Man in the Moon- on the drawing board

I'm rather fond of Mother Goose rhymes. But not in a sweet sentimental kind of way.  I want to see warts on noses and muddy knees. Old ladies are supposed to be covered in wrinkles and sometimes, proper young ladies burp when no one is looking. And every now and then, 

a zombie-fied moon isn't out of the question.

Man in the Moon

(Mother Goose Rhyme)

The man in the moon

looked out of the moon,

looked out of the moon

and said

"Tis' time for all the 

children of the earth

to think about getting to bed."

Illustration Friday: Asleep

 I had the rare opportunity in two of my classes this winter to paint a mother and her four month old son. We had to be quick and patient, catching his quiet moments when we could. The atmosphere of the classroom was tremendously different on those days. Much more thoughtful and focused.

He might look peaceful in my quick sketches, but his sleepy moments were rather far and few between.

You'll find more sleepy moments at Illustration Friday.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

The semester is finally over. And in the last few hours something clicked. Starting with my final project for my life drawing class.  The theme was Metamorphosis with the end result being in the media of our choosing. I chose canvas rather than paper. Large rather than small.  And a mix of charcoal, acrylic and ink. So lovely, so messy. I think I morphed as much as my painting.

Zombie-fied

Straight from my sketchbook.

Zombie children. My first assignment of the semester. 

Best. Homework. Ever.

Illustration Friday: Resolutions

This week's topic at Illustration Friday is "Resolutions." My resolution this year?  Set these story-people free! More writing. More drawing. More imagining.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2011. The year of the Rabbit.  It's a bit early to see her real potential; she's still sleeping.

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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