Ursa Major & Minor

Just thought I'd share a peek at my studio table in the last week before heading to the SCBWI conference in LA. This is an image based on a dream that I'm using for a postcard promo. Back to painting...and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Drawing Chickens

Yep, more birds. Sunday evening I met up with various members of the Girllustrators and Armadillustrators in the garden of Eastside Cafe for some drawing, socializing, and lemosas (refreshing mix of frozen lemonade, champagne, and raspberry). When I first sat down, it was hard to tell the chickens apart (about a dozen birds of the same breed, with all reddish-brown feathers). But they're are pretty expressive when you hang out with them for a while. Some have puffier bits. Some just want to take dirt baths. I'm kind of into drawing chickens now...and lemosas.

Bird snacks

Saw a green heron catch a minnow and a kingbird catch a caterpillar this morning at Shoal Creek. And yesterday an oriole was eating ants from inside the trumpet vine in the backyard (photos here).

Studio Clean-up

So lovely to start off the week with a clean desk! Spent most of yesterday and some of Saturday organizing, cleaning, and paring down in my studio. I'm half minimalist, half collector/packrat, and the minimalist half got tired of all the paper monsters taking over my workspaces.

Here's what my desk looked like around lunchtime yesterday:
And this morning:

Work table before:

And after:

My studio mate, Lloyd

View from my desk chair of the trumpet vine in full bloom...dreamy!

Drawing Day: Hamilton Pool

A day full of sketching, swimming and enjoying nature at Hamilton Pool. What made it even better: got to hang out with various Armadil- and Girl-lustrators and a couple more fine folks. Seriously, if you have not been to Hamilton Pool and you are in the Austin area, you must go! Floating on your back while looking up towards a waterfall and a cliff wall covered in ferns and the daub-y nests of cliff swallows...amazing.

Mac Crack of Dawn & the Eggmobile

Inspired by all the crazy kustomized hot rods in town over the weekend (my favorite had a Chewbacca head on the top of the gear shift), and people who drive them. The eggmobile is what happened when I tried to draw this car without looking at the photo for reference.

Please don't feed the dinosaurs

This is what you don't want to find when you walk back to your lunch! Dedicated to Harper and her dinos.

Cars, Music, Dinosaurs

It's Lonestar Round Up time in Austin, and yesterday I joined up with Shelley Jackson, Jeff Crosby, and their daughter, talented artist/dinosaur handler Harper, for an afternoon of sketching the South Congress scene. Shelley and Harper enjoying music at the end of the sketch day. More pictures of cars here.

One fish, sketch fish

Some fish that didn't end up getting used on a recent project.

Sketchbook: A Simple Black Cat

Bunny hop

It's just that sort of day. A couple more in this series here.

Alien Boy

Trying to work out the look of an alien character. And not have it look too creepy...

More poppies

Still painting wildflowers, this time for a garden blog banner update.

April Flowers

I keep forgetting to take my phone when I walk the dog and miss capturing photos of the wildflowers along the trail (poppies backlit by the morning sun and shady masses of dayflowers). So, the past couple of days I've tried to fix in my mind, Frederick style, how I would paint them in watercolor.

Lena, noooo!

A day in the life with a spicy kitty who knows how to inspire action. Below is the back door trim where she hangs from.

Web Update & Conference Prep

Finally brought my portfolio site up to date! Feels so good to get that off the list. And here are a few scenes from today, getting ready for the SCBWI-Houston conference. Painting some graphics for the info page of my site. Trying to get the right order on the portfolio.