Everybody Illustrated

Just Some Doodles

2012-02-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to complete a project a week, but this week I have a bunch of partially finished projects and even more sketches. Obviously these aren't in my typical style. Sometimes when I feel stuck I find it's helpful to draw outside my usual. These are mostly stylized renderings of magazine models and tv show extras. A couple are just from my imagination.

Wild Nights

2012-02-05T20:29:00.000-08:00

"Wild nights are my glory" - A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L'Engle

I'm a big fan of the wind and rain. I love the way it sounds in the trees outside my apartment. I love the way it smells. I'm not discounting the benefits of sunshine, but I find rain equally cheering - if not more.

Out on a Limb

2012-02-04T04:49:00.000-08:00

I hate talking about controversial things. Even things I feel strongly about.

Especially things I feel strongly about.

I'm not the best talker, or writer. I want people to understand how I feel about a topic, but invariably I stumble over my words or leave out the crucial information. Then I feel like if people walk away thinking it's stupid or that all people who believe it are stupid...well that's my fault.

The other thing that frustrates me is when people in these conversations state their opinion and they're applauded by several people (I seldom believe the popular thing - sorry, you can ignore my blog from now on if you want) and then I state my opinion and I'm ripped to shreds because it's opposed to theirs.

I even go to a lot of trouble to say, "You don't have to agree, I don't expect you to" or "This is just what I think" and then, you know, "I think pigs make great childhood pets" or whatever weird opinion I have that is not quite the thing. But people come back to me with, "That's so condescending, I can't believe you would say you think pigs make great pets, when I've just told you I don't think they make great pets and I never had a pet pig"

And then I'll say, well, you don't have to agree that's just what I think and I don't have anything to back it up, although I've heard they learn tricks really well and they're actually really clean, etc. (I have heard those things, btw, from multiple sources but the only one I can cite is Johnny Tremain - great story...but you don't have to believe that).

So invariably the people will come back at me with, "Where are the studies!? Where are the studies showing that pigs are smart and clean? It's all propaganda from the pigs lobbying group!"

It's probably my own fault. I like to talk to people, be friends with people, who don't agree with me. I like to hear opinions that I could never hold. And I like to discuss them and how the people reached those conclusions and how I reached mine. Some people are great for that. And usually neither of us is ever convinced of the other position - but I want to understand where they're coming from. I want them to understand where I am coming from.

Instead I get into an argument over whether it should be allowable in public discourse for an opinion other than that person's to be presented with out a crowd of people present to applaud it.

Do you try to avoid controversial discussions? Do you find yourself getting sucked in anyway (I always do)
Are you in favor of pigs as pets?

Birds of a Feather

2012-01-21T15:26:00.000-08:00

One of my close friends has a serious issue with birds. Pigeons specifically.
I think they're cute, she thinks they're rats with wings.

She visited Venice and was horrified to find that the pigeons there are well loved. I decided to draw a girl with a pet pigeon, then forgot all about it for a few months. I didn't draw this with the pigeon girl in mind (and the bird here isn't a pigeon), but it reminded my friend who reminded me.

My friend's revulsion also reminded me of this Portlandia skit.

I don't know about you, but when I was a kid I was always psyched when a bird would fly into a shop. Don't ask me why, it was just cool.

So, are you pro-bird or anti-bird?

Winter Wonderland

2012-01-13T17:57:00.000-08:00

I know some people love winter, but I have serious doubts as to what they mean by that.

Waiting Room

2012-01-12T19:04:00.000-08:00

Everyone loves waiting for the doctor.You arrive a few minutes early to wait half an hour for someone who will spend 10 minutes not really listening to your symptoms.

If the doctor is in a good mood she'll order tests. If she's in a bad mood she'll accuse you of hoping to have tumor because you came in about a stomach bug. If she's in a really bad mood she'll threaten to quit because you have questions about her diagnosis.

My favorite part of going to the doctor is when you recite your symptoms and the doctor repeats them back to you as his personal observations. It's like paying $50 for a carnival psychic.

I did go to a good doctor group this week though. They were pretty certain about their diagnosis, but when I questioned part of it they decided to double check it for me - instead of tell me I was being ridiculous. They're even doing some research on the issue between that visit and my next one.

How do you feel about doctors? What's your worst doctor experience? Do you have any great ones?

Lucky Elephant

2011-12-12T13:37:00.001-08:00

Cupcake Mag is giving away gorgeous Lucky Elephant bracelets. I could never afford one on my own, so here's my little post letting you all knowing about it and gaining myself another entry.

Snow White

2011-12-05T17:57:00.001-08:00

With Once Upon a Time gracing our televisions and a variety of new Snow White movies out, I felt compelled to do a new Snow White piece. I'm not actually all that partial to the story of Snow White. Sleeping Beauty is my favorite Disney movie and Beauty is my favorite fairy-tale retelling, but I've never drawn illustrations for either of those! I think the Snow White story just has more compelling imagery.

What's your favorite fairy tale?

I drew this for an Art Gala earlier this year

Too Early

2011-11-07T06:35:00.000-08:00

I know it isn't even remotely time to be thinking about Christmas. I don't like Christmas music or decorations to happen early. I'd really prefer it if they trickled in slowly after Thanksgiving had fully passed. It would be a little more graceful. A lot more magic. But I'm in the wrong line of business for that. Even as late as local companies push Christmas advertising, I have to start designing those ads now if they're going to be ready in time for the early December publications.

How do you feel about the holidays? Which one is your favorite?

Self Portrait

2011-10-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

This is me today. Just for fun.

Hidden Garden

2011-10-15T12:55:00.000-07:00

I enter a lot of give-aways online and sometimes I win! This month I won a give-away over at Etsy Stalker and got a gorgeous necklace from Hidden Garden 11 on etsy!

I was pretty excited about winning this one and even more excited when I opened the package. A lot of the jewelry I win is pretty, but not made out of the best materials. I can tell this necklace is well made just from how it feels. The chain is sturdy and that is not just some epoxy sticker slapped on top of a leaf sliver and scrabble tile, that's poured resin my friends. The silver setting comes up around the sides and fits perfectly.

They were also extra sweet and included some little candies. Too fun!

You can read Etsy Stalker's interview with Vanja and Morana of Hidden Garden here.

Another Day, Another Doodle

2011-10-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

Just a little doodle girl and a background motif I recycled from invitations I made for my sister.

Preliminary Sketching

2011-09-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

I've been sketching out some ideas for a little children's story. Not for publication, just to enhance my portfolio. Most of my illustrative work is a single image for a story, where publisher's like to see that you can complete a story arc and draw the same character over and over again.

I sketched this out at the laundromat, which is one of the best places to sketch in spite of all the noisy machines, screaming kids, and heated conversations in Spanish. Or maybe because of them. How would I know?

The only bad thing about sketching there was that I didn't have a ruler with me, so I was just guessing at the perspective. But I think it's a good first run. Or second run, initially I'd thought to draw this scene from above, but I realized pretty quickly that, that wasn't the angle I was really looking for.

Psalm 33:6-7

2011-09-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

Fairie Photos Part 2

2011-09-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

Some more fun in the woods using thrift store finds, a bit of glitter, and a lot of photoshop. My sister and I had a lot of fun planning this, we love random stuff like this. What kind of projects do you take on during your vacations?

Part 1 Here

Amish Neighbors

2011-09-09T10:14:00.000-07:00

My neighbors aren't really Amish, but I work in an area with lots of Amish people in it and I've drawn illustrations for four books that have stories featuring mostly Amish people. This illustration is just one I was drawing to loosen up for a day of creating.

