More morning inspiration

When I'm walking along with my dog in the morning, listening to the latest Escape from Illustration Island podcast on the shuffle, and this is my view...a pretty fabulous start to the day.

A few other things great finds today:
*Diane Sudyka's beautiful watercolor birds in a fall birdwatching print
*This Mr. Batman figurine cracks me up...and I want him
*You may have already seen these, but I love the simplicity and sophistication of these dinner concert series posters by Shauna Mae

Napping koala

A simple watercolor illustration I did last Monday. Below is the sketch reference from an August trip to the LA zoo.

I actually like the weight of the sketched body more than the watercolor one. Maybe I need to start moving faster with my quill.

Sketchbook Sunday: LA zoo

Hippo underwater and Francois's Langurs on the right

Flamingos

Howler monkey, front and back

Some sort of deer...I didn't write down the name

All these are from a visit to the Los Angeles zoo in August, on a very hot and sunny afternoon. Most animals were hiding in the shade or looking slightly passed out.

Weekend links

I love the pattern the virginia creeper makes against the kitchen window shade in the afternoon and also the happy chair fabric at Paco's Tacos (new neighborhood joint so much cooler and more delicious than it sounds).

Some links from the past week:

• NYTimes: Four Decades of Illustration...so inspiring!
• How awesome are Robert Clarke's animal and bird sketches? via pikaland
• The colors and watercolor grass in this award-winning piece by Janice Nadeau are soft and lovely.
• An interview with Kirra Jamison, whose work balances bursts with color and pattern against calm white space (I was relieved to hear someone else gets caught up in looking at blogs, walking the dog, and general messing around before sitting down in the studio!)
• It's a perfect sunny 80 degrees out now, and I want one of these in my backyard. The pool, not the corgi (although he's pretty adorable).

Happy rest of the weekend!