IF: Double

We have two male turkeys who spend all day trying to out-show each other.
They strut across the yard in perfect step, and even gobble in unison!

All-digital illustration

Book Sale Finds

Two great picture-book finds at the library book sale yesterday!

The Cataract of Lodore, a poem illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein,  makes you feel like you're falling down, and down, and down the cataract along with the poet and his three children. The Wild Baby, illustrated by Eva Eriksson, is the aptly named story of Baby Ben, who is always in trouble--think Calvin, minus Hobbes!
Ahh . . . filling my shelves with good books makes me happy. (And for only fifty cents each--that makes it even better!)

IF: Breakfast at Bag End

There was a fearful mess in the room, and piles of unwashed crocks in the kitchen. Nearly every pot and pan he possessed seemed to have been used.

We spent the weekend at the lake, and I happened to pick up The Hobbit for the first time in several years. I love the beginning--Bilbo's harried politeness to the uninvited guests and his dismay at the large amounts of washing-up the next morning. But really, what else can you expect when you have a houseful of hungry dwarves over for breakfast?

Pencil sketch, digital color

Making Jam

The best part of making raspberry jam--at least this little girl thinks so!

Watercolor and pen and ink.

IF: Diary

What is a diary? According to Gwendolen, it is . . .

I never travel without my diary. 

One should always have something sensational to read in the train.

--Gwendolen, from The Importance of Being Earnest

I started on my thumbnail sketch and was suddenly reminded of this painting by Jean-Honore Fragonard. So, I looked up the image and somewhat modeled my painting's composition and color scheme after "The Reader." I used my trusty faber-castell pens because I was too lazy to get out my dip pen. :) After I painted it, I scanned it in and added a few highlights in Painter--I have a terrible time keeping highlights in watercolors.

When I saw this week's word at Illustration Friday, several diary-related quotes (besides the one I decided to illustrate) instantly came to mind:

Custom Wedding labels/place cards

Another fun project for the Midsummer Night's Dream themed wedding reception: custom labels/place cards with blank spaces for the guests' names and a wedding date seal. I enjoyed weaving together quotes from the play and lots of scrolling "love-in-idleness" flowers. Look closely and you'll see a pair of little figures hiding in the border, too!

IF: Giant

"One more day," she thought, "and then I'll pick my asparagus." 

But she waited one day too many....

(I wonder what she'd find at the top?)

All digital illustration, with my wacom tablet and Corel Painter X.

Mud Soup

On our front deck there is an old red pot for the amusement of small girls. It holds an ever-changing "soup": pond water, grass seed heads, clover, bits of soft wood or broken pieces of sticks--it's amazing what fun (and what messes!) can be made with just a few old dishes and a little bit of imagination.

IF: Satellite

If you give one child a ride, you will soon be surrounded by a host of eager satellites clamoring for a turn!