Various animal portraiture...

This is a Bactrian camel and though not strictly a portrait, it lends to the general sentiment of this blog. When I sketched Olivier (autism rears its ugly head), I was designing a poster for a Christian poetry / music gig for my friend and camel was the natural choice (an inspired suggestion from another friend). Both friends were overjoyed and I hope to make this into a T Shirt one day when I refrain from drinking Country Red, a particularly classy variety of generic red wine neatly packaged in a two litre bladder. I also like to think that it is particularly fitting that red wine aided the creation of a Christian poster designed by an intoxicated atheist (raised by a born again Christian) for a gig at an Anglican radio station.

The horse of one thousand laments. This was a gift for George's birthday and was the catalyst for my autistic journey into animal portraiture. I have never ridden a horse (though I have ridden a camel) and have always found the creatures sinister and satanic. Hence the unholy red glow emanating from the head. Not that I really believe in Satan. I just feel they are large unruly creatures not to be trusted. George likes them however, which is why this mare came into existence. He has no name.

An ode to a cocker spaniel that broke my heart when his failed to beat.... It was my Mum's birthday so I decided to honour the memory of a dog that I loved deeply.

The first day of college is etched deeply into my soul. I was 13, had recently been fitted with a lovely set of braces on my upper and lower dentures and suffering from being 5"10, skinny and awkward. Luckily I went to an all girls school and everyone was suffering from at least one of these social set-backs. I caught a bus for forty five minutes from Motueka to Nelson with my friends from Saint Peter Chanel Primary school. Imagine my dismay when I was separated from these familiar (yet forgettable) faces to be put in the accelerant class. I was mortified. I cried all the way down the rural highway to my house where Mum greeted me at the driveway and shrieked with delight at the news.
Despite the fact it is a good thing that I was not a fuck tard, I was still inconsolable. I wanted to be Xena. So we went for a drive. To a house with puppies. Cocker spaniel puppies. Which is where we first met George. A week later after faking melancholie to get out of school and hang with George I had made a new best friend.