Merry Christmas!!!

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Wishing you all a merry Christmas filled with joy, laughter, & yummy things to eat!!!

More Aquatic Alphabet

K = Killer Whale

 

 So, as I mentioned last week, I found a new illustration challenge through my PiBoIdMo group called Doodle Day. For the month of December, they are drawing aquatic creatures for each letter of the alphabet. I began on December 2nd with "B." Honestly, with the normal holiday craziness (I actually went to the same store 3 times in 24 hours & returned an item TWICE before I got it right!!), I didn't expect to get much past "B." But I've really found these to be fun!! So I've squeezed them in whenever I could. (I was working on the jellyfish until 11:30pm Tuesday night!!)  I admit I've missed a couple, & know I'll miss several this weekend, & several more after that.......

J = Jelly Fish

 

 But I'm really liking some of these quirky guys..................and I think I need to make more............... 



                                               D = Dogfish

What do you think? You can see the rest of the series thus far on my Facebook Page. And if you enjoy this blog, DO consider subscribing (button under the tiger on the right). Thanks for stopping by! May YOUR holiday shopping go smoothly!! ;)

Illustration Friday - REFRAIN & some new toys!

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 I have wanted to try Copic Markers for a LONG time, but they were an indulgence I just didn't feel I could justify yet. Well, my incredible boyfriend (& biggest fan) COMPLETELY caught me off guard & surprised me with a small set last weekend!!! I NEVER thought I'd own a set of these! I was SO excited & completely blown away.....and yet, I was TERRIFIED to actually try them out! I'd heard such great things about them - what if I couldn't do anything more with them than I do with my Prismacolors & Bics?? What if I like them so much, I want more? (A set of 70 runs about $400!!!!!! Gulp!!!!)

So it took me 5 days (& a lot of prompting from my boyfriend!) before I got the courage to open the package, but finally, tonight I did....

And I am in love.  

Uh-oh. 

Winner!!! And a new challenge!

B = Beluga Whale

The month of November is over, & so is the Picture Book Idea Month Challenge. (PiBoIdMo). I am happy to say, I achieved the goal of coming up with 30 ideas! In fact, I actually came up with 40! The best part is, they don't all suck!!! Seriously, there are a couple of gold nuggets in there among the rocks that I fully intend to take next steps with. Will editors find them as exciting as I do? I don't know, but I think they're worth giving further attention to. But more importantly, I became much more cognizant of ideas as they popped into my head, & diligent about writing them down before they vanished, as they often do! My PiBoIdMo notebook still has some blank pages in it, so I'll continue to fill it with ideas, & hopefully make a habit of filling notebooks!! It was a fun challenge, & definitely a worthwhile experience, between the generation of ideas, development of new, positive habits, and connecting with & supporting other writers!!!

C = Crab

So you would think, after the pressure of a daily challenge (versus the weekly challenge of Ill Friday), I'd be DONE after PiBoIdMo. But no, I discovered a NEW challenge! This one is called "Doodle Day." It is run through a Facebook group, & was started by one of the PiBoIdMo participants. The challenge is to do a quick drawing of a sea creature for each day of December, in alphabetical order. I discovered the group on December 2nd, so I started with "B" and my happy Beluga whale. Yesterday was "C." I think that one is self explanatory.  Do I think I will be able to keep up with this? Especially in addition to Ill Friday, & all the chaos the month of December usually brings? Hell no! But I felt inspired the past 2 days, and anything that keeps me drawing is a GOOD thing in my book! So I'll do it when I can, and when I can't.....oh well. Because I didn't have to take an oath with my hand on a picture book for this one!!! :)

I think "winner" might be a stretch, but I DID achieve the goal!!!

Illustration Friday - SHADOW (Plus Happy Thanksgiving!)

This week's Illustration Friday challenge word was SHADOW. Drew these guys pictured above real quick during a meeting today to squeeze them in before the holiday crunch!! Wishing all who celebrate a Happy Thanksgiving! Be safe!!!

Illustration Friday - TAIL

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Sometimes less is more.....

This week's Illustration Friday challenge word is TAIL. I think I got that covered! 

I am happy to announce (& actually just noticed!) that this will be post #100 for this blog!! Big thank you to all who have visited, and shown an interest! It's nice to know I'm not just talking to myself here!  :) But seriously, your comments really DO keep me going!

