Bunny Dee Blog is moving!

The blog that is bunny dee is moving!  Please friends, family and all other wonderfuls please come meet me at my new blog at my website. http://www.bunnydee.com/

hope to see you there! xox

to Cultivate

So its been an age and a day again since I posted.  I lied I said I'd be back..tisk tisk Bunny Dee.  Honestly though there have been ups and downs.  I should perhaps go through them, I'm often concerned that what I write might be a terrible bore to some.  I should stop over thinking and just be more free though.

Diabetes: I've been a diabetic since I was 13 years old.  Thats a good 18 years now.  I don't discuss it on my blog much or at all, its not that I'm ashamed.  I unabashedly take my insulin in public places even when there are constant stares.  I took a class however this august.  The first in 18 years.  I was in the hospital for 5 days when I was first diagnosed, in LA.  Since that day though I just went with what I knew.  I moved on, I lived my life, I was a good diabetic.  I only forgot to take my insulin twice in 18 years.  I needed to re-learn.  Re-tool my insulin doses.  In the act of that however the little 13 year old diabetic reared her frantic little head.  Her little "I've got this.  I don't need your help.  I'm responsible," head.  The class required a look at what we were doing, changing our doses, sent me into high bloodsugar overload I was crying nightly.  I broke down in front of the doctors when they told me that they wanted me to stay at those insulin levels.  When I broke down they looked at me like a caged animal.  I felt like a child again which was strange for a 30 year old woman.  After that I approached my diabetes with a military intensity.  I have a way of doing many things in that fashion.  Every bad bloodsugar even as I was learning was looked at as a failure..my friend finally had to convince me to stop that.  It took months though..

I guess that should be the first thing that I post in this long while.  No need to bog down this post with too much.  I have a good life.  I'm a lucky person in many ways.  Some nights...well many nights I miss open roads.  I want to have experiences in small towns, at little diners, tucked away dive bars.  Maybe its the country girl in me.  My cross country trip with my mother was one of the most beautiful of my life.  The endless country, the kind people, the quirky strange places and moments.  Some days I am not sure the city life is my dream.  Maybe i would be more content in some tiny place where I could have a home and not a room.  A porch and not loud neighbors.  See a sunset in the distance.  Watch a sun rise and drink a cup of coffee.  Maybe I want to just have a cat and draw while it tries to get in my way and paw at my pencil, and my glasses.

Not too unlike my drawing above.  Her name is Aura.  Her cat is named Dido.  She seems like she could fit in a city or the country.  She could be that lady hanging out in Sedona.  Selling crystals and waving at neighbors as they walk down the street.  She could take drives in her old beat up car to the grand canyon to catch the view.  She could be a city girl staying out of the fog or laughing with friends at some local haunt.

I need to remember that I'm born on the same day as Annie Oakley.  Alfred Hitchcock.  Strange people, who did life their way.  Didn't follow trends and were driven.  Sometimes I wish I had more of the driven part..something to cultivate.

xo

there is a season

 so its been an age and a day since my last posting. I am going to make an effort to change that habit of just putting writing aside. Big news is that I turned 30 in august. I know 30 is a big number but I find that upon reaching it I don't know what it is supposed to mean. Some people go about their lives in steps and I've never been able to do that, its probably why I always put things together wrong when I am given directions. I have a way of going in backwards order.

 So I am 30. I don't have a 401K. I am not in a relationship and I my mind has not settled. That doesn't mean that someone who doesn't follow steps in life doesn't have dreams. I might just not hit mine in the same way others do. I'm working hard on not comparing myself to others and find that I always find short in that goal.

 I am still unsure of where this blog should go, should it be just art, or personal or a mix of both...? what I have found upon turning 30 is that number feels right. For the first time in 6 or more years when asked my age I give the correct number. I am not unsure of it, I like 3's and I'm glad to have another 10 years of that number. I have found that I like to be cozy, that I am more introvert then extrovert and that I have started to really be honest with people about that aspect of me. I like to be in my dreams, oh and I now require glasses to see. I love the desert and the woods, I am afraid and amazed at all the intricate parts of the human body. I want to watch more sunsets I want to cry with friends and laugh with them as well. I want to be an artist. I want to travel more someday. Oh and I have a new tattoo. It's of the dragon smaug and elvish script that says "rabbit spirit" once a nerd always a nerd.. xo

