Illustration Fri. - 'fluid' and PPF

11x15, watercolor & pencil, Grimm's Fairytales : "The Twelve Dancing Princesses"

Under the wire for IF's word this week 'fluid' and late to the party over at Paint Party Friday. I finished up the sketch yesterday, then painted it today (and started to run out of daylight ergo the color distortion on the right lower corner when I snapped this pic)

SO fun working on this piece, inspired by my take on a scene from one of Grimm's fairytales, aka "The Shoes That Danced to Pieces". I can only imagine how the the princesses' fluid and graceful movements must have deteriorated as they danced the night away!

This is one of my favorite fairytales of the Brothers Grimm - I've always loved the idea of the princesses sneaking out to a magical underground castle to dance with their princes until 3:00 in the morning, then going home happy & tired with their shoes worn out!

Have a magical week friends!

Watercolor Wednesdays - 'pickles'

8x8, ink, watercolor & digital

"Great - it's burger night!" muttered Jeanette as she walked into the kitchen and spied the note on the fridge. She knew what that meant - her mom would be plunking a big, heaping bowl of those gross, green things on their dinner table. Her two younger brothers love pickles. They also love nothing better than to wave them at her and bite into them making loud, crunching sounds. They know how much Jeanette HATES pickles!

Finally posted an illo over at Watercolor Wednesdays - it's been ages!! I'm actually one of the original members from way back when they first started up and we are hitting the 3 year mark in July, wow!

A lot of fun with this one - and it was no surprise to me that the subject ended up looking like my daughter when she was that age. She was /is much like this character: very opinionated and picky (although in her case she loves pickles!)

And again I found out how important it is to work on your bkgd right from the beginning instead of leaving it until the end. I love working on my characters and tend to do backgrounds as an afterthought. Of course with children's book illustration you have to be able to portray many different settings, emotions and actions so the reader can connect with the character(s) . All in all I feel like this was a good stretch for me, much more work needed however :>

Wishing you all a creative week!

Illustration Fri. - 'asleep''

'asleep', 6x6: pen /digital paint

A quick post for Illustration Friday's word this week: 'asleep', another one for my children's book illo portfolio that I've been working on/struggling with for awhile now. And I'd like to think that life has been getting in the way, but for the most part my inner critic has had her say once too often - until a few months ago when I started working through The Artist's Way with a friend. All I can say is that it has helped me immensely - I've been showing my critic politely but firmly to the door a lot more lately :>

Hope you're all enjoying the long weekend here in the US, if not enjoy the rest of your weekend wherever you happen to be.....

* * * * * * *

Also, if you're up for some artistic eye-candy, yesterday I posted about a recent trip of mine here - I hope to have Part Two up tomorrow sometime [and did I mention I have my first ever 'hollywood celebrity & me' photo to share?]

Edit: Part Two can now be viewed here

Illustration Fri. - 'welcome'

Thought I'd share a sketch from a WIP mixed media piece I started this weekend. I have so many ideas for where I want to go with it so I'm trying to narrow things down. As some of you may already know, Alice in Wonderland is at the top of my list of favorite storybook tales and one that I love to revisit.

As I sketched this out, I wondered what she was thinking as she fell down the rabbit hole - I'm sure she hoped that she'd land in a place where she'd be welcome, poor dear girl :>

Have a great weekend & be sure to visit all the wonderful creativity at IF here

Watercolor Wednesdays - 'umbrella' and 'dancing'

I joined an online group of aspiring (and accomplished) children's book illustrators about a month or so ago. I've only completed 2 prompts so far but want to be more active to see if it's something I really want to pursue as an illustrator. I've been an avid reader all my life and still love storybooks. I kept all of my daughter's books even when she insisted on getting rid of all but her favorites. I think that reading is so important and that kids should be encouraged to read as much as possible. And it's never too early to instill a love of reading -- I started reading to my daughter when she was a few weeks old :>

With Autumn here now, (well not here really, however the temps did dip below 60 degrees last night - woohoo!) getting back from ConveZioNE in California and still feeling the wonderful inspiration from meeting everyone - I'm finally ready to be back in my studio and eager to get to work.

I also have many things I want to accomplish before the end of this year. Some of which include:

1. Getting a portfolio together of top-notch illustrations showcasing my strongest work.
2. Finding out who, how, where to submit to.
3. Get a marketing plan in action.
4. Keep making my mixed media art because it helps me to relax and tames the critic in me who always wants my art to be 'perfect' :>
5. Participate in our local Main Street Market held the first Saturday of every month - only 3 of which are left before Christmas (!)
6. Get some cards, prints etc. up in my Etsy shop.

What is it about season beginnings/endings that makes us want to tidy up, set schedules, make short-term or even long range goals as the end of the year approaches? What are your creative plans? Do you have one big list that you work from or do you find making shorter, more doable lists, easier? I would have to say that shorter lists & instant gratification work better for me.

No matter what you end up accomplishing or not, be gentle with yourself, remember to breathe and don't forget to stay in the moment - life is too short :>