I'm also pleased to say that my participation in PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) has been beyond worthwhile! I achieved the goal of 30 ideas on day 18! That's not to say all 30 are actually GOOD ideas (some of them are lame, some suck, and there is at least one that makes me question my sanity... or at least what I was eating before I went to bed the night before....) but there is enough decent material to keep me busy for a LONG time. And I'm not done! I will continue to try to come up with an idea every day for the rest of the month...& hopefully, I'll have developed a habit by then, of looking for ideas in everything around me, & being cognizant enough of them to be sure to jot them down!! (I'll have to buy some little note pads and put them in my bag, my cars, my night stand, my bathrooms....)

But things haven't been ALL good, lately. This Illustration Friday piece is the first thing creative that I've done in my studio since losing my beloved studio-mate, Miss Miga last week. For over 2 years, since the day I brought her home from the animal shelter, she brightened my studio & made it a place I wanted to be. It's not so bright anymore. She was a happy little hamster, & without her, the room seems so incredibly empty. But oddly enough, on the day she died, I was contacted out of the blue about illustrating a 2nd children's book for an author I worked with earlier this year. Which would require spending a LOT more time in my studio.... doing something I love. And today, I received a promising message for yet another book project. So maybe this room hasn't been completely drained of happiness....maybe it still holds some promise....

As always, I thank you for visiting!

My Children's Book....and a Special Promo!!

I don't usually post promos for my art here, but I know many of you were following along last fall when my book was *finally* published so I thought I'd share some of the interior pages with you!
 And if you are interested, now is a great time to order one, as the publisher is having a 30% off sale for 2 days only - November 18th & 19th! Just enter the code: BIGSALE at checkout!

This is the blurb I posted on my FB page:  "Christmas is just around the corner, and what better way to make the holidays special for the children in your life than with a personalized book?! The story becomes ABOUT THEM!!!! Join the animals as they jump off the magical quilt & visit an amusement park! A *perfect* bedtime story! Available in both a boy & girl version."
  You can order it: *HERE*

 



As always, thank you for your interest & I appreciate your comments!!!

Illustration Friday - ENERGY

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Does anyone have more energy than kids and puppies???

Been a few weeks since I've participated in an Illustration Friday challenge. I've got a lot on my plate these days, & haven't had the time or energy to deal with it all...been feeling kind of drained, actually. But these guys popped into my head during another Tuesday meeting at work, & sort of demanded to be finished, so here they are! Kids & puppies ARE rather demanding, aren't they?

As I mentioned in my previous post, November is Picture Book Month, and I am participating in PiBoIdMo for the first time, the Picture Book Idea Month challenge to come up with 30 ideas in 30 days. At day 12, I'm pleased to say (& surprised as all hell to discover) that I #1, have actually remembered to enter something in the log each day, & #2, have come up with 23 ideas so far! What is even MORE remarkable is some of them are GOOD! And the month isn't even half over! Who would have thought something good could be generated on demand like this? But the thing is, that's not really how it happened. Ideas come to me all the time...I'm just not aware enough to actually jot them down or remember them later! PiBoIdMo has caused me to consider every wild thought or circumstance that pops into my head or that I observe around me as a potential story. And that's not a bad thing!

 This is all great news.....except I have also come to the realization that to actually bring the good ideas to fruition, I will likely need to be locked in my studio for pretty much all of eternity! (Or at least when I'm not at my day job!!!) But I think some of these ideas really deserve further attention. Sacrifices, sacrifices........... 

 As always, I appreciate your comments & visits! Please click on the link on the right to check out my studio Facebook page!

PiBoIdMo is taking over my life!!!!!

 

   So, last Thursday, I was cruising the web, checking out some of my favorite art blogs, and stumbled upon a link to author, Tara Lazar's blog,  and guidelines for registering for PiBoIdMo 2013. What *IS* PiBoIdMo, you ask? It stands for Picture Book Idea Month, and is a 30-day challenge for picture book writers. The challenge is to come up with an idea a day for 30 days. It doesn't have to be a complete manuscript - it can be a concept, a theme, a character....you get the idea. By the end of the month, participants should have a fat file of ideas from which they can work. Sounded good to me, so I registered, joined the Facebook discussion group, & ran to the store to buy a $1 steno notebook in which to jot my ideas. I was ready.

Or so I thought......

