kitten adventure

Starla and Maggie (and her magical tail),
went to sea to capture a whale...

Art New Faux

So, apparently I don't have enough Etsy shops...

Yah.

I have decided to try another shop with kind of a retro modern style all it's own. Art New Faux. Here's a sample of some of the things I have there, including some Christmas stuff. Yay Christmas! I haven't done holiday themed stuff yet (I know, I know) so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

And my personal favorite: 

Second Space

So the RAW gallery showing turned out to be a minor disaster, unfortunately. Long story short: it pretty much turned out to be a rave with art displays. Yuk.
However, I did get a couple good connections from it. I am supposed to be getting an interview soon from the lovely ladies at Muse and the Mode magazine. They were a lot of fun  to talk to at the show and probably the most enjoyable contact I had all night.

I was also contacted  prior to the show by the gentlemen who run the Second Space Gallery downtown. It's a small but lovely gallery that doubles as a church. Very modern and clean (a far cry from the Vault where RAW was held...). I met with them last week and they are going to hang five large limited edition prints in their next show!

While I have not yet heard back on which pieces they want, I suspect it will be art from my sketchbook projects. They really liked the little girl with the dirigible, and I took several other existing pieces and altered them to go along with her. I'm sure you will find them all familiar.

So if you're around the area, I think the show will start early August and run for two or three months. I'm excited!

Hope this is finding all of you well and enjoying your summer!

coming home

rain dance

not quite what I had in mind

waiting

wind dancers

Little did they know

Way (way) back in July I had a contest. I have been remiss in getting the winners' picks done. For some reason I can't quite fathom, my brain just wasn't going there. I've had a lot of trouble with this Sketchbook, actually... but I'm getting there (I'd better be! It's due at the end of the month!)

Anyway - I now have one done. "Little did they know" was Bella Sinclair's title. I'm sure, knowing Bella, she had something cute and whimsical in mind. However, for some reason, my mind went a little darker. Bella, dear, I hope you don't mind.

Snail Ride

Bendy

If you have not read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern yet, you should absolutely do so. Especially if you are an artist, or a dreamer, or wanted to be a magician when you grew up (I was a total magic geek!)

"The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night".

It is the most wonderfully imaginative book I have read in years. Years, I tell you! Seriously, I'm not going to say a whole lot more about it, but you must check it out. 


Anyway, I read it over my Christmas vacay and am well into my second reading. It has inspired me. I have started a new set of art based on things from this amazing book. Once I am done with my Sketchbook Project project I will devote myself to it as much as I'd like, but I'm woefully behind on my Sketchbook...

In any event, I thought I'd post a little sneak peek of where I'm going with these. Sort of a faux paper cut style.

My first piece:  The Contortionist.

Artwork Ideas

So I'm trying to come up with ideas for this new sketchbook, Fill Me With Stories. I have a few. Some of them are just titles, at this point... so I thought I'd see if any of my faithful readers have any ideas.
Last time I did that I got some fabulous ideas!
So here's some of the "titles" I have in mind (each line is a separate "title"):

once upon a time there was...
and then there was...
then one day...
there was this girl...
and then there was this other thing...
and then i had this dream
and then what do you think happened?
the other day I saw...
i overheard...
and then something mysterious happened...
and before they knew it...
it was a dark and stormy night...
and off in the distance...
and they lived happily ever after...
...or did they?


I'd take a title suggestion, or even a suggestion for a picture.
Like last time, we 'll make a contest out of it! Whichever one(s) I decide to use, the person(s) who made the suggestion(s) will get a print of the final artwork.

Let's give it two weeks and see what we get, shall we?

Sketchbook 2012

I just signed up for the new Sketchbook Project for 2012!
I had so much fun with the last one, I thought it would be good for me to participate again. Plus this time I will have twice the time to do my drawings (maybe three times as much!) so I should be able to include more artwork. I'm thinking I may have some new contests as well, for ideas and so on.

The theme I picked this time is "Fill me with stories". Should be fun! Now if I can just find a short poem for my opening page...anyone got any suggestions?


Random, unrelated picture:

Calling All Artists

Apparently the lovely people over at 100 Illustrations need more artists! In fact, they need 10 more artists asap! If you are interested, go see Diana over at 100 Illustrations.

Don't delay, this is a really cool project and a great way to get your work published and out there.

I am "stylish"

...well, apparently my blog is, anyway!



Thanks to Sandy, at sandygrafik. Her blog is truly lovely, and her art is to die for! I just love her girls.

As these types of awards go, it works like this: I have to list 7 facts about myself and then name 10 blogs I think are stylish.
Since I haven't done anything like this in a while it sounds like fun! Ready?

Facts first:

1) I have lived in Washington state my whole life except for two years I lived just outside of Frankfurt, Germany in the 80's.

2) If someone gave me a free vacation anywhere in the world I would go here:



or here:


3) I am, more often than not, a lucid dreamer. And I always dream in color.

4) This would be my dream job:


or this:



5) My dream car is this one:


6) I am not afraid of snakes.

7) If I could have dinner with one celebrity of my choice it would be this guy:




Now for my list.
I love these blogs, they are stylish, sweet, sassy and just plain cool. (If I've named you, you don't have to play...I just want people to know how cool you are!)

Abigail Halpin Illustration
Amanda Raquel Worr
Ces and her dishes
Cori Dantini makes...
white octopus illustration
ugly yellow
Shirley's Illustrations
Melissa Liban Illustrations
Krista Hamrick Illustration
Jeannie Lynn Paske's Obsolete World

Some of these are old friends and some of them are new obsessions. Go check them out!

And Now For Something Completely Different

Well, okay, not "completely"...it's still art stuff.

I thought I'd share a little project I did for the lovely lady blogger over at Under the Roof of a Great House.
She wanted a portrait for her younger daughter's birthday, so working from a photo she sent me:

It was fun and challenging all at the same time (getting faces to actually look like a "real" somebody is hard!), but she had great input and eventually we got to this:

I hope she likes it, and that she had a really happy birthday!

Happy Little Puffer-Sub

For the Sketchbook Project.

Octopus Tango

The Ship

Somewhere beneath the sea the fish are singing...

The Sketchbook Project

So there's this thing called the Sketchbook Project.



It's sponsored by Art House Co-op. They have all these lovely little projects that are designed to get art to the masses and to provide a sort of gallery for anyone who fancies themselves to be an artist. They believe anyone can create art.

Art House hosts a number of projects at any given time. I had been seeing buttons for the Sketchbook Project on a number of the art blogs I visit so I decided to see what it was all about.
The simplified gist of it is for $25 you get a sketchbook which you have a limited time to fill up with drawings -or whatever your artistic forte is - based on a theme you pick from a list they provide (or they'll assign you one at random if you like). Then you send the book back to them and it goes on tour.
Like a rock star!

Once the tour is complete all work will go on permanent collection at the Brooklyn Art Library.

Here's a neat video that shows some of the sketchbooks from last year. And a PBS article.

Anyway, I thought it sounded like fun and a good challenge for me. So I chose a little blue sketchbook and the theme "Dirigibles and submersibles". I haven't got the sketchbook yet, but I'm starting on some drawings anyway.
Here's my cover idea and first page:

Acrobat

For Illustration Friday.

On a Cheerier Note

Winston is having a tea party! In the bath.
Sounds good to me!

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olive hue designs, inc

Illustration Friday: Dessert

Winston generously offered to share his dessert with his friends.

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olive hue designs, inc

Of Course It's All Your Fault

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olive hue designs, inc

Laugh and the World Laughs With You

...or something like that.

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olive hue designs, inc