If Suspend

edited version

 Well... the clouds are on strings ;)

But really, I just wanted to paint The Owl and the Pussycat.

IF_Fluid

So, I'm pushing it a little for fluid, but melted chocolate will have to do :)  The fairy was an idea for a project and didn't get used. I thought she was kind of sweet.  She reminds me of Spring.  I'm finally feeling somewhat better and busy, busy trying to get caught up. 

IF_Launch

Gosford the gosling was determined to live out his dream of flying even if his wings weren't ready to carry him. ;)  It's late and I'm off to get some rest. Have a great remainder of the week.  Thanks for visiting :)

Surrender

Well, I finally got this one finished.  I think... it's one of those illustrations that seemed to take me forever and I just finally decided to stop messing with it.  I will quite possibly change my mind when I look at it tomorrow. lol    I'm having deja vu, I must say that a lot. 

I'm already working on an illustration for IF's prompt Sweater and I'm determined to do something quick and simple, so I can get it posted this week.  That being said,  I'm not so great at simple; Sometimes I can do quick.  I say this to myself often and then the illustration takes on a life of it's own and becomes, well, complicated.  I envy those artists who can make a few lines or a loose sketchy image and simple color into a creative and solid piece of art. There is something to be said for simplicity and for me anyway, it's harder than it looks to make something very simple, yet very special. 

Fighting the Slack Monster and the Little Red Hen again...

  

2/1/11

2/2/11

2/3/11

2/6/11

 I have been so slack about posting lately.  I'm trying to get back into the habit of posting more often. So, to start it off I am posting not one, but two WIP's. I'm trying to get myself back into the painting or at least sketching every day mode. I did so well for over a year.  And then it happened, I let the slack monster sneak up on me and pull me away bit by bit. Whispering in my ear little negative things like, "your tired, you've done enough today" or" you've already been on the computer all day, do you really want to spend more time straining your eyes?, you know you are tired" He's very beguiling, this slack monster.  So, now I'm fighting back, bit by bit. I started working on another little red hen illustration a couple of weeks ago and I hope to get a chance to paint it soon, but I haven't really decided on the the finished sketch yet. Yes, I know, the slack monster is still whispering in my ear.  Actually, I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with the background and the whispering is distracting me. So, I decided to try to get in an Illustration Friday first.  I haven't done one in a while; this is for the prompt Surrender. I hope to get it painted in the next couple of days.  I will, I will, I will... 

...that's the plan anyway!

IF_Sneaky

 

So, I turned the illustration I was doing for my critique groups prompt into an illustration that would work for Illustration Friday, because I haven't done one in a while.  Wow, it feels so good to be creative again.  I'm planning on adding another squirrel on the bench, stealing her sandwich, but I don't have time right now,  so it's still a work in progress.  I want to spend the next couple of days working on an illustration for the new competition on the "They Draw and Cook" blog, and I really want to do Will Terry's Hansel and Gretel project. I'm having so much fun I may not want to cook Thanksgiving dinner. I'd like to do nothing but create.

LOL, but I don't think my family would be too happy about that idea.  Thanks for taking a look and for taking the time to let me know what you think.  Happy Thanksgiving if your celebrating it!

IF_Beneath

 Illustration Fridays prompt this week is Beneath. I started this one for last weeks prompt, but I didn't get it finished in time. I decided to add some things and now it is Beneath the Circus Tent. It's still a work in progress, but I may not get much more done before the end of the week, so I decided to go ahead and link it. I just haven't had time to participate lately and I'm trying to get back to it. Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to comment!

IF_Star Gazing

This is my illustration for Illustration Friday's prompt Star Gazing. It needs more work, but I thought I'd go ahead and post it anyway, I haven't been posting on Illustration Friday as much as I would like lately. I'm not liking the way his face turned out so I may go back and rework him. Anyway, thanks for all the well wishes and prayers. My back is getting a little better each day. You are all wonderful. Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to leave such kind and thoughtful comments. You make my day! or night ; )

 and here is the amended version, what do you think? better or  worse?

I'm going to have to let it marinate before I decide...

Finishing Up Just for Fun

I was doing this one for Illustration Friday several weeks back for the prompt Paisley, but life got in the way, so I finished it up today, mostly anyway. Just trying to make myself go back and at least take things to a level of finished that I can be happy with. It's great practice and a promise I made to myself to try and not leave things half done. I may keep playing with her tonight, I had initially intended on using her in a retro school or library setting.