Friday marked Day 1. I went on the FB page in the morning, & the first thing I saw was a photo of someone's beautiful journal, all purple, with 3 dimensional applique flowers on the cover and a binding that looked like sculpted fabric. The pen was equally ornate. In fact, it was a matched set. And then there was me with my $1 steno notebook with "PiBoIdMo" scrawled diagonally across the front. (Hey, at least I colored in the letters!) I hadn't even dug out a pen yet. I suddenly felt inadequate. She had "Beverly Hills Journal", & I had "ghetto-notebook." Sigh.

See? I told you it was a dollar!

 

To compound matters, I'm running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, trying to get ready for a weekend road trip (departure shortly after lunch). I'm doing laundry, packing, staging everything by the door, etc. etc. but in the back of my mind, I'm thinking I need to spare a few minutes for PiBoIdMo, & I'm paranoid I'm going to forget to do it. On the FIRST DAY, no less!!! (Believe me, this could happen!)

 So I'm in the bathroom, drying my hair, & suddenly I come up with..... an IDEA!!!
 So I immediately grab my steno pad, sit down on the TOILET, and write out my idea....2 IDEAS, actually!!!!! So! THIS is how this whole PiBoIdMo thing works!!! I really couldn't afford to be picky about the location - at least  I had IDEAS!!! I'll take inpiration WHEREVER I can get it!!! And I was only using the toilet as a SEAT (lid closed), & not for it's usual purpose, so it was all good. I was off to a solid start! (perhaps I shouldn't have used that descriptive when referring to activity in the bathroom...I swear - I was drying my hair!)

Anyway, Day 2 went a lot more smoothly. I wrote down my idea in the hotel room that night, & then I went to bed............and dreamed about coming up with ideas for PiBoIdMo!!! (Ugh!!! It was now invading my subconscious!!!) This would have been OK, if my idea hadn't been somewhat violent & totally inappropriate for children...it involved apples....but I wrote it down anyway on Day 3, in hopes, with a little more thought, I could transform it into something less violent and more usable. That hasn't happened yet....but I'm optimistic...

Now I am more than half way through Day 4 and the ideas are a bit slow to come..... if it's like this on Day 4, how's it gonna be on Day 24?!  Wish me luck!!! And if you'd like to continue with me on this creative journey, please subscribe to this blog. :)

Illustration Friday - ENTANGLED

                                     

                                             Click to enlarge

Well, this week's word, "ENTANGLED" was suggested by my friend, Diana Zipeto, so despite being FLAT OUT, I just HAD to put together a quick drawing! (Threw it in my bag, afterwards, so pardon the wrinkles!!) Last week, I had rediscovered an older piece I did in traditional mediums, and decided I wanted to go back to playing with that sort of thing, so I had some fun scribbling with colored pencils here.

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So....I was cleaning out the back of my SUV last Sunday in anticipation of trading it in, & found this GIANT folder that covered the floor of my cargo area. I knew it was back there - and has been for over 3 yrs. I just didn't need the huge water color paper inside, so I left it there. Well, imagine my surprise when I found THIS & 2 other pretty cool original pieces of art inside! They've got to be at least 10 years old, and are in the mixed media style I'd like to get back to. Pretty cool that I find myself inspired by....well, MYSELF!!! What do you think? I'm thinking I need to break out the watercolors & rapidographs next!!!

As always, I appreciate you stopping by & love to read your comments!!!

Illustration Friday - MOUSTACHE

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Well, this week, I pulled out an oldie but, I think, a goodie. I always try to draw something new for the Illustration Friday challenges, but when I saw this week's prompt, I immediately thought of this guy....

 And how I'd like to get back to doing this kind of mixed media art - an ink drawing colored with water color and colored pencil. Over the past year or two, for the sole purpose of expediency, I've been quickly sketching on plain old copy paper, inking the drawing, scanning it, & coloring digitally. It has worked for me. But I miss the texture and depth I get with the more traditional mediums. I had ear-marked a couple of drawings for this type of execution but never found the time to sit down & do it. I think it's about time I found that time.....

As always, I thank you for your interest, & appreciate your comments!!

Illustration Friday - UNDERWATER

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"Underwater".....not a very challenging word this week. And God knows I've done LOTS of underwater scenes for previous Illustration Friday prompts....but "underwater" is still fun, so rather than copping out & re-posting one of my numerous "fishy" scenes, I opted to do something totally new - and only SEMI-fishy! (But if you prefer fish, DO browse my blog archives! You'll not only find fish, but an octopus, crab, & a bug-eyed sea horse!)