The Amish are interesting people, but I think more interesting than what they're not allowed to do is what they are. Yesterday I was getting my hair cut and in the next chair was an Amish lady getting her hair dyed. Last week I was at the mall and saw a group of Amish girls. I see them in the mall regularly, they buy shoes and sweaters there all the time, but I was still a little surprised them toting pink striped bags from Victoria's Secret.

Have you seen anything that surprised you recently?

Pixi Haircut

2011-09-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

What do you think? Do you like pixie hair cuts? I kind of want to like them, but I never quite can.
I've had fairly short hair myself, too and I never end up liking it when I look back at photographs, even though people tell me it looks great at the time.

Lately I've been reading a lot of beauty/fashion/hair blogs like Hair Romance, The Beauty Department, and Keiko Lynn and there are all kinds of styles I want to try with my hair, but I realized that I couldn't try most of them with my hair falling just past my chin! So now I'm growing it out even further so I can play.

Do you like long hair or short hair best for yourself?

Custom Illustration: Brian & Shannon

2011-09-04T19:47:00.000-07:00

The original photo is by Trinity Bennett Photography

A month or two ago Shannon asked me to draw a cartoon portrait of herself and her fiance, and their golden lab. With the wedding just a couple weeks away, she gave the portrait to Brian as a pre-wedding present and I can finally show all of you!
They are an adorable couple and I wish them both the best!

New Prints in my Etsy Shop

2011-09-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

1. Delicious Summer 2. Dandelion Love 3. Starlit Nights 4. What the Heck? 5. Spring Joy
6. Dancer 7. Story Lane 8. Retro Honey 9. Goldielocks at the Bears

I know you all have seen these illustrations when I first posted them, but they're finally available in the shop!

Are you all enjoying your labor day weekend? Any big plans?

I was a little surprised to find myself without plans this weekend. Other years I've done crazy things like driving to Florida with a friend, learning to drive stick shift and then driving back...in under 48 hours. Or I've done normal things like cookouts. This year I'm mostly planning on doing some illustrations for my sisters and meeting some friends for Starbucks.

What about you? Do you do special/crazy things for Labor Day or is it pretty much your average weekend?

Back to School

2011-09-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

One of my friends has started teaching 5th grade this year. She asked me to make her a "Back to School" coloring sheet along with the question, "Do fifth graders still like to color?" I figured they still like to color, but I wasn't sure if they're still admitting to it in the fifth grade.

Turns out they are, they loved this coloring sheet and I hope your kids (or, you know, nieces, nephews, cousins, grandchildren, baby-sitting charges, legal wards, etc.) will too. Just click the picture on this page and it will take you to a larger version. Right click save as and print from your computer.

As always, this page is available for coloring only. You may not use it for any other purpose what-so-ever. Thanks :)

Frustrated?

2011-08-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

I designed this wall paper while frustrated with Adobe Illustrator. You'll notice that no part of the wall paper is designed in Adobe Illustrator.

Surrealism

2011-08-28T18:47:00.000-07:00

I obviously have been looking at too much surreal art lately.

Doodles

2011-08-22T16:02:00.000-07:00

I've notice that the people I draw tend to either be seen straight on or maybe at a 3/4 angle. So I'm trying to develop what they look like from the side and other angles.

Fairy Land - Part 1

2011-08-19T04:07:00.000-07:00

My sister and I were goofing around and got to talking about taking some photos with sparkles on her face. We make lots of grand plans that usually don't happen, but somehow this one turned into a week long mission to find glitter, a fairy-like outfit, and hair style. Thank goodness for thrift stores and pinterest. My sister loved this hair style, but we couldn't get it right till someone pinned this tutorial. Viola! It was easy and beautiful.

I've only got a handful of the photos edited and many of them didn't turn out because of the low light (in the woods), but I'm have so much fun coloring them up in photoshop!

In Reality

2011-08-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

I am not big on reality tv. Most of the shows seem to consist entirely of yelling. Whether you're training children, trading families, baking cakes, stranded on an island, running a restaurant, or stuck in an over-crowded house, the main point of the show is, apparently, to be as loud as possible.

For a long time American Idol was my exception to my reality tv loathing, but even on American Idol I had to skip the audition week. There was less screaming, but I can only assume they didn't have a need for it with all the caterwauling would-be divas. And eventually the show just failed to hold my attention.

For a season I watched So You Think You Can Dance. I love their commercials (which inspired the drawing in this post) and I love the creative movement I see on screen. It's a wonderful way to sketch. But of course that show has it's own concentrated noise. I can only handle so many Hot Tamale Train declarations before I change the channel.

Now lately I find myself watching America's Next Top Model, a show I never thought I would be interested in. There was one Wednesday night when absolutely nothing was on and I thought, "Well, as background noise..." and they were playing the season where Anne won and I just found her wonderful. Not to mention the photography. And I had thought I was going to be sickened or depressed by watching all these ultra-beautiful, stick thin girls, but I was amazed by how girls who really aren't all that stunning, were gorgeous when made up and set in the right light in front of the right photographer.

Do you watch reality tv at all? Which shows do you love? Which ones do you hate?

delighted

2011-07-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

This is the face of the new thank-you card I'm having printed up soon.
It's not the face I make when I walk into my bathroom. That look is one of fear and trepidation.

Yes. There are still crickets in my house.

I don't know how they're getting in.
The apartment manager says he has treated for crickets and has now requested that I round the little fellows up and invite them to stay in cozy plastic bags. I will then drop those bags by the office. Presumably this proves that I know what a cricket looks like and haven't gotten it confused with a mosquito or a grass hopper.

I wish I'd known they wanted that Thursday. I got home from a truly hideous evening of sitting in traffic and of course there was a sumo cricket contentedly enjoying the bathroom rug. I could have urged him into a baggy then. But since I didn't know this was desirable, I smushed him good.

So now I'm in the unfortunate position of hoping another big cricket shows up, so I can bag and tag him for the landlord. I have already caught one of the tiny ones, but these are not going to convince anyone that I have reason to be grossed out. They may chew through cloth, plastic, and wood just as well as their mighty brethren, but they look completely inoffensive.

Does anyone else have problems with bugs? What do you do?

Serenity Now

2011-07-19T17:45:00.000-07:00

I'm not feeling as calm as the girl in my doodle right now.

For the past several days I have been finding crickets in my apartment. Big ones.

They were usually in the bathroom so I looked online and some people said crickets might come up drains that aren't used very often and are dry. Like in attics or basements.

Other people said it was incredibly unlikely that crickets would come up a drain. That they're probably coming in through a broken seal on a window or something.

Well I guess my life's incredible.

I came home from work today and since the apartment manager hadn't been by, I thought I'd run some water down the shower drain, just in case it was drying out enough during the 23½ hours I don't use it to let crickets crawl up it.

And a HUGE cricket popped out.

Yeah. I guess it's dry.

Fortunately, I have a drain that can be popped closed. So I can stop them from coming in until the landlord is able to fix it, but I cannot even begin to describe how grossed out I am.

Happy Birthday

2011-07-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

It's not really anyone's birthday, I just finally got around to designing a birthday card to be printed.
I generally just draw them up as needed, but I've always thought it would be nice if I sold birthday cards and soon, I will.

What are your favorite birthday memories? What other kind of occasion cards would you like to see in the shop?

Annoying Children

2011-07-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

Goldielocks is sort of the ultimate self-entitled brat.
You think kids today are rude and inconsiderate?
Obviously this is an ongoing problem, and Goldie is here to prove it.

