"On the Hunt"

Artist:  Rebecca Bosko Marino

About the Artist:  

I am one of Scout's owners and a sometimes artist.  Having had no formal art training, except the occasional class, I've been inclined since childhood to create art.  Maybe as a means to escape or as a way to document the happy moments, I've always had something I was drawing, painting or crafting.  My most recent fine art medium of choice was ink and watercolors on rice paper in the style of Sumi-E.  This was all brought about after taking a Chinese Brush Painting class at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts on a whim.  Despite that, the simplicity and boldness of the style made its impression and drew me in.  While I'm formally trained as a scientist and currently working on my PhD in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at the Graduate School of Public Health (University of Pittsburgh), I have found time in the past to balance my life with painting.  To me, art can (given you have the time) be an escape from the chaos of laboratory bench work.  I have the soul of an artist living a life of science and wouldn't have it any other way.

Becky Marino

Website:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/violet6533/ 

Dimensions:  9 x 9 inch shadow box frame,  ~4 x 4 inch artwork 

Materials:  Ink and watercolor on Rice Paper adhered to acid-free/lignin-free black card stock with white mat

Inspiration for the piece from the artist:  When planning the art-raiser I wanted to paint simple cats that conveyed things Scout loved to do.  While I would have loved to do more detailed watercolor works, I haven't had the time.  So I stuck to the simplistic art of Sumi-E and in a minimal number of strokes attempted to convey a cat's love...  In this case, it is a cat's love of the hunt.  Scout loved being out in the backyard and especially loved searching out the different critters living there.  He was always sneaking up on pill bugs or grasshoppers to tap them with his paw.  His best trick was his ability to find and point out the nasty garden slugs that had a taste for our Asiatic lilies.  He was our little bug hunter...

Starting Bid:  $25

Shipping:  If you want the framed art shipped to you, it will be around $20 by USPS.  Unframed art in a mat alone will run around $5 in a flat rate USPS envelope.  I (Becky) will send you an invoice for the shipping amount.  Otherwise... if you are in Pittsburgh, we (Becky and Josh) can deliver the art to you for free.  =)

To bid on the item, post the starting bid or a higher bid in $1 or more increments as a comment on this post.  The highest bid at 8pm on Saturday the 17th will win the auction and will be notified by email from us.