Looking back over posts from the past couple of months, I see it’s been a while since Quinn has made an appearance here. Despite the regularity of my weekly life drawing sessions, she’s still my most faithful and readily available model. It is the rare week that I don’t try to capture her in at least one or two sketches.

© Elizabeth Fram, 11 x 8.5 inches, Pen & ink on paper.                                                   Some days she’s particularly restless, which means numerous false starts before turning the page to start again.

©Elizabeth Fram, 11 x 8.5 inches, Pen & ink on paper.                                                Other days she’s the cooperative one but I’m the problem, in need of many searching tries to get the lines where they should be.

©Elizabeth Fram, 11 x 8.5 inches, Pen & ink on paper

©Elizabeth Fram, 5 x 8 inches, Graphite on paper

© Elizabeth Fram, 11 x 8.5 inches, Pen & ink on paper

©Elizabeth Fram, 8.5 x 11 inches, Pen & ink on paper

Unsurprisingly, I tend to be drawn to work that includes a creature of some sort. If you are also a member of that camp, take a look at the art resources for animal lovers listed below.

• Susan Hertel (1930-1993), an artist I had never heard of before coming across a retrospective catalogue of her paintings while vacationing in New Mexico years ago. I was immediately smitten with her compositions, her rich use of pattern, and her portrayal of her animals (horses, dogs & cats), an element integral to both her work and her life.
• Lark Book’s 500 Animals in Clay is a delightful compendium of beautifully, and often humorously, crafted representations of the animal kingdom.
• Mr. Finch, of Mr. Finch Textile Art, fabricates stunning pieces that are a combination of the magic of fairytales with a touch of Darwin.
• BONUS: David Hockney’s paintings of his beloved dachshunds.