I LOVE SLEEP.
There was a time in my life—a time up until fairly recently—when I could get by on little sleep for extended periods of time. Those days are gone! Nowadays, I
can get by on limited sleep, but
only for a very specific,
short-term period of time. Basically, I really
need my sleep, or I am simply
not functioning. It is as simple as that. Sleep: it's just one of those things that forces me to keep my priorities in order!
On that note... Good morning! Tired yet?
Here are some sunny yellow hoots and a happy green bird buddy. They are on their way to one of the last baseball games of the season. Clearly two of them need a little nap before the game... But I'm not pointing fingers here—no judgements! I love a good nap, too!
Hmmm...These owls are very color-coordinated for fall. Such fashionable hoots. Happy Friday!
There is something that is just so "Southern Belle" and "Wear your Sunday Best" about this little team of two. Do you sense this as well? They are all gussied up and looking so prim and prop! I think their friends on the left are quite admiring those matching hats...
Today I am starting a series featuring these cute little owl characters! I call them Hoots In Hats.
I love owls, and they sure are fun to draw. What is CUTER than a cute hooty-hoot owl? Maybe one with a baseball cap? Or a pair of quirky-cool mod eyeglasses? DEFINITELY stripey-legged owls. Those are, for SURE, too cute..
This one makes me smile every time I look at it... there is something so cheery about a decked-out umbrella. Who minds a little water when you've got a cute umbrella? And all the better when it's helping to encourage good fiscal habits!
Here's another lettering illustration... and another word that I like! (Who says the word "Grand" these days? Me!)
Have a GRAND Monday!!
Do you LOVE the city? I do!This one's near and dear to my heart! I love the city! This little lady reminds me of "
That Girl"� a young lady just itching to make her way in the world—and especially itching to make her mark in the Big City! It makes me reminisce for that feeling of being young, unencumbered, fancy-free and having enough independence AND enough guts to go ANYWHERE and do ANYTHING you desire, to explore, push yourself and see how far you can go! Oh, the twenties are wasted... what else? The twenties! Ha! But that's another blog post, right? Hey I am no longer twenty, but speaking from my heart, I can tell you that I personally feel this "can-do"attitude almost every day! (A little wisdom does help with that. ;) Getting older is not ALL that bad! )
Anyhow, I know many rural and suburbanite friends who thrive out in the 'burbs and in rural areas. Different strokes for different folks! I can completely understand the draw of the fresh air, wide open spaces and nature and all that comes along with it. I really do enjoy that from time to time! But, I gotta be honest... five or so days in remote rurality, and I'm clawing, c-l-a-w-i-n-g I tell you, to get back to where I thrive the best- THE CITY! Lucky for me, my husband Matt and I are on the same page with this! We are both city-dwellers, forever and ever!
Here's another
Queen for you today! I just love me a self-confident pooch, don't you?
This series was so fun to conceptualize and put together. I would love to expand upon it— I have so many more fresh ideas for the concept of diva/princess dogs that are just itching to be put to paper.
I love the sure smile and the happy sparkle in Queenie's eye... hope you do too!
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| Blue Ribbon Pooch art print on Etsy |
Today's art. Day Five!
Here's the perfect piece for any ambitious dog. Love that proud pooch!
Story.. Here is a very sweet and graceful little pup. I call her Fancy Girl. She looks confident, and she has reason to be be. Would you look at how well-behaved she is? Not chewing on a shoe, or eating a cushion. She's not even watching TV and lounging in her doggie condo. Well... I think she may be waiting for the proper signal from her human, so she can ditch the princess routine for the day and go chase a squirrel. Because she looks like she's got a secret or something.
Composition.. I like how she is not only a bold focal point, but she looks like she's on display in a fancy jewelry case, or perhaps at the museum. Funny, the things you can dissect from your work once it's complete. I don't remember once thinking of a jewelry box or a museum when illustrating this. Wait a minute... I
did think "Royal Family". That explains a lot.
Colors.. I love the combo of the bright sea green (as
Crayola likes to call it) and the citrusy lime. It's so fresh. Then the pops of grassy green and a bright, true yellow in the "museum case" border build nicely on the green theme. It seems like the colors shouldn't compliment each other, but they do. I greatly enjoy the putty color of the background as well—one of my favorite neutrals, somewhere between beige and grey. It's a great base color on which to tell a story, be it a demure or wild one—yet it keeps things sort of buttoned-up. Of course, the entire composition is based on a foundation of dark brown line. Brown IS the new black... well, it is in my world, anyway.
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| The Princess! See her Etsy listing here. |
Meet Princess! Look at how proud and happy she is!
Sometimes, I feel like i don't see enough yellow in art work. Do you feel this way, too? I think it's because it's often thought of as a kind of in-your-face aggressive color, and because of this it can get left out of all the fun. Well, yellow is a mastermind! It's probably the color I use most. In traditional media, it mixes well with just about everything, can double your palette and add so much depth to your paintings. (I probably glaze or wash 95% of my traditional work with yellow in some way or other at some point in a painting.) It also plays well with others in so many other ways and juxtapositions. You can use it as a tiny pop of color to accent, you can use it as a supporting player, or as the main star in the palette. It enhances or otherwise complements maybe colors than any other except for white, black and a few neutrals. Come to think of it, yellow is kind of the anti-neutral neutral! Or, maybe I'm writing this too early in the morning... Either way, I love this particular shade of yellow, especially when complemented with the other colors in this piece.
You can see a detail shot of this illustration on the
Etsy listing.
As you all know, I've been sharing my artwork in a pretty limited capacity for awhile now, and I know I've discussed this at length in my blog here, so I won't elaborate. Well, Boo-Hoo, I've missed YOU! The deal is, I love blogging, I am a visual artist, and I love to share that with you guys. I've been here doing my thing for six years going strong (and then sometimes weak... and then strong again) and I have no intention of going anywhere, and I also feel the need to re-energize my blog and reconnect with everyone who pops in, when you do ( and THANK YOU for continuing to check in with me through thick and thin!)... So... I've decided to reopen my
Etsy shop! (Confetti!!!) I will be offering prints of my latest art work, much of it, probably most of it, I have not shared publicly so this is a good chance to see a little of what I've been up to over the past couple of years when I'm not posting.
I'm so excited about it, I decided I would post one new print to
Etsy for sale every day for 30 days, starting tomorrow, Sunday August 21. I know, Quick! But that's how I roll. I make a decision, and I do it (like Nike says...).
See you tomorrow for print #1!
very cool post! thanks alot for sharing!