"I do not fear your intentions, sir," said the mouse. "I fear your instincts."

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When you are old, and looking back on your life
and your world has changed beyond your wildest childhood imaginings
and life has woven its blanket around you
and you have embroidered your experience on it too
for so many years
and you know the work is almost finished

What will you be thinking about?

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This topic reminded me of one of my favorite poems by Margaret Wise Brown:

Drowsy little bumblebee
Come and rest your wings on me.
No more flying in the sun
Stars come out and day is done.

My favorite version of this poem is in Under the Sun and the Moon.
Tom Leonard's soft dreamy illustrations almost perfectly match my childhood imaginary world, and I find myself returning to it again and again.




Of course, bumblebees don't live in skeps. Mercifully, neither do honeybees now, for the most part, even though the image of a skep is strongly associated with beekeeping for most of us. Skeps are problematic because in order to get the honey, you have to destroy the hive. Modern beehives are far superior.

We had a go at keeping bees, but a very large black bear relieved us of them within a few months. The bees fled. Some relocated to a cherry tree in the pasture, a small buzzing hole I discovered last summer, surrounded by thick hardwood.

They're safe from the bear now, but we can't get the honey either.

We may try beekeeping again in the next few years, though. There's nothing quite like harvesting your own honey-- and the sweet rich smell of fresh beeswax is a wonderful experience!

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May 2007 bring good fortune and joyful days to us all.

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The phoenix is such a great choice for this season, with all of its connotations of rebirth and renewal. It's also one of my most fvorite things to draw.
I only now discovered that this was the week's topic, since I was out all day buying a phoenix compatible spectrum of paints (some washable enamels) to do the entrance hallway to our house, which has suffered under a blanket of Kilz for far too long. Since it's late (and I still need to make dinner), I give you a portrait I did for Debbie Michiko Florence (d_michiko_f)which contains both a phoenix and a dragon. In China, the phoenix is a symbol of femininity, while the dragon is a symbol of masculinity. I love them both! I'll almost certainly do another phoenix later in the week.
Hope everyone has a happy New Year!

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Things can get crazy this time of year.
My we all find the peaceful and loving center of our celebrations.

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]

Wishing you all a season full of love and light!

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I realized that I've been so caught up in holiday planning and etc that I completely missed last week's Illustration Friday topic, which was Mask. But actually, the idea I had for mask fits nicely for this week's Help as well, so here's an entry for both!
I'll try to do some Tuesday walk pictures next.
Hope everyone is having a good holiday!

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Melodye (newport2newport) asked me to post this in the hope that you'd be able to double click and see it in greater detail... ahh the niceties of imge uploads. :o/
I don't know if it will work or not, but give it a try, if you like!
And Melodye-- I agree with whoever it was that said it would be sooo interesting to hear your story of growing up in a Tent Revival show. That's an experience not many have!


In other news, I've changed the date of the gallery opening to sometime in late January, to avoid holiday conflicts.
I'm still looking at different dates (and checking dates of known industry events, so I can steer clear of them!!). So anyone who has preferences about dates, let me know!
:D

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It might work, and then again it might not.
What might the consequences be?
You've got a mighty powerful set of wings there.
Don't waste them on worrying.




Updated to say:

I did add this to my cafepress shop(just the image)-- one option is white t-shirt, and the other is a 16x16 poster.

If anyone is interested but would like this on a different product, or with some of the text included, or a different image size, or whatever-- let me know, and I'll change it!

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Well, it's taken me long enough this week, but I finally got one posted. I think I'm going to start calling my submissions Illustration Sunday pretty soon... but better late than never. This is a flying machine from my PB dummy, The Flight of the Yarnspinners." It was cobbled together by three little old ladies in search of a little piece of aurora to brighten their dreams, and yes, that is a chicken nesting in the equipment behind her. Hope you have a good week!

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Kerry asked me to post her portrait, and here she is! She has some wonderful books on a topic dear to my heart-- Appalachia. In this case, Maggie Valley North Carolina. If you look close, you can see Livy sitting in her tree with her guitar, and there might be a few other instruments hidden in the picture as well. Her daughter Norah is wearing a fairy outfit that probably doesn't fit anymore-- but it was such a cute picture, I had to use it!

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When I saw that this week's theme was Thanksgiving, my first thought was--oh, no. I can't do it!
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, though my reasons for that have nothing to do with turkeys--either the eating kind or the cute-and-googly-eyed-on-paper-products kind. It has nothing to do with pilgrims, either.

When I was a child, Thanksgiving was often the only time of year when I saw my Dad's parents, and my cousins on that side. Now it's one of the occasions when I can be fairly sure of seeing my brother and sister and their families, and my parents. For me, Thanksgiving is all about family, and having a holiday where the only real focus is spending time together.