I can only assume that Goldielocks exists because of parents who wanted their kids to be respectful of the neighbors and basically ended up threatening their children with voracious, porridge loving bears who would settle for dining on small children if angered.

Recent experience has shown me that the need for these types of stories/threats is still in existence.

I went to see the final Harry Potter flick last night. The theater was packed, of course, and I ended up sitting next to a family of two million, three thousand of which were children. I was prepared to put up with a little whispering, but apparently this was a foolish thought.

There was no little whispering. There was talking. A running commentary of the movie from children not old enough to see it. "There's Harry. He's sad.", "Neville! She's getting Neville!", "I bet they're french kissing."
All this was accompanied by the flash of one fidgety child's L.A. Lights sneakers.

It took all the restraint I had not to lean over and inform the children that when they were in their own living room they could talk as loud as they pleased, but not in the theater. My friend wanted to tell their parents that they owed us $8.50 for the large portions of the movie we couldn't hear.

So when I have kids I'm telling them the story of Goldielocks, the girl who was obnoxious at the theater and was eaten by the bears sitting behind her.

Have you encountered any wretched children recently? did you do anything about it, or suffer in silence?

Robin McClure: Freelance Writer

2011-07-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

I designed these business cards for my friend Robin McClure. They each have a different type of writing Robin specializes in so she customize her marketing plan to specific customer needs.

Listing all the kinds of writing Robin is good with might actually have the effect of making her sound like an amateur. But putting one type of writing on the card shows that it's a type of writing she focuses on. So I took the five kinds of writing that Robin specializes in (Contemporary Fiction Writing, Travel Writing, Web Content Writing, Freelance Magazine Writing, and Fantasy Writing) and I made cards that were distinct for each, yet had a cohesive look for Robin's writing identity.

Thanks to Moo cards we were able to do that without paying for full runs of five different cards. Usually people have one image with all their information on one side of the moo card and they alternate pretty pictures or patterns on the other side, but we used the side that remains the same to have just a simple background and logo and the changing side to have the changing information. They arrived today and I think I was as excited as she was to see them in print!

Cartoon Portraits

2011-07-10T06:12:00.000-07:00

When I draw in public, people often stop to ask who I'm drawing.
Typically I'm not drawing anyone at all. Most of my illustrations are pure imagination.

But when I doodle during youth group lessons I have such a fantastic and interesting group of kids around me that I have to draw them.

These girls are a couple of my favorites, they have the most gorgeous hair, phenomenal taste in clothing, and they're hilarious.

So when Tiffany asked if I would draw a picture of her and her bestie, I said yes on the spot. I'd never drawn a picture of the two of them together, but I've always thought I should.

I sorted through their facebook photos, did a couple sketches and
emailed them to Tiffany for approval. Once she'd selected her favorite I started coloring them in. This photo already had a gorgeous color palette so I tried to keep it similar. I sent that off for Tiff's approval and then it went to print, which took about a week.

The best part was that at some point during this process another girl from youth group had requested I post a sketch I'd drawn of her and Celeste commented that the girl was so lucky because she'd always wanted me to draw her.

Which made the whole project even more exciting :)

Edit: I offer a similar service in my etsy shop, for those who are interested.

Great Stories

2011-06-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I love having an outlandish, completely absurd, but absolutely true story to tell.
So when awful things you'd never want to endure happen, I always think, "What a great story!"
Which is why I loved this wall paper by Ross Moody the second I saw it.

by Ross Moody at 55 HI

I have it on my computer at work, to make me smile on rough days.

What's your favorite absurd, yet hilarious, story?

Punk Kids

2011-06-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

. To me the idea of eating in the office break-room is the same as saying, "I'd like to have an hour that feels, looks, and sounds like work, but not get paid for it." Instead I drive my car to church parking lot on cloudy days and the park when it's sunny. The park is farther away, but the shade trees are worth it.

I have always assumed that this is a little bit odd to the kids at the park. I know when I was a Jr. Higher I would have been a little weirded out that people just came and sat in their cars facing the park. Are they kidnappers? Are they selling drugs? Why do those people just sit there in their cars and then randomly leave?
We would have whispered and made up stories and freaked ourselves out.

These kids appointed a spokesperson to come knock on my window and ask me. He was very polite and maybe a little disappointed that something as prosaic as shade has us congregating. Adults really are boring.

I was mostly amused, though I put on my best "I am adult whose time you're wasting for no good reason" face, but I was also a bit shocked. I would have never confronted a strange adult. Not even if I had my friends five feet away. Not even if the adult looked harmless (I probably look harmless).

What do you think? What would you have done as a kid?

Star Light, Star Bright

2011-06-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

I finally have something new in my shop! And more to come!

I love the stars. When I was in high school and my family would drive back from Wednesday night church, it was in the country and while the stars weren't as crazy amazing as in other instances, I still loved to stare at them the whole ride home.

This illustration was inspired while I was reading P.L. Traver's Mary Poppins. There's one story in the book where the kids look out their window at night and catch Mary Poppins and the gingerbread ladies ( who make it, not are made of it) pasting the starry gingerbread wrappers into the sky. I've always especially loved that bit of the book.

I think Traver's must have loved the night sky too, because another story is about one of the stars coming down to earth to do her Christmas shopping and in Mary Poppins Returns the children go to a circus and Michael wins the moon.

I still love Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Returns even though I'm well past the intended audience age.
What books do you still love from childhood?

Tell Me A Story

2011-06-22T17:34:00.000-07:00

I have a story addiction. I love tv, movies, gossip, but most of all, books. I don't get all dolled up, but I do go for walks around my neighborhood and read at the same time. My brother wants to know how I pay attention to reading while I walk, when it's really the other way around. I might forget to walk, but reading is automatic.

I especially love fantasy stories - I'm on a Robin McKinley kick right now, reading Chalice.
What are you reading right now?

Spring Joy

2011-06-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

Well, my internet is working properly, so all's right with the world.

And I'm so excited to have my computer up and running that I finished several art projects the past couple days. A couple were commissions, but others were my personal illustrations, which will be finding their way into my etsy shop within the next couple of weeks.

I am loving the warm weather lately, so when I haven't been glue to my computer I've been wandering around my neighborhood. I've lived here a year, but until now I haven't done much exploring. I was so excited to find a park near by and a lovely neighborhood for strolling in!

Though I am a little disappointed with the vending machines around here. One simply wouldn't work and another gave me warm soda. Gross.

What's your favorite thing about your neighborhood?
Least favorite?

The Internet

2011-06-17T21:50:00.000-07:00

A few months back I got cheap internet through Comcast. For such a slow speed I'm pretty impressed with how fast it actually is. I don't watch videos on it or anything, but for email and uploading pictures, it makes pretty good time.

The problem is that the connection is hideous. I had someone out last week to fix it and he was much pleasanter than I've found Comcast employees to be in the past. But my connection still comes and goes as it pleases.

So I'm having another Comcast person come out tomorrow. It seems like it should be a simple thing. They hook up the internet and it generally stays hooked up.

But this is not how my life works.

Summer Tastes Delicious

2011-06-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid we couldn't wait for "Mr. Frosty's" to open. It was a tiny soft serve stand with those candy eyes for the kid's cones. I'm sure there was nothing special about it, but it was ice-cream.

When I was a teenager UDF (United Dairy Farmer's) was our ice-cream shop of choice. Lucky for impatient teenagers, that delightfulness was open year round.

Now I live not far from some of the most delicious ice-cream ever made. "The Chief" has crazy long lines, but it's well worth it. And I kind of think it's fun that everyone comes out and hangs around together waiting for their ice-cream cones.