The Bibliophile

A return to my book loving art. I must say that I don't read nearly as much as many of my co workers at the bookstore I work at. My tastes have a tendency to be more visual sometimes. I often find myself distracted from books but those she is seated atop of are all ones I have loved, or are by authors I adore. My two favorite Didion books are Play it As it Lays and "The White Album. I actually this lady(whom I named Athena because shes the goddess of knowledge) was inspired by an ornament I was given this christmas holiday from my uncle. Shes a little 60's look girl with brilliant white hair and a hot pink gingham dress on. The dress in the drawing looks exactly the same as the one my little ornament has on. I spent about 6 days at home getting to be beside my cat and spend time with my family. Saw Prometheus for the second time. I enjoyed it. I have missed a really good SCI FI movie. The plot was a bit all over the place but the visuals were beautiful, even the very dark and frightening stuff that happened had a beauty to it somehow in the way it was lit. I got this sweater before I went home for the trip. By far my new favorite piece of clothing. My parents and brother wont be up to visit again till my birthday. I miss them already. More are to be colored soon!

Lord and Lady

Where have I been on posting. Doing a damn poor job of it. Good news though, I have been drawing a ton! I get inspired in interesting places..well maybe not interesting, who doesn't seem to like Game of Thrones these days? I love these characters. LOVE THEM. Granted I know that there is quite a bit of nudity on the show and some women or most seem to use their sex appeal to get what they need but that doesn't detract from the intensity to me. I never really felt like I could relate to any of the women in Lord of the Rings, and there certainly were far too few of them for us ladies to choose from. Game of Thrones has a ton. I personally adore Arya. Shes headstrong, a tom boy and despises the idea of being a lady. I also find as usually happens I become drawn to the worst sort of male characters..though in my defense these gentlemen do have good qualities hidden under their more vile behavior. Favorites include: Petyr Baelish, Tywin Lannister and Bronn. If you know the show, they you might know what I mean about good qualities in all these dudes. Anyway..the other day I realized I had not drawn a guy in awhile. I wanted to challenge myself a little so I decided to draw Tywin Lannister in full on armor. I've always been attracted to unconventional men. I mean most would say Charles Dance is not..a looker. Hes got a great profile, strong features, powerful voice and intense eyes. Anyway this is the drawing: he was fun to draw. I also wanted to share a drawing that I did of a lady that was inspired by game of thrones. I really wanted to draw a wolf and a lady with a medieval hair style. This is what I came up with. I'm going to do my best to keep up with posting every week now that life seems to have calmed down a bit. Oh and I'm going to see prometheus tonight. Midnight showing woooooooo. Its going to rule worlds.

Sadness

I know that it has been months since I updated. I am going to be coming back to the blog world I promise, within the next few weeks. Today something happened though that broke my heart a bit. My very favorite artist, Maurice Sendak, passed away. I always wanted to write him a letter and tell him what his art meant to me. I was always too nervous to do so. So I'm going to try and express my joy and admiration of such a wonderful artist. His books are probably the first ones that I remember as a kid. "Where The Wild Things Are", "Outside and Over There", "In The Night Kitchen", and The Little Bear Series. I remember relating to Max in wild things. I too believed that there were monsters in the world, and Maurice took me to a world where that was not a silly thing to think. It was real. In Outside and Over There, I could see myself in the big sister that has to go after her baby brother and save him from creatures in the forest. Little Bear was always so curious and turned ordinary things into unimaginable fun. Looking back on his art now I don't really know if I would be the artist I am without his influence. Would my art still try and take fantasy and the normal world and meld them. I learned from Sendak in a way to look at things differently. To express them in a way that could be interpreted differently by many different people. My mom remembers me as a kid often wanting to look at his books, of which we have quite the collection on the shelves at the house. He took me to another world as a kid, one that I could understand and one that didn't talk down to me just because I was a child. As an adult he has taken me to a place where I want to inspire what he did in me. I want people to be thoughtful about what I do. He was a glorious person and FUNNY(if you haven't seen him on his recent interview on the Colbert Report, he is sharp as a knife in the whole thing)and he inspired so many children who later became artists/illustrators. I really will miss his work. He gave so much wonder to so many. Rest in peace Maurice Sendak. you will always be my inspiration.

