Happy Holidays To You


















. . . and have a Photoshop cookie. :)

To art bloggers everywhere, and to all who stop by my humble blog--Happy 2007. :)

Illustration Friday: Mask

















Made from cut paper.

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SketchCrawl
Anyone from the Lansing, Michigan area interested in getting together for some sketching on Saturday, Dec. 9? I'm really intrigued with the idea of a worldwide SketchCrawl...see info here.

Drawing Jam: Leslie


















For November's Drawing Jam on the Drawing Board.

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Happy Stock Photo Girl

















For work I often have to search through stock photo sites for stuff for the jobs I do...I often come across photos, like the one I used as reference for this drawing, that I grab and set aside. I liked this pose because it was unusual, and I am trying to challenge myself more, subject- and pose-wise. Scribbled it up in non-photo blue pencil and scribbled more in black fine-point marker.

Note to self: you need to draw a LOT more hands. And next time, try not to make the head look like it was pasted onto the body, please. Thank you.

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Caricatures








Caricatures are something I never do, but I think I might do more, after having finished this attempt. I don't think it was particularly successful (but fun, nevertheless.) The middle one kinda fell flat, but I'm not altogether unhappy with the first and third one.

They were done with marker, scanned and color added in Photoshop. Part of a caricature thread that has been going on for nearly a year and many pages, over at the Drawing Board forum.

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Drawing Jam: Anahi


















For the October drawing jam at the Drawing Board. I am becoming much more interested in watercolor these days; just slopping paint around is very therapeutic when you're swamped with work!
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Post-it® portraits and a cartoon puppy



































Too busy with work to do much more than scribble on sticky notes at the moment!

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More Emily Booth




































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Emily Booth Portrait


















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Illustration Friday: Smitten
















I wasn't going to attempt to illustrate IF's current theme, but while reading a newspaper article a few days ago that word 'smitten' jumped out at me from an article about people splurging on luxury items despite the poor economy here in Michigan. With the article was a photo of a woman who had just paid $8,000 for a coat that she was simply *smitten* with. Yikes. She had the most smug, self-satisfied expression on her face as she posed...stating that she does a better job when she feels good about what she's wearing.

I thought I'd try to capture that haughty look in a quick pencil sketch, with some color added in Photoshop. I didn't quite get it, but it was fun trying.

For the record, I can't imagine why anyone would spend $800 for a coat, let alone $8,000.

Kitty Sketch

Seated nude



















Had to do some touching up in Photoshop on this; even that couldn't help her arm and right leg. Still, I think I nearly nailed that foot. :) Onward and upward!

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Struggling


















Still trying to get back in the groove--work pressures are a distraction! Some bothersome proportion issues in this one but I'm throwing it out there anyway...

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Young Soldier



















I was intrigued by a newspaper photo accompanying an article on soldiers of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army. The elaborately-wrapped turban on this young man inspired me; I rarely draw fabric and the folds and wrinkles were a fun challenge.

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Good Grief

The longer you go without posting (or drawing, for that matter) the easier it is to procrastinate. I hereby vow to draw and post something the next FIVE DAYS. If I don't, may this blog be struck by lightning.



















Scribbly marker sketch done this weekend just to jumpstart things...

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Yee Haw!
So I made it through the torturous HELL that is moving. I need to see if I remember how to draw after all that; guess I just need to pick up pencil and paper (did I unpack those??) and see how it goes. Also I'm way behind at checking all my favorite blogs...so I'll probably do that first for some much-needed inspiration.

P.S. Thanks to you terrific people who actually continued to check here even though there wasn't anything going on! :)

On the move!

Well, this will be my last post for a while. Much of the studio has been boxed up (though I'll still be working–or attempting to work–in here through the 18th) and there won't be any time for art until everything has been moved and unpacked. Yeah, I know I've been mentioning this move for months – 'what, you mean you still haven't actually moved yet??' I can hear you saying. Well, it's been . . . complicated; let's just leave it at that. :)

Anyway, I'll be 'gone' for a few weeks, returning to post sometime in September. Have a great rest-of-the-summer, all you fine people who check here now and again! I leave you with a few things I did in the recent past which I had forgotten about until I started sorting through things . . . the top one is a sig for gaming forums; the second one is a logo I designed for the popular UT99 Haley's Hothouse gaming servers; the last is a pinup I never quite got around to finishing.

And as always, (Please click images for larger versions.) :)

Random scribbles and a pretty girl




































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Been stuck...

...in graphic design hell for the last few weeks and will probably be there for the next few weeks. But this site had me laughing today: The Six Patron Saints of Graphic Design Go check it out!

Dolly


















Just something kinda different...

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Student for Education Directory Cover

















I'm sort of breaking my rule to post only personal art here, and not something done for a client. But I'm fairly sure they're going to choose the cover layout with photos and not the layout with this illustration, so...I guess that's my excuse.

Done in Photoshop, using a stock photo for reference.

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Not much time...

...for art at the moment, but in the meantime, you can head on over to heri's excellent blog to see the caricature he did of yours truly. :)

Drawing Jam: Shakira


















For the jam over at the Drawing Board.

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Kiefer


















At the suggestion of a friend I tried my hand at drawing handsome Mr. Sutherland. It was a fun change of subject; I don't often draw tv stars....but we've been barreling through "24" season-by-season on DVD the past few weeks to de-stress at the end of the day, and, after studying his face for all those hours, I felt like I knew his pudgy cheeks and extra-large earlobes pretty well...