Been working hard, building my Zazzle store these past few weeks. Hoping to have an "official" roll-out soon. And I spoke to a publisher this week about a book project I'd started, but put on the back burner in favor of other projects. The conversation boosted my enthusiasm, & I'll be full steam ahead on the book soon!

I also got word from the author of the last children's book I illustrated, that it will be released in January...and they need a brief bio. Ugh! Well, I know what I'll be doing this weekend!! Hope YOU'VE got some fun things planned!! As always, I appreciate you stopping by, & LOVE reading your comments!!!!

Illustration Friday - ONOMATOPOEIA

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Yeah, I have to admit I prefer challenge words that I don't have to look up in the dictionary, but I was still game. It was actually a little more fun than some of the recent ones!

I've also been having fun creating items for my brand new Zazzle store! I haven't really "rolled it out" yet....waiting until I have enough to make browsing worthwhile! But I love seeing my wacky characters on all sorts of things!!!

In other news, I'd been in denial for awhile, but it looks like I'm going to have to invest in a new Mac sooner rather than later. It's been slow for awhile now, but tonight it took me 10 minutes to save a file. That's over 5 minutes longer than my Sonicare allows me to brush my teeth!! UGH!! And even then, I multi-task & do deep squats every morning while I brush....I guess I could do that while I wait for the computer, but one can only do so many squats in one day!  *wink!*  I'll try cleaning a lot of stuff off of it to see if I can delay the inevitable a bit longer, but the day WILL come. Sigh.

On a happier note, I made my first ever video. I'd never felt compelled to create a video before, much less share it, but after witnessing what went on in my kitchen that night, I knew my turtle of over 20 years, Bug, was destined to be an internet sensation!! You'll get a smile in 24 seconds or less! Click on the link below & enjoy!!! And as always, thanks for stopping by!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ry8GD65rVQ

Illustration Friday - TOGETHER

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Together we win.

What can I say? I've got my fantasy football team on my mind! :)

Illustration Friday - TOTEM

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So, I'm a little early with the pumpkins. Hey, at least I'm not giving you reindeer and Santa Claus yet! :) (Though I can't speak for the department stores...) Haven't really been super-inspired by the prompts lately...but I've been pushing myself to participate anyway, & hope you've still been getting some smiles here! Hoping all the good ones don't pop up in the midst of the holidays when it will be even more of a struggle to fit some IF fun in!! As always, thanks for stopping by! And if you like what you see, please let me know with a comment or subscribe to this blog. Sometimes that's just what I need to keep on doing this each week! :)

Illustration Friday - HIDDEN

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Harry got distracted FAR too easily to ever become good at hide-and-seek......

Here's a quick one I sketched out in another meeting. It's a good thing Harry is distracted, because his friends aren't really very good at hiding...  Haven't been overly inspired lately...by the IF prompts or in general, but I'm pushing myself to keep on drawing!!!! As always, I appreciate you stopping by! And please check out my Facebook page if you haven't already!  (link on the right) :)

Illustration Friday - LUSH

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I actually started this one for JUNGLE but didn't get very far. I liked how it was coming along, & really wanted to finish it, so fortunately the green foliage works for LUSH too!!! 

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And this guy was something I'd done for St. Patrick's Day awhile ago. After a few more beers, I think he might be able to pass for LUSH too!!! What do you think? Am I stretching it this week??? :)  As always, thanks for stopping by!!

"He Loves Me Not"

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I haven't really been inspired by the Illustration Friday challenge words, lately, 

so here is something else I just finished. I pulled one of the characters from a favorite 

challenge from last year, "SKY."

Illustration Friday - FRESH (& a sneak peek at an upcoming book!)

Raymond is proof - you CAN eat too many vegetables, 

despite what the experts say!

I had a lot of fun with this week's challenge!! When I saw it was "FRESH," a few male friends of mine  immediately came to mind! But I decided to go with something rated G instead. <*grin!*> Once I shifted gears, Raymond poured from my pencil. But he was not without challenges....first, I fell in love with the sketch, & didn't want to ink it. But I realized quickly my forte is definitely NOT the ability to add color to a sketch! So it took an extra night to ink Raymond up. Then, I couldn't decide on a background color. I hate making decisions, so, as I usually do when I have trouble making a decision between 2 choices (like I often do when clothes shopping...ehem...) I went with BOTH! If you'd like to see the other alternative, please visit my facebook page.

