vkosowski

[vkosowski]

The final painting in my mouse portrait series, and a very emotional one to complete 🐭 I lost Cookie Mouse in October of last year, just a few months shy of her 2nd birthday. She was the sweetest little friend with the most gentle personality. I’m so grateful for the time we got to spend together on this earth, even if I wish it was much, much longer. She will always be dearly missed ❤️

[vkosowski]

Continuing with my mouse portrait series, here comes Pim! 🐭

Pim is the confident leader of the group. She’s looked after the others from day one, and when I’m spot-cleaning or making any updates to their home, you bet she’ll be there asserting herself and letting me know who’s boss. She’s also a very loving and sweet mouse though, and will always come out for pets.

Pim was quite the chonk in her youth, which earned her the title of “The Great Fat One”. While she’s no longer as round, I think Pim would agree that she is still very much “great” 😄

[vkosowski]

Another mousey portrait 🐭

Sunbear is my little climber and adventurer! She loves nothing more than to climb hoodies and perch on shoulders. She'll also do anything for a piece of Rice Krispies cereal (no marshmallows of course!)

More often than not I call her by her Polish nickname, Misiaczek (pronounced mee-shya-chek), which means "little bear" 🐻

[vkosowski]

Sometimes your muses live only a living room away!

My mouse Kret was the perfect little model for this painting study. She and her sisters Pim and Sunbear love nothing more than to spend their days snuggled up in this mushroom hide.

Although she's a very large and confident old lady now, when Kret was young she was such a tiny scaredy-mouse! She'd always cautiously poke her head out of her burrows to make sure the coast was clear before coming out. I named her Kret after the Polish word for "mole", since she looked very much like one back then.

[vkosowski]

Sometimes the best way to remember a place is to paint it!

This study is based on a photo I took just outside of Ferndale while exploring Humboldt County last July. I love using studies like this to sit in a memory and recapture the feeling of a place.

What are some ways you like to reflect on the places you've loved visiting?

[vkosowski]

Had a wonderful time plein air painting at Almaden Lake with a friend! It was a lovely overcast afternoon, and it was so peaceful watching the birds fly back and forth to roost on the island.

It was also the perfect chance to try out my new pochade box I made with the help of James Gurney's blog! I'm happy to say that in this case, the budget option really does work, and very well at that!

If you've been looking to upgrade your plein air set up yourself, definitely check out James Gurney's amazing DIY advice: http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2014/08/watercolor-in-wild-materials.html

[vkosowski]

A recent plein air painting done traditionally in gouache!

Something I love about plein air painting is the potential for unexpected surprises.

I stumbled upon this black cat while deciding on a place to paint along one of my favorite neighborhood trails.

While he soon went on his merry way, I'm glad I got to share this small moment in the sun with my feline friend!

[vkosowski]

Hi tumblr friends, I have some exciting news! I'll be exhibiting as part of the Walt Disney Family Museum's Earth Day show, "Conserving the Magic of Our Planet" which opens tomorrow! Join me for the virtual reception hosted by the museum on April 22 at 11am PT. Visit https://www.waltdisney.org/earth-day for links to the live event and free access to the virtual gallery which will go live after the reception. Words can't express how honored I am to be a part of this community art exhibit at one of my favorite museums. Walt Disney has always been an inspiration to me. I greatly admire how Walt continuously pushed the boundaries of what animation could be, and inspired the people he worked with to reach the highest level of their craft in both art and storytelling. A huge thank you to the Disney Museum team for creating this awesome show! **Logo image property of the Walt Disney Family Museum, used for promotional purposes only.

[vkosowski]

From line art to painting: take a look behind the scenes of my latest piece. I had a lot of fun both drawing and painting this one!

[vkosowski]

A mother’s love you remember forever.

My latest painting from the thylacine project! Mum and baby thylacine share a peaceful moment together amidst the flowers and trees.

[vkosowski]

The line art for last week's painting!

[vkosowski]

"Have you seen any others like my friend?" the little quoll asked the birds. The clearing filled with concerned chatter and sideways glances. They had not.

*

As a child, I used to regularly check out a VHS from the library called "Wild Australia" which featured archival footage of the now extinct thylacine (commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf). I was moved by the loneliness of a pacing striped creature with sorrowful eyes, the last known member of its kind, preserved in the zoo with no hope of its species' survival.

That image stuck with me. For my latest portfolio project, I plan to tell a story about a young thylacine who gets separated from her mother and goes on a journey to try to find her with the help of her friend, an Eastern quoll. I'm looking forward to sharing paintings, designs and characters from this project with you as it progresses!

[vkosowski]

No one can wrangle an outlaw as well as Coyote Kay!  A well-known bounty hunter, you can spot her running down the biggest and baddest bandits of the West in her white coyote mech.  

Kay's story takes place in a cross-genre world combining the Western and Mecha genres.  

I had a lot of fun thinking about what kinds of characters would populate such a world, and how the mythical and epic qualities of both genres would influence the world's mech designs.

See the full painting in high-res at my website: https://veronicakosowski.com/

Music: "Welcome to Your Wildwestworld" by Lobo Loco https://bit.ly/3pSNYZr

[vkosowski]

Absolute heartbreak.

Short comic, while I work on something bigger on the side. It is nevertheless a very important topic. A lot of seabirds die because they eat plastic. They feed their chicks with the waste. It’s really tragic.

[vkosowski]

Exciting news my friends! A beautiful, newly-printed edition of my comic 'As Death Embraces' is now available in my Etsy shop for anyone who would like to add a copy to their bookshelf!

@nuclearjackal and I are so grateful for all your support throughout the making of this comic. Know that your purchase directly contributes to our ability to create more great stories like this one for you to read.  😊❤️

http://etsy.me/2pxlUhz

[vkosowski]

@mermaid-calla-lily thank you for sharing my piece!  I love mermaids inspired by interesting fish as well!  There’s so much potential for really cool ones based on the amazing fish that inhabit the ocean :) 

A lionfish-inspired mermaid witch. Been doing a lot of black and white work of late for an as-yet-unannounced project so it was nice to work in color again!

[vkosowski]

A lionfish-inspired mermaid witch. Been doing a lot of black and white work of late for an as-yet-unannounced project so it was nice to work in color again!