Do you have a favorite ice-cream shop?

What's your favorite flavor? Last year mine was peanut-butter, but this year I'm loving mint-chocolate-chip.

Fiction Addiction

2011-04-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been re-reading the Harry Potter series. I love that Rowling populated her books with a huge family of red-heads, because I think red-hair is gorgeous. Of course, I don't own the entire set, so I'm spending quite a bit of money buying a new book every week but....Harry Potter.

Last Sunday I was sitting in one of my favorite cafes and a guy walked passed me, came back and asked me if I was reading "The Chamber of Secrets" for the first time or not. At first I thought he might be hitting on me, but no. He's just really, really excited to see someone enjoying Harry Potter.

That might be taking things too far.

Finally

2011-04-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since my last post. Probably that has cost me most of my small readership.
But sometimes you just need a break.

I haven't had internet for almost a year, so that meant creating a post at home, saving it to a thumb drive and uploading it to the internet somewhere else later.

Irritating.

But. I now have internet. And I can sit here in my pjs, watching Seinfeld episodes and typing on the internet in real time.

It's fantastic.

I also hope this will mean more frequent updates to my etsy shop. But I'm starting with the blog. It's easier.

I'm doubly delighted because it is also finally starting to resemble springtime. It's wonderful to open my windows and feel a nice breeze coming in. Or to wander around the neighborhood without freezing to pieces.

What's something you've been waiting a long time for? Have you got it yet or do you expect to be waiting a while longer?

Bunny Love

2011-02-24T09:41:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure rabbits are without question the cutest animals ever. And not pretend cute like some animals where you see a cartoon and the animal is adorable but in real life it's dripping with snot (yeah, I'm looking at you cow lovers) , but actual adorability.

They're so ultra snuggly and their little noses really do sniff constantly and their eyes are so huge and sweet! I'll take a bunny-rabbit over a dog or cat any day of the week.

When I was little my parents had friends who trained their rabbit to go in a litter box so their bunny could just hop freely around their home! I assume they also rabbit-proofed their wires and what-not, but maybe people smart enough to house train their rabbit are smart enough to teach the same rabbit to only chew on food?

I don't know. All I do know is that when I one day have my own home, I absolutely want to do that.

We're going to the chapel and...

2011-02-15T06:31:00.000-08:00


Curly Cutie OOAK Card

I haven't had much to post lately, because I've been working on top secret projects like wedding invitations and business cards, rather than my personal art or etsy shop art.

I'll post both projects when I'm done, but I think most brides like to keep their invites special for the invitees, so those'll probably have to wait till the wedding is over.

I just got done with all kinds of crazy wedding stuff in September, when a close friend of mine got married and now I'm jumping into more as my sister's very short engagement rapidly approaches the wedding date. I shared the funky bronzer story from my friend's rehearsal dinner, but what I didn't share was the torture of trying on bridesmaid dresses.

If you've ever been in a wedding you know that the dress shops do not carry every size for you to see what actually looks good on you. They carry each dress in maybe two or three sizes, so like... an 8 and a 22. Maybe. Maybe just the 8. So if you're a 14 like me, you just have to cram yourself in the 8 and guess if it might look nice on you if it were to be the correct size. No one at the dress shop ever understands why this is problematic. Why would you care if you look good in a dress you're shelling out $150 bucks for? You're only wearing it once, right?
I looked halfway decent in my dress last time, but I gained a bit of weight in the couple weeks before the wedding, which wasn't enough to have an effect on my everyday clothes, but did mean the top of my dress wasn't as um...secure...as it had been originally. Good times. This time I get to pick my dress and it will have straps, blast it.

What's your favorite/funniest bridesmaid (or groomsmen) fiasco?

Sugar and Hearts

2011-02-03T07:50:00.000-08:00

I mentioned before that I love Valentine's Day, so here's another Sweetheart Valentine. It isn't romantic, but if you know someone who's a sweetheart, whether it's a sister or friend, it is the perfect card to send them at Valentine's Day or any time of the year.

I know I'll be sending out valentine's to some charming friends of mine, just because they're special :)

And since there's a group of us that are single for v-day this year, maybe we'll get together and do something special.
Along the V-Day theme, I also have a coloring page for the kiddies. Click on it for a larger more printable image, but please don't use it for anything other than a coloring sheet. It isn't for selling or altering other than with crayons.


I feel like our divergent thoughts on Valentine's Day start early...

Ohio - Nerdiest State

2011-01-31T09:12:00.000-08:00

I came across this map of shame - you've probably seen it. It shows which states are worst at what. Some are fairly benign other are wretched. But in light of my Summer Reading post/Library Rant a couple weeks ago, I'd like to point out that Ohio is the nerdiest state based on having the most library visits per capita (link).
Unlimited library access at work!

Indiana is the least green state, which I have to say, would not have been my first thought. We have the stupidest city according to some report a few years ago (go, Ft. Wayne!), but with all the Amish using buggies and solar panels I wouldn't considered us to be the least environmentally friendly.

What's your state worst at? Were you surprised?

Goldie Locks

2011-01-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

Hand Colored with Ink & Colored Pencil

My latest ooak listing. I hope to have some more up tomorrow. The fact is I have a BUNCH of these in my apartment, I just haven't gotten around to editing the photos yet. They all have bright, colored envelopes to go with them, that have sticky closures (no gross glue taste!) and of course they're all adorable.

I did a show back in December where I had a pretty good crowd of girls standing around carefully trying to select the very best of my business cards to take home. Which was a nice distraction while their mom's were mouthing their orders over the little girl's heads!

But of course the guys weren't as excited. One dad looked at a card similar to this one and said, "It's all about the hair isn't it?" His tone implied he'd rather have his team lose the super bowl every year for the rest of his life than deal with my art on his walls, but his wife seemed interested!

Super Duper V Day Give Aways

2011-01-26T08:09:00.001-08:00

Giveaway happening here. Lots of prizes.

Another here

Valentine Cutie

2011-01-25T12:43:00.000-08:00

This sweetie is all set for candy hearts and roses.

I know a lot of single people are not in love with valentine's day. The dramatic wear black, the bitter post facebook rants, the embarrassed ignore it.

Personally, I delight in valentine's day. It easily wins the classiest holiday color scheme and all the over decor is cute enough to use year round. V-day has the dubious honor of being the only holiday I'll actually be festive for.

Some years I go to parties with friends, this year I'll probably be alone again, sipping pink whipped cream from my white-chocolate mocha. I love it all.

What's your favorite holiday?

Summer Reading

2011-01-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty certain that this girl is walking back from the library with some summer reading in hand. I never technically had summer reading assignments, but I have a little addiction to books and the library is one of the few places my parent's felt comfortable dropping me off for a few hours.

Parents want their kids to enjoy the library, but with all those suspicious librarians around, trying to corral you into the kids or YA section where they can keep an eye on you it always felt like a form of rebellion, especially with friends. You get past the guards and sneak off into the depths of the library. Nobody knows where you are or what you're doing. You could be reading anything (no, seriously, anything). They don't know. You could meet up with anyone. They don't know. Heck, you don't know.

So in short, it was awesome.

My love affair with the library has waned a little bit since living in Indiana. The towns are smaller and so are the libraries. Worse, you can only get a card for your town. If you live in the city limits. If you don't live within the city limits of any town (a common occurrence here in the corn-field of America) - no books for you. Should you desire access to other libraries you must pay for a non resident card, which can cost as much as $92 per year. or a PLAC, for the whole state. This year's is $50 - my local library did not advertise this option.

