Altered art

A use for old CDs! These are some ornaments I've made out of CDs that would have gone in the garbage. Cool eh?

Excess

Wow, I've been away from here forever. Too busy with work, life and ATCs. Yes, ATCs. Artist Trading Cards. I'm having a blast over here and making loads of new artist cyber buddies.

So, "excess" for Illustration Friday. Holiday time is full of excess isn't it? What could be more excessive than drinking like a fish whilst wearing yellow tights and having purple hair?

Open

I have been so absent from Illustration Friday. This week's topic is Open and all I could think of was open mouthes. I'd like to take this further and make a vertical illo with this at the bottom and McDonald's fries and other crap being offered from above... of course that would violate oodles of laws and would be for my viewing pleasure only so...

Hope you like it so far.

Alphabets

My first Artist Trading Card! Because I need more things to do lol. I decided to combine the theme for Illo Friday (alphabets) with my first ATC swap "Witches". I've been wanting to do the swaps for a while now and I'm hoping to have lots of fun with it.

Here's another one

Visitors

When I was little my parents entertained a lot. It was always so much fun to see them and their friends all dressed up and they'd serve fancy food and drinks. My sisters and I would dance to entertain them. Picture a 4-year-old with pink cat-eye glasses and Shirley Temple ringlets in a flannel nightie dancing on a big round orange nagahide footstool that twisted - good times! I'd kill for that footstool now.

I'm calling the couple on the left the Wallace-Scotts. I haven't decided on the right side couple... maybe they are on their first date - she's a divorcee and they are trying to fix the two of them up... what do you think?

GOSH

I haven't posted in ages. So busy with work and all the summer kid stuff.

I honestly have no idea what the heck I was thinking here. I am a great cook. I'm obsessive about food a lot of the time but I am not a baker. I like to freestyle and create and baking is pretty rigid - leave out an ingredient and you end up with a flat cake etc. So yeah, that's what I was thinking. A new superhero to help those of us who don't bake cakes but who cringe at the thought of those grocery store birthday cakes!

Faster than a whisk, more powerful than a Kitchen Aid...

Really this was just an intentional escape from a lot of work that is dragging me down. Thanks for stopping by.

Freaky geek

When I saw the IF topic for this week the first thing I thought of was circus geeks. In the old days the guys that would bite heads off live animals, hammer nails in their heads, swallow stuff. Ah, the good old days!

Twist?

I think I mixed up my idioms. My first thought was "up the twist" meaning pregnant. But then I started to wonder, is it "up the spout" and "in a twist"? Oh well, her dog is all twisted around her and her shirt pattern is lemons and you can twist those. Oh and a snail is kind of twisted. Whew.

Camouflage

I could really use that right now - a good book and a comfy couch. But alas, lots of work to do and the last week of school is always stuffed with activities and running around and all the crap they cart home that I have to sift through! This was a fun illustration to do so I hope you enjoy it.

And my book cover is finito and has been uploaded to the publisher - yippee!

Suit

I haven't done an Illo Friday for a few weeks - too much else going on. So this is a quickie for this week's "Suit". Hope it makes you smile!

Sign

And then - one day - she knew just what to do!

When in doubt, ask a bartender

So I didn't know what to do for this week's Illustration Friday. The weather has been soooooo nice I didn't want to jinx it by doing something about cold climate. So I checked in with the bartender and sure enough, there is a Polar Bear cocktail!

3 oz Vodka
1/2 - 1 oz Blue Curacao
7-Up or Sprite

Mixing instructions:

Just blend with ice in a highball glass.

Sweet.

Miss Fortune

I don't buy many lottery tickets but when I do I love thinking about what I'd do if I won... where I'd go, etc. So that is what Miss Fortune here is doing... that and letting me relive my punk days of the 80s!

It's not easy

It's gym time; I've been working out like crazy...results are there but not stupendous - maybe I need some greens.

I spy

So I did this version and then I added a little ditty...



It certainly has more resale value without. God knows that there must be legions of art directors out there searching in vain for flying pig images. I think I have found my niche.

Finally!

I haven't posted in so long!!!!!!!!!!!! I live in a major summer theatre town so this time of year is INSANE with work. But I had to do this week's Illo Friday because:

a) I haven't done IF in a month and as creative (lucky me) as I get to be in my work; it is still work.
b) I need to share my amazing hot-off-the-presses news...

I'm illustrating a book cover!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not sure how much I can tell darnit - contract hasn't been received yet but it came right out of the blue. From here folks. Someone visited my blog and voila - book cover job. Needless to say I AM THRILLED.

Happy, happy, happy.
Busy, busy, busy.

Stuff

Apparently I have been tagged by my longtime illo buddy Maggie. I need to state 6 weird things about myself. Should be easy.

1. For at least 3 years now at some point in the day I look at the clock at 11:11 or 1:11. AM or PM. Doesn't matter. It always takes me by surprise. If I look at the clock and it's 11:10 I will not look again and just like that I either look by accident at 1:11 or the next 11:11. One day I missed and the next I was replying to an email that came the previous day at - you guessed it - 11:11.

2. I have 18 clocks in my house. Not counting watches. I don't wear a watch. I do have 2 in my bag/purse tho.

3. I have watched Coronation Street since I was a kid - that means for over 30 years. Not weird I think, but I do watch every weeknight at 7 if possible and then again on Sunday at 7:30am all over again in case I missed something. Really just an excuse to lounge in bed with mags and sketchbook every Sunday morning.

4. I like to sit in the shower. If it's morning with a coffee. At night, a glass of wine.

5. I collect toys. I don't let my kids play with them.

Okay the last wasn't that weird. So now I'm tagging:

another Julie

Diane

Michelle

Pickledog

Jennifer

Claudine

Okeedokee. So you have to answer the same questions and respond with your answers and send to six more, you know the drill. This was WAAAYYYYY easier that that 100 question one that went around!

Crud...

I really wanted to finish this...I really wanted to post something the past two weeks...I hate pressure and boy am I under it lately. I want to add snowflakes to this at the top and decorative graphic stuff at the bottom...so it's here, it's kind of red, there are more important things in the world but I didn't finish, but it's good...right - darned stress.

The girls had a good buzz on at the costume party

A bit of a quickie this week. I am soooooooo swamped in the next few weeks it's going to be crazy. And I was asked - heck everyone on SFG probably was - but I'm still flattered to do an interview on this blog. And first real silkscreening jobs are coming in... and the autism boy's therapy is stepping up... who needs sleep!

Fast Food

For the Sugar Frosted Goodness "fast Food" challenge. I think all the nitrates are making hot dog go rabid.

Cheers!