...and again Jack has saved me from a lack of creativity and time, so thanks Jack, again!  I am using this for Illustration Friday's prompt Artificial, looking at the world through rose colored glasses doesn't seem to have improved her disposition, but it works for the prompt I think, no time for something new and I was totally stumped on something different for this one...

IF_Breakfast

Just a quick one for Illustration Friday's prompt breakfast. I was already doing this one and lost all the work except for the beginning of the doughnut and had to mostly start over, so it's messy and even quicker than I had intended, oh well. Another ant, I must have ants on the brain or something. Anyway, here he is the giant, he-man, doughnut steeling ant.  Hope every one is having a great summer. Thanks for stopping by!  and thanks for taking the time to comment! and Andrew, I am working on pickle ant, I really am! ; )

WIP finished

Ok, I think I am finally done. Too late for Illustration Friday since today is Friday and a new word. The ants were little buggers and took longer to do than I had imagined they would, but I am pretty happy with the outcome, even though I think I could keep working on it if I wanted to. I am making myself stop for now. The ants remind me a little of the dancing, singing Raisins form some old commercial, but they are pretty cute. Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment if you have time, because I love to read them!

IF_ Satellite

Here is the finished version of Satellite for Illustration Friday. I'm headed to bed for some much needed sleep now. Thanks for visiting! Comments are appreciated.

IF Satellite WIP

This is what I am working on, today anyway. It is for Illustration Friday's prompt Satellite. I am still working on Paisley from last week also along with some sketches for another project. I thought that by now I would have more time to get the things I wanted to do done, but that hasn't happened yet. Maybe July will be better : ) no promises though, I just seem to be consistently inconsistent right now. But seriously I will try to start posting more often again.

I'm actually doing an under painting for this one which I tend to do when working traditionally but rarely do when working digitally. I think this one will benefit from the added step though. I am also in the process of redoing the Strange Pets piece with changes from the suggestions I received for it.  I hope to get it done pretty soon. It's time to finish up stray pieces and post the results. That's my goal for the next few weeks anyway. Thanks for visiting and leaving so many wonderful and kind comments. I really appreciate the support.

Ripple

I seem to be getting everything done late, lately. This is what I was working on for Illustration Friday last week. It's also my submission for Kelly Light's Ripple blog. But I got it done, so better late than never. I'm practicing working in a less realistic style. I'm not comfortable with it and it shows. I have to fight myself to not try to paint everything the way I think it is supposed to be. I feel like my imagination is stifled and everything comes with difficulty. That's why I am making myself do it more and possibly/most likely, why everything is taking me so much longer. Maybe I will even find time to do Illustration Friday this week! There are so many possibilities with the word Paisley. Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate your comments so much. You all are so supportive that you give the courage to try and work out of my comfort zone and actually post it for all to see!

IF_Trail

This is my entry for this weeks prompt Trail for Illustration Friday.  I'm not loving it and I'm not sure what it is I don't like about it, but I haven't gotten to participate in several weeks now, so I'm posting it anyway. I had every intention of doing a completely new illustration tonight after I put my grandson to bed. Instead, I had surprise company and had to make an impromptu dinner for the unexpected guests. Now it is getting late, so I guess I am stuck with this one. I keep waiting for things to slow down and  looking forward to having time to do multiple illustrations, get caught up, touch base with friends and try some new things, but I'm still not there yet. Maybe next week!

Thanks for visiting! Comments are welcome and appreciated!

Something New

I'm finally posting something new. This was going to be my post for Illustration Friday last week, but I didn't get it finished. Pretty ironic considering the theme was "Early".  I haven't been able to get much done for the past several weeks, but now that school is out for the summer I hope that I will be able to make up for lost time in the next few months. Time to get serious again. I have joined a critique group and have several new pieces I'm working on for my portfolio. I am also still working on my recipe piece. Things are taking me much longer to get done right now. Just too much going on I guess. Maybe I'll even get my IF entry done this week. Wish me luck!  Thanks for visiting and thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it! Reading what you have to say makes me smile.