In Ohio you could get a card for any library. Or every library. They didn't care.
My mom had cards for at least four Ohio libraries and one more for a Florida library we went to during vacations every two years!

Indiana, free with guns, stingy with books.

All you need is...

2011-01-20T08:37:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have no new doodles for you. I've done new doodles, I just don't have anything scanned in at the moment.

To keep your minds off what a terrible blogger I am, I'm going to direct you to this charming giveaway that I'd prefer you not enter, because I'd like this necklace for myself and it's not available in the shop.

Won't I look cute in it?

Pajama Sale - Because early isn't bad enough

2011-01-14T05:47:00.000-08:00

Every year the local merchants have a "pajama sale". They don't sell pajamas, but they do offer discounts which you have to be wearing your PJs to get. This is in addition to opening crazy early and ending all the best deals before 8 am.

I've gone a couple of years to photograph the people in their jammies, which are often outrageous. I don't think I can handle going again this year, but that doesn't mean I can't design some cute graphics for our Pajama Sale section to convince other people to go.

January Colors

2011-01-12T13:40:00.000-08:00

I didn't live on a hill at all when I was a kid (or now for that matter), but there were parks nearby where we went sledding every winter and had a blast.

A wintery coloring page.
Feel free to print and color, but not to profit from or use in any other way. This is strictly a coloring page.

For a Dreamer

2010-12-28T11:20:00.000-08:00

"When I dream, on my own

I'm alone but, I ain't lonely

For a dreamer night's the only time of day"

- "Sante Fe", Newsies

This drawing is base on memories of the house I grew up in. I moved my bed so I could sit up and look out the window at the stars whenever I wanted.

Of course you can't see the stars as brilliantly in the city. So one of my favorite memories is of when I was really little and my parents would wake me and my sister up in the middle of the night and drive us out into the country to look up at the stars, usually when something special like a comet was going to be visible.

Maybe that's why I love the stars. Maybe because they remind me of how small I am and how big God is. But a few years ago I was out deep in the country again and the stars were so stunning that, even though I was in a really rough patch between college graduation and gainful employment, everything felt right. The stars couldn't be so beautiful for nothing. And it was enough just to stand there and be in awe.

They Call Me Adventure

2010-12-22T11:19:00.000-08:00

I love adventure stories. Torture, revenge, giants, monsters,chases, escapes, miracles, true love. And of course I like to think that in the protagonist's place I would be just as butt-kickingly awesome.

The truth is, probably I'd be more like blondie here.
But with less poise.

Bugs gross me out.
I'm scared of heights.
I have no upper body strength to speak of. And no skills that would suddenly come in handy were I to be thrust into the middle of a secret government conspiracy.

I want to be capable, independent Marion Ravenwood from Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I'd honestly be whining Wilhelmina in The Temple of Doom. Screaming and crying my way through the entire story with even small children becoming annoyed at my incompetence.

C'est la vie. That's why I'm an artist.

.

Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes

2010-12-10T14:54:00.001-08:00

Even when I was a kid, people - sometimes strangers - would tell me that I ought to draw children's book illustrations. And I wholeheartedly agreed.

When I was 8 I wrote and illustrated a book for my youngest sister. My mom helped me make a hard cover for it out of cardboard and cloth and she stitched in the binding.
Encouraged, I illustrated a bunch more, but those had less impressive staple binding and copy-paper covers.

At the age of 12 I wrote and illustrated another book and submitted it as a 4-H art project at the county fair. I got a blue ribbon and went to the state fair where the judges looked at me as if I had gotten lost.

It's been a long time coming, but I'm proud to present my first ever, full color children's book. It's not technically mine - it's the Amish couple's who published it. I'm just sort of the in-house illustrator. But it's all public domain nursery rhymes and my illustrations, so it feels like mine.

It's 43 pages long, hardcover and is printed on glossy paper with gorgeous, full-bleed color.

You can pick it up in Amish shops in Northern Indiana and you want to order it drop me a line on etsy or facebook or twitter and I'll get you the contact info for ordering your own copy.

I've got little previews of the illustrations inside here, here and here.

Christmas Time Is Here

2010-12-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

I'm not a super festive person. Left to my own devices I don't really decorate for Christmas and of course any kind of seasonal clothing is out of the question. I have no explanation as to why, it's just how I am. But I do enjoy that other people are festive. I love the lights, when they're done tastefully - which is apparently not going to happen in my neighborhood this year. I love the shop displays. And I love carolers. They're so cute and picturesque. So feel free to print out this coloring sheet for the you or the kiddos to color (you know you want to) . Please don't use it for any other purpose, personal or commercial. It is for coloring only.

Card Give Away

2010-11-24T10:33:00.000-08:00

I'm doing a 2-card giveaway over at Heavenly Savings.
There are all kinds of ways to enter and two people will get to choose
the card they desire and have it shipped off to them for free. Check it out!

I also have a new ooak card, Winter Sunshine, perfect for holiday correspondance or for those notes you know you won't get around to till well after new-year's but still while there's snow on the ground.
This is me every year. I never finish writing them till sometime in January
and they don't get send out till it's pushing March. Some how I never have stamps.

Have a great Thanksgiving everybody :)

Thanks!

2010-11-22T05:36:00.000-08:00

A big thank-you to The Curious Pug and to Ittybit Delights for featuring my shop on their blogs!
I write my answers fresh for each interview, so if you're interested in that kind of thing, they're both worth reading.

Also, blog readers can get 20% off a set of 10 Christmas cards through the end of the year, just convo me on etsy, tell me you saw this post and which cards you want (they can be all the same or you can mix and match) so I can make you a reserved listing. Regularly $30, but at 20% off only $24!
(plus shipping & handling, $2 state side, $4.50 everywhere else)

Excuses Excuses

2010-11-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid I have a book called "Excuses, Excuses" and it had all kinds of ridiculous excuses a kid might use to get out of chores. Like if you want to get out of cleaning your room you could make a bear print stamp and stamp the prints all over the house, so then you'd tell your mom you can't clean your room because you have to track down a bear. What? you think your mom wants a bear loose in the house? You'd totally get out of it.

But most people use their excuses differently.

There are excuses for things you don't want to do,

"It's a bummer, but I can't! I totally would, but I have so much to do at home! I just can't tear myself away!" - from The Sims 3.

"I can't, because I'm sick, coughcough." - of helping you with your home projects.

And excuses for things you forgot to do,

"I couldn't because I ran into this lady who lost her dog and she was so heartbroken that I just had to help her find fifi and it took the whole afternoon!" - or two minutes of it.

Or for things you want to do,

"I'm sorry, I have to attend this ball game, it's really important to my dad and he's dying." - at some point.

And for things you shouldn't do,
"Well you see officer..." Yeah, I bet you have enough practice with that one.

Yesterday I dealt with a lady who had a huge list of excuses.
I don't think she was lying either, she had a lot going on.
Probably last month was a bad month.
But the more excuses she gave me, the angrier I got!
Because the way she said it, it was like it was my fault her month was bad. And I should have known it was bad.

Probably she felt judged by my frustration with her, but I tell you nothing makes me so inclined as to go easy on someone as a big old, "I'm Sorry!"

"I'm so sorry I murdered that man, I just didn't like him!"
"Oh honey, don't worry, probably no one else did either! Plus he had ugly hair."
"It's a toupee."
"Well there you go."

The truth is that before her irate excuses I was feeling bad because I'd voiced my frustration, but when I listened to how it was all me being inconsiderate of the bad month I didn't know about - shazaam! No more sorry. It's magic!

What excuses make you more angry instead of less?

