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

                                     

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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!!