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Something old


















Found this while sorting through old art. At the time I was intrigued by King Richard III, after seeing Laurence Olivier in the film based on the play. I did dozens of drawings of him; I think this is the only one I kept.

Aaargh!

















You know what happens when you don't draw for a few weeks? You start thinking you can't draw anymore. A few days ago I just scribbled something and added some watercolor...just to do something.

Oh well, just trying to get back into the blogging groove...

Sorry...

To the half dozen people who regularly check this blog (I love you guys!! Heh heh): my apologies for the lack of anything new for several days now. Because of activities related to moving both household and business in the next 6 weeks I've had to put art stuff aside for the moment--arrrggh.

I'm hoping things settle a bit by the end of the weekend so I can get back to it. In the meantime, thanks to every person who has taken the time to comment! It's tremendously motivating and gratifying, and I really appreciate it. :)

Illustration Friday: Portrait (part 2)
















I did several pencil drawings of this model using photo reference; combined three for another entry for Illustration Friday. I'm trying to get more comfortable using a graphite stick and her long, dark hair was the perfect feature to practice on.

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Illustration Friday: Portrait


















Is there any kind of portrait more difficult to do than a self portrait? So challenging to separate your ego from the depiction of your own face. I gave it a try, and had a lot of fun with it. :)

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Nude
















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The Red Shoes


















I watched the 1948 film "The Red Shoes" recently for the second time. I had forgotten what a gorgeous, artist's film this is. The painted backgrounds, the costumes and makeup in the ballet production within the film are lush, drenched in color and so creative...and the DVD has an extra which features the many original paintings done by Hein Heckroth, which the ballet "The Red Shoes" was filmed to match--AMAZING stuff. Hard to believe this was done nearly 60 years ago!

Even if you're not a ballet fan (and I admit I'm not), go rent this and watch it. It's a little bit melodramatic by today's standards but I guarantee if you're an artist you'll appreciate the incredible creative work that went into this production. And young Moira Shearer is gorgeous with her flaming red hair, her lithe dancer's body and her eye-popping stage makeup. :)

I was inspired to do something depicting the unfortunate girl who cannot resist the red shoes...and is doomed to dance the rest of her life, unto death.


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Blobs!














This was a lot of fun--scribble some shapes with marker and then create faces...after seeing this on Mark McDonnel's and Patrick Kendall's fine blogs, I had to try it out!


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Illustration Friday: Sorry



















Sorry...as in, "Who's Sorry Now," one of 1950s songstress Connie Francis' big hits. Amazing hair, amazing voice...not sure I captured her smoky, smoldering attitude here but it was fun trying. Also—still trying to stay LOOSE, so let's just call this Loosen up! Part 3.


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Loosen up! Part 2



















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Hey — loosen up!


















I'm disappointed with my stuff lately, particularly that last one for Illustration Friday. Time to take some time to scribble and stop obsessing so much!

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Illustration Friday: Angels and Devils











I played around with this until I ran out of time—again. Another experiment that began as a pencil drawing and ended up in Photoshop. Feels like it needs more but I'm not sure what, so...I'm going to just move on. :)

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Illustration Friday: Fat


















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More than a week...


















...without an update—yikes. The days are flying by as we continue to navigate through a mine field of paperwork in preparation for moving at the end of the Summer (the paperwork comes from the fact that we are being forced by a nearby airport to move; they want all the properties on our street in order to expand. They can do this, legally, thanks to the law of eminent domain.)

Anyway, here's something I did a little while back; vector art from a sketch done of a Victoria's Secret model. I really enjoyed the process, so different from working in Photoshop; would like to do more vector art.

Nude in pencil and in watercolor

Just having some fun with a simple pencil sketch.

Illustration Friday: Robot

















For a change, I wanted to do something totally analog—no Photoshop, no digital manipulation. So I got out pen, ink and brush and had a go. Wow, I was definitely missing the 'undo' command. :)

I decided to scan it after I'd inked it...just in case I dumped watercolor all over the thing. So, I ended up doing a digital version after all:


















After looking at the two of them together, I think I like the digital version better. Hmmm.

Drawing Jam






















For the April Drawing Jam over at the Drawing Board.

Face studies in pencil

Illustration Friday: Spotted


















Sun-worshipper in her polka-dot playsuit.

Scribbles















Some little head scribbles...trying to stay loose, get more feeling and life and energy into my stuff.

I am in awe of so many of my fellow art bloggers who do the most wonderful animated (in the sense that they have life and 'movement' despite being static images) drawings...people like Mel Milton, Kevin Micallef, Martin Wittig, Uli Meyer, Scott Tolleson ...the list could go on and on and ON...

I'm trying to get more of that feeling into my own sketches. I see so much out there that inspires me. And sometimes depresses me, I must admit. I despair of ever reaching the level of so much of the excellent work I see every day.

Wildhair


















My husband and I run several Unreal Tournament game servers; this was originally created for one of them (to go on custom flags in the game) but I ended up deciding it just didn't quite fit. I still like the graphic, though, even if she never ended up anywhere (except here!)

Violet


















Trying something different to loosen up.

Drawing Jam: Kristin

















Sneaking in, here, at the tail end of a drawing jam on the Drawing Board forum. I did a pencil sketch a while back and didn't really like it much, so before I tossed it out I decided to do a quick tracing using a brush marker. I liked it enough to add some color in Photoshop and post it here; maybe or maybe not on the forum. I'm trying to work faster and looser; I guess this qualifies, since it took me a few minutes. And since I figured I'd be throwing it away it loosened me up considerably.