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This is so special, so beautiful and so perfect for today.

Happy 4th.

Thanks for the special reminder...very true and very touching. Love the colors in your illustration and of course...your style. Happy Fourth!

Brought tears to my eyes as I am travelling through the bloggosphere. I tend to be more in the "adult world" but kids' art is my secret spot. I will have to come back to view more (because my leg just fell asleep from too much blogging :)

Yes, a good reminder for us all.

So nostalgic, beautiful colors...

This remains one of my favorites from you. Thank you for sharing and I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend.

I love this illustration. Check out my blog I am doing a giveaway to celebrate Nikki Shoemaker's new book, "What's Wrong with Mud"

hey kate,

i have a special award for u at my blog.

xo
lin

Hey Kathy, It was so good to see your beautiful avatar on my blog. I know that you have been working on other projects and things. The joy is we get to do what we love! This is such a wonderful illustration. I just love the look on the girls face. It's priceless. Shaky was fabulous too. Great illustration. Have wonderful week.

Your kiddos are so cute. That ant book looks amazing too, btw. :) Very nice!

It was fun to see you doing yoga from your book with the kids...you have been very busy lately! :)

Very sweet style. Soft and comfort.
Really speak to me again and again!
Take care kate!

Great job, but so sad. :(

Wonderful illustration and thought

Beautiful image Kate, I love the atmosphere. I hope you are having a lovely summer.

How touching. Because I know some of these children this illustration means even more. It is beautifully done.

I know that feeling. I lost my dad when I was three, not because of the war, but because of the emphysema he got for smoking too much.

I'm not sure if I remember him or if my memories of him are just dreams I had. I do remember, though, this kind of moments: looking at the sky and wondering when would I be able of seeing him again :)

It's a perfect image, Kat... unique and touching.

Hugs,

Pati

wonderful Kate, and so touching.....

Hi Kate...what a wonderful piece...and the sentiment is so true....your work is always so touching and hs so much meaning...I am so thrilled to know you and to be able to enjoy each and every piece...

Hope you have a wonderful day...

This weekend was one of the hottest ever...but now it is raining and there is a huge thunderstorm coming...I am grateful that everything will get watered...

hugs
Diana

beautiful with color as well!!

beautiful, quiet and wonderful illustration!

soft and loving!

Beautiful Kate! What a wonderful illustration and a wonderful story to go with it. Sounds like a book dummy to me!

Oh Kate, I loved this one as a sketch but it's even more beautiful now! Wonderfully done. x

Very thoughtful post and beautiful beautiful illustration, love the layers of the colors so much.

Beautifully illustrated and a really touching explanation.

Great illustration. Well done!

Beautiful in color too Kate. I love the warm yellow light on the pillow :o)

It's thoughtful and lovely.
Beautiful colors Kate.

This is outstanding.

Oh so sweet and lovely.

Wow. Heartbreakingly beautiful!

I was reading an article the other day that said many of our soldiers are commiting suicide in record numbers. The problem is when they signed up to go to Iraq, they were told they'd be deployed for a certain length of time. Many of them found themselves being shipped back in spite of what they were promised, and sadly it was too much for some. It breaks my heart.

Thanks Studio Lolo....yes, it's true. I actually know soldiers who thought they were coming home. They arrived at the airports with their families waiting for them, only to be given orders from the government and put on other planes back to the Middle East.

I also know a mother who was deployed. She thought she was leaving for 6 months, and was gone for 18. I felt so sad for her 3 year old daughter. This is very hard on kids.

This is such a powerful post. I thought the sketch was really beautiful but with the colors, it not only adds interest, but lots of drama too. The light of the fireworks against her pillow and kitty are especially effective. I am finding that there are a lot of families struggling to remain hopeful that their loved ones will return home safely. I'm so glad you honor the soldiers and their families with such a beautiful drawing.

Simply beautiful. God bless that child, and all children like her.

My heart breaks for children like her. It's a lovely illo with a lot of love in it.

