Little girl in chair

I was feeling nostalgic and, since I haven't produced any new work, thought I'd post this picture I did many many many years ago which I just found recently. It's behind framed glass so the image is not as crisp as it could be because I had to photograph it not scan it but, still, you get the idea. This was one of my favorites. I always loved the look on her face, sweet and dreamy. The drawing is done using colored pencils which is something I'd like to explore again. It's been ages since I've attempted a drawing like this one.

The Dot Project

I recently found these dot paintings and want to share them as an exercise in connecting paint and water with paper, using your finger as you would a paint brush. We worked on the dot project, based on the teachings of Kaji Aso, in my pure watercolor class as a means of feeling with our fingers' touch what it is to paint and really understand the pigment and water, how they react and mix together. I liked this process.

Cool as a watermelon

Love them! Wish it were summer already so I could enjoy a big juicy slice ....and paint one or two again. These were fun to experiment with and I didn't want to spend too much time on a preliminary sketch as I had on the other pieces I painted previously. These were more free form. Don't you wish you could have a slice right now?

Calla Lily

Flowers are just too wonderful for words. I love all kinds and colors but this one in particular struck me on the night I entered class. Its form was sturdy yet delicate, its color an intense purple/black (I had never seen one like it), and its scent fragrant and light. It moved me that calla lily. This is yet another piece that remains unfinished, without the deep purple tones, but one that I like just the same for its delicate form. The Calla Lilies Are In Bloom Again.

The Iris, or Fleur-de-Lis

This flower holds a special meaning for me, not just because of its beauty but also because of its symbolism as the flower of my college sorority, KKG. I was very excited to see that the instructor had brought in a bunch for us to paint. Again this is from my pure water color class. Rather than paint the whole lot of iris' in the vase, I decided to focus on just one iris, or fleur-de-lis. This is mainly because I seem to be a rather slow painter and like to focus on one thing at a time. I didn't finish the painting during the class (surprise!), but learned about its form and colors in the process of drawing and painting it. Off with their heads!

The Pear

I fondly refer to this piece as my 'turbo pear'. It's another work created in my pure watercolor class at the SMFA. As with the other pieces I am posting, I like to include my pencil sketches to see the process and progress. The pear started out being a bit delicate and subtle and then I added too dark (Payne's gray I believe) shadowing which gave it a beefy/muscular and dramatic look. Hungry?

Apples

Well, this certainly is the longest I've been away. I have since finished my last class at the SMFA in the illustration certificate program and am working on my portfolio (slowly, admittedly). The class and instructor were great and I would love to take another class with her since I feel I need much practice in this method of watercolor painting. I am going to explore mixed media and collage art over the coming months as I create a portfolio, and also rework my children's book concept/dummy that I started in last spring's children's book illustration class.

I am posting the pieces I worked on this summer in the pure watercolor class and will try to post all of them over the coming weeks. Here I selected a New Zealand apple that was very stripey (too much so). The task at hand: sketch in pencil your subject (always), paint the subject in a monotone color (in this case blue), and then paint the subject using the pure watercolor method (yellow-red-blue-green-etc ... one color at a time, as appropriate for the subject). This was a learning experience and I will go back to this striped subject again in the future and try to make it softer.

I am always looking for inspiration from established illustrators and recently discovered this children's book illustrator who has a beautiful hand at creating whimsical and interesting children's book art. Check him out: Rob Scotton. See you soon!

A Nectarine

It's been awhile since my last post I see and I'm happy to report that my first watercolor class (and last class in my illustration certificate program), Pure Watercolor Painting, started this past week. So I am showing the work from Wednesday's class here. The still life was fruit and I selected a nectarine to paint, mostly because I am very drawn to the colors in it -reds and yellows. We did a quick sketch first then later got into the painting. I did not do a sketch of the nectarine prior to painting it -I went straight into the painting. It received a positive review from the instructor, Katherine Finnegan, who by the way is just great -and I really like her painting style. She is possibly the best instructor so far from all the classes I've taken -yes, I can tell this by just one class. She is also connected to Kaji Aso Studio, which might be the next place I enroll for a painting class. Well, that's all for now. Enjoy!

World Watch Magazine

In keeping with the spot illustration theme, here are two of the three spots I created for a project assignment in my portfolio prep class this spring semester based on short articles for World Watch Magazine. None of my illustrations were selected (wha...wha...wha) for print but it was fun creating these and submitting them for possible publication. The ones that were selected were really good and very creative. I'll keep at it and maybe someday I'll get something published.