Silent Songbird

2010-11-15T07:30:00.001-08:00

I have a condition called Fibyomyalgia. Or Myofascial Pain Syndrome. Or both. My doctors didn't agree and now I don't have health insurance so it's a little unclear.

The main thing is, my muscles hurt.

I'm not a person that this is a big deal for.
Some people have such severe pain that they can't work, it's hard to sleep, and even small household chores can wipe them out for the day. I hold down a full time job, keep my apartment respectable, sell my personal art on the side, volunteer weekly, and have a decent social life.

But every now and again it becomes problematic.

It isn't the biggest problem I've had, but this past week I've had a bit of a pain in my jaw. At first I thought my teeth hurt and I had cavities again and, I won't lie, I was pretty upset. But as I considered it more I realized that my teeth were not bothered by crunching up hard foods, drinking ice-water, or eating sweets - all cavity related issues that popped up last time.

I came to realize that actually my jaw didn't hurt at all in the early morning (like it might if I were grinding my teeth at night) or in the late evening (when, this week, I've been home alone).

Kids, my mouth has been hurting whenever I've been singing! I tend to sing when I'm in the car or the tv is off in my apartment (though I try to not, because I figure my neighbors have never done anything to deserve that)
So I decided to quit. It's not like I sing well, so what's the big deal?

Oh. Apparently I love to sing. I catch myself trying to sing all the time. I hear the chorus of a song I love and I just want to belt it out. It's been all of two days since I had this revelation and I'm going nuts!

To Write Love On Her Arms

2010-11-11T11:06:00.000-08:00

I was told on an etsy thread that this Friday is To Write Love On Her Arms day (I kind of don't think it is officially since there's nothing on the official TWLOHA site for Friday except a thing at Remuda Ranch) and it seemed like a good theme for some art work. Clearly I'm still going ultra literal. I'm no good with metaphor.

I've had a lot of friends who have struggled with depression and various addictions. I've struggled with depression myself. Years ago when I first saw a To Write Love On Her Arms t-shirt, I knew immediately, without explanation, what it was about.

Of course I went online to find out more - and at that point there was mostly just a story online about the girl, Renee, who they started To Write Love On Her Arms for - and it was kind of confusing to figure out what TWLOHA was doing exactly. But they've grown since then and I can't help but be impressed with their mission to bring hope to people who can't see any.

And I think that hope grows with the awareness they've raised. One of the things I remember about being a teenager is how even kids who weren't coming from particularly bad situations could struggle with depression. It affects all kinds of people, but if we never talk about it it's just that much harder to deal with.

Though this post is written in support of TWLOHA this blog is not associated with TWLOHA in any way.

Needle in a...

2010-11-09T09:55:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I just have to draw something goofy to break myself out of a rut. When I was a kid I used to draw funny or overly literal illustrations for common sayings (like, a bunch of butterflies chatting at a party - social butterflies), but I decided to just go literal for "Needle in a Haystack"

I did think of another possible illustration for it - have you ever had a Haystack Supper? Around here they serve "haystacks" for fundraisers mostly - it' a bunch of food out in bowls and you pile what you want onto your plate in layers.

We had it at our last office lunch - there were crackers, lettuce, ground beef, nacho cheese, Doritos, pineapple chunks, diced peppers, tomatoes and probably more.

I didn't have all of that mixed together - but other people did.

Mmmmm. Tasty.

Color Thankfully

2010-11-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

Another coloring page, this one is Thanksgiving themed. I know after a long day of cooking my mom always expected us kids to help set the table and what-not. Feel free to print out for your kids to color, but you may not alter, redistribute, or profit from this image in any way. This image is for coloring purposes only.

Latte Art

2010-11-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

I haven't had my art on display much since college. Every year my church holds an Art Gala and some of my pieces are up at the office, but that's pretty much it.

So, I'm really excited that my art will be up for the entire month of November at Latte Art in Warsaw, IN.
I haven't seen it up yet, but here are a couple pictures of some of my framed art sitting in my living room.

I know most of my readers aren't from the area, but if you happen to be in Northern Indiana you should stop on by! The coffee's great and they make a point of having new goodies all the time.

Night Light

2010-10-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

Now available as an 8x8 print or a 5x5 on request! I personally love this one, the candle, the wind, the night. Some of my favorite elements of life, so I'm pleased to have incorporated them into a drawing.

Laundry

2010-10-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

It's been a few years since I've had to use a Laundromat. Even since I've moved into an apartment without a washer & dryer I've been doing my laundry at the house of a generous friend. But my friend is out of town & someone I don't know is house-sitting. I could conceivably waltz in there and do my laundry anyway... but I don't know that I'm up for that much awkward.

Fortunately there's a laundromat not far from my home. A few years ago I was driving 30 minutes to do my laundry. I lived in an apartment with no washer/dryer hookup. The landlord conveniently owned a laundromat across the street. There no storage space either and the landlord conveniently owned a u-store-it across the street. These things gave me pause, but the bigger issue was that the dryers in the landlord-owned laundromat burnt people's clothes. Not mine, but my roommate's clothing came back visibly singed. Next closest laundromat? Two towns away. Oh Indiana.

The laundromat is over-priced and wildly inconvenient, even when it's nearby. You can't leave and generally, if you're me, you can't talk to anyone because everyone else is speaking Spanish. Unlesss of course I need to tell anyone, "the princess is crying in the bathroom." Rosetta Stone = Fail. But, one thing about the laundromat is that it's actually a decent place to sketch, because what else are you going to do?

I have never witnessed kids racing in the laundry carts, though there are usually a few of them playing hide'n-go-seek or tag. But if you were a kid, wouldn't you want to play in the laundry carts? My family never did laundry at the laundromat, but I feel fairly certain that my sisters and I would have tried this.

New Cards

2010-10-21T06:39:00.000-07:00

I have a new facebook fan page - come check it out! I'm not doing much with it yet, but in the future I hope to have special deals for facebook fans and of course you'll get all the previews first.

I had a return customer make a request and this is the card I drew up for her.
Printed versions of this card can be made by request.

This card is for sale in my shop, a bit different drawing style than my usual, but it's been popular in the past as well, so I thought it was time to offer some more in that style.

Butterfly Princess

2010-10-19T10:21:00.001-07:00

Apparently I've never listed this to my shop before, even though it's a print I designed quite some time ago and presented at other venues. I have several friends who get excited about princesses and formal wear so I drew this especially for them.

Over-Due

2010-10-15T06:24:00.000-07:00

Whoa! It's been a long time since I've posted. I guess I've just been busy...playing Tropico?

Ok, so I've been a bum for a while. But I've got some of my recent art pieces available to buy in the shop
Acceptable Addiction - 5x5 Print
Fire & Night - 8x10 Print
God is Bigger Than You Think - 8x10 Print

Plus my brand new, hand-drawn card available and hopefully another later today!

Winter's Coming!

2010-10-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

I am not a fan of winter. I do not like cold or snow. But I do like winter scenes. I love drawing coats, boots and scarves. I've drawn a number of winter cards - not from an aversion to Christmas, but because I am always sending my cards out late and I like having cards that are appropriate from November to March.

So with winter coming I have two thoughts.

1. You should order your cards now and be ready. I only offer them in singles in the shop, but you can convo me and ask for a custom set.

2. What should this year's card be? Hitherto I mostly have girls out in the snow, which is lovely, but do you have any favorite winter/holiday activities you think would be fun to send on a card? I'd love to hear about them and maybe get some inspiration!

Color October

2010-09-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

An October coloring page - a cute pair of kids trick-or-treating. Feel free to print out for your kids to color, but you may not alter, redistribute, or profit from this image in any way. This image is for coloring purposes only.

