Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Help

Help
Not all offers of help are welcome.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Might


The best part of Friday morning is receiving the new IF topic and running through all the ideas that just might work. Even if you don't post it till Thursday evening.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Thanksgiving



Penny was a bit different than the other kids at school, but that came in handy at Thanksgiving time.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Wind(blown)


Okay, I don't like to post twice on the same topic, but the right idea just came along a bit late.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Collections

Most people collect something, it would be fun to see what others have in their collections. Sylvia Studio Friday

I started looking around the house and realized I have way too many collections...not collectibles, but rocks I've picked up on vacation with no universal significance and fortunes from Chinese restaurants (only the good ones) and creamer jugs from secondhand stores and children's books. Here are a handful of them.

Buttons and fortunes next to the boxes they live in.


Scarves and things that resemble bird eggs (wooden shaker egg, rock from a beach in southern Spain, acorn from a burr oak).

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Friday, October 20, 2006

Autumn Inspiration



This week's Studio Friday topic is what inspires us about fall. For me, autumn is cooler weather, hot chocolate, revived gardens, the end of the basil in the garden (lots of pesto to be made), and fall asters, which explode in this amazing glowing lavender for a couple of weeks. There are tons of bees and butterflies flitting around right now. In fact, the weather is so perfect right now that I can't type another word of this entry...

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Smitten



Stanley could not keep his eyes off the gal at the next table.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Fear


This Studio Friday's topic is about fear. Some days nothing is scarier to me as an artist than a blank spread of pages in a moleskine bound notebook or a full 30"X 22" page of 300lb watercolor paper. There's something about putting down the first line or first splash of color that can just stop me cold if I let it, especially when it's in a notebook that I can't tear from or on a large scale page...something about failing in noticeable way. Which is why it's best to dive right in and skip that first line and start on the second. I've started sketching in ink with little to no pencil beforehand and being okay with the looser style and "happy accidents."

Trouble


Well, posted this a little late, but I actually sketched it following last Friday night's gubernatorial debate here in Texas. It was painful watching these candidates start many of their responses with their campaign slogans and "when I'm governor", only to be deflated by the pointed questions of the panel.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Stick it to the...board!

Studio Friday topic this week: It would be interesting to see the variety of bulletin/memory boards in our studios. What is pinned to them? Photos? Notes? Reminders? Ideas for future projects?



Well, rather than a bulletin board I have a bunch of bulldog clips hung on nails over my worktable. These hold articles on artists, illustrator postcards, pithy sayings, everyday reminders, and assorted eye candy. I am forever collecting magazine pages and visuals to rotate in.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Monday, September 25, 2006

Phobia



I have a phobia of birds at close range. The phobia lessened last spring after my dog and I were attacked by the neighborhood mockingbird bully on a regular basis (I think it sensed my dog was a lover not a fighter). Anyway, you can only have a creature that small dive at you so many times before you realize the utter ridiculousness of it. So, here we are, a la the Hitchcock classic.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Run



Walter had mixed feelings about being in the lane next to Chester. On the upside, he would run his fastest race ever. On the downside, he could be lunch.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Match



Joey had expected "Krazy Beast" Hopkins to be a bit...taller.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Play



The critics found Raymond's portrayal of Chancellor Claws quite mousy.

Monday, July 24, 2006

Friday, July 21, 2006

SF: Studio Sidekicks



Well, my cat's shown up in my other Studio Friday postings already, as she likes to "help out" a lot when I'm working. So, here is my other sidekick, my 75 lb shadow, Lloyd. He's never far from where I am and makes a great model (on the other hand, trying to sketch a young cat is like...trying to pin a wave upon the sand, very tough).

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Sacrifice



"And while the Boy was asleep, dreaming of the seaside, the little Rabbit lay among the old picture-books in the corner behind the fowl-house, and he felt very lonely." Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

This week's Illustration Friday topic brought to mind the story of a toy rabbit's quest to be Real...there's a happy ending, but only after a sacrifice. Below is another verrsion, but the rabbit may look a little too bitter.

Friday, July 14, 2006

SF: View from above



For this week's Studio Friday topic, here are the views from above my workspaces, onscreen and off.

Friday, July 07, 2006

SF: "7 layer salad"



How great is it that the Studio Friday challenge includes the word 'playtime'? Especially as I was playing around yesterday with layering negative space in watercolors as background. There are seven layers of blues and purples (including the foundation wet in wet abstract). I'm still working out how to paint this way, but it's fun in the meantime.

Monday, July 03, 2006

Stickier



Sweet dreams are made of these...

Friday, June 30, 2006

Sticky




Edmundo had been in some tight jams before, but this was certainly a sticky situation.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Rain



So, I'm a big fan of rain during the long Texas summer, but for some reason these came out a little blue. I suppose into every life a little rain must fall.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Dance




"And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once." Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Friday, June 09, 2006

Jungle



a barrel o' trouble (click image for big trouble)

SF: Favorite Art Supplies



Thanks for the welcome last week! I really don't know how to pick favorites among art supplies (it's cyclical), though finetip black waterproof pens and watercolor paints and brushes are what I use right now. But they are all eyecandy. Note what happens to supplies when they come out of the bucket (bottom left).

Friday, June 02, 2006

Portrait



This is a combination of a watercolor I did several months back while trying to study faces and an ink drawing from today. I suppose the job of a portraitist is to be true to the subject while capturing the best angle/features/etc.

SF: Studio Space



I've never participated in Studio Friday before, but I love the idea of creative individuals sharing a glimpse of the area in which their art begins.

The main infringement (pictured here preparing to attack some paintbrushes) on my workspace is due to the lack of door. My studio (aka the former dining area) has a decent amount of physical space and lots of good northern light, but kitten-proofing all projects and tools takes away some momentum.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

IMT: Word Art



The tree roots in the Hoh rain forest (Olympic National Forest) remind me of the structure of the heart.
Is it wrong to paint a tree on paper, made from trees, then photoshop it back into its natural setting?

Friday, May 26, 2006

Cake


a different sort of cupcake topper

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

IMT: Abstract


"Fish Dreams of Flying"

This is the first time I've submitted for Inspire Me Thursday, but I couldn't pass up the topic. Turns out that it's tough to go from figurative to abstract. I think this is in the middle ground, but here it is.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Angels and Devils



Don't we all have a little of both?

Friday, May 05, 2006

Fat



The moon, my bowl, and other round things.

Friday, April 28, 2006

Under the Sea



"The barnacles which encrust the side
of the wave, cannot hide
there for the submerged shafts of the
sun,
split like spun glass, move themselves with spotlight swiftness
into the crevices---
in and out, illuminating
the
turquoise sea
of bodies. The water drives a wedge
of iron through the iron edge
of the cliff; whereupon the stars,
pink
rice-grains, ink-
bespattered jelly-fish, crabs like green
lilies, and submarine
toadstools, slide each on the other."
---Marianne Moore

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Spotted



At a friend's wedding, someone took a photo as the couple were leaving the building, and the light caught the metallic confetti just so. This "fairy" blessing is my spotted submission.