Secret Garden

A whole month since a post! Now that is bad. I promise to get into the habit of posting once weekly again, which I fell out of recently due to the holidays I'm guessing.
Exciting things are afoot! I am moving from my current place at the 1st of the month, into a room with a view and hardwood floors on a top floor of a two unit complex(instead of living in a large complex of apartments). I will have 3 other awesome housemates which I met last week. One I already knew from work, who helped me get the place. I'm excited to move back into a traditional San Francisco era apartment. I currently live in something more modern. It is also on the top floor so I won't have to deal with the noise that I have for the last year and 3 months. The guy who lives above me is quite loud and enjoys playing loud rap music..I will be glad to be free of that. I am also going to be getting a bike for the commute across the park to work! I haven't had a bike since I was young so I will have to get back into the swing of it.
I wanted to post the above piece because I can't wait to one day color it in. I was watching the 'Secret Garden' when I drew it. I think that movie is so beautiful. I'm hoping to get back into photography once I move as well as getting to explore a brand new neighborhood. Exciting!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.

Gatekeeper 2012

My most recent drawing is called "GateKeeper". I like the idea that a woman holds the protection of her own heart. We are all protectors and coming from a woman who has spent most of her life single I'm looking for something special when it comes to a love. We are all gatekeepers to our souls and hearts, best not to let everyone in. I've been guilty of that in the past so for 2012 its time to be a more careful gatekeeper for whatever key master comes along. Sure that can be taken two ways. Sexual and not. I'm looking for a Dracula not a Jonathan Harker. For a Snape not a James Potter.
I've over heard a ton of people say that 2011 was a horrible year. I could look at it that way but I feel like I've learned a lot. I've felt a love for my art that I didn't think would happen and so I am grateful for 2011.

I rang in the year watching gary oldman play a marvelous spy in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" which I enjoyed. I had a chocolate shake and a hamburger at mels and saw a movie. I saw "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" with my mom when she came up on thursday. I didn't expect to like it, but I'm sucker for a bad ass girl. I'd love to draw Lisbeth Salander, she is amazingly tough but inside there is a vulnerability. My art is the opposite, feminine looking girls with a toughness inside. The gatekeeper is that to me. She is all sweetness and softness but shes not going to make it easy to get near that dangling thread, shes in control.
I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe new year.
One of my resolutions is to read more. Another is to get back into pilates 4 times a week. What are yours?

now a picture of me making a silly face. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Carnival Christmas.

I've been sick for the past week or so. Here is a new piece I have had shelved for some time now in my folders. I knew I didn't like the original colors that I did(they were far too intense for my linking) so I toned it down to more of a soft palate. I like it better now. Holidays are coming up quite quickly, it always comes faster now that I'm older. I remember waiting like crazy and doing the advent calendar at my house and thinking it would never come. Now Christmas just sneaks up on you. I sadly won't be getting to spend the holiday with my brother, mom, or dad...I will miss them.

I've been wanting to do a drawing of Jane Eyre. I just have to find the right photo for it. I'm going to go see "A Dangerous Method" tonight which will be interesting. I've heard so much about Carl Jung and learned a bit about him in my time with an Analyst. I hope its good.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday time!

Everyone will have Tea!

Nearly a month since an update! My, I shouldn't do that again. I wanted to post the finalized version of Tea Time. I adore Elizabeth. Not all the things she did but what she stood for. A woman in a time and world where to rule as a woman was often not done. When I went to London with my mom after I graduated high school, one of my highlights was getting to see her tomb at Westminster. I couldn't get over the fact that I was standing beside the tomb of a woman I looked up to for her strength. I love drawing Elizabethan garb. Its so intricate and those lace fans they wore were stunning, though I'm assuming quite cumbersome to wear they looked like something that just needed to be painted.
I wonder what Bess would think if she knew how many documentaries, movies, plays and costumes had been made to immortalize her reign. I'm assuming she would be quite happy and perhaps want to have some tea to celebrate.

Next thing I want to draw is Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. I'm going to go see "A Dangerous Method" when it comes out this month!

Also in wonderful news. Bunny Dee was featured in a wonderful brand new online magazine!The Unexposed is a wonderful magazine that interviews up and coming artists and seeks to display their work and thoughts. I'm interviewed on page 148. Take a look!

Hope everyone had a good thanksgiving and a good holiday coming up!

Golden Age

I've been on a kick of drawing period costumes lately. It has always been a favorite thing of mine. When I was a kid I loved drawing elizabethan ruffs on all my drawings. Or giving animals ball gowns..I was fascinated with history from a very young age. At times instead of watching cartoons I would beg my parents to put on the national geographic tape we had about the titanic and its sinking. Oh Lady Anne of Cleves. She was rather lucky wasn't she to escape the ax. I've always loved the depiction of her from her portrait that was sent to Henry to see if he would wish to marry her. I really want to do more period costume drawings. They really are my favorite to do. I often wish I could dress like they did back in those days..just for a day.