So what's so hard about illustrating that?

My dilemma is that almost all of the people that I would like to see will not be there. I'd like them all to be there-- from my great grandmother who died when I was about six, to all of Dan's family far off in Texas(and Wyoming!) my cousins and aunts and uncles east and west, and friends now living overseas, to my brother in boot camp until Christmas, to my niece's unborn baby who we have yet to meet.

I want them all there. All of them.

So I give you an image which is my family, and also is not my family.
You'll know it's my family, if you know me, because you can see that we're singing the Doxology before we eat.

And you see that kid in the lower left? He's looking at you, and he's holding out his hand.
You're invited, too.

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I'm posting this one for kbaccellia,Kim Baccelia, whose e-book Earrings of Ixtumea is now available!! See her website for details...

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Clear brings to mind images of blue skies and snow for me, for some reason. These birds flew up out of the snow while I was working on making some mountains in the distance.

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,

Kelsey, AKA cocoskeeper, asked me to post this,since she wasn't sure how the image stuff worked here. She has a lot of good manuscripts ranging fromPB to YA, and the redhead under the tree is her nanowritemo project!! But I'll let her fill you in on the details!
And while I'm at it,I'm going to call this my illustration friday image, since it's been a crazy week-- the topic is Smoke. I'm thinking that ghost coming out of the train would qualify... and swamp mist always drifts like smoke.

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Here's the portrait I just finished for kpluta.
Want to see some other ones?
Here are: d_michiko_f,susanwrites,jadedmetaphor,brandie-writer, and kellyrfineman.
I am enjoying painting these so very much. The writing these folks have shared with me is marvelous, and it's such a joy to be welcomed into their worlds in this fashion!

I was looking at numbers today and realized I was nearing the maximum number of portraits I can do between now and Christmas.
If you've already signed on for a portrait-- you're good to go.If you were thinking of getting one, but not quite decided, this would probably be a good time!
My plan is to do the portraits that I have in the queue now and take an additional five people. I hope to have all of the portraits back to people by the end of November (nanopaintmo, anyone?:o), at which time I will switch gears and work on my website, in the hopes of having a gallery opening sometime near Christmas!

So what is this gallery,you say?
One(large) wing of my website will be dedicated to famous and soon to be famous writers! If I've done your portrait this fall(or if you've signed on for one) send $50(this fee is waived for anyone who's buying a portrait at the $150 price) and a blurb about yourself. It can contain links to your website, blogs, whatever you want people to associate with you. If you have books in print, get the code from the Amazon Associates program, and use it as your link to the books there(you get a commission for every book you sell via that click).
The gallery will consist of the portraits, each with its own blurb underneath.

For the opening--I will be consulting with people about what the best days and times are. Since we have friends in Shanghai and Europe, timing is going to be a bit tricky, but I'll see what I can come up with. I'm guessing it will be a weeknight,to avoid interfering with everyone's holiday plans.

The opening will include:
Live chat
Virtual signings (with special provisions for those who are not yet published)
and
Hors d'oevres (non-edible, but definitely consumeable). Because, really. What's a gallery opening without wine and cheese?
:o)

I'm having a lot of fun with this.
(Could you tell?:o)
Hope to see you there!

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Warm or cool? You decide. Looks warm to me.




On the other hand, there goes a flock of migrating birds.


Brrrrrrrr

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Just a reminder that Tuesday walk is now a community!



Come share your pictures of fall color!

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Considering that I'm working on portraits today, I thought this was a great choice for a topic!
This is the portrait I did for Liz Parker Garcia's midgrade novel, "Ghosts like Greenfinches."
It's still up for grabs, any of you editors or agents lurking out there!!
Ask Liz to send you a manuscript-- this is a really excellent story!!
On lj, she's jadedmetaphor.
Go.
Request.
Publish!
And btw-- anyone on the list for the first 15 portraits who hasn't sent yet--go ahead and send me some pictures and info!

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When you're smitten, all the usual rules fall away.
That mask you've been carrying around like a resume of passion
doesn't seem to do much other than stand between you and your love, now.
So you'd best put it down.

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This is Sammy.

Sammy read a story about Baba Yaga to his little sister before he went to bed.
Sammy told his little sister that Baba Yaga wasn't the half of it.

"PAPA Yaga is the one you really have to watch," he said. "He doesn't need any chicken footed hut to find his dinner for him. He doesn't need any of those geese to guard it once he finds it, either."

Sammy got sent to bed early for scaring his sister.

Then sometime after everyone in the house fell asleep, he had a very special visitor...

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Hello!
I'm now offering writer portraits that people can use on their web pages, like the one I did of myself above.

