I thought about Don McLean way too much while I worked on this painting. My mom said it's got "shades of Vincent Van Gough." 

I've been working on this canvas since my son was born. Maybe a little before. So it's been about a year. In that time this canvas has had at least three different rabbits and at least five different backgrounds. When I started working on the background I couldn't help but think about the skies at night over the Big Bend area - it's an international dark sky and you can see the Milky Way! Initially, I'd wanted to paint this rabbit in front of a sunset, but when I came in to work on it and began working on my starry sky, this felt right. 

I became worried that with a sky that was so vivid and detailed having a detailed landscape and a very detailed subject were going to be overwhelming. I did, though, still want some different dimensions in my landscape - which I accomplished with purple tones, dark grey, and black. The jackrabbit also needed to be muted. Yes, he's the subject, but he can't be so colorful that he clashes with the sky. The sky is...a lot. 

I also realized that I had a serious problem. The brown that I love using when I paint rabbits has been used up. It was a devastating realization. So, I mixed my own browns from different yellows, oranges, blues, and black. I'm please with the colors. When it came time for me to mess with the tail I realized that it was part of the old rabbits showing through and I left it alone. It was part of a leg, once, and it is so perfect the way that it is in this piece (and I like that it's a nod to the past bunnies of this painting). 

The sides of the canvas are gold. I think it's perfect with the stars. One of my friends said that this painting made her think of the story of the Velveteen Rabbit, when the fairy took him into the forest and he looks up at the stars before he becomes real. I love that. I've decided that I'm going to hold onto this painting for a little while. I like the idea of staring at it in my living room. It's very nice to look at. 

I've been trying to clean up my studio for a little while and today it happened! I haven't really made any physical pieces of art in a while - I've been working with mostly digital pieces since the birth of my son. It's so much easier to use one tool (a tablet) to create something than it is to have to set up in a different space, find a canvas, get paint, etc. Today I sat down and sketched out a crow. I thought that it would be a really cool piece of art. But then, I really thought that it would be better as a physical piece of art. 

If I had an animal that I felt represented me, personally, or was my emblem, it would be a rabbit. I think a hare, to be more specific. Not the soft, cuddly little domesticated babes that steal things from your garden or cuddle with you. I think everyone loves those. But when I think about my personal animal representative it is not that kind of Lagomorph. No, the wild and wirey hare is what I love the most. 

I've been spending some time in the afternoon doodling. Just working on colorful, silly, and almost Lisa-Frank-inspired pieces of art. This colorful jackrabbit is yesterday's doodle. My husband saw the finished product and wanted to know if I was going to offer prints of it. I think I might offer it as a series of three (with my wild agave in the mix with something else). I'd like to have them mounted together, I think that could be very cool. 

I've also decided that I like this pose enough that I'm going to make a physical drawing of a jackrabbit in this way. I think I even have the perfect canvas - recycled of course. It's been begging for a rabbit of some kind, and I started working on one and just couldn't ever seem to find what felt right. So, maybe this is the one that belongs on that canvas that's been begging for a hare. 

Winged creatures soar through dark skies and have long captivated the human imagination. They seem mysterious and unknown. But, they're easy to learn about! Bats are the only flying mammal and are common throughout the world. There are over 5,000 different species of bat, but the big brown bat is one of the most widespread in North America. 

You can learn more about bats and help others around you separate fact from fiction as you share  about their gentle nature. Education is one of the most important parts of conservation! Bats need you to help share important ways that we can support them (like buying bat boxes to give them clean, safe places to sleep) and our ecosystems. 

Bats! An Illustrated Fact Book by Heather Wylie Knappe is a wonderful children's book that invites you to learn about the remarkable bodies and abilities of these ambassadors of the night. Prepare to be captivated by their mesmerizing flight, their unique bodies, and the extraordinary ecological roles they play. Discover the facts of these magnificent, misunderstood creatures today. 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1312782099
​Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bats-an-illustrated-fact-book-heather-wylie-knappe/1143705526?ean=9781312782099
See Other Books: https://www.hwylieart.com/books.html

I've been thinking about the way that I make art and the way that has changed over the last few years. I've also been thinking a lot about my YouTube channel and trying to add more to it (consistently). My goal for 2023 was to make sure that I was blogging regularly - and I have been! But, I know that I need to be making more consistent content on YouTube too. 

In looking at my channel I found myself looking at the older videos that I've made. Here's a great tutorial for painting a crow! I hope that you'll check it out - and if you complete the tutorial please show me your art! 

I've been really thinking about moving forward with more books. I have a personal goal that I'm working toward and I'm making slow but consistent progress. When I think about who I want to be like (when I grow up? does that apply here?) it is a mix between Richard Scarry and Jackie Morris. 

I've been working on a story about a little hippo (named Hercule) and then began to work on a little ferret (named Finnegan) and love the way these two little individuals have really come to life. There's an entire world of these fantastic little animals out there, and I want them to come together (the Wonderful World of Wylie?) occasionally with some appearances. I've been thinking about Finnegan's story, for instance, and want Hercule in the background. If Hercule has other books maybe Finnegan - and others - will make an appearance there. 

I don't think these two goals are unrealistic. In fact, I love them. I love the idea of only picking projects I sincerely want to work on - and that might mean that they're mostly mine - and working to build a little world where my favorite small animals live. I love storytelling. I love creating tales for children. It's something that I've always wanted to do and now I am doing it. And maybe if I talk about it enough and share it enough other people will find it too.