doyle, two writers I’m passionate about, and add a dash of furry minions, and I can wallow in a mystical land tailored just for me. ~Carly

The painting is included in my book about the project, pages 94-99.

You may see a big post about the painting here, that covers the Steampunk aesthetic and more close-up details.

The painting is now at Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA. The books are available through my website, or in the sidebar to the right or at the gallery. In Santa Fe you may also purchase the book at Sugarman Peterson Gallery.

Amy Strickland has done a series of posts about how she ran our successful Kickstarter to fund publishing of the book. You may find the first one here. Just follow the link at the bottom of each of her posts to see all six. 

Portrait Society of America Conference 2011

I can't seem to find time to blog about the super cool event almost two weeks ago in Atlanta, GA, so I refer you to my friend Diane Feissel's blog! She's got all the links. Also check out the many blog posts of artist Matthew Innis about the Conference and all things art related, Underpaintings.

Painters and sculptors! L-R: Amy Kann, Alia El-Bermani, Anne Nelson Sweat, Amy Lind, me, Lea Colie Wight, Mardie Rees, Diane Feissel, Alexandra Tyng.

(this photo courtesy of Anne Nelson Sweat).

Yet more painters! L-R, back row first: Sadie Valeri, me, Terry Strickland, Alia El-Bermani, Cindy Procious.

 (this photo courtesy of Diane Feissel)

It was great to be in the company of almost 850 artists, watching demos by the likes of David Leffel, Jeremy Lipking, Mary Whyte, Anthony Ryder, and Michael Shane Neal. Next year it's in Philly.