Characters

Beastly Judgement by Calzephyr

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 22:20:40 -0000

I began this painting in May 2007, and I hoped to have it finished before New Year's...and as such I finished it today! It is the kind of more conceptual picture I would like to do if I had more time. This may also be the best picture I get of it until spring due to lack of light. The idea also came at a time when I was frustrated with the inconsistent actions of several people. Just who were they, or trying to be? The businessmen on the left is a wolf wearing a rabbit mask - appears friendly, but isn't. The businesswoman is a sheep wearing a lion mask - hiding her good nature behind a fierce face. As businesspeople, they are a metaphor for conformity. In the middle there's an average person, who is not trying to hide anything. The mask for the central person is a horse. I have always believed that there's an inherent honesty in the nature of horses, so it was a perfect symbol. An honest person is never someone other than themselves.

Medium: acrylic
Tags: rabbit lion wolf sheep weird hiding judgement masks conceptual judgment

Caribou Christmas by Calzephyr

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 02:07:25 -0000

Is "I caribou-t you at Christmas" too cheesy? Pencil crayons and PanPastels, with a touch of acrylic for the snowflakes. Merry Christmas everyone!

Medium: Colored pencil, panpastels
Tags: winter one gift christmas half person caribou present holding dusk outdoors standing upper gifts presents snowing

Party Parrot by Calzephyr

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:02:05 -0000

Party Parrot says "A-parrot-ly it's your birthday!" 8x10" colored pencil and PanPastels

Medium: colored pencil, PanPastels
Tags: bird red happy birds birthday holding party scarlet headshots hats macaw nobody balloons macaws birthdays announcements

Mr. Badger's Burrow by Calzephyr

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:50:02 -0000

My husband posed for this picture, shovel and all, in our kitchen back in spring. I had a great idea - wouldn't it be funny to have an animal well known for burrowing, like the badger, using a shovel? This is the little story I made up for him: "With babies on their way, the old burrow would be far too small. Mr. Badger scouted far and wide until he found the perfect spot on a grassy hillock, just underneath a large tree. Digging a burrow large enough for two adults and wee ones was not an easy feat though, as Mr. Badger brushes his brow. Despite getting all covered in dirt and dust, his effort will be well worth it." He is a North American badger. I changed his facial markings slightly as I thought the natural markings would make him too mean. I also had to adjust the proportions - my husband is sufficiently round for a badger, but too tall!

Medium: PanPastels and Colored Pencil
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Just for Fun by Calzephyr

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:39:11 -0000

Every now and then I take a stab at digital painting and I'm not sure if I have any future in it. I've had this sketch around forever and decided to colour it recently while recovering from sedation dentistry. The background is from a photo I took at Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump in southern Alberta.

Medium: digital
Tags: butterflies happy day prancing pony outdoors calzephyr fields ponies carefree

The Minotaur by Calzephyr

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:53:33 -0000

This little 5x6" acrylic was hard to scan or photograph. The background is laid on thick with a mix of prussian blue and diox purple, not black.

Medium: acrylic
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The Flower Picker by Calzephyr

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 20:59:12 -0000

The sparrows so loved Flor's beauty and gentle nature that they didn't hesitate to help her in the field. About 6x8", pencil crayons and chalk pastel, with little acrylic dots for the flowers. This is a picture I have been wanting to complete for years now, maybe this will be the year when all those old sketches become reality. Originally she was supposed to be a donkey, but I changed my mind.

Medium: pencil crayons, chalk pastel
Tags: rabbit green one female happy day day birds person blue grass sparrows nature outdoors walking fields three-quarter length

Aishling Unicorn Lady by Calzephyr

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 10:51:06 -0000

For Aishling. The colours were inspired by an early morning ride through the Crowsnest Pass. 6x8", pencil crayon and chalk pastel on Bristol paper. She describes her character as thus: You see a humanoid unicorn. She is about 5'6" tall and while not overweight, she could be considered pleasingly plump. More healthy than hard body. Her mane and tail are golden shot through with threads of silver. Her hands are vaguely hooflike and the nails are painted a silverly pink. What you can see of her fur is glimmering a silvery white in the faint phosphorescent light cast by the mist. Her horn is about 15" long and spirals to a sharp point. Something is about her shoulders... it appears to be a wisp of mist. A second look reveals that it is a lacey, triangular shawl. The corners of it drape over her upper arms and the ends tickle gently at her thighs. She draws it more surely around herself. She is surrounded by a light mist that whirls and swirls and sometimes hides her from your sight.

Medium: Prencil crayon, chalk pastel
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Toxic Burning by Calzephyr

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0000

This is for Dark Delusion's character Toxic Burning. I got her for the June round of the Equine Exchange. 8x10" pencil crayon on illustration board with acrylic paint to darken things up a bit. It looks much nicer in person, the paint parts didn't scan that well. I really found the character inspiring. It's a little homage to Frank Frazetta's "Death Dealer" as well (in case you were wondering that it looks a little familiar!) The character is described as a plague horse. I'm not sure what a plague horse does, but I imagine it would leave a barren path in its wake.

