Title: Untitled
Date: 5.31.11
Camera: iPhone 3GS
Notes: Ink on wood – Take 2.

More cool stuff:

I am continuing to make strides in updating my Etsy shop. Most of the jewelry has been cleared out, but a few pieces are still up for grabs. At 50% off with free shipping, they won’t be around long though!

I have added some new prints to the shop too (something I’ve been meaning to do for quite a while now). I have a few more coming soon.

Here’s what’s new…

someday sweaters : image size is approximately 5×7″

midnight birches : image size is approximately 5×7″

six red : image size is approximately 5×7″

More cool stuff:

Title: Untitled
Date: 5.30.11
Camera: Nikon D80
Notes:

More cool stuff:

Soooooooo, this afternoon I (or random.org, rather) picked the winner of the Magnanimous Monday Giveaway. The lucky number was 4 and that means that Stacie is our winner! Yay, congratulations, Stacie! Your new bracelet will be winging its way to you very soon.

To all of you who entered, I cannot thank you enough for a) reading my little blog and b) sharing the link with your friends. You all had such nice things to say and I appreciate them all so much. As mentioned previously, the next big giveaway is coming when I hit 500 posts, which should be sometime in July. So, stay tuned.

And thank you for continuously helping me to make space in my studio to fill up with more art supplies (that I don’t really need – heh)!

photo : new markers by yours truly

More cool stuff:

Title: Untitled
Date: 5.29.11
Camera: Nikon D80
Notes: Our first pepper is growing quite nicely.

More cool stuff:

Title: She’s a Honey
Date: sometime in the 1960s
Camera: unknown
Notes: I didn’t take a photo today, but I did scan and restore this one of my husband’s grandparents.

More cool stuff:

Title: Untitled
Date: 5.27.11
Camera: iPhone 3GS
Notes: Blurry and lame, but it was the only picture I took today.

More cool stuff:

I just love doing Friday Favorites. Not only does it give me an excuse to look at every.single.entry for Illustration Friday each week (and I truly do look at ALL of them), but I also come away with so much inspiration every week.

What I don’t love is having to narrow down my favorites to that mere fifteen. Some weeks are harder than others and this week may have been the hardest yet. I had such a long list of awesomeness and it was awful having to whittle it down. I don’t know what it was about this week, but everyone seemed to have brought their A-Game. So, to everyone who participated this week…well done!

I know I always say this, but really, check out IllustrationFriday.com and all of the awesome submissions there. This list of favorites is only the tip of the iceberg!

• Soaked by Tia Mushka : I have an ever-increasing love for paper cutting and this piece is a beautiful example of this type of art. The colors are gorgeous too.
• Java Sea I & II by Cally : This is such a beautiful use of watercolor. I love how you can see the shafts of light coming down through the water.
• Soaked by Rain : Another gorgeous watercolor piece with the added bonus of some great process shots.
• Soaked by bjorgnin : And one more great watercolor – I love that the color palette is not typical of a mermaid painting. Very nice.
• A Rainy Birdy Day by JS Daniel : Guess what! It’s time for the obligatory bird illustration (my bird-love knows no bounds) – yay! This illustration is completely adorable and I love all of the textures.
• Soaked by Eric Barclay : More birds and great patterns. I just hope that cat doesn’t get hungry.
• Soaked by Mike Barnett : Anyone who owns a particularly ‘jowly’ breed of dog (much like this one), is all too familiar with this scene. I am highly impressed by what an accurate representation this illustration is.
• Soaked by Vhrsti : The colors are perfect for creating the feel of a cold, dark, rainy night. I also love the wispy clouds in the sky.
• Downpour by Sarah Ryan : Love, love, love the perspective here and the shadowy figures. Very nice how the rain has motion.
• Rain by Koosje Koene : This is how I usually feel on a rainy day (and sometimes on non-rainy days).
• Soaked by Sara Boggs : This is how I would like to feel on a rainy day.
• Soaked by get zapped : Love the clean lines and, of course, the mysterious, faceless man.
• Soaked by Rose Lloyd : This illustration is cool for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that it reminds me of an umbrella with a goose neck handle that my aunt and uncle used to have.
• Soaked by Jen Norton : Beautiful design on the cloud and I love the colorful rain.
• Soaked by Kanako Shimura : Heh, heh. Fish with feet are usually quite clever.

As always, you can find tons more great illustrations at IllustrationFriday.com. And if you’d like to see past Friday Favorites, just click here.

Have you entered the GIVEAWAY yet?

More cool stuff:

Title: Untitled
Date: 5.26.11
Camera: iPhone 3GS
Notes: Paper flower made by Sir.

