By: KatherineS,
on 8/7/2016
National Friendship Day was originally founded by Hallmark as a promotional campaign to encourage people to send cards, but is now celebrated in countries across the world on the first Sunday in August. This post celebrates the friendship of two of our favorite characters from classic literature, Rat and Mole from The Wind in the Willows.
The post Mole and Rat: A chancing friendship appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Tonia Allen Gould,
on 12/18/2014
I’m just waking up on Giudecca Island to a volley of sights and sounds – a deliverance from the cathartic, but brooding history of Rome, from where we just came. Here, in Venice, I imagine I’m in a living painting, and an artist, with his paintbrush in hand, captures me peeking out my window – just now at the Hilton Molino Stucky, his studio across the way.
Outside, I hear the echoing serenade of tolling church bells, which I can pinpoint with my own eyes, to various steeples throughout the city that traipse along the river. Splashing waves steadily rise and fall onto green and blue algae-covered seawalls, looming directly below me, while power boats dot the landscape like steed on an aqua-colored field, gliding in various directions through the water carrying townspeople and holiday tourists about the city. And, in the foggy haze, we’re graced with this omnipotent view – and it occurs to me, I must be Dickens’ modern Venice in his “Italian Dream.”
I've been so extra busy this past couple of months that I've barely had time to draw. So you'd be forgiven for considering me certifiably insane when I tell you that I joined the one month Spoonflower daily drawing challenge ... but you see, it's because I couldn't make time to draw that I joined it. I needed that push, excuse, motivation ... to pick up the pens or pencils again and indulge in some much needed creative therapy.
And it's been wonderful. Fine, I was a bit late with a couple of the pieces (busy busy busy, remember?) but so far I've managed to keep up - by the skin of my teeth perhaps, but still. Here are the first 5 themed sketches, drawn in my moleskine sketchbook:
1. CACTUS
2. MOUNTAIN
3. TREE
4. LANDSCAPE
5. RIVER
I'm quite pleased with myself. I had tons of fun, and there are loads of ideas that I can use and carry on playing with, from each of the drawings. But the main thing is (have I mentioned?), I had tons of fun.
One of my in-progress pieces was also featured in the Spoonflower blog round-up of drawings from week 1, how absolutely cool is that? Can't wait for the coming week - and it's not too late to join the daily challenge if you wish to. Just pick that pen/pencil/brush up, and then #SpoonChallenge the results onto your social media ... for details and the daily topic, check out the Spoonflower blog. Wishing you a fantastic week. Cheers.
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| Pitter and Patter |
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By: DIANE SMITH,
on 2/15/2013
I've tucked away the porcelain creamer, little orange flowers and cascading drapery, replacing the objects with photo references for a project I'm really excited about doing. The inspiration was a photograph of my oldest daughter taken about a year ago at El Capitan State Beach. However, I'm changing the location from a rocky beach to a rocky riverbed with some trees in the background.
By: Mary Lee,
on 4/3/2012
By: Ginger Nielson,
on 2/19/2012
I thought I'd unbury this ancient painting from the archive section on my website for this week's Illustration Friday. This painting is from many, many years ago, but seemed fairly appropriate for today's topic:
It's even doubly appropriate, since as it happens, I'm currently working on a companion piece to this illustration which I hope to finish soon.
By: ARIS,
on 9/24/2011
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By: linda sarah,
on 8/14/2010
By: Mayra Calvani,
on 4/2/2010
River is a young adult werewolf novel with an interesting twist...
River used to be the alpha female of her pack, that is, until one night a human bit her and she was transformed into a werewolf. Unable to trace her back to any relative, the authorities named her 'River' and placed her with foster parents. Her foster parents aren't so bad, but it's very hard for River to fit in. She's forever moody and temperamental, dreaming day and night of the day when she'll be able to turn back into a wolf and be with her mate.
Then, when she's placed in high school, she meets Daryl. Daryl is not the typical teenager, to say the least, and he takes an unusual interest in River. But she resents his protection, sensing that there's something not quite right about him... Why is he so interested in River? What is he hiding?
On the other front is high school itself, where other students forever remind her of her uniqueness and her difference from 'normal' people. She must put up with cruel name-calling and abusive behavior. Fortunately, River is not the kind of girl to sit down and resign herself, thus causing her share of trouble at school.
Will River find a way to go back to her pack? Will she survive high school?
I enjoyed reading River. It was an interesting story. What I liked most about it is the way the author crafted the protagonist. I feel that River, while not altogether sympathetic, stays true to her character and feels realistic in the context of the story. Even though she's human, all the wilderness is inside of her, which is why she's so moody and temperamental all the time. I like the way the author didn't compromise the authenticity of the character to create a 'lovable' werewolf heroine. That's not to say that River is not likable at times--she is, but the reason lies in her genuinity. It was also refreshing to read a werewolf story were the wolf is bitten by a human, and not the other way around. River will be enjoyed by teen readers who love a good paranormal story. The high school angle will certainly be appreciated by this age group.
For purchase information, please visit Mundania Press.
By: linda sarah,
on 6/16/2009
By: Jago,
on 10/19/2007
Bible wins Gold at the Independent Publishers Moonbeam Awards!
Very pleased that the bible I spent a long time illustrating has won an award, (click below to read more about the awards). This coincides nicely with the book's 2nd print run, which brings the total number of books in print to 61,000!
Independent Publisher Moonbeam Awards
Posted on 5/6/2007
I've just updated my website with lots of illustrations from my bible and my latest book for Mantra Lingua, The Elves and the Shoemaker.
www.jagoillustration.com
So, although you may not have liked the word at first, skitter turns out to be quite useful! Mary Lee, your poetry writing is spare & sets the scene very well indeed. The poem itself just rolls along, like the river or stream.
Yes, thank goodness for notebooks! They don't judge what you put in them, and never lose a thing.
I love the way the rhythm of your poem evokes the strolling and rolling. I need a stream nearby!
Mary Lee,
Like you, I've been thankful for my notebook. I put it aside for technology a few years ago. I just was a little between collecting ideas on a device and on paper. While writing Slice of Life posts I realized that the best pieces were those that had some fragment from my notebook. I had played more with the writing in my notebook. I was able to cross out, write numerous possibilities, and discover lines that work. So...I'm back to my notebook. Lesson learned. Now if I could just figure out how to organize it!?
I enjoyed your poem. I loved the rhythm of it. It just made me want to fun beside the stream and enjoy the life around it.