Illustration Friday - Stripes

Here's Streak and Tonga chatting up the latest jungle news. This is my "Stripes" theme for IF which is a painting I've done for my picture book dummy, "Jungle Rescue". It's the first thing I've posted in awhile. Trying to get back on the horse, ONCE AGAIN, and make art!

Illustration Friday - Asleep

Monk-Monk's asleep! Yikes! He's lost from his family.. will they find him? Read the "The Jungle Rescue" to find out. One little thing, though.. it's not published yet. But one day, hopefully! This is my story with a color illo from the book dummy. I'm (submitting this summer ––come rain or shine! I've been working on it for a looooong time! It's time to let go!

Illustration Friday - Surrender

After a lot of deep thought I decided to participate in Illustration Friday with this illustration of "Surrender". Two years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer and luckily I am cancer free today. This illustration came from trying to make sense of the diagnosis and deal with it in a way I wouldn't see myself as a victim. Until recently it's not been easy to talk about. Being a sensitive person, I easily could perceive people feeling very awkward and uncomfortable when they found out. The reality of the "Big C" was that I have experienced these "good things" from such a bad thing. I wanted to focus on what is good and what has come about as goodness. My faith has been strengthened to such a degree it wasn't before. Even though I thought I was healthy, after my diagnosis I've ramped up my healthy eating habits, stress management and exercise. I know that I am lucky to be a survivor and I am ever so grateful for these blessings.

Howdy, 2011!!!

Happy New Year to everyone. It's been a while but I wanted to post in this new beginnings of 2011. This is going to be an awesome year! I can feel it. My studio is all spiffed up and organized. I'm posting some pics so I can KEEP it that way! Has everyone made New Year's resolutions or set intentions for this year? I'm still formulating mine but one for sure is to keep my studio neat and organized. It just feels better to be in here and it makes me SMILE. I like setting intentions rather than resolutions. It somehow feels more solid.

This pic above is walking into my studio.

My cozy little nook for reading. I love my papasan chair. All I need is a cute lamp! Notice all of my books, I have a TON of books mostly art related or children's books & illustration. My drawing table and paints. I usually paint at the drawing table now, rather than my easel. Do you like my twinkly string lights?This is my computer, my scanner and Wacom tablet. This is where a lot of my time has been spent last year! The paintings on the walls are ones I've done throughout the years. Some are self-portraits and from classes I've taken.

Holli Conger's Illustration Tips

Mosey on over to Holli Conger's "A Girl Who Creates" Blog for terrific tips on the illustration biz.. Holli is generously sharing her expertise and her savviness with us everyday during the month of December. I have been a BIG fan of Holli's work for several years and it's been exciting to see how her career has progressed. What an awesome gift to have a new tip every day about illustration! So, check out her blog. Today. Don't wait!

Benjamin Lacombe

Benjamin Lacombe is another French illustrator I discovered in France. I immediately fell in love with his rich, moody, and vibrant stylized gouache illustrations. When we were in Aix en Provenence, I was thrilled to find his children's picture book, "Les Amants Papillons" ("Butterfly Lovers") in a small book shop. The book is written in French, of which I only know a few words, but the illustrations are a sumptuous blend of color, drama, and design. The book is large, 15½" x 7" which is quite large by picture book standards. This allows for the full intensity of Benjamin's gorgeous illustrations with full spreads on many pages. Since this book is probably difficult to find in the US, here are some other titles he illustrated that are available on Amazon: "Lin Yi's Lantern" and " Cherry and Olive". You can see his work at his very creative website www.BenjaminLacombe.com



Check back for more posts on fantastic illustrators and their work!

Star Gazing - IF

I did these little star gazing frogs a while back, but I thought it could work for this week's theme. I'm hoping to make time to participate in Illustration Friday again! Check out the IF site, as there's always such great work each week around each theme.