"New Stuff Coming Soon!" and "Follow Your Own Advice Already!"

I am disappointed that I have not been able to post as often as I would like.  I suppose the main reason for this is lack of simple time management.  My husband and I often admonish our kids for their lack of time management, encouraging the use of a timer, prioritizing, etc. These are habits I used to be a bit better at and need to get back into the practice of.  I've also considered that one other reason for this lapse in productivity is: I'm simply just not used to having this extra job.  Yes, I did illustrate two books a few years ago, but since then more personal responsibilities and challenges have been thrown my way.  In following many other blogs, I've noticed there are many moms out there who do major multi-tasking, have personal challenges, care for aging parents and are still able to create productively.  They are truly an inspiration to me. I guess the conclusion I've arrived at is three fold: 1) Get that timer out and organize my time more effectively 2) Set aside time for "work" at least five days a week 3) Don't be too hard on myself but don't be a slacker either.  Oh, and follow my own advice!  One of the many things that has kept me motivated to think of new topics is my followers - thank you all for your support!  Besides my new involvement with "Illustration Friday", I plan on adding two new regular features to my blog.  On the illustration side I'll be offering the "semi-weekly sketch".  These will be posts of quick doodles just to keep the mind/hand brain connection nimble.  On the writing side I will be featuring "Cosmo Considers".  This is something I've been wanting to do for quite awhile, and I'm finally making a commitment here!  Since I plan on writing my book about Cosmo from his perspective, it's high time I get some practice in that area.  I think it will be a joy to write and I hope my followers will enjoy it as well.  That's plenty to keep me busy for now-hope to be back in a couple of days!
Any advice out there from other major multi-tasker/hat wearers is more than welcome!

Illustration Friday!

Thanks to a dear illustrator friend, I have discovered Illustration Friday.  A wonderful website where artists of all skill levels and mediums can participate.  A new theme comes out each week to challenge and spark the imagination.  The best part about this endeavor is that it is completely for FUN.  No competition, no judging, just the perfect little spark that sometimes needs to be kindled to get out of ruts or get that productive fire roaring.  This week's theme is music.  I happened to have a piece I did a few years ago that fits this theme.  My colored pencil skill has improved quite a bit since the 31/2 years I worked on this, but nevertheless I think it's still fun.  This is from the first book I illustrated with an author friend.  It is a guide for children with hemophilia about self-infusing with a butterfly needle.  Sounds scary, but these kids are amazing!

The text reads "As the needle goes into your vein, sing a clever tune. You can sing it with a friend, but never with a baboon."

I hope to participate in "Illustration Friday" regularly - at least after the holidays.....Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Green or Grey? What About Black?

I'm taking a brief departure here from my usual topics just to point out something I've noticed over my lifetime of reading.


Have you ever notice when reading a novel (I emphasize non-fiction here) that many characters have green or grey eyes?  From "Memoirs of a Geisha" to "Harry and Lily Potter" and many more I can't recount at the moment.....I've lost track of the plethora of green and grey eyes between the pages of our favorite books.


Now, I'm not sure if the authors interpret hazel as green (I'm thinking probably not) or grey as a light pale blue (maybe), but I can honestly say that I have never, not even once, ever met anyone with green or grey eyes!


Obviously these genetic anomalies do exist.  If Elizabeth Taylor can have violet eyes, well hey, green and grey must be a bit more common than that lovely color. 

Now my new cyber friend Louise (Weezel, I hope you're reading this & appreciate the plug!) just wrote a great short piece on her blog http://networkedblogs.com/p18128050 and once again one of the characters has green eyes.  Of course this is based on a true experience so she very well may have had green eyes - I'm sure you'll set me straight Weezel!


This also begs the question - are green and grey eyes, along with Liz's violet shade, so unbelievably rare that authors use them to give their characters that extra "JeNeSaisQuoi", to make them more interesting, or stand out? Or do the authors themselves have a profound interest in changing their eye color themselves?


I certainly have nothing against these or any eye colors, in my opinion they are all beautiful - I just find the whole thing very interesting!  As you may have imagined I have brown eyes, very nice ones I think, I have no interest in wearing colored contacts like our lovely model here with the contacts chart.  I know the names are hard to see on that chart, but surprisingly enough, brown is right there along with blue, green, grey and.....violet.  


But what about black?  Technically, as an artist speaking, black is not a color, it is the absence of color - but it is still there.


My brown eyes are actually so dark that they look almost black.  I tell you what though, I have met many, many people who have black eyes!

Why have I never come across a literary character with black eyes?  You know they're there, most darker skinned people and a few light skinned as well, boast lovely ebony colored eyes.  I guess authors just take it for granted that if an African-American, Hispanic, or Native-American character is featured you don't have to get into eye color description.  Well, I think there's something missing as there are many, many analogies that can be made to black.


Hopefully I'll come across some soon. In the meantime I'll still enjoy reading about characters with green or grey eyes, but if a novel is ever in my future I think lots of my characters will feature eyes "of the deepest onyx", "of the darkest smoky quartz" or "of the richest loam".

Where is your creative zone?

I had not wanted nearly a whole week to go by between posts, but as they say - life gets in the way.....


