A recent Digital Photography class gave me an excuse to spend a lovely afternoon at a local herb garden. I found this delightful teapot next to a shaded iron bench overlooking a small pond. Just a stone’s throw from a tiny fairy garden, and a perfect spot for a precious moment of reflection and relaxation.
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I am just returning to the weekly photo challenges and couldn’t imagine a better way to begin. With all the beautiful snow came an extended long weekend from school and work, along with the trip to the infamous hill in our neighborhood.
Here is my family trekking through the powder…
And my four bundles of joy… literally.
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My concept illustration of Mary Poppins from P. L. Travers’ description in the original story. [Chapter 2, “The Day Out”]
It has been an exciting couple of months without a doubt! First and foremost, I spent an incredible weekend at the New England SCBWI conference in Springfield, MA last May! I attended writing workshops with some amazing authors such as Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen and Melanie Hope Greenberg, and enjoyed insights and inspiration from keynote speakers, Grace Lin and Sharon Creech. Next, I learned valuable tips on creating an illustration portfolio from Sarah Brennan, Teri Weidner, Nicole Tadgell and for a grand finale, a two day storyboarding workshop with one of my all time favorite illustrators, Ruth Sanderson! (Insert happy dance here.) By the time we returned home, my head was spinning and my notebook bulging with notes and an action plan, motivating me through the summer and my upcoming semester.
Last Fall, I had the opportunity to enroll in an Illustration class. Our first project was a children’s book illustration based on a character of our choice. With Peter Pan and Robin Hood tied as runners up, Mary Poppins lead the way in first place. A few weeks later, we were given the assignment to design a product label in my Digital Imaging class, that we would eventually wrap around a jar in Photoshop and finally insert this new product image into a magazine ad. I used a hybrid of this illustration along with other images I was able to find along the way, to create Poppins Preserves… “Just a spoonful of sugar in every practically perfect jar!” Too much fun – I just couldn’t resist!
Once again I am caught up in a whirlwind of projects and classes this semester, but I wanted to take a moment to share my latest work from my pastel class. I am currently studying under Bonnie Roth, who is a fantastic artist and thought provoking instructor. Take a browse thru her gallery if you have a few minutes: http://www.bonnierothanderson.com/portrait2.html. She is broadening my perception of color every week, and I have been thoroughly enjoying the journey!
For this particular piece, we spent 3 sessions with our model, and I must say that I am really enjoying this medium. I have always loved working in charcoal, so this seems to me a natural progression into the realm of pastels. I am looking forward to re-working some of my picture book illustrations with some of these new concepts and techniques. Thanks for stopping by my virtual studio! 😉
What a great couple of months this has been! I have been caught up in a rush of school activities for my kids, and my classes have picked up speed as well. I finished out the rest of my Drawing class last semester, just in time to prepare for family and friends visiting over Christmas. Then, my Winter and Spring session courses added to my already frenzied days! Currently I am enrolled in three courses: Writing for Children, Designing and Illustrating Children’s Books and Graphic Design! And I am LOVIN’ it! From the outset, it seems highly unlikely that I could ever keep up this pace. Yet in the midst of each project, I find this new reserve of energy and passion that drives me to finish line. This is definitely what I was born to do!
A self portrait appropriation based on the amazing original artwork of Marjorie Liu and Daniel Acuna (Marvel Comics, July 2010).
Last week, I put together the mock up of a Picture Book dummy which I am hoping to get critiqued by an editor at an upcoming conference in May. I initially thought that I would have 3 months to work on this, however I learned during registration that a sample had to be postmarked within 3 days. Needless to say, I was launched into high gear! And just to keep things interesting, my first Graphic Design project due date was around the corner. The assignment required that we submit an appropriation of a favorite character out of a graphic novel. I chose the Black Widow character from Marvel Comics after recently watching Scarlett Johansson’s awesome portrayal of Natasha Romanoff in “Iron Man 2” and “The Avengers” – now THAT’s what I’m talking about ~ Excellent choreography in her fight scenes! This style of illustration is not what I typically generate, and we were expected to re-invent ourselves as this character. After multiple searches for an action packed illustration, I finally found the cover, “The Name of the Rose” (Issue #2) created by Marjorie Liu and Daniel Acuna for Marvel Comics. By using their fantastic work as a template, I was able to explore this style with my own pen and ink self portrait and ultimately render the finished product through Adobe Illustrator – it was a ton of fun! I added my own facial features and hair, and my holster carries paintbrushes and pencils, ready to produce extreme graphics at a moment’s notice. Now I have something to hang in my studio to keep me motivated… Speaking of which, it’s time to get back to work! Glad to be back in the blogosphere!