Excellent illustration, Kate. Meaningful, thoughtful . . . . You are talented. Thanks for sharing.

wonderful piece Kathleen. Very touching and emotional. I love it, it is a gorgeous illustration, great work

a GORGEOUS piece. love the palette...

perfect for the emotional content. :))

Kate - this is so touching! The colors are very beautiful and the cat is so perfect... just lovely.

oh my gosh, kate! the color is beautiful!!!

teri

Oh, wow! What a powerful illustration! This is beautiful, and I have to say, almost made me cry!

just beautiful Kathleen....your work is always a pleasure to look at...best wishes Lisa

Very sweet ... Funny, that could have been me years ago. Love the kitty!!

Lovely smooches,
The Tart
; *

Beautiful work Kate!!

Love it!! Love is as a sketch and love it in color! I really like the pen lines you added on the clothes and their expression is still perfect.

I have a tiny comment, the boy's pajama pants kind of are lost with the wall color behind him. Makes it look like the little boy is cut out somehow.. Maybe if you change the tone or add a little wash of blue to make it another tone not so similar as the wall, could make it stand out.

Sorry for butting in... This is such an amazing illustration my friend :o)

Thanks Alicia, I agree about the jammies...I changed it. The revised version is on my website. I always appreciate your help!

It looks great Kate! Love the purple against the green! That is one of my favorite pieces of yours...
That portfolio is looking goooood my friend :o)

Such wonderful sketches over the past few days. I actually read your day 13 of 21 post incorrect; thought it said day 13 - 21, meaning you would be gone on your trip that long. :P Anyway, glad your back safe, creating nice drawings for us to enjoy!:)

This is vewry loving. It reminds me of my dad and brother. Very nice.

Hi Kate, it looks adorable in color too! I'm so glad you took this one to final. It's my favorite sketch of your 21 days so far and a great addition to your portfolio. I've been thinking about jumping in on the 21 days of sketching idea...

I have really been loving your sketches, but I must say it is so much fun to see the *zing* it gets from color !!! great job !!!

Hi Kate...

this is wonderful...I love it in colour...and good eye on Alicia...
thanks for popping in ....after my days in the hospital with my Grandfather I thought it would be a while before I went through that again...but here it is yet again...I am hoping for a miracle and pray it will happen soon...

I really love this in color!

Great color work Kate. Is that watercolors? I really like your last three pencil drawings too, the little girls. Great poses, very natural poses.

I agree with everyone that the color makes the drawing. I hope you'll get to put your other sketches to color. What a treat these have been for me! Even at my most tired, I always find time to check out your blog! qpaujae

oh I love this so much! it is soo sweet... great folio piece!

Fabulous job. Love the "5 o'clock shadow."

This brings back many a memory from when my kids were that little. However, I don't miss the late night feedings!! :)

This is lovely, Kathy. I would make the baby and the dads hands a wee bit larger.

Well Dad looks pretty masculine yet friendly to me. I agree with Tom, love the he 5 o'clock shadow. It's perfect. The baby is just precious and the size looks good... although I am not an expert in that area (hee hee.)

(I'm all hung up on the background thing now)... I really like the details in the nursery. There is a lot of fun things going on, but it doesn't fight at all. Nicely done.

It's wonderful! Love the expression on the dad. so proud of himself...the baby is perfect. Great job facing your fears :o)

Hi Kate...this is awesome...love the details and your background work is wonderful...

I need to work more on backgrounds...I think I really need some focus...

First, let me just say you did a wonderful job on this. You are brave to hit your fears head on.

There is nothing sweeter than seeing a daddy with their baby.

At first I thought the baby might be too small but I have seen wee ones that small so I don't know about that. I do agree with Roz on the hand holding the bottle. It might need to be a bit larger. I like your background.

Your daddy looks masculine and loving at the same time which is not easy to pull off.

Great job!

Great job! I think the dad looks appropriately masculine, I would make his hand bigger as noted by others, and I would also make the baby a little bigger.

I really like the expression and stance on the dad's face, very nice.

Yes, agreed about the dad. Perfect on that one. And the baby is sweet and perfect and beautiful! Thanks for opening this up to a critique. I should do that more often. I do feel that the baby could be a wee bit bigger but then, it's true that babies do grow and change in size. However, when babies are this small perhaps they aren't as wonderfully "plump"... even though he's not a gerber baby or something like that.
Anyway, seriously amazing job and work. Each day you shock and stun me. Keep going! Can't wait for more.