Medium: Pencil crayon
Tags: horses fantasy eax

Dalia the Boxer by Calzephyr

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 13:18:29 -0000

A gift picture for Lonnie, aka Dalia. I liked the result from a previous Prismacolor picture that I gave the markers another go. Actually, I'm proud of this picture in many ways, because it was drawn on Strathmore's Windpower paper, which means wind energy was used to produce it. The idea for this kind of came out of the blue. Lonnie is going back to school to pursue art. I'm sure she can KO any obstacles that come her way :-) One of her favourite birds is the red tailed hawk, who can be seen giving some advice on the right hand side. Dalia listens as she eyes her unseen opponent. 9x9"

Medium: Prismacolor marker
Tags: horses tough boxers boxing dalia challenge

Entry for Dreamesque's Contest by Calzephyr

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 14:58:41 -0000

Dreamesque had a contest for a new character, and this is my entry. I choose a flashy sorrel colour, two white stockings and a big bald face for markings. The clothing is arbitrary; I chose the colours because I thought they went well with the coat colour. As usual, the scanner ate the picture (honestly, is there any tried and true techniques for scanning CP pictures? I'd LOVE to hear them!) and the pink background I had became lost when I tried to match up the two halves of the picture in PS.

Medium: pencil crayon
Tags: horses horses one female happy person long friendly hair shorts standing looking at camera full-length smiling

Rocky Mountain Greetings by Calzephyr

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 14:55:36 -0000

This is a gift piece for the videographer at our wedding. A few years ago he visited us and took some real nice movies of Banff. I wish he could have stayed longer back in September, we really enjoyed his company. Since he also costumes, I tried to give this character a mascot look. 11x14" Bristol paper, chalk pastels and pencil crayon. I had to fix a few things in the original with PhotoShop. For example, I drew the waving hand a little incorrectly. It took forever to adjust the colour on this one as well.

Medium: pencil crayon
Tags: male one happy day person outdoors standing moose banff looking at camera waving full-length

Not Sure About the Sushi by Calzephyr

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 03:09:41 -0000

Gift picture for a friend of mine who I had the pleasure of dining with almost a year or two ago. We went to a place called the Sushi BBQ Inn, where you can order sushi or raw meat to cook yourself - every table contains a gas grill. He wasn't sure about trying some of the stuff, so I tried to help him with some of the better things. My husband modelled for the reference picture, although you can see how photographs flatten space - the arm seems shorter than it really is. Pencil crayon on Bristol paper, 11x14".

Medium: Pencil crayon
Tags: horses male one person holding sushi indoors headshots chopsticks uncertainty unknown

Reading Upside Down... by Calzephyr

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0000

...is no problem if you're a bat! Done as a gift picture for my friend Fledchen. I did achieve the "look" that I was hoping for. 8.x5x11" pencil crayon and chalk pastels on tan Mayfair paper.

Medium: Pencil crayon
Tags: one fruit female happy Down holding bats bats reading reading books upside enjoyment

Two Brothers by Calzephyr

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 04:13:40 -0000

This is my entry for the September 2005 Avian Art Exchange. It shows two of Crystal Phoenix's characters, Vagan and King. I don't think I got the size difference between them quite right, but I tried to make it look as if King (the white one) was a little lower on the rock and just a tad farther away. In her description, she wrote that they sometimes fight, but can be brotherly. Are they having an argument or friendly spar?

Medium: Pencil crayon
Tags: clouds day birds rocks brothers fighting outdoors conflict two people cliffs

Calzephyr by Calzephyr

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 04:08:16 -0000

It seemed for the longest while that I didn't have any art of my own character - just a lot of pictures of friends! I was very pleased with this picture, it turned out the way I had envisioned it in my head. Tan Mayfair paper and pencil crayon. Absolutely no chalk pastel was used this time. The surface of the paper was really smooth, smoother than white Mayfair it seemed, and the colour glided right on. I debated whether or not to colour the sky blue and left it tan - I couldn't guarantee that I would be satisfied with a blue sky.

Medium: pencil crayon
Tags: horses one mountains happy day person outdoors calzephyr alberta alberta standing arms crossed casual forests relaxed

I Love Trees by Calzephyr

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0000

It started out as a doodle in my sketchbook, and then a larger drawing. The original drawing looked nothing like this. Originally the tree was going to be centered, more of a fall theme going on...different pose altogether. The pose took forever to get right - just when I thought I was happy with the arms, they never quite looked right! I think the head is a tad too small, but I have a big green fleece sweater like that, so my excuse is that the body is fluffy ;-) I bought a new pencil crayon for the sky, "Electric Blue" from PrismaColor, but I'm not happy with the grainy way the colour laid down. That seems common with Prismacolor blues for some reason. About 7x10", pencil crayons on Bristol paper.

Medium: Pencil crayon
Tags: horses day trees environmentalism hugging affection outdoors