Animal Wednesday - Google Translate For Animals

Heeheehee, I thought this was just adorable, I couldn't figure out how to make it smaller, sorry some of the image is cut off - enjoy!  I hope to be back with animal sketches soon, 

Happy Animal Wednesday everyone!

12 Week Challenge Update

After getting some great feedback from Maria S. and Tom I decided to change a few things, here is my revamped version of the first sketch.  The tonal study is still in it's beginning phase, just to lay the foundation.

Please click to see more detail

Howdy folks!  Wanted to share the first creative bit we've started over at the 12WC .  This is the first in my most important new portfolio pieces. It is a Native American legend called "The boy who lived with the bears". It tells of an orphaned boy living with his cruel uncle. I will be doing three successive scenes. In this first one, the boy is crawling back out of a small cave his uncle told him to look for animals in. The uncle is rolling the stone over the entrance in hopes of getting rid of the boy - nice eh? - I don't know how well it's come through on the scan, but I've tried to show the shock on the boy's face and he's crying out "NO!" or "WAIT!". I'll be filling in lots of details in the tighter sketch. The lines indicate where the light is falling. The one big problem I have is should I show the uncle's hand or leg? I did at first and it just looked too small. Technically if someone were rolling a huge stone over the entrance to a cave you wouldn't see anything from the inside, as the person would be pushing it from the end of the stone that isn't exposed - right? I'd love your guys thoughts about this or anything else in my drawing. Thanks a million!

Sunday Sketches - Oldie But Goody

Good to be posting again for Sunday Sketches.  Because I've been busy with new stuff, networking, and the 12WC, I thought I'd share an old sketch with you that I'm particularly happy with.  This was done in one of the many art museums I've visited over the years.  I guess I was bad about recording dates and places, because I had no information at all under the sketch, and I just don't remember!  I do adore drawing scuplture though, it's like having a life drawing model that never moves.  Please check out Sophia's blog for more great Sunday Sketches


*Note to self - get back to museums more often!  Happy SS everyone.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day everyone!  This is a previously used drawing I submitted for Illustration Friday's prompt  'rescue'  .  I normally wouldn't want to post a drawing twice, especially after just a few weeks - but hey, recycling right?!  Technically too, I wanted to improve the image.  the original didn't scan well - I'm finding that colored pencil and the scanner don't mix, even at a high resolution, which is really inconvenient - so I took a digital photo of it this morning and the results are much better, this is how it really looks.  I worked hard at layering to get those deep dark colors! I didn't get it centered perfectly, but you get the idea. I also tried my new Wacom for filling in the background in photoshop - and I hate it!  I guess I need lots more practice because that thing was jumping around all over the place and I had to go back to using the mouse.  Oh well, just one more thing to add to the endless list of  'to do'!

Have a beautifully green day everyone!

Friendship

Warning, warning......Long post ahead!

Friendship isn't about who you've known the longest,

but who came and never left your side....

These words that ring so true were written by the one and only Ces, who also designed this beautiful award honoring her dear friend Deborah.  To read about the origin of this award, please click here.  It is with great honor and humility that I accept this significant award.  I'm not sure I'm truly deserving of it, but I am deeply grateful to Ces for thinking of me.  I've known Ces only a short time through the blogosphere, but it doesn't take but a few exchanges to realize what a truly talented, giving, smart, fun, strong, and loving woman she is - and I am so glad to have come to know her!

For those of you who are regulars here at my you blog know that I've had to cut back on my visiting and posting lately.  I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things starting now! I have come to learn in these past few weeks just how many wonderful friends I have here.  I am overwhelmed by the amount of kind words, well wishes, prayers and support you have all offered me either here or through emails.  I am so grateful to each and every one of you - you have made both my professional and personal life so much richer!  So it is with great honor I present the Deborah award to some of my blog friends that have restored my hope, given me courage, and strengthened my faith.  As in previous awards I've passed on, some of you have already received this, but I would feel remiss by not including you!  Here you go, in a completely random order - special ladies all of you!  Display proudly on your blog and pass it along if you like!

Vanessa Leavitt

Debbie C.

Amalia

TJ Lubrano

Karen W.

Brigitte

Karen R.

Krista

Julie

Elizabeth Stanforth Sharpe

Maria

Julia

Shirley

Gen

Sue

Val

Nicola

Now coincidentally, it happens to be friendship theme week over at Monday Artday.  I didn't have time to create a new piece for this theme, as I haven't been able to for Illustration Friday or many of the other groups I enjoy - just too busy with other portfolio work!  So I give you a piece I did for the illustrations for Infusion Time II, the book I collaborated on with a friend for the hemophilia community and from whose pages I often post.  This is done in colored pencil of course, but was executed almost four years ago, and I like to think my technique has improved since then!  So, it isn't my favorite piece by far, and it didn't scan well, but it captures the spirit of friendship among kids and people of all ages who share the common bond of a chronic condition.  This shows the kids with 'awards' for accomplishing the intravenous self-infusing process with a butterfly needle - quite an accomplishment indeed!