I also finally got to see Anonymous. Well..I've seen it twice as of today. When the movie Elizabeth came out, I saw that 3 times in theaters. Period costumes make me drool. As does the actor in the black off to the left side. He plays the hunchback Robert Cecil. I usually like the bad guys. I didn't mind his back either, hes a great character and the actor gave life to a person so often reviled in history. He did a brilliant job at the roll. Many of the actors were amazing. David Thewis, Vanessa Redgrave, Rafe Spall..it was beautifully shot, had a wonderful soundtrack and a dramatic plot.
I am going home next week. So excited!
Hope everyone has a good weekend!

not so secret garden

Its been a bit since a post. I came down with a cold and am finally recovering. In the process of getting everything ready for my halloween costume which I will hopefully get a few pictures of. I got the most wonderful email last week from such a kind customer that bought some stuff from my etsy site. Gabs with Moobaacluck has a blog hereshe had such kind words to say and took some beautiful pictures of the packaging I packed her necklace in! Thanks again so much Gabriella.
The above art is something I drew in anticipation of seeing the movie "Anonymous". I don't draw enough men so I thought I would give a go at drawing Shakespeare with a variety of different source material. I don't know if I will use this as the sketch for a digital final piece or try re-drawing him.


Since I'm finally coming to the tail end of my sickness I forced myself out of the house yesterday and through golden gate park. Where I stumbled upon the 'Shakespeare Garden". What I loved was it was quite deserted. There is apparently a engraving of him behind the locked door at the end of the path. A beautiful little spot though that I didn't even know was there right beside the Academy of Sciences. Next thing I'd love to do is check out the botanical gardens since I haven't done that since I was a kid visiting with my parents. After nearly 8 years of living here its time to do it again..

Shakespeare

A new item has finally made its way into the etsy shop. Necklaces! That feature rabbits and foxes. Soon hopefully there will be other items as well just as soon as I work a few kinks out on them.

Modern day Ophelia will be the next print that I post on etsy as well. She has been waiting to be properly colored for sometime. I had her colored before but really disliked the palate that I used and had to scrap it.

Somehow all of this blog deals with Shakespeare related things. The fox is seated on the Yale Shakespeare book that I own. Ophelia is the love interest in hamlet. Rafe Spall is playing a very different version of Shakespeare in the movie Anonymous. I had never even heard of this movie until I was watching Project Runway last week and they continued to bombard me with trailers for it. I'm hoping its good. It's nothing like Shakespeare in love. I rather adore that Spall(who happens to the son of Timothy Spall who played WormTail in Harry Potter)plays Shakespeare as such a cad. I love costumes. Especially elizabethian period costumes...and I've not seen a movie since I saw Harry Potter 3 times in theaters. I miss Harry Potter movies..

hope everyone has a great week!

Pinch Me

A few weeks or so ago I recieved an email on my etsy from Blakely the curator of R.A.G.(RESIDENTS APPAREL GALLERY) asking if I would like to bring my stuff in for her to look at to include in the shop. Last week I got everything together on thursday and brought it down to hayes valley. I'd love to ask everyone to check out their site and if able maybe take a peek inside! Rag has a ton of wonderful vendors and I was hard pressed not to buy a few things right when I was setting things up. I know nothing is a sure thing, but right now I'm happy just to have had someone think my stuff good enough to place in their shop. It is a good feeling and one I hope to experience again.

In other news I just finished the first season of Downton Abbey and it was amazing! Edwardian period is one of my favorite styles to draw and I might need to include more women in period clothing on my blog and etsy shop. Maggie Smith very much deserved her emmy that she got for being in this. I love good character build up. Check it out! Its free to view until the beginning of october on PBS.com they also have frontline, nova and all other PBS shows many of them up streaming. I haven't been on netflix in a week because of it!
hope everyone had a great weekend!

Mina and the Wolf

I finished the ink drawing of this more then 5 months ago and it took till now to color it in. As I was about to write the description about her for etsy the soundtrack for Bram Stokers Dracula came on my itunes. Then the description I had been thinking of using seemed dull. I was remembering the scene where Dracula and Mina are enjoying their first meeting out in London. There is a panic about the escaped wolf in the city who comes right up to Dracula and Mina and he introduces them. This is that wolf. Who is now her protector. Her outfit recalled Mina's seafoam green blue gown from that scene in a way. I like this description much better then my old one. After all I'd prefer to think that Mina stayed with Dracula and had a wolf rather then married lame ol' Mr. Harker..bleh

Sunset

I got hired recently to do some watercolors for someones art website that they are going to be making. I did two. This one was the more open to what I wanted to create, color scheme and subject wise. One of my favorite story books from childhood was "The Legend of the Bluebonnets". A beautiful story about a native american girls sacrifice to help her tribe in a time of sadness and lack of rain. I think I was inspired by that story with this little image. I also wanted to paint a sunset. I know that this isn't the sort of stuff I normally do, but it was fun to do something for someone that was actually narrative based in a way and not just a figure on a page.