It had been many months, I thought, as I ungracefully pulled myself up from cleaning my now gleaming hardwood floor in my studio, since that floor had been shining. Eight to be exact. As I blew my nose for the upteemth time - nasty those dust allergies - I surveyed my surroundings. Clean floor? Check. Dusted drawing table? Check. Rearranged bulletin board? Check. Purged and organized drawing supplies? Check. The list goes on and on, but you get the idea. Pleased with my work, I set about the task of arranging all my supplies to get to work on the drawing that I posted last week. This space is small, only about 10' x 10', but it's mine. A place where I can go to, shut the door if I need to, put on some music and create (virtually) uninterrupted. I've surrounded myself with inspirational postcards and posters, artwork my kids had created long ago, other bits and pieces of memorabilia, treasures from mother nature, and many other items important to me. Yes, I know this space still needs work. There are stains and splatters from projects gone by, the walls need a fresh coat of paint, the window should probably have some curtains. But, I'll get to all that some day. For now I'm happy to have a little space to call my own. This is where I draw, paint, and sometimes write. For my writer side, I keep a notebook with me at all times to jot down thoughts, ideas, and even sketches. Depending on how well formed these ideas are, I can sometimes transfer them right onto the computer. If they need a little more TLC, I'll work in the studio, or just about anywhere.  Where is your creative zone?

Finally......a new drawing!

Well my friends, it's finally here!  The second portrait of Cosmo from my photo reference.  I will be doing many more of these as "practice" for my book.  Although I have not done any illustrations for the actual book, my goal is to complete as many sketches and finished drawings of him as possible.  This will help me become very familiar with all the nuances of his body, hair patterns, expressions, coloring, etc. My hope is that some of these drawings may actually be suitable for the book, thus saving me time.....time will tell.  In this "head shot" Cosmo looks like a completely different dog than the other drawing I did of him (scroll down to see previous illustration on right sidebar). I think this is one of the many factors that makes him quite a unique looking dog.  With his head tucked in and in profile, and his ears relaxed and not "perked up", he looks much more like a Basset hound than a Beagle. Believe me, this is no trick of the light or posing.  In real life, at the quickest turn of his head, perk of his ears or downcast of the eyes, he can go from looking like 80% beagle - 20% basset, to the opposite extreme, and anything in between.  I get asked all the time how much beagle/basset/other hound might be contained in his genetic make-up.  My answer is always the same "I don't know"!  Of course because he was adopted at around age two, we'll never know - unless a DNA mapping test is in the cards.  Since that is not in the present budget, we may never know for sure. After all is said and done, does it really matter......I don't think so. 


A couple of things to note: the small black mark near his nose is one of the larger scars he sustained from his former life in GA (the vet surmised he was attacked by a larger dog).  The heart shaped tag on his collar really did fall in place against his chest as shown, and it reads "I am a therapy dog".  Enjoy!

"Ahhh, this is the life, hangin' with Mom while she works"

It's great to have your subject close at hand for immediate reference!

A New Look!

After much inward deliberation, I decided to completely change the look of my blog. The layout is the same, but I was starting to feel that the dark and vibrant colors were a little hard on the eyes (especially when you're wearing contacts after 11:00 pm!). It was a tough decision, as I absolutely love bright colors, but I felt it was better to let my work & photos stand out than the colors themselves.  Soon I will be changing the header as well to give a more customized feel.  Let me know what you think!

Brisk Fall Walk

While waiting for my next illustration or short writing......I thought it would be fun to post some photos of our walk today. I have to take many pictures of our pooch for my book, so why not have some fun with 'em?  For those of you who know Cosmo or have heard me talk about his habits (see earlier post under "Beagles and all things canine"), he is an absolutely wonderfully behaved guy - until he doesn't get his way outside!  We go along our merry way -  I'm in full stride, walking almost four mph, enjoying whatever display mother nature decides to showcase that day, thinking, daydreaming, whatever and suddenly...whammo.....my arm feels like it's about to be pulled from the socket at about 20 mph from a completely unnatural angle. Did I trip? No, though I've been known to. Did I loose my balance? No, not that it doesn't happen occasionally! Did a category 5 suddenly spring up? Of course not! Did Cosmo suddenly decide he wanted to change direction, that he's now the boss, and will do anything and everything short of fasting to get his way?  You betcha!  So here he is in all his stubborn "splat" glory, not moving until I wait it out! Thanks for all the previous ideas from my blog buddies - we're obviously still working on this little issue!

All good walks start off with a sniff.  Everyone knows that.

"Let's go over there!

"Come ON!"

 "Al..........

......most.........

.........ARRGHHH.........

.....there!!!  Ahhhh, now wasn't that worth it!"

"YES, 27 potty breaks ARE necessary on a walk!"

"I see something WAY more interesting than this pumpkin"

"Oh, all right.....sooner or later everything must be sniffed!"

"Nine Ferrets!"

You can imagine my surprise when I heard this exclamation from the patient Cosmo and I were visiting. So you can probably imagine my eyes widening even more when she proclaimed "Yes, we do own nine ferrets, but we used to own eleven until two passed on........." scratching Cosmo behind the ears she added, "Oh, and two cats as well."

I was so taken by the imagery this domestic scenario conjured up, I ended up asking so many questions than she probably felt like she was being interviewed! All that was missing was the tape recorder. But that, my friends, is the beauty of pet therapy - who doesn't like to talk about themselves and their pets!

Hospitals as a rule, are not where one goes to cheer up. Let's face it, no way around it - it's depressing. That's the first thing I accepted when I signed up for this very rewarding volunteer job. Once that conviction is firmly lodged in place, you can only go up from there.

In our work, any patients who are so very sick, tired or depressed, are usually not up for visits. The ones who do welcome us into their rooms can sit up, talk animatedly, and love to pet Cosmo. They embrace us briefly into their small circle of family, and love to tell their stories - as I said before, who wouldn't enjoy a platform for five to ten minutes! I tell about Cosmo's story too, and that's always inspiring.

Then there is the staff: doctors, nurses, receptionists, custodians, cafeteria workers....most who work incredibly long hours under very stressful circumstances. Seeing a friendly face and a lovable hound, a chance to chat about things not work-related, well wouldn't that make anyone's day? Here's the kicker, they make our day too. Isn't it great when everyone wins?

Now go pet your dogs, cats, or even ferrets - it'll make you feel better.