Illustration Friday - Adventure

A Blustery Day - Watercolor, ink & paint pens

"Suddenly the wind ceased. The air seemed motionless around us. We were off..." - Alberto Santos-Dumont

I don't think she cares where she is going. This lovely lady is in it for the ride. 

Loving the latest prompt from IllustrationFriday.com. This week is all about:

"Adventure"

Here is a windy wanderer from a few years ago. She's been floating around in my Etsy shop, matted and ready to be popped into your 11" x 14" frame. She's also been marked down to $20, mat included - time to free up some inventory. 

Do you have the heart of an explorer? Share your nomadic dreams today! Upload your take on adventure and add the link over at the Illustration Friday website.

Illustration Friday - prehistoric

Super fun challenge from IF today = 'prehistoric'! 

Don't know if I'll have time to draw this week (busy prepping for one of our big trade shows, the NY Toy Fair), so I took a few minutes of precious TGIF time to dig up & play with a dusty ole negative.... yes, from the ancient days of *gasp* film.

However I don't think IF accepts photos, so I won't bother submitting. But, hey, if you feel inspired to create: (1) share your antediluvian adventures online (2) link up to illustrationfriday.com & (3) be sure to tell me about it so I can check your primeval self out.

Before you leap back into the future, be sure to comment below. It'll get your name into the hat for my next random drawing. On 2/13 one winner picks their fave ACEO  (mini art print) from my etsy shop,Artsnark's Artifacts, to add to their collection.

Illustration Friday - Heights

1987 doodle - recycled for IF

Deep into the studio de-stash this week, so no time for a new IllustrationFriday doodle. This week's  prompt is "heights". Here is a scribble from a comics class (I mostly slept through) in 1987. wow -  amazing how much life has happened since then. Be sure to visit the IF site to check out some more interesting interpretations of the challenge. If you are feeling inspired, grab some paper (or mouse)  & remember to share.

1987 

Just for kicks, here's a crop of a self portrait from the same class. 

Why on earth do I still have this junk? Gotta tell you: it is feeling pretty good tossing out all kinds of old baggage this week. But it sure takes a lot of time (I have a lot of stuff- haha). 

De-cluttering, family & work have been keeping me busy. I am looking at probably another week or 2 of digging deep (I am tempted to rent a dumpster). Then maybe I will be able to use my creative space for something besides digital-art!

Pathfinders Flying Pig Automata Kit

The Dude was home sick from school today, so between naps and coughing jags we put together a fun wooden Flying Pig automata from Pathfinders. I'll post a pic later this weekend once the boy gets it painted. A fun project for kids (& grown up kids). 

What are you up to the next few days? What ever it is, I hope you have a grand time! Best wishes for a wonder-filled weekend.

Illustration Friday - Stripes

Envy

The new IF challenge prompt, Stripes, brought to mind an old charcoal portrait. I tweaked it a bit in P.Elements just for kicks.  If you feel inspired by this theme create & post your interpretation. Be sure to add a link over at IllustrationFriday.com. Or you can just visit them and enjoy the variety of striations other folks are sharing.

Did you know that leaving a comment here enters you into a new random drawing? On 12/1 two lucky readers win prints of their favorite pieces from my Etsy shop or blog. Giveaway is open worldwide. Click here for details.

Thanks for popping by. Best wishes for a creative day!

Illustration Friday - Scary

Halloween 2011 WIP

A belated entry for Illustration Friday's new prompt - Scary. This creepy nature-girl is cropped from a piece I am playing with for tomorrow's post.

Special thanks to these stock providers for the inspiration:
http://ashensorrow.deviantart.com
http://tasastock.deviantart.com

Pop back later tomorrow to catch the whole piece. Unfortunately my computer is acting up tonight so I'm calling this day done. Best wishes to you all for a fantastic week!

By the way, visit Illustration Friday for more Scary stuff this week.  Be sure to add your own interpretation if you are feeling inspired.

