Phenomenon for IF

It's a week that includes meteor showers and preparing for the Living Nativity. My thoughts are heavenward.

Prehistoric for IF

I love watching dragonflies, and I'm fascinated by the idea of them having two foot wingspans in prehistoric times. Nothing in this picture suggests that this one is large, as some of my earlier sketches, so it turned out to be more of an exercise in drawing a dragonfly.

Savour for IF

Coming in just under the wire, Savour for IF. I struggled with this one, but my thoughts kept returning to cats or dogs, so I finally gave in and worked it out. It is inevitable that the young cats will find their way to the table and make themselves at home. I tried to make the painting playful and fun, even though it felt like work in the beginning.

Sneaky for IF

He tried to be sneaky when playing "hide and seek" with the dogs, but it didn't take long for them to figure it out. I played this game when I was a kid. It was fun to watch the dogs run back and forth under the tree the first time I tried it.

IF: Mistake

This picture is based on a true story. My dad had a very bad experience with a cholla cactus, and was sure to warn every one after that to STAY AWAY! Shortly after that, on a walk with the family, I glanced back to be sure the youngest was still with us. She remembered Pop's warning, but was determined to try it herself. Fortunately nothing happened to her hand, but eight feet further and her shoes were full of cactus spurs! And yes, she hikes in dresses.

Burning for IF

I had so much fun working on this illustration, partly because I proved to myself that I could do it, and also because it became a family project. Everyone gathered around the kitchen table to draw dragons. I learned a lot.

When the Illustration Friday topic was announced as "Burning", a fire breathing dragon was the first thing that came to mind. It was something I've never tried before and had been wanting to add to my repertoire. I saturated my brain with images of dragons, saw them in my mind as I fell asleep, filled pages and pages of sketchbook paper. Even my son took pity on me and let me borrow his dragon figurines.

When I was restocking at the art supply store I found a book on painting mythical creatures in watercolor. Perfect timing! I followed the author's advice and worked in glazes of color, but eventually my own instinct took over.

I am pleased with the result: my first dragon painting.

Afterwards

"Hush," whispered the cat, "we'll take care of everything."

For Illustration Friday. This is just watercolor and ink on sketchbook paper. I struggled with three or four different versions of this theme and this is the one I was able to get as far as a color sketch. It's about how I was feeling, as I worked very late one night and the cats climbed onto the table and started walking in the paint.

Halloween cat

Halloween cat, from Illustration Friday's theme: Spooky
Still playing with shapes and colors to alter an ordinary drawing.

Spring

Having recently been reading about Van Gogh and Cloisonnism, and studying the illustrations of Christina Balit, I was inspired to color a butterfly picture I've been working on. I wanted to make it different from every other painting I've done of a tree and create the branches with negative space. It was fun playing with the design and adding the details to the mourning cloak, one of my favorite springtime butterflies.

Rose Beetle Man

Summer is here, which means lots of trips to water parks, splash parks and pools with the kids. I've been reading on of my favorite books again, by Gerald Durrell. It's called "My Family and Other Creatures". One of the passages is a long description of a curious person called the Rose Beetle Man. In trying to picture what he looked like I decided to work on an illustration of my interpretation. I kept finding I needed bigger and bigger paper to work on. I still have some other ideas, but this is a start. I will play with some color next. This is a work in progress.

Focused for Illustration Friday

Focused, on being the one to eat her food.

Clumsy for IF

There are doves in the garden that try to land on the smallest parts of the fence. They are not very graceful about it, trying to get both feet in a place where they don't fit. Sometimes they get one foot on and step on that one with the other. They look so clumsy about it, I had to do a little sketch of one falling off. Ink.

Wilderness for IF

This is a painting I completed recently and submitted to a show in Glendale, AZ. Geocaching leads us to so many wonderful places that we wouldn't find otherwise, and this is one of those spots. We came here to look for a cache (didn't find it) but enjoyed walking around the river, throwing rocks in the water and identifying a new bird. "Invitation" Jan.2010 Casein on board.

Renew

Renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10