Beautiful as always, Kate. Love all your details.

This is so beautiful Kate!! You did a wonderful job. On everything, dad, baby and specially background :o)
I love hoe the baby is holding dad's finger, they always do that...perfect little detail!

If I have to say something, it would be the size of the baby and size of the hands, as I see other people have mentioned too. The baby is held a bit too high. You can tell by the babies' head. If this was a newborn he would be more cradled up and lower in the arm. But I think the position you have is lovely, we can see babie's adorable face. So I would just make baby bigger and hands too and keep the position, he would look like 3 or 4 months and the position is perfect for that.

Thanks for the help everyone! I have so little experience with babies and it shows. So thanks to all of you moms and dads for your tips. I am fine drawing them once they start walking, but clueless about the 'little ones'!

so many wonderful charming pieces!!

Hey, I think you nailed it, even if you didn't have the stubble.

When I create grown-up man characters I usually focus on the nose (not cute), the neck (thick), and the face (somewhat boxy).

Then I look in the mirror and realize that I look nothing like a man.

:)

Oh good for you! Men and babies are a struggle for me to draw too. You did a great job with this!

Hi Kate! The struggles you talk about sure produce good images. I am enjoying all of your posted drawings lately!

Great job! Like sketched out I think the Dad looks pretty masculine and friendly.
I like the sheep picture on the wall!:)

Hi Kathleen. Your image is lovely and whimsical. I think your dad's face is definitely manly. For the body, if I was to search for something to critique, I wonder if his hips maybe could be a bit narrower, but that's a nitpick. And, personaly, I would never wear a white bath robe when I could get my hands on a blue one. ; )

Adrian.

Hey Kate. One of the things I've learned over the years is to make the head on children/babies larger.

Being a cartoony type guy I don't know if I have anything else to contribute, except that I like what you've done here. Your style drawing is very appealing.

After Katrina we lived in an apartment in Austin for almost three months with no TV. Looking back on it it was heaven. I got SO much reading done.

Wow, I did a TV post, then I find yours! Very Twilight Zone. Somehow I can't get into 30 Rock, probably because I was a Studio 60 fan; it's like VHS and Beta ;). I could get so easily hooked on Desperate Housewives, though! They used to run each week's eps on the late night Soap channel, and I loved it.

I don't watch TV -- no time, and also -- no TV! Most of the time this is great: plenty of time to do things like read, write, etc. But it also means that I have lost touch with pop culture and whenever anyone mentions a TV show, I draw a blank and look stupid.

Way back when, though, I loved Saturday Night Live. And I have every West Wing episode ever made on CD, so I'm not totally out of touch.

*wiping sweat from brow. trying to picture relaxing environmental scenes. trying NOT to think of Danette's betrayal...*

You are doing housework? You, sniff, sniff, cleaned your house?

uhh, uh, why? what happened? was it something I said?

I thought we were in this together....

Charles,
I hope all is well. I can't imagine what that experience must have been like.

Plaidearthworm,
Ha! I read your comment here and your post. I liked Studio 60, too--I loved Matthew Perry's character. But I always wished the characters would turn a few more lights on. That set was so dark!

Hi Mary,
My favorite SNL season was any season that included Jimmy Fallon and Will Ferrell--I love the cowbell sketch!

Church--
Don't give up me, lady! My TV's almost fixed--the house will soon return to its normal state of unfinished tasks.

You are not alone. (That was my deep voice.)

Brothers and Sisters somehow sucked me into watching it. It comes on and I... can't turn it off. Even though I find it a little too... too, sometimes. I saw the episode you mentioned and it totally made me cry. My TV is also in the same state of 'get up & change the channel or suffer through what's on.' We need to look into universal remotes!

Courtney,
I totally agree with you that B&S seems a little too . . . too sometimes, but you've got Ally McBeal and Sally Field in the same show and, well, there ya go!

And OMG! Sally Field is still so cute!