Spring Studio Photo Tour

{Books and Dress Forms w/ Sewing Projects, 2010}

{Art Desk and Work Space, 2010}

{Terrarium given to me by a friend, 2010}

{Wall of inspiration, 2010}

{Comfy spot full of pretty pillows, 2010}

I love to see other artist studios so I thought I would share mine. I am a contributor on The Doodle Diner, and this month we decided to share our studios on our group blog... so if you are in the mood to see other creative spaces, head over there next!

Illustration Friday - Rescue

{Watercolor, 2010}

This girl is about to rescue her little brother from the sharp knife he is trying to grab off the table. This illustration is the finished version of the previous post. I tried doing them digitally first, but decided a softer look, so I ended up completing them with watercolor. The illustration below is the accompanying piece.

{Watercolor, 2010}

I had to do a little research on modern nun dress. One of the things I love about being an illustrator is researching and learning about things. I'll be spending the rest of the week working on some toy designs, a portfolio piece and dabbling in other creative endeavors!

Sketches for April "My Light Magazine"

{Sketch, 2010}

{Sketch, 2010}

These are a few finalized sketches that I completed tonight. The finished illustrations will be digital and I am considering experimenting with a different technique. These will be for the April issue of "My Light" Magazine and I will post the completed illustrations when I get them done.

Illustration Friday - Expired

{Oil on Board, 2010}

Do pickles expire? I have about six odds and ends pickle jars in my fridge right now... and each one only has a pickle or two in it. One of the jars has a fuzzy pickle and I am willing to bet that particular jar has expired. You know its bad when even the flies won't touch it!

Cheerleaders

{Watercolor, 2010}

This is another piece for my black and white portfolio. I did some cheerleading very briefly in high school. My personality just didn't match up well with the sport. I am definitely a "behind-the-scenes" type of person. I would much rather watch than be watched!

Some Black and White Illustrations

{Watercolor, 2010}

{Watercolor, 2010}

{Watercolor, 2010}

I am working on filling out my black and white portfolio. I thought I would show a few recent illustrations that I created using black prismacolor pencil, black watercolor and white acrylic ink. Ideally, I would like to have around 20 small images similar to these that I can group together!

New Blog Header

{Oil on Board, 2010}

If you visit my blog regularly, you might notice that I changed my banner. I was tired of the old one and wanted something that better reflects my work. I painted the illustration with oil on illustration board and then added text using Adobe Illustrator. I think this new header is more cheerful and who doesn't love a playful kitten?! I thought I would post the banner without the text on it.

Illustration Friday - Subterranean

{Sketchbook w/ Digital Color, 2010}

There is nothing better than a little subterranean lovin'! I drew these carrots in my sketchbook and then scanned them into the computer and colored them in Photoshop. My favorite part of the illustration is the subplot unfolding in the background (or the above ground in this case!).

Studies of an African Woman

{Colored Pencil on Kraft Sketchbook, 2010}

I love hair wraps and I especially love the hair wraps that some of the women of Africa wear. I decided to create a little character page of a woman in my sketchbook last night using colored pencils.

Student Work from Crossroads Park Elementary Visit

{3rd Grade Student Work, 2010}

{3rd Grade Student Work, 2010}

{3rd Grade Student Work, 2010}

{3rd Grade Student Work, 2010}

{3rd Grade Student Work, 2010}

Today I had the pleasure of working with Kindergarten and 3rd grade students from Crossroads Park Elementary in West Des Moines, Iowa. They had a special Fine Arts Day with lots of different artsy visitors. I only got a few pictures of the third grade pieces, the kindergartners pictures were gone by the time I remembered to take pictures. With each class, I showed my work and talked about what being an illustrator is all about. Then, we discussed characters. Every student was given a random shape that I had precut from card stock. They were asked to create a character that was imaginative using the shape as a starting place. They completed their illustrations using a crayon and watercolor resist technique. I had a really great time at Crossroads Park and the artwork turned out beautifully!

Animals with Clothes

{Sketchbook, 2010}

I just started my second Moleskine sketchbook. This is one of the first pages from it. I love drawing animals with clothes. It has become a major obsession... though I generally don't subject my own pets to clothing. (Only on holidays to snap a photo or two!) It is only Tuesday and it has already been a busy week! I am currently preparing for my first ever school visit to present as a working illustrator. I plan to show the kids (Kindergarten and 3rd graders) some of my work and I have also planned a project that should be inspiring and fun. My visit is on Thursday, and I hope to take a few pictures of some of the art that gets created! I must confess, I am a bit nervous about it too... wanting to make sure that it is a special experience for these guys! I'll definitely have more to share about my trip later.

Illustration Friday - Perspective

{Sketchbook, 2010}

I like the concept of this sketch and I plan to mess around with it more and do a finished illustration. I like the viewer's perspective above the little girl on the swing. I think I may be able to push the perspective to look more exaggerated. I used colored pencils in my kraft paper sketchbook.

Self Portrait (Color)

{Watercolor, 2010}

I finished my self portrait and will be posting in to The Doodle Diner group blog. I think it turned out stylized enough but still retains a pretty good likeness to me. This piece will only be good for 6 months to a year, because I like to change my hair style/color every now and then!

Self Portrait (B&W)

{Prisma on Watercolor Paper, 2010}

I'm working on this self portrait for The Doodle Diner blog, where I am a contributer. I plan to paint it with watercolor tomorrow which should help with more of the likeness. The goal was to have the self portrait slightly stylized. I'll post the final illustration when I have finished it!