week 6 in sketches

cattails | cherry blossom | peony | pyracantha | thistle | tigerlily

asparagus | aubergine (eggplant) | banana | passion fruit | pomegranate

artichoke | lemon | lychee | parsimmon | rutabaga

hippopotamus | marmoset | narwhal | otter | (huge) puffin

angler fish | fungi the dingle dolphin | puffin (take II)

So my 'sketch of the day' has turned into something else... quality not quanitity? I have five for this week, but as it turns out it's a lot of sketches in each.  My Facebook Sketch Challenges have been very fruitful indeed, and I'm enjoying them 

(as I hope the participants are) !

What do YOU think? Comments more than welcomed!

week 3 in sketches 2014

19/1/14

20/1/14 (perhaps not the best of days?)

21/1/14 (moo-se?)

22/1/14

 23/1/14 

24/1/14 (date on this one is wrong! Changed after pic taken) 

25/1/14 (dreaming of pondweed)

Soooo by this time next week (hopefully by this time tomorrow) my studio will be mostly set up and I can share some photos. I was thinking about taking a few to show the 'in progress' stages, but honestly it looks like a bomb went off in here, so I'm going to put that off a bit until it's just ever so slightly less embarrassing.

I will say I have two new lamps to make sure I never stop working because of lack of light. I have an actual work table which will hopefully also fit my scanner. I think what I might be lacking are some creative storage solutions for my supplies -- but there's always Muji for that! I'm sure I'll think of something.

Back to table (re)assembly. (Silly Ikea

sent me a faulty part so I had the (dis)pleasure of going there on a Saturday afternoon with the ever-present Ikea vacuum sucking money from my pocket.) I have entertained the idea that they might very well put faulty bits into cheapish Internet orders so people are all but forced to going to their stockpile of material temptation. Astoundingly, their wait time for email response was a whopping 11 days (seriously, I could get hit by a bus in that time) -- and the phone wait ridiculous. Ah well, a few more things to inspire me in my new space.

Stay tuned... and share this site with your friends (and enemies if you like. enemies are fine too --  or at least generally interesting).









Oh, and here's me. 

The Bee's Knees

A bit over a week ago I was asked by Bok Theatre Bournemouth to create an illustration for their theatrical adaptation of The Queen Bee, a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. Bok Theatre Bournemouth is "an informative, interactive, inclusive theatre company" created by the uber talented Mr. and Mrs. Parkin. I was happy to accept the project because it seemed like good fun (bees? ducks? ants? ... why ever not?) and also because Aaron and Charmaine easily inspire with their obvious passion for theatre, their unique creativity and their enlightened goal to "use the powerful tool of theatre to benefit society". Do support them if you are able! If you're unfamiliar with the fairy tale, you can make up for that HERE. Well worth two minutes of your time, I'm certain.

Some sketches below: 

Prelim ideas of the personified bee and other characters
- not far off the final results. 

Kind of like this very simplified version ... but not sure she could command the role of "Queen". Below the bee, a note about Charmaine's suggestion to include a key, pearls and honeycomb after I mentioned I'd like to include the King Ant and ducks. 

Working sketch of the queen before being "transferred" to watercolour for the final illustration. The bit cut out to the left was for gauging how close to the bee I should place the ducks.

 For some reason, when I drew this version and decided it was the best, I forgot to include the wings. So, amazingly without realising it, I thought I had completed the illustration when the Queen still didn't have her wings. Thinking I was nearly finished,  I showed it to Dan and he said "I like it, but it looks kind of like an ant without the wings". WITHOUT THE WINGS?? I actually hadn't noticed!! So these wings here were sketched on the above bee the next morning as practice. I cut out a piece of paper into the shape I thought would be best and traced around it on either side to make sure the wings were uniform and to decrease room for error. At this point, I didn't want risk drawing them freehand. I then (very nervously) added the wings to the final illustration using the same method. Voila! I added the little third and fourth wings (yes, Queen Bees have four wings!), and it was a go! PHEW!

Oh! And the tiny ants (some of the 5,000 helpers) around the King Ant were a last minute addition and the idea of my Dad. Thanks Dad! :)

No Place Like Home no. 7

Approx. 6" X 4" in watercolour and ink.

Bonkers

Been a bit bonkers around here, but will be picking up again soon! A little neon green never hurt anyone though, has it?

pink neon kitties

New illustration just listed in the shop! Playing around with kitty faces and shapes, obviously not necessarily relying on realism. Who needs realism, anyhow? Which is your favourite?

some detail -- MEOW

No Place Like Home #3

I was on holiday with my family (including my Mom!) in Ireland for a week mid-May and have had trouble getting back in the virtual saddle since then. This third painting in the series No Place Like Home was started before I left and finished just after returning! I didn't have it with me! Thought I better put this  up here before I lose track of where I am. :) More soon.

No Place Like Home - #2

The second of this series.. measures 10in X 7in. 

watercolour & ink. 

And a sneak peak of #3 in the works...

hangover I (*No Place Like Home - no.1)

Hangover I is finished. I've actually popped it into a little frame and have it in front of me now. I'm quite enjoying the Hangover without the hangover! I think this might reproduce well at a larger size. The original is only around 6"X4". Must remember to do a correct scan to make this possible.

chaos & calm

I'm pretty pleased with both of the two paintings I worked on today, and one thing that is so striking is how COMPLETELY different they are. The finished one features a very calm and serene capybara (possibly two or three seconds away from getting spooked, jumping and dashing away). This was the second painting of the two. 

The other, as yet unfinished (so I've only shown some detail), is just a tad bit different (read: bonkers crazy). I think its title will somehow include the word "hangover". It was started last night after returning from the pub, and began to develop in the haze of this morning. I'll let you fill in the blanks. Stay tuned for a complete picture. 

sloth bear meets bird

What it says on the tin, really. I think sloth bear is done...with the small (very small) addition of a little bird. I didn't really want to mess with bear too much because I liked his rough quality (and sweet disposition). I did realise that my memory put his nose kind of out of shape, but I still like how he looks and  it just makes me want to experiment more. Dan said the bird looked a little bit stuck on, to which I responded ... "well he is"! I didn't want to complicate the bird too much. Simpler the better, and every time I put my brush near him again I felt like I was in danger of ruining the whole thing. Good time to stop. I sent these off on an order for cards last night, and I played with the colour digitally to see what the resulting cards would look like. The green is the original watercolour wash... the orangey pink was changed by the magic of the computer. Kind of crazy, that. I'm not entirely sure about this example, but I do like the idea of playing with colours digitally for prints and cards. What do you think? 

the sloth bear

This sloth bear made his way onto some watercolour paper I had prepared earlier in a green shade. Just when I thought I needed to get to sleep he wouldn't let me go...

...and the two designs above have been prepared for greeting cards 

to be listed on Etsy very soon.

(let's hope the first experimental batch ordered is exceptional!)

The Carrot Thief - Part 1

When ideas are coming fast and furious... best strike when the iron's hot, no?