Ivan and the Wily Coyotes

This scene usually happens at dusk or at night. In fact the most breathtaking chase that I witnessed took place on a moonless night in pitch blackness, save for my gazillion candlelight flashlight I used to watch the chase. As always, the coyote seemed to just taunt Ivan. This one night, there was only one (they almost always work in pairs or more) the scrawny thing didn’t even start running till Ivan–a 120 lb puffing and snorting and bellowing freight train–was practically bearing down on him.

When being chased, the coyotes always look back to see how close Ivan is, and they will actually slow down so they don’t get too far away. It really looks as if they are toying with him–teasing him enough to get him to jump the fence and start chasing them, and then they just mess with him. Ivan will chase them off the property–past the barbed wire–then come chugging back up the ridge to the house. Often, the coyotes will reappear on the crest of the hill that Ivan just chased them over, and they’ll bark and bark at him. I swear it sounds like they’re hurling insults at him “Your mama wears combat boots, sucka….” Wily coyotes indeed.

‘Ivan and the Wily Coyotes’ • 3-color reduction linocut on Rives BFK cream • 6in x 24in • (click image to enlarge)

And the print after color #1 (blue, at bottom), carving (linoleum, at top) for color #2, which will be orange:

The Stalking of the Great White Pyrenees

The Stalking of the Great White Pyrenees
10″ x 24″ each panel
Hand-colored linocut

New Work
Originally created for a folio exchange organized by Melanie Yazzie of University of Colorado, Boulder, called “Los Animales Cute.” Each print measures (image size) 24″ x 10″ So, x 2 = 48″ long total prints. For the folio exchange, the parameters were: 24″ x 10″ print, folded down to 10″ x 8″ so I printed both sides–part one and two of “Stalking….”

For future print editions, I’ve printed each panel separately, and will mat/frame each. So hanging side by side, framed they should look sweet. Framing some up within the week….

The subject matter–dogs, here, on this farm–they’re a laugh-a-minute. Soooo serious, calculating, predictable, and utterly unique even though they’re the same species. So…with subject matter like this, and totally “braggin’ on” my muses, the blocks practically carved themselves.

Dexter (top) is in stalking mode, focused 100% on Ivan. If you were to call him now, he wouldn’t hear you. He’s getting ready to charge. Zuzu (foreground) is excited and upset. She’s barking and digging in snow and knows what Dexter is going to do and doesn’t like it. She will eventually jump on Dexter (after he attacks Ivan), dominating him, to make him stop.

Each 10″ x 24″ (Two-part print)

Ivan is smiling. He loves it when he is chased. He turns into a big, goofy, bouncing target. Leaps into the air and runs and runs and laughs, while Dexter growls and bites and throws himself at him. Ivan is anticipating the chase here–knowing that Dexter is getting ready to charge. He weighs over 100 lbs, so with the “littles” at 14lbs each, he really has nothing to fear–thus the smile and the fun of being chased.

Thought about it for months. Took about a week in terms of planning, drawing, cutting, printing…. Printing: a 3-6 hours for each side of 20 or so prints. Hand-coloring of all happened in another night. “Night” translates to about an 8 hr stretch that sometimes happens in day (2p-10p), or 10p-4a or just whenever I can fit it in around a full-load of classes (including 2 academics–yikes!), 1/2 time day job (web designer/illustrator for The Why Files), farm life, making prints/art for benefits and own business…. Not sleeping much these days (2 hrs each, 2 nights in a row…yuk!!!!…paying for it now, but took a nap and now I’m functioning again).

Time to study and sketch and study….