IF-Fearless

This weeks prompt for Illustration Friday is Fearless. I haven't been able to get anything completed recently. Actually I have hardly had time to draw at all. Cyan(my 14 year old) had testing all week long the week before last and then last week I had appointments all week long and though I have several pieces started I just couldn't seem to get one of them done. I was so tired this weekend I didn't even pick up a pencil. So, today I started a new one.  I'll have to make myself go back and finish the others though. But for this one I decided that my grandson is the most fearless person I know and  my daughter has wanted me to do a new illustration of him for months now. I haven't done one since he was a baby and it was actually my first digital illustration. I decided to post them both to see how much I have progressed in a year and a half. I did the bottom one the day I first tried a trial version of painter and fell in love with the program. Actually, I think I used painter essentials for that one or whatever version came with my Wacom. 

So, I decided to do a new illustration of my fearless grandson.  My grandson is blind, he sees a little light and shape in extreme contrast. But, you would never know it to see him. Like any other 2 1/2 year old he runs, climbs, jumps, and meddles in and on everything. Most children who are visually impaired tend to be cautious and fearful of the unknown. But Myles has no fear, he investigates everything around him with gusto and most of the time with only the slightest encouragement he is willing to try anything new. He absolutely amazes me on a daily basis. Any way this is my fearless boy, Myles the Magnificent! Sorry I am behind on posting new work, hopefully I will get caught up soon.  Thank you for visiting and for all the supportive and kind comments that you leave! You all rock; I love it and appreciate it!

IF_Cocoon

This weeks prompt for Illustration Friday is Cocoon.  I've got another crazy week so just a quick one this time.  This is the first illustration that I have done on my new computer. I also used CS5 for the first time and painter 11. The illustration isn't my favorite but I'm in love with the computer and new programs. The learning curve isn't going to be bad at all. The Mac is so easy I haven't had any problems with it yet and the new version of photoshop is wonderful. Of course I am going from CS2 to CS5 so there was a pretty good gap.
Before I forget again I need to list the lie from my Award post a while back. Several of the answers were partial truths. #3 was mostly true but I did try to paint and draw a few times during that 10 years I just didn't have the time or the patience with 2 small children to make enough of an effort and felt like I had lost my ability to draw. #4 was half true, no championships yet ; ). #7 I wish...
...the part about an author/illustrator was true though.  I can't remember his name, but he left a lasting impression on me.  That leaves # 5, which is so crazy it has to be true. I not only heard this from my grandparents, but also from the daughter of the man who was left tied up over night. The rest of the story is that my grandmother gave me that ring and I wore it every single day. When she gave it to me I thought it was too large, not my color  and so not me, but it was from her and because of that I adored it. Well, when I was sick and having radiation my fingers kept shrinking and swelling, but I stubbornly kept wearing my jewelry even though there were days when it would fall off.  So, of course, one day when I was feeling productive, I was cleaning and tossing things out and my ring fell off into the garbage bag(or so we think) and needless to say that is the day my hubby was especially helpful and efficient and took the bag to the dump immediately. We searched for days and never found it. I still get upset just thinking about it. I think that is the most I have ever cried over a possession. Now all I have is the story : (

IF_Ahead

                                                                                                                          

This week my son has CRCT testing and because we homeschool we have to drive about 30 minutes away to a testing site at one of the colleges. It's the closest site we've ever been assigned to, but it still takes up most of the day, everyday. So for IF's theme this week I am posting a work in progress to represent Ahead. I am creating elements for a recipe/illo for They Draw and Cook. You could say I am planning ahead or that you need these ingredients to plan ahead if you are going to make this recipe, though it is only about half of theme so far... anyway Jack Foster(thanks Jack) mentioned that my illo of the Little Red Hen would be good for this week, it is a little further down the page(below the tutorial posts), I didn't want to post it again but she certainly had to plan ahead in the story. Thanks for visiting and as always thanks so much for taking the time to comment and feed my blog! : )

IF_Detective

This is my entry for this weeks Illustration Friday prompt Detective. I'm still working on my tutorial for the previous illustration, trying to find time to setup my new computer, and to learn to use a Mac. I've always used a PC. For some reason my husband has always had a thing against anything Apple. I don't really get it, but he actually bought me one this weekend. Yay!!!!!! He's very supportive, except for the occasional "it's not my favorite" comment and it was incredibly sweet of him because his computer is sooooooooooooo old and outdated.  New toys are so much fun. Thanks for visiting and for taking the time to leave a comment!