More cool stuff:

Title: Untitled
Date: 5.25.11
Camera: iPhone 3GS
Notes: Michael Baxley in the hall.

More cool stuff:

Title: Untitled
Date: 5.24.11
Camera: Nikon D80
Notes: I love this paper boat.

More cool stuff:

This piece was an experiment. Was it a successful one? Eh, I don’t know. I guess it was in the sense that I learned about what definitely works, what could work, and what absolutely does not work when it comes to watercolor pencils on wood. Read on if you want to be bored out of your mind you’re interested in the process.

I recently invested in some wood panels on which I would really love to use ink and watercolors. Being that I have never really worked with either on a wood surface, I felt a little experimenting was in order, but I didn’t want to waste any of my smooth, lovely panels. So, I dug this out of my stockpile of wood-framed mirrors. It wasn’t the greatest surface to work on, especially since not all four quadrants of the frame had the same texture, but it worked well enough.

I started by lightly sketching the design on the frame in pencil. It went okay. I didn’t want to create any dents in the wood, so I had to be very careful not to use too much pressure. Also, erasing errant pencil marks wasn’t very easy, so I had to focus on getting it right the first time. This is not one of my strong suits.

Next, I used my Prismacolor pens to ink the outlines. I was a little worried about how much the ink would bleed, and, while I definitely didn’t get the crisp, clean lines that I am used to, it turned out better than I expected. There were a couple of spots where I didn’t wait long enough for the ink to dry before erasing stray pencil marks and I smudged the ink. Patience is also not one of my strong suits.

For the water and raindrops, I used my Derwent watercolor pencils. I used varying degrees of pressure when applying the pencils, resulting in the differing degrees of transparency. I found that the white watercolor pencil was too transparent, and so I used gouache on the paper boat and clouds. It definitely helped to make them stand out more.

I really, really debated about how to do the background/sky. As it turned out, that is the part I am most disappointed with. I mixed up and really thinned out some blue/green watercolor, as I didn’t want much color. Unfortunately, it resulted in a much dirtier looking wash than I anticipated. I also feel like the color is too similar to that of the water. But, it was a lesson learned, so I’ll take it.

I have a wood panel triptych in mind that I am kind of excited about. I just need to get the process just right before I attempt it. Good thing I have more mirrors than I know what to do with!

Also, this thing was a real pain in the arse to photograph. I apologize for the lame photographic representation. Heh.

Oh, and if you haven’t entered the GIVEAWAY yet, go do it now!

More cool stuff:

Title: Untitled
Date: 5.23.11
Camera: Nikon D80
Notes: Just a little something I’m trying out.

More cool stuff:

So, less than a month ago, I was anxiously awaiting my 200th comment on this blog. Right now, I am in complete disbelief over the fact that I am only a few comments away from my 300th comment. That is nearly 100 comments in less than a month!

I am stunned and humbled by the number of people who not only read, but also comment on my blog. Your words of thanks and encouragement are what help keep me, this blog, and my work going. Well, that and an obscene amount of caffeine and sugar. And onion rings. Can’t forget about the onion rings.

Wait, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, comments and readers and all that good stuff. So, anyway, I feel like I should mark this occasion in some way, and really, what better way than with….a GIVEAWAY! Because a giveaway is not only great fun, it also helps in my constant efforts to keep my damn studio clean.

So, here’s what we’re gonna do. If you want to become the proud owner of the bracelet in the photograph (designed and handmade by yours truly with amethyst, rose quartz, and fluorite – matching earrings right here on Etsy, if you’re interested), leave a comment on this entry AND (and this is where I’m counting on all of you to be honest) share the link to my blog with at least one other person. You could email a friend, share the link on Facebook or Twitter, or you could just climb up to the nearest rooftop or bell tower and shout down to the people below about how you love this wicked awesome blog that’s written by a crazy lady and has super cool giveaways. Just be sure to obey any and all local laws pertaining to shouting from rooftops and/or bell towers. I love you all too much to have you end up in the clink!

Aaaaanyway, I will be leaving comments open until 12 pm EST next Monday, May 30 (also known as Memorial Day here in the good old US of A), at which time I will mosey on over to random.org and use their super spiffy number picker-outer thing. If your comment number matches the number chosen, you win! But, really, you all win because, hey, even if your number isn’t picked, you still get the pleasure of reading my blog. Heh.

All right, people, let’s roll!

More cool stuff:

Title: Untitled
Date: 5.21.11
Camera: Nikon D80
Notes: It’s Sunday night. And my camera battery is dead. And Sir is screaming because he doesn’t want to go to bed. And I’m tired. So, here’s a photo I took yesterday instead.

More cool stuff: