Sorry I dropped off of the face of the Earth, everyone. I've had little projects here and there that I didn't want shown on this blog until they were finished or used by the client. Here is one of them. It was for a political campaign over in California. I usually don't like to get involved with political matters, but I didn't think this had too much mud slinging going on, and I got to work with a really wonderful TV Producer. Since the turnover time was pretty fast for 5 illustrations, from sketch to finish, I did the paintings digitally. Someone else animated the illustrations and edited everything together, and this ad aired in San Diego over Memorial Day weekend. It was a really great experience.

You can go here to see it!

Here are the stills from it (one sketch and all finishes).

A Book for Earth Day

Earth Day is today, everyone! I don't know what it's like in your neck of the woods, but here in New Jersey, we have received some much-needed precipitation after virtually a month of relentlessly sunny weather (no complaints here on either of those counts).

Many of us are familiar with the more well-known books celebrating Earth Day, such as Chris Van Allsburg's "Just A Dream" (Houghton Mifflin Company), or, perhaps most famous of all, Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax" (Random House, Inc.), but here's one of MY favorites (from Worthwhile Publishers). It's a lot of fun, and very, very clever.

Happy Earth Day Weekend (And Arbor Day Week)!

We've come to that time of year. Both Earth Day and Arbor Day are upon us. I was always a little baffled at the difference between the two holidays, so close to each other and seemingly so similar--why wouldn't they just be the same day? Naturally, I did what any scholar would do to research the matter: I Googled it.

And I found that Arbor Day came first (but is always the last Friday in April), a day established to appreciate the natural environment and, traditionally, show that appreciation by planting a tree.

Earth Day came a little after, with more of an emphasis on the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" motto. It was meant to make us mindful of our overconsumption of resources and creation of pollution. In a way, Earth Day has actually expanded to the other 364 days of the year, as we are so conscious of how very "Green" we are being.

Both days are respectable and come from the purest of intentions, but I actually find the idea of Arbor Day to be more generally positive (and totally romantic!). Though I won't be planting a tree this weekend, I plan on giving a hearty squeeze to the Magnolia in front of my house. Oh, and there's this:

Drawing from the Model

One of the things I miss most about art school is the regular opportunity to draw from a live model. Often, the models we got to draw were yoga fiends, so they were able to hold some really great poses for up to ten minutes. I would try to get everything down way before the ten minutes were up, though, because I liked changing the model's age and body type to create more than one character. Personality was something I liked to play with, as well...

Back from Chicago!

As some of you may know from past blog posts (or from knowing me personally), my boyfriend is now officially a Sailor in the US Navy. To state the obvious, I am very proud of him. Not only has he completed the first phase and earned his title, but he was chosen by his peers as Honor Recruit of his Division. When I heard this I was pleased, but in no way surprised. Over this past weekend, his family and I got to spend a day with him after the graduation ceremony. Although I do wish we had more time, I'm grateful nonetheless for the time we did get, and I consider the 12 hour drive to and from Great Lakes, Illinois, so, so worth it. Besides, now I can actually call him again, which is a refreshing change from the past 2 months. I'll try to keep my military alphabet going, though!

With Russell after receiving his Honor Recruit certificate

The Lake

I've been working on a project very recently that's sort of been in the "idea" phase for quite a few years. Finally, I got the time to pound it out, and, since I never know when I could be suddenly very busy, I seized the opportunity. You may notice this is a slight shift from what I usually do, especially being that there's not a quirky character in sight. There are people in my reference photo, but I wanted this scene to just focus on the lake. I haven't done a larger scale traditional landscape in a while, and my fingers were crossed...

I began with the underdrawing and friskets, and continued to lay down color until I was happy, but it isn't finished yet. Once I do all feel I should do in watercolor, I go in with acrylic paint. Some areas will get pretty dark, and some will just get tighter with glazes. I think it makes the colors look richer in the end. Here is the reference photo I put together from the photos I had taken. For the finish, I've taken some "artistic liberties." Or, to put it more frankly, I DO WHAT I WANT.

V is for Victor

Yesterday, February 3rd, was the final day of my Sailor's training (so now, he's officially a "Sailor"). Today I sent out his final "letter" letter. I was stumped at first as to how I would approach this little finale of sorts, when the answer leapt out at me from the blank card: Victor! Duh. Congratulations, Ship 11, Division 065! And everyone else in the other Ships and Divisions! You made it!

I told you to expect more from these two! I wasn't bluffing. Don't worry, more will come from them, and the remainder of the alphabet. Hooyah!