Children in Tree - Redo

I posted an illustration a couple of weeks ago that I was not happy with because by the time I was done, the image had lost its personality.  I decided to re-do it.   I did a pen and ink sketch which I dropped into Corel Paint and colored.  This one is a lot more fun I think, fresher and more energetic. Certainly more along the lines of the children's book illustrating that I am aspiring to do.  

I think my style is going to end up being somewhere in between these two pictures.  The fresher cartooniness of the latest illustration, mixed with some of the painterly technique of the original Children in Tree illustration.

I'm tempted to do a third one to see where I end up, but I think I'll take a break from it for now and go on to the next project.  The Illustration Friday word this week is RESCUE and I have an idea that I'm working on for that.

first attempt at Children in Tree

Paint Brush Still Life

This is an 8 x 10 acrylic on clayboard. Some tighter realism meets the looser background.  

Illustration Friday - HYBRID

These are my underwater birds that I did earlier this year, inspired by a character in the book Game of Thrones  who said "underwater the birds have scales for feathers".  An image came to mind and here it is. 9 x 12 acrylic on Bristol paper.  I thought it worked very well for the IF word this week - HYBRID

I'll try to come up with another idea for this word before the end of the week.  There are too many fun possibilities to pass up.