"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!