Puppies!

Which would you pick? :0)

Snow Is Coming!

Okay, I am very very excited about the possibility of snow flurries this Thursday. My favorite thing to do (if it snows at night) is to take my dogs out for a walk alone through my neighborhood. Almost everyone living around here puts up lights after Thanksgiving, which adds to the already amazing and breathtaking view. I like to pay special attention to the way my boots sink into the first inch of fresh snow. It seems to hold my weight until I'm about put my next foot down, and then it collapses with a 'crunch'. Of course there is no echo without hard surfaces for sound to bounce off, so it's a muffled crunch. And as I look up beneath a street light, the snow falls in patterns that surround me, and the atmosphere is as quiet as my ears have witnessed in a long time.

Model Airplane Contest

Flags Of Our *munch munch munch* Fathers

You know how you're trying to listen to a very serious film, and somewhere, sitting a mere few yards away is a noisy eater? Crinkle! Crunch! Smack! Slurp! You want to say something, but know it will cause a ruckus, and then you would REALLY miss the movie. Well I was that noisy eater. I bought a sandwich with VERY crinkly paper (argh). "Flag Of Our Fathers" is a serious film - up there with "Schindler's List". I was starving, my stomach felt like an empty cavern; I pulled out that sandwich and ...CRIIIIIINKKLLE! Oh no, I thought. I waited for moments of loud drama, or music, during which I would hastily unfold this chinese paper sculpture of a sandwich. Then, quiet dialogue..I would stop. More loud music, more unfolding. Oh it was dreadful! So finally, after very careful timing, I finally got the sandwich out!

But then...crunch crunch crunch....darn those cucumbers!

Excellent film by the way.

Who's Walking Whom?

This actually happened to me. I have a petite Jack Russell Terrier, and a 130lb Coon/Shepherd mix. Following a squirrel spotting, they both took off like bats outta you-know-where. My back has not been the same since. Yowch!

Illustration Friday Theme: Might

Many chefs say that the pan is mightier than the sword.

GiddyUp!

School's Out!

This is how I used to feel that last day of school before summer vacation.

Illustration Friday Theme: Invention

Pets in a way are an invention. Someone had to come up with the idea of actually taking a wild animal and letting it live in their house. Not to mention the relationship that develops--so much so that the pet becomes a member of the family.

Vroooooooom!

I'll Miss You, Friend

When I'm sad, I tend to draw sad pictures. I don't think I gained any sort of catharsis with this particular drawing, but at least it came from deep within.

Illustration Friday: Invention

Milky Way hot chocolate, anyone?

Storm

Check Please

Should lions be allowed to drink coffee? Hmm..

One Man's Trash......

You know that famous question, "if you could be a fly on a wall at any moment, where would you like to be?" I'm sure there are a lot of amazing times in history I would pick, but on the subject of art, I would love to sit and watch the experiments of some of my favorite illustrators. It's nice to see the finished product, but what of all the sketches and pictures that didn't make it in? That coveted waste paper basket full of rejected art work. Maybe even diamonds in the rough that never see the light of day?

Today my brother Duane, who's visiting for Thanksgiving, was doing another painting for his A Painting A Day blog. He worked for several hours - it was of a flower vase next to a mirror. From what I saw it looked beautiful. Next thing I know he's heading up stairs. "Are you done?" I ask. He walks into my room and asks for a paper towel.

And that was it - he wiped the entire painting off the board, and it was gone forever.

I'm sure my brother and I are not alone in this. Right now there are illustrators and artists working feverishly on new styles, new colors, new ways of applying medium, burning the midnight oil in their studios. And we all have our 'filled to the brim' waste paper baskets of rejected art work. I guess it's all part of the process of growing as an artist.

"R"

Thanksgiving

Give thanks for good friends who lend a good ear.

Another Page From "Don't Walk On Dudley"

A Visit To The Museum

It's Been A Warm November!

Mia Hamm As A Little Girl

I've been slightly obsessed with soccer lately. I'm willing publishers with the power of mind control to send soccer themed book assignments, pig books, or bear books.

:0)

Rain Storm in Bear Country

Character studies

Don't Walk On Dudley

Dudley in Trouble

Illustration Friday: Clear

"Aunt Rita ain't seein' so clearly now that she's lost her glasses. Why, just yesterday she hung Dudley up on a clothes line, thinkin' he was an extra warm pair of undee'wear."

Emma's Pumpkin

Portable Porcine Passenger

Well, almost portable..

Illustration Friday: Smoke

"I think your Mom's trying to cook again."

Cloud Watching

Hangin' Out

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Illustration Friday : Wind

I lived in Belgium when I was a kid, and I remember gusts of wind that were so powerful, they would practically lift you up off your feet. The above picture is what I hoped would happen in those instances.

Thunderstorm Coming

The Ghost Story

This is an illustration I finished today for an early reader:

Watch : The Great Pumpkin

This is a nicely done flash-animated version of "The Great Pumpkin". I looooove Halloween and Autumn. I'm eating this stuff up :0)

Goodbye Balloon..

A Visit to the Farm

Illustration Friday

Shhh Don't Tell Anyone

This is going to be my Illustration Friday submission when it's done.

Row 3 (From Reader)

I Must Have Missed the Memo..

Okay, I've been bouncing back and forth between cold press and hot press for years. I found the hot press had the smoothness I wanted, but was TOO smooth, which caused puddling with large washes. Cold press had the texture that I wanted, but was too rough (plus some publishers don't like scanning it). Of course all along, there was an in between paper that contained all I dreamed of, and I had no idea it existed. Thanks to my blogger buddies for recommending it, because it has changed my enjoyment of the creation process dramatically. I'm not fighting with the paper any more. I'm deeply in love with Fabriano Soft Press.

Two thumbs way up!

Fabriano

Step By Step : Skateboarder

When other artists put step-by-step photos in their blogs, I just eat it up. I always find it exciting and inspiring to see how someone works. So here is my own version.

This illustration is from a skateboarding dog idea that just popped in my head out of nowhere. I basically rushed to my desk and drew it out directly on the watercolor paper without any thumbnails etc. Athough, I will go the thumbnail route with illustrations that involve a lot of details or contain subjects I find difficult to draw (bikes -argh!!).

A Pig's Tail

This is an illustration from a picture book manuscript I wrote. I've mostly been experimenting with what the characters look like, after which I'll dummy the book and post some of those sketches/layouts here. I'm really-REALLY-really excited about this story! Wish me luck :0)

Grocery Aisle

Illustration Friday : Trouble

We all know the ending to this story..

Dear Megan...

Sorry for the lag in posts the last few days, I'm on vacation at Duck, NC with my family. Posted above is an illustrated letter to an up-and-coming artist (9 years old), Megan.

Hot, Fresh Cookies

Need Advice From Fellow Artists

I'm starting to find that hot press paper is just too smooth for my liking, and the cold press too rough. Does anyone know of a type of watercolor paper that's kind of in between? Maybe a cold press paper that's a little smoother than what's typical (Arches is too rough). Please leave a comment if you know of any. Thanks! :0)

Very Bad Pigs/Empty Safe

Following the Wolf's destruction of their straw, twig and brick houses, three very bad pigs broke into the Wolf's retirement fund and emptied it of every last cent.