So here's to friendship - now if I can only get that Cole Porter song...

sung by Lucy and Ethel 
out of my head!

Cherub

A cherub from the Greek mythology wall mural

 in my younger son's room

Hi everyone, this is just a quick post to clear off all my worries and woes from the past two weeks.  I was just sick of looking at it!  If you are new to my blog and are interested in reading about this, please click here and here.  Once again I thank all of you for your unfailing interest and support, it means the world!  Wishing you all a fantastic week.

Sunday Sketches - Shell

Here is my contribution to this week's Sunday Sketches, hosted by Sophia, please check out her blog for more great sketches!  We're going out for a fun night tonight to see Jim Gaffigan, our Christmas gift to all of us - boy do we need a laugh and I'm sure Mr. Gaffigan will deliver!

So I'm posting a bit early.  I know I said last week I wouldn't be posting as much, and this is true - normally this would have been my third or fouth post this week!  But I have to sketch regularly anyway, so I thought I'd send it off into cyberspace.  This shell is one we found in Florida many years ago, I love it but I'm not sure what it's called.  Do any of my shore-dwelling or nature-loving friends out there know?  

Tomorrow I will be spending most of the day at The Institute for American Indian Studies doing research for my new illustrations for the class I told you about last week.  I am done with the preliminary layouts, and now have to work on the nitty gritties.  I'll be posting the first drafts soon.  I am setting aside time tomorrow morning and evening to go blog visiting so I can't wait to see what all of you are up to!

I can't thank you all enough for your kind thoughts, words, prayers and support through this crazy time - you are wonderful friends!  I'll update you on my Mom as well next week - everything was put on hold due to the surgeon postponing for an emergency. I've taken the unexpected gift of time to get some serious sketching, planning, and networking done.  We'll see what I can squeeze in next week!  

Thanks again everyone 

Sunday Sketches, A Feast, And A Flood

The only bunny I have on display right now.  A delightful little bunny creamer my Mom gave me.  This was done in Faber-Castell colored pencil, Indianthrene Blue.

A most joyous Easter and Passover to all of you!

Well my friends, be warned this is one of my longer posts!  I am very disappointed to say I won't be blogging or visiting quite as much in the next few weeks.  You know how the old sayings go, "Feast or Famine" and "When It Rains It Pours"?  Life circumstances have converged to the 'feast' and 'flood' extreme right now.  Some of it's great and some very stressful, but it's so much at once I'm not going to be able to post as much as I like, and worst of all, not be able to visit you all nearly as much as I enjoy.  


The flood in my life right now is a tidal wave of medical issues.  My Mom, as some of you know will be facing major surgery this Tuesday.  Her recovery will take months and her hospital stay is up in the air.  It could be three days or several weeks.  The hospital is also an hour away from our home.  My Father in Law is also battling a very serious illness and has been since December.  There is so much stress in the unknown but we are trying to keep positive.  It's always such a joy to work and play in blogland and I am very blessed to know all of you who are so encouraging and kind.  This is just one of the many reasons not visiting you as much will be hard!


The feast parts of my life right now are: I've been inundated with new technology toys thanks to the state of CT (tax refund) and my wonderfully generous hubby.  Remember my post about digi software?  Well unbelievably, my new laptop, wacom bamboo w/ Corel Painter Elements and iphone all descended upon me within the past 24 hours!  I finally feel like I'm in the 21st century. 


The other great projects I have consuming my time are the 12 Week Challenge (see sidebar) and the upcoming NESCBWI conference.  For this conference I signed up for quite probably one of the most awesome workshops ever - a combined author/illustrator class taught by about six writers, illustrators, and editors for author/illustrator hopefuls like me.  Unfortunately the class sold out in hours, unknown to me while I was choosing.  I was lucky enough to at least be near the top of the wait list. Just the other day I got an email from one of the conference coordinators to all wait list attendees.  Apparently this class was assigned homework and the faculty wants everyone on the wait list to be 100% prepared with finished projects at the ready in case a spot opens for us.  I think this is a good idea, but golly........I wish I had known about six weeks ago!  I now have to execute finished drawings of three consecutive pages in a picture book and include a synopsis of the story.  Luckily I had planned on completing a new drawing for my postcards and a new header for this blog (which also needs an overhaul) but now I have to account for printing time for the cards - yikes!  So needless to say I have to hustle.  Luckily I know exactly which story I'm using so I will be posting these in stages and asking for your critiques!  Oh yes, I also have to research this faculty that I may never meet so I don't look like a bozo and stare blankly when they talk about who they are and their latest projects!

Happy Sunday Sketches, Happy Easter, Happy Passover!