Double Nickel Day

Please join me as I celebrate the completion of 55 orbits around the Sun on this crazy space ship we call Mother Earth!! [Yes, it's my birthday.]

With each passing orbit, it has become increasingly clear to me how important it is to take care of our Mother Ship and our fellow Earthings, including ALL of the incredible life forms we share this planet with (although I'm a little ambivalent about slugs and mosquitoes if you must know...)

With that in mind, I have created the Susan Faye Double Nickel Birthday Fund for Mother Nature to benefit the Nature Conservancy.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting photos or artwork of 55 reasons why I think it's a good idea to take care of Mother Earth. If you find any of my 55 reasons compelling, please consider making a small donation if you can: 55 cents, $1.55, 5.50, or $55.00 (you get the drift...).

Your donation will support the many programs of the Nature Conservancy, an efficient and effective organization that has been working around the world for 60 years to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. My goal is to raise $550 to help with their important work.

Without further ado, here is
Reason No. 1 to Take Care of Mother Earth:

photo copyright 2010 Susan Faye

~~~Rabbits with See-Through Ears~~~

If you would like to donate, please click here: Double Nickel Fund
To find out what the Nature Conservancy is doing for some special rabbits, click here: Pygmy Rabbits

Thanks for visiting!

Frozen

Illustration Friday (theme: "frozen")

I came across this little cottontail early one morning on a five-mile hiking loop through the foothills . It wasn't cold at all, but the young bunny was frozen solid. Frozen as in "if I hold so still that not even a whisker twitches, certainly she will not see me and eat me."

It worked!

A Tale of Two Rabbits

I'm happy to announce that both of these rabbits have recently found new homes, thanks to the beautiful and talented Margot Cole, super Sales Consultant at Lawrence Gallery Sheridan, and a wonderful artist herself.

The jackrabbit was one of many that Dave and I spotted on one of the dusty back roads of Anza Borrego State Park in the California Desert, several springs ago. The cottontail was an inhabitant of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens in Claremont, California, caught munching on a grape leaf one bright morning....


Both have made their way to the Great Pacific Northwest, where they now reside as watercolor paintings in the private collection of a Portland couple. Like me, hopefully these Southwest bunnies will get used to a little less sunshine and thoroughly enjoy their new home.

To see my current collection of paintings at the Lawrence Gallery, please click here: Susan Faye at Lawrence Gallery

Thanks for visiting!

Featured Painting:: "HOLDING VERY STILL"

This original watercolor painting is called "Holding Very Still". It was inspired by a little cottontail spotted at the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park in Southern California. The wilderness preserve is located in the foothills north of Claremont, California, and is a great place for mountain biking and hiking...more information at this link: Claremont Hills Wilderness Park

It is painted on Arches 140 lb. Cold Press Watercolor Paper with professional quality Grumbacher watercolor paints. The image is 14 x 20" and is matted in off-white in a standard 22" by 28" size, ready for framing.

This painting is up for auction on ebay this week; the auction ends March 20 at 8:13 a.m. PST. Bidding starts at $200; click here to view auction: "Holding Very Still" Auction.

Thanks for visiting!

Featured Photo: CHOCOLATE BUNNY

Chocolate is one of my favorite food groups, so it stands to reason that when I saw this little cottontail, he reminded me of a milk chocolate Easter bunny. I took this picture at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden in Claremont, California last spring. He was so busy chomping on the delectable grape leaf at the end of the vine that he never noticed me....The RSABG is an excellent place to enjoy and learn about native California plants, birds, and wildlife. Their annual Wildflower Festival is in March.

Featured ACEO: HONEY BUNNY NO. 9

Just in time for Spring and the Easter season! This red-headed "bunny honey" has her arms full with mama rabbit and baby bunny. This an original miniature watercolor painting from my "Honey Bunny" Series . It is in ACEO (Art Card Editions and Originals) format, which means that the artwork size is 2.5" x 3.5".

Each miniature is hand-painted on super-heavy Arches 300-lb. acid-free cold-press watercolor paper with professional quality watercolor paints. It is initialed on front, signed, dated, and titled on back. These mini paintings are adorable when matted and framed!

You can bid on this item on ebay; the auction ends at 6:09 p.m PST on March 13. Bidding starts at $9.95.

For more information about ACEOs, visit http://www.art-cards.org/display.html

Thanks for visiting!