Afraid of the dark

    I did this illustration for my friend Haley who's working on a children's book idea. This is her main character and he hasn't been sleeping well lately. She wanted to see her character on the page and I wanted more experience in illustrating someone else's story.

    I wanted to do a nice polished portfolio piece so I spent time designing the monsters in clay and considering where the they would have come from. The bat-like guy behind him could be the nightmare version of his neighbor's hairless cat. The brain creature is something he's currently studying in science, and the eyes . . . I just like drawing eyes. Maybe they represent a girl in his class who he's afraid to talk to.

Illustration Friday - SPIN

Watercolor sketch with a bit of marker.

This is a quick glimpse into the psyche of a vegan.  Or maybe I'm a closet sociopath.

My daughter, Louisa, describes it as "disturbing."

Goldfish

     This is just for fun. It's on an 8x10 canvas board that I used for a simple acrylic mock-up. I liked the way it looked so I got out my oil paints and gave it a more finished look. How cute can one fish be?

Illustration Friday - TROPICAL

     This is about as close as I can get to being tropical in January. In Ohio. 

     I, however, am not complaining. I am one of those people who love snow. I smile and nod when other people complain about the weather, but I am not actually feeling their pain. Once in a while I come right out there and admit that yes, I am a snow lover. People usually accept me anyway. They may roll their eyes and pat me kindly on the head. To my knowledge, I've not lost friends over it. 

Just Being Girls

     This piece started back in 2012 with the Illustration Friday word prompt- CARRY. While I brainstormed I came up with the phrases "carry on a conversation" and "voices carry". The original is a simple black and white line drawing that I just decided to drop in the computer and color.

     Nothing beats a good conversation over a cup of coffee and a piece of pie! 

     

     Just for fun I'll share the other sketch I did in that 2012 sketch-a-day book for the same word prompt.

Illustration Friday - MOON

     This is an 8 x 10 drawing with charcoal pencil and white pastel pencil on gray paper that came out of my brainstorming session. I haven't experienced a break-up for over 26 years, and don't plan on experiencing one ever again, but the romantic in me thought up this little drawing with hope that whatever happens in a person's life, the moon can make it right. (Don't fail to take note of the shadow).

     So I am off to a good start in 2016. I may not always do a polished piece for Illustration Friday but one of my goals this year is to bring an idea each week to at least this level. In 2012 I had a sketch-a-day notebook. I may have mentioned it before, it was a gift from my step-daughter Ashley and one of the best gifts I've ever received. Even if I didn't do a sketch each day, I managed to do a sketch for IF each week. That sketchbook is full of ideas that I still refer to. In fact another version of this image is in there for the word - LONELY. That one had a happy couple seated on a bench in the moonlight while the moon looks on crying for a different reason.

     If you stop back by this blog from time to time you may someday see a more polished version of this image. I tend to do that a lot. Redo, redo, redo.