Hand Drawn Cards

2010-09-23T13:53:00.000-07:00

The other night I decided to draw and color some cards. I don't break out the colored pencils all that often because I prefer the look of the computer generated stuff, but of course if I want a card for a friend or family member this is how it goes because it takes waaaay too long to color it on the computer, get it formatted and get it printed. Mostly it's the printing that takes forever.

The first card was drawn while I was watching "Glee" the other night. So it is BASED on Rachel, but the colors are entirely different. Lighter hair and eyes, totally different colored clothes. Just because I like to put my own twist on things. Also, because I wanted to sell this card and I didn't want be making a "Rachel from Glee" card. I just liked her sweater.

The next card is based on nothing but my love of etsy. If you look around you'll find similar items all over the place. Those hair pins you know you've seen a hundred times, but the earrings and necklace are fairly ubiquitous as well. The top and the skirt are just cute. To be honest. If you browse my favorites on etsy you'll notice that I have a lot of items that show up on my girls.

Acceptable Addictions

2010-09-22T07:22:00.000-07:00

"They're going to hate us, in the beginning, but we'll get 'em in the end. And do you know why?

Because we'll sell them cheap books and legal, addictive stimulants."

- Tom Hanks as Joe Fox, You've Got Mail

I have an addiction to reading and coffee. I'll take them individually, but nothing beats the two together. My former roommate and I have a near weekly tradition of going to Barne's & Noble, ordering our favorite drink and reading for as long as our schedules will let us. Or until the shop closes.

I can also be found most Sundays nursing a double vanilla chai with ghirardelli chocolate and a favorite novel at a local coffee house.

Which is probably why so many of my doodles involve girls sipping mugs of coffee while they enjoy a book.

Lydea

2010-09-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

I have an obsession with the work of Patricia McKillip. I was first introduced to her books by a former roommate who encouraged me to read In the Forest of Serre, when I'd run out of Robin McKinley books to devour. I read it in a couple days and was hooked. McKillip has a talent for creating original folk lore, fairy tales that have no roots in our earth's history. It's all vividly detailed, moving, and unexpected.
And there's SO much of it. Twenty-seven novels from 1973 - 2008 and I'm delighted to have only scratched the surface of that collection.

I'm currently almost done with The Shadow of Ombria and as captivated as I am, I had to take time out to draw Lydea, with the late prince's rings tied up in her fiery hair.

In Progress - 2

2010-09-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

So I saved the previous version of this as a jpg to post online and then I went back and saw that I hadn't saved the photoshop file, just the flattened file. Which would normally mean that I would have to start all over, but I thought I'd experament a little with this one and see what I could do.

It's not too bad, although it did require messing around with the blending modes more than usual and if I continue to work on it this way I'll have to be much more careful about coloring inside the lines. The way I usually layer means that each part of the drawing has opaque bottom layer that keeps the objects below it from showing through, but since I'm coloring over the line art instead of underneath, that's not possible.

Blog Feature!

2010-09-15T05:39:00.000-07:00

The nice folks over at the senioritis blog ran
a feature on me today, check it out!

This design is off the student handbook I designed for a local school last year.

Sub-Sublime

2010-09-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

I'm deathly afraid of skin cancer, so tanning beds are not my thing. On the other hand, neither is snow-white skin - especially when it's just my legs. Normally this doesn't matter because I wear pants year round (hence the whiteness), but on the rare occasion that I don a skirt - particularly a short one...well.

So I bought some bronzer, hoping to make my legs glow a bit less. It was "instant", but not. So it wasn't until the next morning, the day of my close friend's wedding rehearsal that my legs matched the rest of me. Except of course the bits where I had somehow gotten dabs of bronzer on my already tan arms.

I spent half the day at the office panicking and looking up how to take bronzer off skin. Scrubbing, of course, I had tried. Nothing happened.

So after work I bought lemon juice and used cotton balls to scrub it onto my skin. It worked a bit, but finally I resorted to what some people on the internet had said would "take the bronzer right off" and others had warned would have a bad reaction with skin - hydrogen peroxide. Well I know it irritates your skin and shouldn't be used in cuts because it can hinder healing, but on the other hand my mom used to use it on us all the time so how bad could it be?

Yeah, I know, you're thinking I got a rash or took off the top layer of my skin or something, but really it went pretty well. It didn't take the bronzer "right off" but it did fade it alot, except for a couple tiny splotches which refuse to fade. It was at least enough to keep anyone from commenting on it.

No, Seriously

2010-09-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

This happened. Aside from the pink hair.

I mean, two or three years ago, so it's not as if I still cringe at the idea of taking my car in anywhere to get a tire patched.

And I'm not the confrontational type, so I certainly didn't tell the owner of the shop that I would never come back for any reason at all and would pay to have my car towed to the next town before doing business with them again.

Nor did I announce such a resolve to my entire office this week when I asked where I could go to get a patch on my tire.

Fortunately my coworkers did know of another place and they were dandy. Didn't do it for free like my old tire place, but then again my old tire place didn't tell me my tires were worn out when I asked them about it.
Which is why they're the old place.

No bitterness though.

Disclaimer: the name of the offending tire place is not "Miller Tire", my ire stops just short of running down the company on the web. If you live near a "Miller Tire" I'm sure they're dandy.

Twitter

2010-09-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

I've got twitter now if anyone's interested in following. I should probably do some kind of give-away to force people to follow me ;)

In Progress

2010-08-26T07:43:00.000-07:00

I'd planned on posting a sketch I did last night of Brook Shields in truly weird movie called Wanda Nevada, but I can't find it! So this is just a little work in progress. I love pieces when they're half finished. There's just such a great feel to them. Recently Target had a bunch of cups and plates with preliminary sketches from Disney films on them. I loved them. The pencil lines and the placement marks, I love it before it's all finalized and complete.

Of course what I've posted is already ink over and the pencil lines erased, I have yet to figure out how to scan in my pencil pieces and make it dark enough to show up without ruining the pencil-y quality of the work. If anyone knows how, let me know!

Summer Beauty

2010-08-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

This isn't anything new, if you've visited my store during the summer at all you saw this print go up, but it's one of my favorites and I haven't posted anything on here for a while. I'm pretty proud of her skin, I can get white skin right, no problem, but darker colors often end up unrealistic for me, so this I felt looked pretty good.

I'm also completely in love with the color pallet I used. I'll be honest, I used colour lovers to pick it out, I usually do my own color choices, but I was just not feeling inspired that day and colour lovers came through for me!

Blue Girl

2010-08-19T05:57:00.000-07:00

Nothing fancy, just killing time. Her clothes & hair are all the same shade of blue layered over and over in different blending modes. With her freckles and not-so-natural hair she reminds me of the strawberry shortcake or cherry merry muffin

The Others

2010-08-18T07:50:00.000-07:00

Some artists tell me they don't buy other artist's art, because they make their own.

I will never understand this.

I love other artist's art, they tell different stories and see them through different eyes.

So these are some of my favorite others.

Matilou

Hailing from France Matilou ( Anne Cresci ) sells gorgeous prints of lovely girls in fanciful places.
You can also check out her blog and her flickr feed.

Hillary Bird

Hillary's work is modern and folksy all at once. I love the shapes and colors she uses. I love the fantastic stories she looks in on.

Chanyeevon

YeeVon is a designer & illustrator from Malaysia, living in Australia. I cannot help but be in love with her elegant and mysterious illustrations. The soft and romantic pallet, the lines of the hair.

