Raffle to help victims of the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado

I live in Colorado and have many friends displaced by the Waldo Canyon fire, several of whom have lost their homes. What's the Waldo Canyon fire? It's an over 16,000 acre wild fire burning in the Rocky Mountains that has so far claimed 347 homes and 2 lives. At this point it is about 25% contained. There are still around 10,000 homes at risk for burning and 30,000 people evacuated.
I'm in cahoots with Ima Zombie of Zombies & Toys for a raffle to raise money for the Waldo Canyon fire. Everyone who donates $5 to the Waldo Canyon fire is entered into the drawing to win a custom zombie bunny made by me!

Here's the info from the facebook page:
Alright Hoard & living peoples...

If you want to win a custom Zombunny made by Icky Dog Creations - Here is what you have to do....

1 - make a donation of $5 to help fire victims in Colorado Springs where Icky Lives...
You options are Pikes Peak Red Cross or Care & Share Food Bank
[link] or [link]

2 - fwd a copy of your confirmation e-mail to:
ImaZombie@zombiesandtoys.com

for every $5 you donate, you will get a numbered entry via e-mail from Ima Zombie.

The winning # will be chosen using [link]

You have till 7-7-2012 to enter...

If you have any questions - contact Ima Zombie....
Ready ... Set .... GO!

And a link to the Zombies & Toys facebook page:
[link]


Examples of bunnies:

Prototypes

Since my contest is a vote between a platypus or hedgehog plush zombie, I figured I ought to be able to make them!

My platypus prototype. I named him Phillipe and my son Ayden promptly stole him as his own.

See? Little thief!!

And my hedgehog prototype. I named him Martin Freeman. Yes I did.

Sparrow on Branch

My newest sparrow painting :) Done in watercolor, of course! Part of my series A Study in Sparrows.

Zombie Bunny

My newest zombie bunny! And by far my favorite that I've made.

He's got half of his face ripped off!!! Look! Exposed bone!!!!!

He's pretty awesome. All green with the zombie plague. AND, he's available in my Etsy Shop!

Zombie Raccoon

Oh yes. A very plump and happy zombie raccoon. Ready to eat all your innards.

I used a real raccoon tail on him just for fun! I mean, why not?

See? Look how fat he is!!! So cute! He's available in my Etsy Shop!

Zombie Pig

I made a zombie pig recently. He's enjoying himself a nice baby chick.

Om nom nom nom! Look at that blood!

He's available in my Etsy Shop!

Contest Time!!

Yes, that's right! It's contest time again! Hooray! And this one is just as easy as my last. Let's get down to the nitty gritty.
Here's what you have to do:
1. Go to my facebook page and answer this question - Hedgehog or platypus. For a zombie. Meaning, which should I make as a zombie next?
2. Sit back and relax until May 10th when I announce the winner!

How do I announce the winner? Well, I'll make a list of everyone who answered and use a random number generator to pick the winner.

And what do you win? A signature ratty!!! One similar to this:

Hooray!

How I Paint

Just for fun, I thought I'd show the painting process for this painting:

This is a painting I did for a friend and it measures 22in X 30in and is done in watercolors (my favorite medium).
So first, I started by sketching it out and then masking of the birds and the branch with watercolor masking. This lets me paint the background without fear of getting paint on the foreground.

You can just barely see the birds masked off. The paper is also taped down to keep it from warping too much (which paper likes to do when wet from say . . .watercolors).
Next, I did my first wash of color:

Very light and basically just doing some color blocking and deciding what colors I wanted to use.
Second wash:

A little darker now, more brilliant colors used.
Third wash:

I actually did another wash after this and forgot to take a picture of it. Oh well! I let it dry completely and then removed the masking. Next came painting the birds, again, done in washes.

This is after 2 washes. You can start to see some details.

After another 2 washes. Time to paint the branch!

The finished painting again - did 2 washes for the branch and touched up the sparrows. I hope my friend likes it!

Anatomical Knitting

I stumbled upon this Facebook fan page for Anatomical Knitting, and it is quite awesome. Her knitting is impressive and just plain cool!

I mean, LOOK AT THIS! A full skeleton with all its guts!! She even did the thyroid gland!!! I have this sneaking suspicion that if I counted the vertebrae she's have the correct number (which is 24, by the way - 7 cervical, 12 thoracic and 5 lumbar - you're welcome).

INTESTINES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Want something other than guts?? How about a . . . .LUCHADOR MASK!!!

I want this so bad. EVERYBODY needs a luchador mask!

Jill is quite talented and if you get a minute, you should check her out!

OWLS!!

A friend of mine has just purchased her first home and she has a thing for owls. So, as part of her house warming gift, I'm painting her owls! I've done 7 so far and may do a few more if the muse hits me ;)
I quite love this barn owl, let's be honest.

This green owl looks very contemplative. Maybe he needs to take a dump and he's deciding which car hood would be best . . .
Both are done in water colors.

Zombie Walrus!

Why yes, yes I did make a zombie walrus! And of course I think he looks like Jaime Hyneman from Mythbusters. Come on, every walrus looks like Jaime!

He's rather intimidating, yeah? I'd certainly hate to meet up with him. Well, except if we were on land. I've heard a rumor that walrus are slow on land, all bulky and awkward. 

Look at that kissable face! Never mind the blood and fishy smell. Kiss him!

Available in my Etsy Shop

Contest Ratty

This is the prize ratty for my contest I held! Curt Baxter was the winner and this guy has been shipped to his new home! I'll probably hold another contest in May, so stay tuned!

OWL!

I painted this for my friend. She's just bought a house and I'm doing several owls for her! I do believe he's proud of his dapper sweater!

New Videos That I LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These are the latest videos from genius Nathan Barnatt. He's a comedian and physical actor and he is amazingly funny!! I love this man!!
Enjoy!

The dancing in this one made me giggle so hard.




And his dance tryout for a Kimberly Cole video! Pure genius!

Sparrow Speed Paint

A 20 minute digital speed paint of a house sparrow. Part of A Study in Sparrows.

Zombie Wolf

The latest zombie to be added to my hoard!! A zombie wolf who's been disemboweled. Hooray!

Happy Easter

We colored eggs last night with some friends! Yay!

Plush Sparrows

I've made 3 little plush sparrows! Two of them are mine and will be hanging from my ceiling. The third one is my son's (the blue one with the blue belly with orange circles) - he picked out the fabric for his!!

Zombie Foxes!

A cute little vixen and her mate!!! The vixen has been sold, but her mate (with the exposed brain) is still available!

Zombie Chicken

Oh yes. I made a zombie chicken of DOOM! Available in my Etsy shop!

New Sparrow Painting

My friend asked for a sparrow painting as she apparently loves how I paint birds. This is her sparrow. The painting measures 6in X 6in, done in watercolors. He took less than an hour to complete. And she happens to love him! (though lets be honest, I hoped she didn't so I could keep it!)
Part of A Study in Sparrows.

New Critters I made!

Both of these were for custom orders - from sisters no less!

A zombie bunny with a dead ermine (weasel), and a zombie kitty with a decapitated ermine. I especially love how the kitty turned out. I think she looks so sweet and innocent. Probably so she can kill and eat you, but, whatever. I'm not here to judge.

They're both sold, and both were a blast to make!
Remember - I'm always up for custom orders!