Illustration Friday: INSTINCT

“Little prairie dog came out to see the sunshine but she should’ve listened to her instinct and stayed inside.”

This is my entry for this week's IF. I only had time for a pencil drawing. I've been very busy lately. I've had little time to reply to emails and visit my regular blogs.

Boy Climbing - Full color

I finally had some time to post the finished version of the IF challenge word 'climbing' from a couple of weeks ago. I used water soluble oils for the first time and I really enjoyed them. They take a couple of days to dry, so next time I try them I think I need to have several illustrations going on simultaneously to make the process more efficient. I am not sure how this medium benefits my work, so I'm still considering wether or not to pursue it further.

 I have been so busy with design projects and projects for two silent auctions that I haven't had a chance to participate in IF and I miss it. I still have two portfolio pieces to finish and an idea for a book. Yes, a book! More than the idea of having the book published, I plan on creating my own dummy to have it in my portfolio and show character consistency, layout, design, etc. I think with my time constrains it would be realistic to take 6 months to develop a full dummy. I still don't have a full working story.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

This is an ACEO card I have on my ETSY shop.

Wishing all my readers a Happy Valentine's Day! I love you all!

I hope you take the time to say something nice to someone you love today.  The obvious... that special someone in your life that makes your heart melt! But, don't forget about the other loved ones in your life that mean so much to you, it could be your mother, father, sister, aunt, friend, grandmother. Don't forget to tell them how much you love them and appreciate them!

 

Custom Painted Toy Chest

These are pictures of what I am currently working on. I am donating this piece for my son's school to be auctioned off at their annual silent auction event. My idea was to paint a scene that would work for both boys and girls. 

First I primed the wood and drew the images, then I pyrographed the wood to make the outlines strong and well defined. My next step is to paint the whole thing! I'm really enjoying this, and it's not too different from my usual illustrations. I guess just applied on a different medium.

The small bugs and butterflies will have the children's thumbprints on them with their name.  I'll post a picture when it's all painted and then again when it's all finished.

SIDE

FRONT

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One World One Heart WINNERS

This event was originally created in 2007 by Lisa Oceandreamer and in 2007 there were no more than 85-90 participants. Two years later, this event exploded to over 900 participants! Bloggers from many countries came together to discover new and wonderful people while possibly winning one or several prizes. Thank you Lisa for organizing and hosting this amazing event!

 

I feel fortunate that I was able to find out about OWOH to be a part of it! This past week I have visited and met so many talented and creative bloggers from so many different parts of the world. It has been a truly unique experience! I have met people that I will continue to visit after this event and I hope you do the same.

I had an incredible response to my giveaways. I never imagined that I would get over 200 comments. That is certainly a record for my little blog!

Now, to the winners....

I used a random number generator to come up with the winners, and decided to award the prices based on order of appearance.

#215: Jax - Earrings

#148: Tess - Bracelet

#159: Kelly - ACEO

I will email you telling you that you have won. You have 1 week to email me your information so that I may mail you your prize. In the event that a winner fails to contact me after a week. I will select another winner. Thanks for participating in this fun event and congratulations!

IF: Time - Just in time for Valentine's Day!

I just finished these Valentine cards for my kids' school. I will be printing them on a heavy stock paper and gluing candy on them. It was a fun project! 

DOWNLOAD AND PRINT THIS BLACK AND WHITE VERSION! Have your kids color them in,  and give them away to their Valentine!

Have a great weekend!

Oh, don't forget to enter my OWOH giveaway below...

I've been Meme Tagged!

My friend Nicole tagged me with this fun MEME tag. It's fun and easy to do.

Here are the rules: Open a document or folder; Choose the fifth folder along and then the fifth photo in that folder; Do a post describing the photo and then tag five friends to the “MeMe”, and link to the person that tagged you.

So this is my 5th picture. Talk about a different style! I did this when I was in college...yes another trip down memory lane! I know it is very different from what I do today, but I really like this piece. I think it would make a really cute stamp!

Oh, I just realized I forgot to tag 5 people, and I decided to choose 5 of the many people I have met in the last few days through OWOH. By the way, if you would like to do this MEME and you are not on the list, consider yourself tagged!
So here they are:

http://quiltmoose.blogspot.com
http://nannabeeshive.blogspot.com
http://ebogie.blogspot.com
http://myhidingplaceincyberspace.blogspot.com
http://www.breathofart.blogspot.com

One World - One Heart Giveaway

I found out about this movement called the One World - One Heart Gypsy Caravan and I had to join in! Lisa at A Whimsical Bohemian is hosting her third annual One World-One Heart, where bloggers worldwide can participate in giveaways. As I type this, there are 880 giveaways being held, and probably more to come. This is an opportunity to visit blogs from all over the world. Click the badge or the link to see all the other giveaways.To enter, simply enter a comment on THIS POST ONLY by February 11th, 6:00 pm US Eastern Coast time. The winners will be selected at random and announced on February 12. And please make sure I have a way to link back to you or contact you in case you win. -One item per winner. There will be 3 winners!