In other news I've seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2, 3 times now and have cried each time. Already contemplating a new hp tattoo to go with the two I now have. Really want to get the deathly hallows symbol on my wrist. Or another of my favorite snape quotes. I'm being Bellatrix Lestrange for halloween as well, a costume that I have wanted to do for the last two years but never had the right stuff to pull it off to my satisfaction. My mom as been telling me since Bellatrix showed up on screen "You remind me of the crazy witch". Can't wait for halloween!!

Always

Its been awhile since a post! Things got a little hectic before the craft fair. I'd like to thank all my friends who showed up and bought things from me. The craft fair didn't turn out the way I envisioned. Having friends there for support though helped a ton. It meant the world to me actually.
This post really is involving my newest tattoo. I didn't draw this, I wanted something realistic so several of my friends recommended tattoo artists that have done their tattoos. The one I settled on after hearing tons of good things was Cicely at Cyclops tattoo in the mission district san francisco. She had drawn up the perfect little doe for the piece. I was nervous as I usually before a tattoo. It had been so long since my last that I was pretty freaked out. It didn't hurt as horribly as I imagined it would. It did hurt of course but it was worth it.
I had been thinking about getting a design like this for awhile. Its from one of my favorite scenes in the book/movie. More then being a tribute to Severus Snape(my favorite character played by my favorite actor) it reminds me that people are not always what they seem. I won't spoil what scene it was from in the book because that would be a huge spoiler.
I love the tattoo though.
I'm a huge HP nerd. I'm already contemplating where to get the deathly hallows symbol.

Wild Hare

Exciting news is afoot! I will be participating in a craft fair! The first I've ever been in and I hope to do more eventually. I got the necklace pendants above made for the occasion. I am also excited to eventually be offering them for purchase on my etsy site. I will have to get more made. They are pendants of either a bunny or a fox leaping. As far as the craft fair goes here is the website: Hecho Local August Edition
I will be selling the following:
Bunny and Fox Pendants(very limited number!)
Original sketch book pieces
Prints
Post cards
buttons
hand painted ceramic pendants(even smaller number!)
I hope that people will come out. It will be great fun and there will be 40 other vendors there.
I'm excited and nervous and hope it turns out well. Still in the process of figuring out how to display my wares without having to lug too much stuff to the event. I found a nice coral fabric at the goodwill and bought a beautiful ikat yard off etsy(thats what is laying under the banner).
Hope to see you guys on sunday!:)


Hope everyone has a great week

Madam Lapin and Harry Potter

It has been quite awhile since a post! I went home last week for two of my friends wedding(they got married in beautiful Santa Barbara) it was the best wedding I've been to so far. I also went home for my brothers birthday. Just got back last friday to good ol' SF. I also got to see Harry Potter while I was home with my parents. I will admit I cried quite a bit. Not loudly..but when your favorite character dies..its pretty hard not to. I got to bring along my wand my good friend got me for my birthday! I'm trying rather hard to look intimidating. The dress is green and I wore a victorian looking waist coat. Fashion!



Speaking of fashion. This is the newest art I've finished. Her name is Madam Lapin. As a kid I loved drawing ball gowns, fancy fancy stuff. I wish i still had the page after page of ruled notebook paper I draw them on. Madam Lapin is accompanied by her lovely rabbit friend Stella. I really enjoyed drawing her.

Now that I am back, I shall post more regularly.
Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Look to the RIGHT!

I think it has been over a week since I posted! So much insanity as of late. First off and something I'm super excited about is post towards the right in the side bar!
I was asked to post my wares on papernstitch. I was approached on my etsy about it. Exciting! I'm feeling so lucky this 4th to have the great people around me that apriciate my art and support it. So check out papernstitch. Its a really beautiful site.

Above is my new favorite print. She is called 'The Mountaineer'. I was inspired by my own silly love of Jon Krakauer books. I will admit if I could going on a date with any living author it would be him. "Into Thin Air" blew my mind.

I've been working on figuring out new things to put up on my etsy so as those come together I will be posting them here.

Hope everyone has a happy 4th! Or a great day where ever you are!:)