He Who Waits (Companion to Oct 8)

This is the companion piece to my post from October 8. They were part of a semester long project inspired by Terri Windling's "Night Journey."  Both were created from the same palette of colors, but on different weights of paper. 

Here they are together:

IF: Winter

What a busy fall it has been. Three classes. Working. And all the family things that fill in the gaps. And now a week away from New Year's Eve.

Here's my submission for Illustration Friday. An acrylic on canvas.

Be sure to visit IF to see what other's have been up to this week.

The One He's Waiting for

Green Bird

Current reads have a way of showing up in my work. This, for example, was the result of finding a couple bargain books on pigeons and chickens. Have you looked at a chicken's eye up close? 

You should. They're beautiful. (really) 

Illustration Friday "Immovable"

The theme for Illustration Friday this week is Immovable which led me to think about weight and persistence. I began with one as a boulder and the faces continued to multiply. I was feeling rather pleased with the weight of the expressions and was beginning to tell myself a story about them. They were the basis for an ancient stone wall. 

Then my husband noticed what I was doing. "Cool potato people."

Oh. Yeah, I can see what he means. 

So for IF, I offer Immovable Potatoes.

What's waiting to be painted.

I spent quite a bit of time the other day trying to track down an image of what I though was an Indonesian "dream-eater."I had seen one years ago in an import shop and I was sure that is what they called it. Or maybe that is what I wanted them to be called. What a great thing to hang in a child's room to eat those terrible nightmares and chase away whatever lurks under the bed. 

       The dream-eater is in fact a cradle-guardian. The story roughly goes that a king had a likeness of his child's nanny made to hang over the infant's bed to guard it while she was gone. There are female guardians and animal likenesses, too.  I must be looking all the wrong places because images of the creatures are very hard to find. So I drew one without reference and, personally,  I think it's more dream-eater than cradle guardian.

Illustration Friday "Atmosphere"

A small atmospheric study. I have several pieces of scrap watercolor paper laying around  my table. It's nice to work on a small idea and not have to think too hard while taking a break from a larger design.

See what other artists have done with "Atmostphere" at Illustration Friday.

To My Friend M on Her 50th

M's Flower. Watercolor. 16x20

Illustration Friday "Artificial"

Frog King in process

The sketch.

The Illustrator version.

And an in-process shot of the Frog King watercolor painting.

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