NOTE: Click here for final piece, added 10/31

Illustration Friday - Hibernate

hibernate

Once again loving IllustrationFriday's new prompt- this week it is the evocative Hibernate. Many thanks to stock photographer/model daylight-calling for sharing her wonderful images on deviantart.com. Anybody who pops over here regularly knows that DeviantArt is one of my top go-to spots for models. I was super happy to stumble onto daylight-calling's stock tonight.

Dredging the itunes library for some torpid inspiration led me to Jude's No One Is Really Beautiful.  (The only clean version of "I know" that I could find for sharing is from the City of Angels Soundtrack)

I've also been mulling over a line from Wilde's Dorian Gray, which I'm rereading for for the Etsy Time Travelers Team book club: "The world belongs to you for a season.... The moment I met you I saw that you were quite unconscious of what you really are, of what you really might be."

Toss in an uninvited visit from my regular muse, Little Red, and you've got today's digital illustration for Hibernate. Click the pic to enlarge.

Want to see some more grand yet sleepy art? Check out IllustrationFriday.com. 

Feeling inspired? Post your own & link up before next Friday.

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Technique & Tool chapter from The Pulse Survey

It was great fun participating in the 5th incarnation of Seth Apter's ongoing Q&A project, The Pulse. 130+ artists answered a variety of art related questions . The latest chapter, Techniques & Tools, asks what technique or tool the artists couldn't live without. Some great answers can be found now on Seth's blog, The Altered Page, with links to each artists creations.  (yep, shameless plug - I'm in this round). Click here to check it out - it is interesting to see the mix of responses & styles. Be sure to visit The Altered Page each Sunday for a new installment of The Pulse.

Seth Apter's The Pulse artists' survey

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Entered my giveaway yet? Yep, changing topics on you again. If you answered "no" then leave a comment & your name goes in the hat. I'm drawing 1 random winner next Thursday from anyone who has commented on this blog in the last 2 weeks. By the way, I've been a lazy blogger so comments are light & your odds are good. Winner gets 1 ACEO of their choice from my Artsnark.etsy.com shop.

Well, gotta fly. Hope you are feeling inspired & wishing you a creative day!

Illustration Friday - Ferocious

a woman scorned

I'm a little late to the party this week. Finally stole some time to play with last Friday's I.F. art challenge. The new word is "ferocious" - fun, huh? You have until 9/29 to post your interpretation & add it to the IllustrationFriday.com site.

This little doodle is a mix of stamping, drawing & digital illustration. Might add a few tiny flames in the future....but responsibilities beckon, so this is it for now.  Catch you later! Hope you have a creative day

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By the way, I'm holding a random drawing on 10/6 - 1 winner gets their choice of ACEO from my ArtSnark etsy shop. Any comment left on this blog before then get's your name in the hat.

Illustration Friday - Mesmerizing

I CELEBRATE myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. 

- from Walt Whitman's Song of Myself

Mesmerizing - another inspiring prompt from the always fabulous IllustrationFriday.com. Just a quickie from me today - this one is colored pencil and marker with digital tweaks. To enlarge, click the pic.

I do love making stuff - the act really is mesmerizing. I get lost in the zone and everything else falls away..... best meditation I know.  

Does this challenge stir your creative side? If so, slide into your imagination and scribble down those mesmerizing thoughts. Then float on over to I.F. and share them with the rest of us. Or just pop over and see what is hypnotizing other artists today.

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By the way, have you entered the new random drawing yet? Leave a comment before 9/22 to toss your name in the hat. 1 lucky person takes home a pair of snowy owl earrings from The House Of Decadent Delusion. Click here to view prize & enjoy an interview with the designer.

Illustration Friday - Mysterious

Red Handed - charcoal, ink & digital

Wow - is already time for IllustrationFriday again? Another fabulous art challenge this week - the new prompt is "Mysterious." Come out & play if you get a chance. Just post your mysterious interpretation and link up over at IllustrationFriday.com.