Here's how it works:
The writer will send me a photo(preferably digital, but I can scan in photos if needed), which I would paint and adjust to their liking. Then I would blend in images from their stories around them, and fit the color scheme to their web page. I will send you two images-- one sized at 72 dpi, which is best for web browsers, and one at 300 dpi, which is best for printouts-- you can easily take it to Kinkos and print up promotional materials in whaever form you like! .

The first fifteen people to request a portrait will be able to get this for $50 plus a copy of (one of their) book(s),or letting me read their latest manuscript, for those who are not yet published!

That's the, um, grand opening deal.

I will post here immediately when I've hit 15 portraits, so you'll know,
because after the first 15, I have to raise the price to...

*cringes*
$150/portrait.

At least for this year.
(OK, Dan? Just this year!)

Because otherwise, my husband will pull a Rumplestilskin, stomp his feet through the floor and disappear.
(but there is NO WAY I'm charging what he suggested!)

If you want to have a spot in the gallery, that's an additional $50.
And that will *stay* $50 no matter what, because once I've done the portrait and got the site up, adding another person to it is no biggie.

What is this gallery, you say?
I plan to have a website up and running soon. One wing of my website will be dedicated to portraits of Famous and Soon to Be Famous Writers!
You can send me a blurb about your work, as well as links to contact info, titles, amazon.com partner code and links, or whatever,to help promote your stuff. If you send the amazon code, then you'll make a commission every time someone clicks thru to buy your book from my site!

Around Christmas, I plan to advertise the gallery opening on all the various writerly hangouts in the hopes of drawing traffic to those same images. What would be really cool would be if I could get one of those hangouts to actually sponsor the event on its space, since it will showcase the work of some of its members! We'll have to take that as it comes...

For those who say-- yanno,I'd really love to do that, but I haven't published anything yet! And besides which,I don't have a website!
--You're a writer, and you're full of stories, whether or not the rest of us have had a chance to read them. Maybe a blurb in the gallery will be just the push your work needs to get noticed? You can put contact info, tidbits about your stories-- whatever you think will draw people in-- under your picture.

There's no need to send the gallery $50 until the site is ready to go up-- I'll post again when it is.

I look forward to talking with each of you about your stories(and *reading* them!!)

kellyrfineman, kbacellia, robinellen, susanwrites, jengt, kpluta and mountainmist--

You're already on the first 15 list  if you want to be, since you expressed interest. (same goes for the others who commented this morning--I just wasn't as sure you were interested as the names above!)

Just email me to confirm your spot!

Liz

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Excerpt from The Golden Key, by George MacDonald
... he sat entranced with the delight of what he beheld in a mirror of something like silver, which lay at his feet,and which from behind she had taken for his white beard. He sat on, heedless of her presence, pale with the joy of his vision. She stood and watched him. At length,all trembling, she spoke. But her voice made no sound. Yet the youth lifted up his head. He showed no surprise, however, at seeing her-- only smiled a welcome.
"Are you the Old Man of the Earth?" Tangle had said.
And the youth answered, and Tangle heard him, though not with her ears:--
"I am. What can I do for you?"
"Tell me the way to the country whence the shadows fall."
"Ah! that I do not know.I only dream about it myself. I see its shadows sometimes in my mirror: the way to it I do not know. But I think the Old Man of the Fire must know. He is much older than I am. He is the oldest man of all."
"Where does he live?"
"I will show you the way to his place.I never saw him myself."
So saying, the young man rose, and then stood for awhile gazing at Tangle.
"I wish I could see that country too," he said. "But I must mind my work."
He led her to the side of the cave, and told her to lay her ear against the wall.
"What do you hear?" he asked.
"I hear," answered Tangle, "the sound of a great water running insider the rock."
"That river runs down to the dwelling of the oldest man of all--The Old Man of the Fire. I wish I could go to see him. But I must mind my work. That river is the only way to him."
Then the Old Man of the Earth stooped over the floor of the cave, raised a huge stone from it, and left it leaning. It disclosed a great hole that went plumb-down.
"That is the way," he said.
"But there are no stairs."
"You must throw yourself in. There is no other way."
She turned and looked him full in the face--stood so for a whole minute, she thought: it was a whole year--then threw herself headlong into the hole.

If you'd like a glimpse of the Old Man of the Fire, you can find him here. Tangle had quite a journey between the two. If you'd like to read the whole story, here is a version that's still in print.

I loved reading everyone's interpretations of this guy! What a lot of neat ideas! Thanks for guessing!

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I'm crossposting this image to Verla's under writing exercises.

Who do you think this guy is?
I know... but I'm not telling.
At least not yet.

So if you feel inclined, I have a few questions--
Who or what is this?
Is he good or evil?
Where is he?
What is he smiling about?

I'd love to hear your answer!

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