If this is your first time on my blog WELCOME! I do hope that you take the time to look around and continue to stay in touch well after this fantastic event! --Click on the follow me widget on the side bar or subscribe to this blog links to add my blog to your list.
If you'd like to join the gypsy caravan and have a giveaway of your own, hurry ... it ends today at midnight! 

For this giveaway, I have the following:

This is a pair of Swarovski Crystal Sterling Silver Earrings:

Swarovski Crystal Bracelet. This bracelet is 7" with an additional 1" extension.

This is an ACEO. Highly Collectible and easily framed.
Measures 2.5" x 3.5"
Mixed Media

---COMMENTS CLOSED---

WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED TOMORROW ON A NEW POST.

THANKS!

Over the Weekend...

I disconnected over the weekend and was able to relax. I still checked emails and updated my FB status, but I did not have any computer time. It's amazing to see how distracting surfing and blogging could be. Sometimes I wonder what would we all do if all of this technology stopped working for a week???... Ah, maybe not!

Let's not tempt fate!

I did not draw or paint, but I did buy some arts supplies and managed to knit a scarf for my 6 year old girl. It turned out great!

Friday afternoon I received the cards above. It was a prize I won over at Christy's blog, Tiddly Inks. Her cards are so adorable and I was so excited to have won them! Thank you Christy! You are so talented!

These are the new books I bought and received last week. I still haven't begun to explore them, but they are a must read for me!

I won't be participating on IF this week. In fact, I may take some weeks off to get caught up with fixing some portfolio pieces. I am also painting and finishing a chest for my son's school auction, and that project will be time consuming.

I just added some ACEO cards over at my etsy shop, and I will be adding some originals soon. 

Have a great week!

Climbing

I started to paint the 'climbing' IF piece from last week. I took the photo with my phone and it came out very dark (sorry!).

I am taking a different approach this time. I switched to watercolor paper, and I am also doing an underpainting, which will slow down the entire process.  I am curious to see how the end product will be different as far as colors etc. 

Thanks to those that visited my new ETSY shop. I have received a few orders and I am very excited! I added a few more items too. Let me know if there's something you'd like to see there that I don't have. I will continue to add more art work as the interest grows.

I will be spending a nice weekend away with my husband.  I am looking forward to the get away since I have been stressing out over too many things lately. It will be a much needed break! I hope you have a great weekend too!

I'm on Etsy now!

I finally gave in and decided to add some of my work to Etsy. 

I've been thinking about Valentine's Day and made some cards for this special day. I posted a few today and will post more tomorrow. So please visit and spread the word!

Color Study and Award

Here's a color study for an old illustration friday post. I feel I am falling behind with my illustration fridays. I have this one, and the one from this week to paint. I also have another sketch to paint, and three new books to read on illustration. Yet, I don't have enough time for all of it. I think I need to organize myself a little and re-prioritize. 

Also, the wonderfully talented Roberta has given me this award. Roberta is such a source of inspiration. I visit her blog regularly. Her stories are full of humor and life and her illustrations are always wonderful!

I am supposed to list 7 things I love and pass this along to 7 very creative bloggers:

My list:

1. My husband and my two kids who love me just as much as I do!
   
2. My mother and my in-laws who are always wonderful with me!
   
3. My friends. On line, off line, close by, and far away.
   
4. My art! I love to create. It's part of who I am!
   
5. A good home cooked meal (not necessarily cooked by me)
   
6. Buying art supplies. I enjoy shopping for clothes and shoes and purses too, but I love art supplies!
   
7. Love to feel happy. 
   

I tag:

Nicole

Bella 

Alicia

Diana

Deborah

Heather

Tiddly Inks

Portfolio Display at Confernce

This is how I set up my portfolio display at the conference. They gave us 3' of space, but somehow we ended up with less. Nevertheless, the board really helped set the work apart from the rest. There were about 8 other illustrators showcasing their work. Some had boards, some did not. Some only displayed published books and had no leave-behinds. Some had dummy books on display.

IF:Climbing

UPDATE: This is a more recent sketch I worked on today, and color study. I am much happier with the story telling aspect of the sketch and the composition.

A quick sketch for IF this week. I still need to refine the little natives, the perspective and foreshortening more, but this week is birthday week at my house. We are celebrating my husband's and my son's birthday, so I won't have as much 'free' time as I usually do.