Sunday, March 31, 2013

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, to all who celebrate. Its morphed into such a weird "holiday", what with the mix of religion and chocolate and bunnies and hard boiled eggs and all. Not quite sure what I'm supposed to do with all of that. Take what works for you and have fun I guess.

So here's a piece a did a while back that I had titled "Easter Mango", because of the colors. And its kind of egg-like. I'm pretty sure I used Polychromos on illustration board for this.




Then I found a second version of it where I'd photoshopped the background - I can't even remember why now. There must have been a good reason!





I've also been doing some house portraits. This is one I can show. I love this house for its simple elegance. The landscaping kind of frames the simple design and color scheme of the building. I used all Pablo colored pencils for this one.



We've been having beautiful early Spring weather for weeks, with lilacs blooming and all the plants sprouting green stuff, then BAM!, last night we had the scariest thunder and lightning storm! I mean, window-rattling thunder. 'Cats under the bed' thunder. And crazy rain. Kind of a drag for the Easter bunny, but my lawn is loving it. 

So until next time - 
Hopping off to eat eggs and too much chocolate ... 


Saturday, March 23, 2013

Colored Pencil Magazine - Student - Featured Artist

** Horn tooting alert **

I am SO excited and honored to be the featured artist in the Spring/Summer 2013 issue of Colored Pencil Student Magazine

Look, there's my art on the cover. That's my "Answer Your Heart" piece. (They really bumped up the color - in reality, its pretty muted.)




You may click the cover to see a larger view, but the rest of the images here from the article I've made small on purpose. It wouldn't be kosher to "give them away" for free - this is just a taste. If you would like to purchase the magazine, they have both a digital and a paper version available through the website.















Cool, huh? I love how they laid out the article and the art.

You can see a preview of the issue here (although they leave out most of the 'meat', including my piece). Its a good magazine for anyone just learning about colored pencils, with lots of tips and info, as well as illustrated "step-by-steps", and features like mine. If you're thinking about 'getting into' doing colored pencil art, and aren't sure how to begin, this might be one low-cost way of getting started. People often ask me about which books to buy, what paper to use, which pencils, etc. etc. etc., and now I'm happy to be able to point them to this magazine (and no, they're not paying me to say this).

Going off to gloat a bit now.
Oh, forgot to say Happy Spring!

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Cardinals and Roses

I had this drawing on the board back when the conclave first started, but then the cats all got sick (they're fine now - BAD head cold, BAD BAD BAD) and that went on for an endless couple of weeks, and I got a little behind, playing nurse and all.




(please click on this to see it bigger)

                    

                                                      


These are some of the CATholic cardinals who didn't get elected Pope, out for a stroll through Rome, seeing the sites, and scouting for a place to have a nice plate of fishy pasta.

I had a lot of fun doing this one! Its a combination of colored pencil and Photoshop. A while back I figured out how to do a 'digital colored pencil' technique, but then got sidetracked with something else and never really developed that idea. I think now that I will go back to it, and see if I can put together a portfolio of children's book pieces that are all done that way. TALL ORDER. But hey, one piece at a time. I'll blog as I go, so you can stumble along with me.



I also finished this red rose leaves piece. This is ALL colored pencil, the old fashioned kind. I have some photos of other leaves and buds that I would like to do, and make this a series. This one was done with Polychromos and Pablos (both oil based), on Stonehenge paper, and is just under 8"x 8" (20.32 x 20.32 cm). I will do prints in the shop as soon as I am able. Today maybe.



Speaking of the shop - I'm changing the paper I use for prints from the semi-gloss I've been using, to Epson Presentation Matte. I like it a lot better. Its a lighter weight, but I love the crisp images it produces. It also works really well for less "shiny" subject matter (like candy in foil wrappers). I still have some of the semi-gloss though, so if you would prefer that for something, please let me know. 

I have to tweak my whole shop (today's chore) to include the new paper, as well as adjust some prices for shipping. I'll think I have it all sorted out, then I'll get a sale to a new (to me) country that has crazy expensive shipping, and I'll have to include that in all the listings. Like Australia, for example. What I could send here in the US for $3.50 will cost $9 to Australia sometimes. I hate having to charge so much to ship things, but I also hate to get a rude surprise at the post office, and find out I've just lost all my profit on the sale to under-charged shipping. Those of you with shops know what I'm talking about.  Its the least fun part of having a shop. I just want to make the art! 


Thursday, March 07, 2013

Rose leaves

I'm still here. Working on some things I either can't, or don't want to show - you know how that is sometimes. But I do have the start of this little drawing of some new rose leaves to share.


I really really really love when new buds and leaves appear on plants in the Spring - and especially these red rose leaves. I don't mean that the roses need to be red. Its just the leaves. I don't know why some of them come in this color, but I think its the coolest thing. The reds and purples are just so beautiful. They will all turn green eventually. 




I was sitting on my back porch one day looking at my yard, daydreaming about what to draw, and it was just so obvious. So I got out the camera and took a few shots of these, and some other new growth.  I hope to have a small series of these done to sell as prints in the future.

I don't usually draw plants, so this is a new thing for me. I also like this idea of 'new growth'. It's looking like a theme in my life right now on different levels. Some areas have been kind of stagnant for a while, and need some freshening up. Spring cleaning is about clearing out closets and drawers, sweeping out the corners and cobwebs, and doing a bit of deep cleaning. I'm kind of doing that literally, and also in my life. And trying to get some new little buds sprouting.

I've decided to call it a Recroissance (which I thought I just invented, but of course found out quickly is not new.) Its like a Renaissance, but a little different (Renaissance is 're-birth'). I also like that is sounds like 'croissant'. :~) So right now its a personal Recroissance, but feel free to start your own if you like. Maybe we can all together start a new Age.