IF Topic : Wheel

My Illustration Friday submission for this week:

Picking Out a Lawn Ornament, Colored Pencil and Ink on Bristol Board

Here's a little bit of the process:

Lately, I've been missing summer (I always miss summer as soon as Christmas is over...). This is a farmer character I've been working on. So, thinking about summer....and wheels..and yard art (who doesn't love yard art?)...I decided this farmer needed a pinwheel for his yard. Here he is picking one out.

What a Stretch...!

This week's Illustration Friday topic - Suspended

He thought up such a great plan.

Everything was set..but there was a slight hitch in the process.

Still undaunted, but slightly suspended from success:

Not sure how he will get out of this one, but as long as the cat stays away he will be fine.

I was going to add a background, but changed my mind...seemed like it might get a little busy and the tension would be lost. Working on this little mouse for my upcoming project... (still a secret!)

IF - Puzzled

Here is the story of Bronton the bird.

All his friends call him "Watt," but until you know him better you can call him Bronton.
Is this the face of a Puzzled character?

Certainly not.

He's called Watt for a reason - he has an answer for everything and lights up like a lightbulb at a challenge.

He's read the dictionary front to back 7 times and has it memorized pretty much word-for-word.

In fact talking to him is like reading a dictionary. Or Thesaurus. Or Encyclopidia. 

Even when he hasn't read about it, he can make an educated guess to answer any question.

Who needs the World Wide Web when you have Bronton around?

Puzzled?

Just ask Bronton.

But you might get more than you bargained for.

For sale in my Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/97733434/almi-art-bronton-aceo-vintage-book-page

Etsy Mug

A new handpainted mug to add to my Etsy store! I had a lot of fun making this and I'm very proud of the result! I've been working on a lot of new things, and I need to start posting them!

This week's IF topic is "vocal." I had a hard time thinking of a scene for this, but finally chose to do these fish on this mug. I thought of it being a great conversation starter, and this is why it's a "vocal" piece. So far, everyone who's stopped by my house has certainly said something as soon as they saw it! :)

More Fish in the Sea
  Hand-Painted Ceramic Mug
  4.5" Tall

Here's the Etsy listing: http://www.etsy.com/listing/97317530/almi-art-more-fish-in-the-sea-hand

Oh, the Places I'd Like to Go!

This week's theme for IF was "Intentional" and today happens to be Dr. Seuss's birthday.

I absolutely love his work (he is very much an inspiration to mine) and have drawn him in the past. I see him as a very "intentional artist" with his bright colors and bold lines. He created a whole new genre of children's books that were nothing like the traditional "Dick and Jane" stories his generation was used to. Once, when at a book signing, he disappeared into a back room, where they later found him striking out the prices on boxes of new "Dr. Seuss" shoes and repricing them because they were too expensive. He never read his books in public, got very angry if reproductions of his work looked "cheap," and created all kinds of personal work that never was published.

Here is my "intentional" entry in colored pencil:

The time had come,

But Marvin said "NO!"

So Walter climbed on the Crunk-Car

And set it to "slow."

But slow was no fun,

Slow would not do.

So he cranked it to "fast"

and, boy, that thing flew!

I'm a little disappointed in how the colors came out when I photographed that one - in the original the blue is bluer, the owl is teal and the tree is orange. Also, I wanted to include the portrait of Seuss that I did two years ago for a Museum show. I realized I never put this into a blog, so I wanted to make sure I did! :) It's all colored pencil (no ink or any other mediums) and it's 18"x24" (poster size). I was illustrating his less-know characters with a little of my own style and coloring - little did I know they'd be making a movie out of the Lorax!

It's framed for my Office:

Wish I could have met him!

Preparing for Lift-Off

Took some extra time on this week's Illustration Friday theme "Capable" and came up with this:

"Preparing for Lift-Off"
A capable teacher, an optimistic student,

Perhaps this lesson is not really prudent.

But the charts all look right - it's possible to fly

And he's always heard "It never hurts to try."

ALMI Owls :: Egbert :: Walter

Colored Pencil on Bristol Board

I kinda took the theme and ran with it. Nothing came to mind for "Capable" for a while, but I started thinking about my owls, and which one was the least capable flier. It then just made sense for the smartest owl to try and teach him. :)

On a side note, my sister was laughing at me yesterday because I try to use my pencils to the fullest:

Which can get a little ridiculous.

I hope to hear from you!