 

I've also recently finished up a book project I'd been working on for awhile. This is a page from "Sunny the Sneaker" written by Michele Christian-Oldham. It was a really FUN project, & I admit I totally fell in love with little Sunny by the time I was done! I will be sure to post when the book becomes available! Although it was kind of sad, putting Sunny behind me, I came up with an idea for another children's book inspired by my visit to an animal sanctuary on my recent Colorado trip.  I'll be doing both the writing & illustrating. I was so excited about it, I cranked out most of the manuscript in one sitting! So I'm looking forward to sinking my teeth into that! That's all on this end! As always, I appreciate you stopping by!!!! 

Illustration Friday - HYBRID

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Missed participating last week, as I took my first vacation in over 10 years to Colorado. (BEST. TRIP. EVER.) I arrived home after midnight Monday night, but hopped right back into this week's challenge  Tuesday on less than 5 hours sleep, so if you find this guy to be a bit strange, my excuse is my brain wasn't firing on all 8 cylinders! Between the natural beauty & all of the fabulous art galleries I visited, it was an incredibly inspirational trip! I'm sharing a few photos below for those of you who have never experienced this breathtaking place...enjoy!

  

Illustration Friday - ROBOT

I didn't think I was going to participate in this week's challenge, but it's funny how a boring meeting can spark my imagination! They're actually a blessing, because I wouldn't have been able to post half as much as I have to Illustration Friday if I had to rely on my spare time alone!  This was sketched & inked during a meeting today. A notoriously miserable co-worker glanced over & started laughing ... so I guess my mission was accomplished before I was even finished!  It was fun to be able to give him a smile!   Thanks for stopping by!!!

Illustration Friday - TRAVEL

I'm not really a people-person, much preferring to draw animals, but I just LOVE this guy!!! (a lot more than his horse does!!)  I normally would have drawn the horse first, but I had such a strong image of the cowboy in my head, that he came pouring onto the page in all his roly poly glory, and I had to sketch in several mounts under him before I settled upon this sturdy chestnut! Please let me know if they gave you a smile!! 

And if you like what you see, please follow this blog by clicking in the subscription box on the right! As always, I appreciate you stopping by!

A Pleasant Gator

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I AM working on a piece for Illustration Friday's "PROTEST" that I'm pretty excited about, but this guy just popped into my head (and out of my pencil) in the form of a doodle during a meeting today, & insisted on being first. Actually, it was just that I was able to color it quickly digitally, versus playing around with mixed media like I am with the other piece. (Which likely won't be finished before the next challenge is up, but is too fun not to finish!!)

So there's really no rhyme or reason for the friendly, fascinated gator. He just is. Hope you like!

A Pretty Cool Milestone!

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My studio Facebook page just hit a pretty cool milestone this week - 900 likes!!! Wow!!! I work hard to keep things interesting over there, so it has been very gratifying (not to mention fun!!) to see more & more people stopping by to see my work, & enjoying what they see enough to click 'like'!!! It's funny. I just don't seem to be able to grow the readership here as easily, despite my efforts! But the friends I HAVE made through IF and this blog are truly invaluable to me, so you guys are stuck with me for awhile, anyway! *wink!*

Illustration Friday - WORN

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This guy is worn out....which is pretty much how I feel, trying to get everything done in preparation for a road trip today of fair importance. (feel free to visit my FB page to learn about the model horse national championship in Harrisburg, PA I'm traveling to for the first time.) Combine that with staying up FAR too late, only to watch the Boston Bruins LOSE game 4 in the Stanley Cup Finals last night, and yeah, I could use my pillow about now!!! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Illustration Friday - CHILDREN

Click to enlarge....really, you need to see this one BIG!

Here is a serious BLAST FROM THE PAST! I completed this one for my senior portfolio review at Syracuse University.... 20 years ago!! *gulp!* (I considered lying about that, but you can see the year next to my signature!) When I saw this week's challenge word was CHILDREN, this piece instantly came to mind, & I knew nothing I could come up with now would be more appropriate! This is a scan of a color copy of the original piece, so the color is wonky, & it is slightly cut off on the left side. And of course, there are a great many things I could do better now. But I think the original charm holds true. Just a piece that I created in hopes of giving the viewer something really FUN to look at! Are you smiling?

Illustration Friday - SWEET

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I managed to finish on time this week!!! Sweet!!! I actually did 3 different sketches for "SWEET" but this guy begged to go first. A print is available in my Society6 store. (link on the right) Not sure I'll get to the other 2, although I really like one of them, so you just may see him pop up in a later post! As always, I appreciate your comments! And please follow this blog by clicking on the box in the right column if you like what you see!

