Sneak Peek

{Oil on Board, 2009}

This is just a segment of a new painting I am working on. It is close to being finished... probably by tomorrow! I am happy to be working in oils again. I was SO burnt out though, so I took a solid 6 month break to teach myself watercolors. The two mediums are obviously very different, and you build colors oppositely. I hope to have the entire painting posted about mid week.

Bloomin' Time

{Bloom Pillow, 2009}

Yesterday, after my parents had departed to head back to Michigan, I was really itching to make something. I was looking through some of my favorite craft books, and got inspired to make a mini pillow. I hand cut and sewed on the decorative flowers and the word "bloom". Then I grabbed my sewing machine and added some Amy Butler fabric to the back, and stuffed it. It matches the bedroom and adds a bit of a spring flair!

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{Snapshots from Memorial Day Weekend, 2009}

Here are some other pictures I shot this weekend. The dog is my parents' Boston Terrier (I named him Scout when they first got him ... I was still living at home.) Of course, there is a shot of Oliver. He was relaxing up in the attic while I was digging around for something. There are several pictures of some of the spring plants around the yard. The baseball was just laying in a mud puddle across the street in the park. I thought it was kind of cool. I'm sure its from one of the many games of fetch that seem to go on during all the nice weather with the neighborhood dogs! I hope everyone else out there had a magical long weekend too!

SONshine!

{Watercolor, 2009}

I just finished this illustration for My Light Magazine, which is an online Catholic magazine for kids. You can see where the text will go in the middle. My thoughts after reading the text:
With the proper care things can thrive. Its a bit of a metaphor, but instead of water and sunshine, prayer and practice can bring you closer to God. The text should help convey this.

UPrinting Giveaway Winners Announced!!

The winners were chosen via random.org, congratulations to:

NICOLE ALFARO
CARLI MOUA

You both win 500 postcards for your own professional endeavors! I will let Uprinting know you are the winners and they will contact you shortly!! Happy postcard-ing!
Don't forget to visit Uprinting for all your postcard and brochure needs!!

Oliver the Cat

{Sketchbook, 2009}

I had a few minutes before bed to draw in my sketchbook tonight. Its been awhile since I drew Oliver from life, so I took a crack at it. He loves sitting in the windows now that the weather is warm and he can breathe the fresh air through the screen. I've been taking him out on his kitty harness every day too (which he LOVES). We've have had Oliver for a little over a year now and he's grown so much! He's a wonderful little companion...even if he is a little too talkative sometimes!! *meow* In the next few weeks I should have some more illustration based projects to post that I am currently working on. I look forward to sharing them soon!

Just Sketch!

{Ink in Sketchbook, 2009}

This... is my living room. Please, please everyone... contain your excitement!{Ink in Sketchbook, 2009}

Some crap on my desk. I'm most excited about my new Diana F+ camera, which is a lomography camera. I'm currently shooting my first roll of film. If anything turns out, I will post some of the results. Go HERE to learn more about lomo photography.

Landfill Art Project

{Oil on Primed Hubcap, 2009}

I recently finished my contributory art piece for the Landfill Art project. It is a global effort and reclamation project to raise awareness about the situation our earth is in and create art from something that would otherwise be junk. The founder, Ken Marquis, contacted me a while back and asked me to be the Iowa contributor, as he would like a piece of art from each state in the U.S.A. He is also looking for contributors all over the world. You can learn more about it, and even apply to participate at www.landfillart.org! You can be friends with Landfill Art on MySpace too, if you want to watch the project unfold. It was really fun working of this different type of surface. In fact, this encouraged me to be more open minded when I think about what constitutes an art surface. As of right now, there are 1, 041 participants!! WOW!

UPrinting Giveaway with Candace Illustration Blog

Want to win 500 postcards for your very own promotional purposes??
UPrinting is sponsoring a giveaway in conjunction with this blog! Winners (there will be 2) will be chosen on Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 at 1pm Central Time. UPrinting is an online printing company offering several products which include postcards and color brochures. Make sure you check them out!

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Post a comment explaining how you would creatively use 500 postcards!

2. Please make sure you include an e-mail address so I can contact you if you are chosen.

3. Winners will be chosen on May 20th via random.org.

4. Winners in US and Canada get free shipping, but all other countries get free product only and MUST pay shipping. Please keep that in mind if you are an international contestant. Winners will be announced in a separate post on May 20th after the drawing.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Iowa SCBWI Conference Video

{Video by Ellie Ditzel, 2009}

A lovely video showing picture highlights of the 2009 Spring Conference in Bettendorf, Iowa. If you watch it, you'll see just how much fun we all had! Iowa has some truly talented and wonderful people spread out across the state. I'm in a few shots, and ... more importantly, my portfolio set up!

Theater Illustration and Spot

{Watercolor w/ Mixed Media, 2009}

I finally finished up these little illustrations. I'm not sure how I feel about them. I don't usually like dark colors, so it was hard to push the shadows in this piece. I had to make myself do it! This is the colored version from the Illustration Friday prompt of "Theater" last week.

Cinco de Mayo Activity Sheet

{Activity /Coloring Sheet, 2009}

Click on the image and when it opens in a separate window, drag to the desk top or right click and copy to desk top. Hope everyone has a great Cinco de Mayo. I plan to have a margarita later tonight, once all my work is finished!

Stories for Children Magazine May 2009 Issue

{Stories for Children Cover, 2009}

{My Illustration w/text, 2009}

"Stories for Children Magazine" has officially released the May 2009 issue. You can view my contribution HERE! Hope to do more work with them in future issues.