creating a character...

As I study our St. Bernard, I'm trying to come up with a character that has her "Saint-ness" about it. I watch her as she runs, rolls, sleeps, and stares (she's wondering what I'm up to!).

IF: entangled

The mice were very tired of the barn cat. He guarded the corn, chased them, often caught them, and made their lives miserable. After the cat gorged himself on too much leftover turkey, it was an easy task to "entangle" the big nuisance.

Day Two of Challenge to Myself

This is from yesterday & should have been posted then, but my computer was doing something weird and...so I'm posting it today. Still trying for a consistent character. Here's Minnie playing. It's amazing how a 100 lb dog can jump and play like a puppy!

Day One of "My Challenge"

I'm calling this Day One of My Challenge to myself. I'm headed for the SCBWI-NY Conference in late January with my portfolio tucked under my arm (and a sheepish grin on my face because I'm an older fine artist-turned-illustrator who's finally pursuing her dream with a delighted determination to write and illustrate children's books). Give or take a few days for cooking & serving Thanksgiving & Christmas dinners, there are approximately 65 days to get my portfolio in shape. In between that, I teach full time & it's no exageration that teaching sucks your creative energy almost completely out of your body! To counteract that, I try to do at least one creative thing for myself a day, usually drawing (my first love).

Along with that portfolio, I want a really dynamic book dummy attached. In the past, I said I'd do this--include a book dummy--but this time I'm aiming for following through on that thought. I have an advantage (I hope) because I'm both a writer and an illustrator. Inspired by the words & tips from http://humbleartsjournal.blogspot.com/ and http://wendymartinillustration.com/, I'm now challenging myself to use those skills to full advantage.

I'm developing a character based on our new pet, a St. Bernard named Minnie. These are sketchs of her sleeping and a head sketch for a possible character. Maintaining a consistent character is hard! In trying to create a character of her, I now have several different dogs but no consistent character. Wow--it really is hard, but the challenge has started, so I need to stop complaining and just draw and write and write and draw. More later!

IF: Unbalanced

We have just adopted a St. Bernard, Bella Minnie, from the Texas St. Bernard Rescue. With four cats and now two dogs (one small one), the house seems "unbalanced". The cats are constantly staring up at Bella Minnie as if to say "Wow! That's a big one!" Actually, I should have drawn Bella Minnie much larger (100 lbs worth!). Bella Minnie is now about to be a character in a book I'm working on....

IF: Frozen

Carley can barely wait each year for the pond to be frozen over--she's going to be a great world famous skater one day!

IF: Flying

(catching up on IF) The Flying Club meets once a month to discuss their latest project....

IF: Germs

(catching up on IF) There are actually some good germs...if this one knocks on your door, please let her in--she's a good one!

Illustration Friday: Pattern

Illustration Friday's word for the week is "Pattern" & I've always loved the pattern on various paint horses and appaloosas.

Horse Times Two

This an image done very quickly in response to The Virtual Party. The original photograph was done by artist Kimberly Kelly Santini. (mixed media: watercolor and pencil)

pencil drawing of "Exploring"

This is the pencil drawing for the word suggested for this week on Watercolor Wednesdays. I tend to like to draw on a good hot-pressed drawing/watercolor paper (Winsor-Newton), develop the drawing with value, and make any corrections on the original. Whenever I redraw onto another piece of paper or trace my own drawing over and over, I think it loses something. So, I try to stay with the original drawing, if possible, making corrections as I go.

finalized color image of "Exploring"

This is the finalized color image of "Exploring". I scanned my drawing and printed it off on good watercolor paper, then painted the image. I'm enjoying this method because drawing is my first love. Color is always secondary in my work but with this method, it seems to work for me.

for IF: Fleeting

That fleeting moment

when work is

put aside...

(water-

color)