Illustration Friday: CAGED

IF: ARTIFICIAL

Pure, Raw, Honey! Nothing artificial there!

This was done in 1 hour. I wish I had time to work out some of the details and clean it up... but I'm happy I was able to draw!

IF: Trail

It’s been almost 3 months since my last IF post. A year ago, I couldn’t imagine not posting weekly but so things change and we have to adapt.

2010 It’s been an interesting year. Old doors have opened up. I once thought that my career as a designer/web designer was a thing of the past, simply because I could not balance deadlines and a family. I guess it is all about timing… my kids are a bit older and I have more time to dedicate to projects and clients, which works out quite well.

I still dream with illustrating a children’s book someday, but at the moment I’m listening to the universe and what it wants me to do…. And it is to design … design … design! And I love it!

I do miss my daily drawings and drawing with a kid’s perspective. So I am going back to the beginning and why I started this blog 2 years ago and it is just to draw for fun, just not posting as often perhaps…

This week’s post for IF was inspired by my son. Lately, when he gets upset he says he wants to run away, of course we talk it out and he realizes that home is where he wants to be. Anyway, I thought of this little bunny packing his most precious items and some bread in his pocket (like Hansel and Gretel)… and wondering down a trail.

I hope you enjoy the post and thanks for stopping by!

My mother....a Gourd Artist!

My mother recently turned to art. She had never drawn or touched a paint brush in her life, until a couple of years ago when she discovered Gourds. She has since fallen in love with the fine art of crafting these wonderful coveted items and is now one of the resident artists at the Art Bank in Fort Pierce. If you are in the area please stop by and check out her wonderful work. You can also find her Gourds on etsy.


This is a postcard I designed for her.

My Latest Paintings

I have been busy creating websites, logos, brochures and other promotional materials for various clients. My time has been so limited and I just don't have as much time to update this blog or participate on Illustration Friday. I'm not sure if anyone still visits, I've been updating so sporadically. I have considered walking away from this blog, but I think I will just continue to update when I can, even if it is not as often as it used to be. I hope you continue to stop by from time to time.

I finished a personal project so I thought I would share that here. It was really great to work on something different from my usual illustration style. I also worked with softer colors for a change.


My angel project has been put on hold since I just don't have the time to work on something so large at the moment.

I recently acquired an original mixed media artwork by my friend and very talented Nicole Merkens. I love it! Her work is so inspiring!

In progress... Taken from my iPhone...

Painting progress

Fallen Angel

This is the sketch of what will be an oil paint. This is not the final version since I'm still trying to workout some layout and composition issues. Once I have that figured out, I'll work on a color version digitally, and then I'll work on a life size canvas. (yikes! - that's going to take a while!).

I'm wondering about making it a series, and perhaps making this a recurring character ... or a series of angels, not sure yet.

Back to the Studio

Spring break is over and it is time to restart those creative batteries. I am trying to ignore that tiny voice inside that keeps us all from moving forward... so instead, I decided to paint for the sake of painting without a plan, or sketch or anything in mind. Things progressed rather quickly. I am not sure if I love the results, but it was worth a try.

Thanks for stopping by. I always appreciate the feedback.

In less than a month it will be the second anniversary of this blog, and I cannot believe I've kept it going this long!

EASTER COLORING PAGE

I will be away for the next week taking some much needed time off with the family. I will not be posting until after Easter. In the mean time, I hope you and your kids enjoy this coloring page.

IF: EXPIRED and HAI!

I think that's happened to most of us... We go in the fridge hoping to find a good snack/drink, only to find that it has expired! -- This was another quick sketch.

I've been thinking a lot lately trying to align my goals with what my heart desires and where the universe wants me to be at this point in time. I guess I'm in a bit of a funk and my creativity is being affected by it. Usually, my drawings flow rather natural but lately they feels forced. I have a ton of ideas but it is the hand to paper that's been somewhat blocked!



The very kind and talented Ginger Nielson shared a new jewel in the making... that is a new portfolio site for illustrators. It is called Hire and Illustrator. I encourage you to check them out. I just joined and love the fact that I was on their homepage for 3 days and I'm still on the first page when you click on artists. It is brand new, so I'm not sure how much traffic they are attracting at the moment. However, the fact that I can become a member and show my work and pay week by week and cancel any time I want, was what really sold me on the site. I'm aware that there are other sites out there, but this one really fit my needs.

CLIMB

I'm not participating on IF this week, but I wanted to post a sketch I made on an ATC card. Hope you like it!

Just added to my web site

This is another image that I just finished and added to my portfolio web site. I am getting ready to start another project, so I won't be posting for a little while. I hope you enjoy this image until my next post...

IF: BRAVE & LATEST WORK...

I'm in the middle of another illustraton which doesn't quite fit the word 'brave', but I thought this illustration from a couple of days ago does, so I'm posting it for Illustration Friday. Now who's the brave one here? Not the gopher for sure!

This is from a sketch I worked on while on my trip to Greece over 6 months ago. I tweaked it until I was happy with it. I also went back to making the outlines with pencil instead of inking it and then coloring with Photoshop. I am finding that I end up with heavier lines when I ink the drawings, which may be a bit distracting. I think this is a nice balance between line, color, etc.

I also just added some of my latest illustrations to my website, added my profile to illustrationmundo.com, and updated my portfolio on the SCBWI website. I'm still undecided as to which portfolio site to join since most comments talk about how it is great exposure but leads to no tangible results. I think I will continue to send post cards for now. I have received some positive responses from those, so that may be a better marketing avenue for me at the moment.