This was a fun gift for my sister-in-law who joins us in our great appreciation for the finer beverages… JAVAHHHH!!!
Along the front it reads:
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Charcoal and conte on drawing paper.
Phew! I know it has been a while, but my days have been moving at the speed of life!!!…
A typical day… Wake up, shower, hair & makeup, coffee, organize kids, kiss husband, kids out the door & into the van, one more kiss… dreamy sigh… Love that man! Feeling blessed… Oh! The kids! … “Mooo-om! [Yes, the 2-syllable, whiney version of my name] I forgot my lunchbox!” back in the house… Jump in the van, drop the kids at school, drive to college, sketch, get into “the zone”, erase, smudge… repeat, repeat… back in the car, run errands, check off ‘to do’ list, chores, eat a late lunch (sometimes), answer emails, back to school to pick up kids, sketch in the parking lot while I wait for dismissal, back home, help with homework, back to school to pick up an afterschooler… and/or drive to the next extracurricular, back home, make dinner while helping with more homework, husband comes home, happy dance with a welcome home kiss, family dinner… homework… kids’ showers, research, chores, prayers, bedtime hugs, …ahhhh… quiet…. decompression commences, collapse on the sofa, laugh with husband about the craziness of the day, brush teeth, go to sleep to get ready to start all over again tomorrow…
I know that is probably a snapshot of most of our lives, especially for a mom with young children… maybe a few substitutions of work, activities and so on… It’s all good, just not a lot of extra minutes for my ‘Shoulda done’ list… So in the meantime, while I am choosing to focus on what I am able to accomplish in this season of my life, with a prayer for God to infuse me with energy and sustenance, here is a recent drawing I completed for homework just before getting into the onslaught of landscapes… which are so much more involved than I thought they were going to be! Especially for someone who can get absorbed in the details!… But that’s a blog for another time!
I would love to find out about your circle of life! Please share!!! 🙂
Scribble gestures of gourds and peppers for homework.
Just another quick post on the fly to update you on some more of my drawing class assignments…
We have been getting more into “Mass Gestures” with compressed charcoal… So other than feeling like I have a constant black film filling my pores, I am loving this exploration of textures and media! Here are some of my homework assignments, along with some classwork.
My mass gesture study of a stuffed pillow in class.
The objective for this homework was to create a mass gesture of 3 stuffed objects… I couldn’t leave Cappuccino out of that one! 🙂
Exploring my new world through Prismacolor!
Moving right along, we are preparing to take on landscapes soon, depending on how the weather treats us. Meanwhile, in a whirlwind of personal projects, I have been getting immersed in the world of Prismacolor pencils. I am developing an idea for a series that I will share when I feel they are ready. Here is a little cropping of one of the drawings I have been working on most recently. I have been kindling this desire to illustrate for children’s books, exploring more detailed renderings of subjects and really enjoying the journey! Thanks for stopping by my virtual studio! 🙂
Just the basic supplies to get me through the week!…
While visiting Disney World in May for our ‘Familymoon’, we found ourselves in the midst of the new construction for the highly anticipated Fantasyland renovations. Disney announced that they would be phasing in new attractions, restaurants and shops, including the addition of The Beast’s Castle (“Beauty and the Beast”) and Prince Eric’s Castle (“Little Mermaid”) through 2014. Just past the construction barriers, you can see the beginnings of Belle’s stomping grounds.
A closer view of The Beast’s Castle under construction at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
(Photograph taken May 2012)
In a very Disney-esque style of forced perspective that is seen throughout all of their parks, the scale of the castle gives the impression of great distance. The actual size of the castle can be better realized alongside the construction workers, in some terrific photos that I found online at: Inside the Magic (click here).
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Fitztopia 