Illustration Friday - TENSION

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This was a quick sketch done during a meeting at work. I didn't sleep at all last night, and this was kind of the mood I was in.......cranky.........though I don't think I was drooling.....

Illustration Friday - LIQUID

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A few days late this week, but the sketch was done on time - doesn't that count for anything? :)

Illustration Friday - TRIBUTE

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It's funny how "tribute" bands are never quite the same as the originals....no matter how much they may practice....

I didn't spend much time on this one, but I liked the idea enough to do a quick drawing & add a little bit of color! 

So, I've said many times that the purpose of this blog is to make people smile with my illustrations. Well, I've got to say, your comments on my last challenge, TRAIN really made ME smile!!! You guys are great!!! Thank you to those who took the time to comment, and if you haven't read them, it's worth a quick click back!! As always, I appreciate you stopping by!!!

Liebster Award!

One of my favorite bloggers, Sharon Wagner (whose blog often seems to alternately make me hungry, or want to jet off to a tropical rain forest) surprised me with a Liebster Award a few weeks back. Neither one of us really knows what a Liebster is, but as long as it's not a "Worst Dressed" award, I'll take it!!! LOL!!! So THANK YOU, Sharon!! Please vist her blog here: http://sharonrwagner.blogspot.com/

So apparently when one receives such an award, you're supposed to post 11 random facts about yourself, answer the 11 questions the bestower asks you, & then nominate 11 more blogs for this fabulous award! Sharon didn't ask me any questions, so I will just give you some random facts that you probably have no interest in learning ......

Eleven Random Mit Facts:

1. Mit is actually short for Kermit....as in The Frog; a nickname I acquired in high school due to my supposed "big, bulgy eyes, & long, skinny, floppy arms."  I decided rather than give them the satisfaction of being upset about it, I would embrace it.........and have been signing my artwork that way ever since.

2. I have a shake cheese (parmesan)  addiction. I make the server stand there for minutes on end, grating cheese until my plate is covered in a sort of coating of off-white snow.....

3. I am left handed. So is my boyfriend....whose birthday just happens to be the day after mine...

4. I used to be allergic to scallops & champagne, but fortunately I'm not any more because I love both! ( Of course, periodically testing this until I discovered the allergies were gone was a wee bit risky....)

5. I am a firm believer in never giving up on your dreams. I started saving for a corvette when I was 8 years old, & finally bought one when I was 28.  (We're both pretty damn old now, and not everything works the way it used to....that wasn't part of the dream)

6. I decided I was going to Syracuse University for a degree in illustration in the 8th grade. And I did.

7. I used to drink 9 cans of Mountain Dew a week for about 20 years. But remarkably have not lost any teeth nor have any fillings.

8. I'm a pretty good dart player, even though I'm told I throw funny.

9. I make coffee whenever I work in my art studio, but don't drink it very often otherwise. I think of it as sort of a magical elixer of creativity...that sometimes gives me the shakes.

10. I have had a pet turtle named Bug for over 20 years.

11. I was hired to illustrate a children's book in 1997. The art was completed, but the publisher broke the contract. It finally got published elsewhere in 2012. See #5! :)


So now I'm supposed to honor 11 other blogs with a Liebster. I recognize, however, that while I was more than willing to post some ridiculous facts about myself that no one will probably read, other people may not wish to do so.

 So I will just list 11 really cool blogs below that I HIGHLY recommend you check out.  Afterall, this award is not REALLY about silly facts, but more about getting people to discover new blogs, & the ones I'm listing below belong to some super-talented people!!!! Do consider subscribing to each one if you don't already! (And by the way - it was REALLY  hard to pick only 11! I subscribe to far more than this that I love to visit!!!)

I'm not going to tell them. If they happen to see their blog listed, like awards, are pleased, & want to play along, cool. And if they are horrified, disgusted, & pissed off.....well, it wasn't me!!!  :)

http://dianasketches.blogspot.com/
http://clairewildish.blogspot.com/
http://www.philrood.com/
http://doodlestreet.blogspot.com/
http://koosjekoene.blogspot.com/
http://lightbluehippo.blogspot.com/
http://noramacphail.blogspot.com/
http://www.thepapersark.com/
http://carickature.blogspot.com/
http://bellasinclair.blogspot.com/
http://nyhagraphics.blogspot.com