Green Bunny & Robot

Wander through messy art studios in PT

Here's a chance to see art studios in Port Townsend. We were told to leave them as messy as when we're working in them, because visitors said they were too clean last year. So I'm working on making this one PT grunge. Come visit Saturday and Sunday August 21 and 22, 2010 from 10-4pm Kids can come make a collage illustration too. Come and mess around!

Come see us!

The third weekend in August is the annual PT Artist Studio Tour. It's a chance to see a huge variety of kinds of artwork created. Some studios include art activities for visitors. Come see us!

SCBWI Winter Conference

The SCBWI winter conference was fabulous. The Illustrator's Intensive day gave everyone a chance to see how over 100 illustrators would each illustrate the same topic. It was fascinating to see how each person created an image completely different from everyone else.
There's no point repeating what has already been said. Check out their blogsite:
http://scbwiconference.blogspot.com/

Throwing the portfolio out with the recycling

This was not the plan! My portfolio apparently wanted to be reassigned to recycled paper. After depositing a pile of papers into a recycle bin in the dark, my portfolio was no where to be found. A friend and I returned to the bin with a rake and tried to locate the escaped portfolio to no avail. Who could imagine that a week before needing to present the portfolio at an international conference, it would commit suicide and jump into a paper recycle bin. Either it was shy or had very low self-esteem.

Either way, the whole thing needs to be created anew within 5 days. My daughter said it was probably the Universe giving me another chance to create a Stellar portfolio!

My ideal life

My ideal life might not include one specific place called home. Most recently my home is near the Puget Sound. It's a beautiful place with a nice community, but it's small. Many friends and family are across the Sound from 'home' and my studio. I spend a lot of time commuting back and forth across the water to meet with artist friends, critique groups, painting groups, family events, and just general arty stuff.
This home seems much closer and easier to maintain those connections. For what seemed like too many years, we lived in Germany. There were many great things about living there. One of my favorite things was that Europe has all kinds of nooks and crannies to explore. During those years I also did volunteer work in places to get to know the culture better, like in Ecuador, Jamaica, and Ukraine. Turkey is a fabulous place too. People around the world are generally friendly and interesting.
Living overseas was the best way to learn about other cultures. It seems that where we choose to live always has things we love and things that are less than ideal. We are very lucky when we can find a balance so we can focus on the things we love to do and still be close to those we love. It's easier now that I'm mostly a stay-at-home illustrator.

Happy New Decade and a Blue Moon to you!

Wishes for a happy new decade, with a child's ability to find joy in simple pleasures!

Rendered Speechless

Just started a web forum for illustrators called Rendered Speechless Illustration. It's a place for illustrators to gather for fun and inspiration. If you are an illustrator, we'd love to have you join. Find a comfy chair and join us!
Rendered-Speechless.ning.com

May peace, happiness, and health be yours!

Wishing you peace, happiness, and health. May you have enough time with those you love to feel connected and comforted, and enough time in quiet solitude to reflect on life.

nanowrimo

Writing 50K words in a month is an experience similar to swimming in the arctic ocean or doing a technical drawing on the floor of a preschool classroom. Yes, it can maybe be accomplished, but why? I'm at the halfway mark for both words and days, but the ideas run thin. After all, it's really short stories that I love and have the attention span to either read or write! :-o
The image is of my published works... shortish, non-fiction, occasionally wordless, and fun!

Missing Deutschland

Have you ever lived in a place that was fascinating and interesting, but language and cultural differences made life more difficult? Going to the store to buy something as simple as flour took a dictionary and understanding of the many kinds of flour available in another country? They used a numbering system, like 405 and 550. It was a mystery, and at the time, there weren't expat blogs to help figure it out. Eventually we figured out enough to cook Lecker (tasty) food! Here are a few photos of our German home:

Collaboration can set us free!

These two sisters are just starting their journey together, but they have already learned something about collaboration that we all should know! And besides, they are just plain cute!

Incredible Edible Studio Tour

This was the first day of the an incredible (and partly edible) studio tour. I had 53 tour-ists visit the studio. It was a day of laughter and joy. There was time catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. They came from a range of places around our planet: Connecticut, Australia, Switzerland, Gig Harbor, Seattle, and right here Ma and Pa Kettle Land. (If you have read The Egg & I by Betty McDonald, you will know the place) I learned as much about the visitor's art and lives as I shared about my own. Everyone had such interesting comments that I started writing them down. One I chuckled about all afternoon was, "It's a good thing you have a woodpile outside to hide the ugly building". Now I call it Tin Can Studio because it is in a metal building. Here we concentrate on inner beauty, rather than outward appearances. See for yourself! And come visit!

स्टूडियो StudioTour

First, I'm confused why there is another language before my title. It's a mystery. I typed "studio", and the mystery font appeared. So those of you in who can read it have a special invitation to the the studio tour! And maybe the translator link will help everyone else! My studio will be on the Port Townsend Studio Tour, October 10th and 11th, from 10am-4pm. There will be 47 art studios on the tour this year, with all kinds of art represented. Port Townsend is a little seaport with a very cool Victorian center. It's a great place for restoring your soul! The website describing the tour can be found at: http://artporttownsend.org/2009/
Come visit!

Selfish giant rethinks world view

The Selfish Giant has banished children from his garden and built a wall to keep them out. When Spring arrives in the countyside, his garden remains snowy and cold. He is rethinking how he has affected the world around him.

The story is by Oscar Wilde.

Life is fragile! Egg family journey

The egg family has gone on a journey. Happily, the word has spread that child car seats save lives, because life is fragile, and eggs know this only too well!!

Evolution of an illustration

Here's how I work when creating an illustration. First, I generate lots of ideas in thumbnail sketches. I try to not get stuck on the first idea that comes to mind, as better ones may come up after some thought. The thumbnails are small versions in the same proportions as the final illustration. Time is well spent creating thumbnails. Usually there will be more than one idea that makes a good composition, and that can be developed too.

Next, I paint a value study in the same media I plan to use for the illustration.

Then I paint two or three color studies using the value study for a guide.


And finally, I make a pencil sketch, sometimes ink it with waterproof ink, and paint the illustration. A few changes can be made to composition at this point, but not too many for it to work.

A few new illustrations

Here are illustrations from this week. They are done in watercolor and ink, and one uses gouache also.

Shoeless in Seattle

Might be shoeless in Seattle, but these just wait patiently for a walk!

Recent illustrations

We'd better warn Jack of what's to come. I don't think he's read the story.