Us or Me

These spot illustrations are from a class I took spring '07, created for a snippet from a story about a runaway balloon and rescuers getting into trouble in the process of recapturing it. I didn't really like the story, too troubling. Anyway, for what it's worth I am posting these two B+W spots to show the variety of the work I've done while in school. Lots of experimenting with new media (for me) and trying to capture the essence of a story visually. Not sure this was very successful but here it is anyway. Draw on.

Felix & Koko

This is a cut paper creation of my cats Felix and Koko. I wrote a children's story involving them and plan to rework my story dummy and create more finished pieces. I am just not sure yet if I want to create the story completely in cut paper. Perhaps mixed media is how I'll go but I need to do some more experimenting in the coming weeks. There is more to the picture at top -more curtain- but my scanner isn't big enough to capture all of it. I'll post more as this one develops.

Book jacket

I made some edits to the SCBWI poster I created (posted earlier) and turned it into a sample book jacket cover instead of a poster. I am working on pieces for my portfolio and hope to create a site where those pieces will live and continue to grow. I am going to get started, now :D

Bye and peace to all.

Eggplant and mushroom

In keeping with the food theme, here is another piece I did in my class last fall. I really like painting food and want to experiment more. I especially like the way the shadows came out in this one, though the purple tones in the eggplant could be darker and the mushroom could use darker shading. I have others in this series that I'll post another time.

Sweet pears

It's a beautiful day and I am thinking about summer and sweet, juicy fruit! Here are some watercolors I did of pears from my watercolor and mixed media class last fall. I am taking a pure watercolor class this summer and am really looking forward to exploring and learning all I can about this delicate and amazing medium.

The big bad wolf

According to a critique in my portfolio prep class last night, I need to go back and make adjustments to the NE-SCBWI poster I showed at the conference this past weekend if I want to add it to my portfolio. Too bad I wasn't able to get this critique prior to the event. Still, it's always good to hear opinions as long as they can help one to grow, adjust and make improvements.

Today I am posting these images which I created in this semester's children's book illustration class. It was an assignment on Peter and the Wolf. I am leaving the text in since it makes more sense to see them together.

Happy Tuesday! :D

A great weekend @ NE SCBWI conference

What a fantastic weekend spent at the New England Society for Children's Books Writers and Illustrators conference in New Hampshire this weekend. It was my first time attending and I participated in some really informative workshops, met some nice people, exchanged biz cards, received lots of good tips, and got the chance to hear from two very talented and important guest speakers, author Laurie Halse Anderson and illustrator Kevin Hawkes. That was the icing on the cupcake! I didn't win the poster contest :D but wasn't exactly mortified by my work as compared to others, though certainly there were some amazing works by other unpublished illustrators there. Now I am lit with a fire to go out and create some work that will hopefully, someday, be really out there, and published. Let's get going!! :D

PS This image I sketched in a drawing class summer 2007. I chose this little teddy bear from a box of wrenches, hammers, widgets and gadgets because he just seemed so enchanting and warm and fuzzy. Plus his limbs moved so I could pose him in this uncomfortable looking, upside-down position... just cuz. I don't think he minded though.

NE-SCBWI annual conference

I am very excited to check out the NE Society of Children's Books Writers & Illustrators annual conference this weekend. Two days of workshops and networking and an opportunity to see Kevin Hawkes, an amazing illustrator, speak. I actually have one of his books, The Nose, which I bought so long ago I can't remember the year. His website is very fun -check it out if you can. So I attempted to illustrate a poster for this years theme 'Take Flight" and this is what I came up with. It's actually elements taken from two paintings I did. I didn't like them each separately, so scanned, extracted elements, pieced together, and added texture to come up with this. It'll be entered in an anonymous poster contest tomorrow. I don't have any grand hopes that it'll win -ha, and I'm actually a little embarrassed by it and afraid to see the level of creative expression of the other entries. But, I'll let you know if by some dumb luck I win the grand prize :)

Blooming

When is spring coming? I need to post some flowers to inspire me and remind me that it WILL be getting nice and warm soon. I have seen some beautiful blooms in the neighborhood which makes me very happy. The slow awakening of life after a long dreary winter. Looking forward to painting more flowers while sitting on my balcony.

New experiences

Well this is certainly a new thing for me, blogging. I figure it's a good way of putting my art out there -it's going to happen sooner or later. It's all still new to me (this art thing) and I have so much work to do to improve and grow. I'm close to being done with my certification in illustration and am eager to just focus on drawing and painting and getting better. Wish me luck!