Kecky

I absolutely adore this New York (?) artist. Her profile says she is a Disney castmember, but her art looks as though she should be animating their classic films. I first discovered her illustrations on Deviant Art and I fell in love.. Brilliant work.

Life at Random

2010-08-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

Some more snippets of pictures, with a little glitter added on.

Most of these aren't the main elements in any of the drawings I'm cutting them from, but they're lovely all the same, so I think they deserve their own close ups.

Aside from drawing, reading is what I do most, so whenever I need to draw someone doing something I want them to be reading, even though action-wise that's not all that interesting. I tried to give the girl a little more action by having her read outloud to her teddy-toting brother. She's reading from an edition of Mother Goose's nursery rhymes that I had as a kid. The little boy's jammies are one of the rare instances of patterned clothing in my art. I hate drawing patterns, but dots are hard to mess up.

Nothing special about the church, I just thought I would note that those wooden pews are terrible when it's hot and you have a dress with buttons down the back. They stick. And then every time you try to adjust how you're sitting everyone can hear them popping off the pew.

I clearly have an addiction to bangs and side-parts. I can't help myself.

Curly Girls

2010-08-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

These were just little practice doodles for an illustration of the little girl with the little curl in the middle of her forehead. The one on the left is minorly based on a girl in an old cocoa advertisement and the one on the right is somewhat based off Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.

I just love the ruffled collar and apron on this girl. And her sweet face, which I can't really duplicate in my style of drawing.
But I didn't want her to have just plain braids, I really wanted to emphasize the curly hair, so looked to Dorothy's style (from about the same era) for how to do those curls.

God Is Bigger Than You Think

2010-08-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

Check out my flickr stream to see a bigger, better version of this.

This piece started out as a sketch during youth group, I often do fun things with the message titles and since we were talking about how huge the universe is I added this little girl with her telescope.
I never intended the background to be so grungy - but I just kept adding textures. Almost entirely from Bittbox though the stars are from JoannaStar on Deviant Art.

Hopefully I'll have this available as an 8x10 print in my etsy shop soon.

All Images are property of Melody DuVal, please do not use in any way without permission.

Leah Duncan Give Away

2010-08-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

The Ardent Sparrow is doing a great giveaway of your choice or tea towel and print from Leah Duncan's cute, cute selection!

2010-08-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

For my day job I do a lot of period illustrations (1930s-1940s mostly). I have (on loan) a battered primer from the 30s that I use to get an idea of the clothing and I also rely on blogs dedicated to old advertisements and photos. Beauty Is A Thing of the Past has all kinds of great photos from hair dressers magazines that are fantastic in figuring out how to style hair. And Found In Mom's Basement is a terrific source of vintage advertising. I've learned a lot doing these illustrations.

I've also done a ton of Amish illustrations. If you're ever up in Shipshewana, IN you can look out for the Childhood Chuckles, Farmyard Funnies & Thoughts with Thelma book series. The first two are collections of stories sent in by (mostly) Amish people and the Thelma series is a series of stories by a local Amish wife and mother who lives on a diary farm.

All of this is great fun and I adore it. But sometimes you just want to draw something modern.

Sampler Pack

2010-07-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

Just little pieces out of larger pieces I've been working on. The little puppy is inspired by my old roommate's dog - so fluffy! The flowers are "Tommy Tucker" roses, but I went and accidentally drew the wrong leaves on them! You can see in a couple of the pictures my passion for drawing wood grain. It's tedious at times, but I love texture too much to leave it out. With the duck you can see I've been messing around a little with how reflections should look. Generally I don't want them to take over the picture, but it seems silly to not have them there.

Coconut Palm Designs

2010-07-22T06:16:00.000-07:00

Featured over at Coconut Palm Designs, check it out!

Clay Chic's Bad Hair Day Earring's

2010-07-15T05:45:00.000-07:00

I designed this curly haired girl for Clay Chic's Bad Hair Day Earrings. She makes these huge sterling earrings that are so stunning no one will be looking at your hair. She'll be making hang tags with this image on them.

All images on this blog are property of Melody DuVal. Please do not use with-out permission.

Waiting

2010-07-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

My computer has the personality of a moody teenager. Sometimes it's a hard worker, eager to help. Other times, for no apparent reason, it turns surly and refuses to do one thing.

During these times I doodle. Sometimes my doodles are my more interesting art. I don't have to play it safe, get the angles and perspective right. I just draw what I want.

This was drawn in pencil, so it didn't scan very well, but layering some colors on top of the line art and playing with the blending mode in photoshop brought out more of the details.

That's one thing about pencil, you get all these nice, fine, wispy details, but they're not much good for a finished project. You lose them once you've neatly inked the drawing in.

Of course, some times you see them brought out on purpose. A few years back Hot Topic had a great "Alice in Wonderland" shirt that had sketches from the Disney film of Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole. And recently, in Target, there were plates, cups, etc. that had sketches of Alice and other animated film characters (all Disney). I loved the sketches, though I didn't care for the added art the designer used to "complete" the work.

This Little Piggy

2010-07-02T07:56:00.000-07:00

Some rejected illustrations, they were hoping for nudist pigs

Summer Beauty

2010-06-04T06:17:00.000-07:00

Check-out my flickr stream to see my latest piece in full!

It started out as just a doodle, but I loved the curve of her hair and her dress. I don't usually enlist outside help for my color choices, but this time I was inspired by Colour Lovers. I hope to have the print available in my etsy shop by the middle of June.

Upgrade?

2010-06-03T13:38:00.000-07:00

Signs your computer is too slow. When you have time to sketch and ink multiple characters while you're waiting for your real work to finish saving.

I didn't put a lot into coloring these, clearly, but I thought a little color might be nice after so many pencil sketches.

Quick Sketches

2010-06-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

Drawing the people around you always elicits a certain amount of paranoia. People know you sketch. They know you sketch people. They also know you've glanced at them no fewer than ten times in the past 60 seconds.

Fortunately there are some settings when, no matter how positive they are they're being sketched - they just can't do anything about it. Classes. Ceremonies. Waiting Rooms. They can't leave. Confronting you is awkward. Tada! Sketch subject!

School's Out

2010-05-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

A crafter I met online is doing a project asking people to do a little drawing of school, classrooms, or teachers.

This is my submission.

Life's Big Canvas

2010-05-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

I was featured over on Life's Big Canvas today - lots of bright and colorful features over there, check it out!

Any Given Sunday

2010-05-16T06:43:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl some pastors used to tell my mother that I shouldn't be drawing in church or that if I was drawing it should be about the sermon. Apparently my mom thought that could get awkward ("So, how did you illustrate Song of Solomon, Melody?") or difficult ("Well now, that's an nice drawing of predestination, but I think your propitiation could use some more shading."). Or maybe she just thought that dealing with an antsy six year old might keep her from listening very well.

In any case, she didn't make me stop.

Over the years I went from doodling on the back or in the margins of bulletins to sneaking in my own blank paper to brazenly carrying in my sketchbook along with my bible. Maybe some people think I'm not paying attention, but I can only tell them what I have told every teacher in my life.

It helps me focus.

If I don't draw my mind wanders, drawing keeps me grounded in the here and now. And as you can see, it doesn't keep me from note-taking either.

Vampire Weekend

2010-05-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

My youngest sister asks me if every person I draw is her. Unless it obviously is her, in which case she asks if it's someone else. Fangs seemed like an appropriate response.

Jack Horner

2010-05-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

A preliminary sketch. I try to do some research on the nursery rhymes before I draw them, but the main point of all that I found on Jack Horner is that people have enjoyed reading about him for more than two centuries.