Skull doodles WIP

Sadly, I missed last week's prompt, "disguise." Time slipped away from me.... but I am playing with the mask doodles again this year. So happy to find more paper mache skelly parts when cleaning up my messy space. Last fall, I found that although I don't stick to art journaling, skull scribbling somehow clicks for me.

2010 WIP skull, since finished

I'm thinking about listing this 2010 mask on Etsy. It has been finished (oops - never did take a final photo) & is displayed on a modified doll stand. The question is - should I add holes & ribbon so that it can be hung on a wall before listing? What do you think? I'd love any suggestions.

Time to get back to my day. If you are feeling doodle-iscous remember to post your mysterious creation & share over at IF.

   

Oh, & if you haven't entered the Sept 8th random drawing for 3 pendants from LilyBellesJewels and would like some more info, click here. All who comment on this blog before the drawing are automatically entered.

Illustration Friday - Imperfect

the eyes have it

Imperfection is beauty, 

madness is genius, 

and it is better to absolutely ridiculous 

than absolutely boring. ~ Marilyn Monroe

Another fabulous challenge from IllustrationFriday.com!  I could post just about anything I've done & have it fit. But on further musings... for me it is all in the eyes. While I am also obsessed with hands, the eyes make or break a piece for me. By the way, the peepers featured above are from misc. works o' mine.  Most are in my etsy shop.

Oooh.... I feel a game coming on.... tell you what - try to identify pieces that these eyes appear in & you could win 1 of my prints. Could be fun! How many can you guess right? It just happens that they are almost all available in my etsy shop. My shop is ArtSnark.etsy.com. 

C'mon! Have a go. Leave your answer in the comments here (or if you want your guesses to remain secret send an email to ArtSnark@verizon.net). If you guess the most correct answers, you win. If there is a tie, I will do a random drawing from the folks with the same # of guesses. If anyone decides to play along, I will announce the winner next Friday. Cheers!

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By the way, I'm also running a random drawing for my Portrait of Mary Shelley ACEO. Leave any comment on my blog before 8/18 to toss your name into the hat. Click here for more about this giveaway & to see the piece

Illustration Friday - Obsession

Dark Obsession

The creative habit is like a drug. 

The particular obsession changes, 

but the excitement, the thrill of your creation lasts.
- Henry Moore

I am soooo loving IllustrationFriday's new prompt, Obsession. No time to play today, so I dug up this oldie from 20 years ago - yikes, has it been that long? 

I admit, obsession drives much my life and art. I'm one of those people who really falls for an author or topic and immediately reads every book in the series.  I'll do the same with a new technique or quirky idea.

Cure for an obsession: get another one. - Mason Cooley 

Subjects also simmer in the background, resurfacing long after I thought I'd gone beyond them.  The creepy fellow above popped up a few years ago in this cut paper ACEO. It is mounted on a base of red reflective paper.

Dark Obsession ACEO at ArtSnark.etsy.com

What is your latest obsession? Post a doodle online & link it over at IllustrationFriday.com - while you are there, click around & see what everyone else is fixating on this week.

Illustration Friday - Gesture

Gesture

"Drawing is like making an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence. " ~Henri Matisse

I had fun with the new prompt from IllustrationFriday.com - Gesture. Click on the pic for larger view.

Many thanks to these fantastic free-use stock providers:

LetzteSchatten-stockfor use of image Stock4

Mjranum-stock for image That's the spot -2

Do you feel inspired by this week's challenge? If so, make something cool, post it online and add a link on the I.F. site. If not, skip over there anyway & check out what everyone else is up to.

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By the way, I am holding a random drawing on 7/28. Winner gets their favorite ACEO from the new prints I've ordered. To enter, leave a comment on my blog before June 28. For details & to see a few of the new art cards, click here

Illustration Friday - Stay

Stay - mixed media on cut paper - click image to enlarge

Stay, the new IllustrationFriday prompt, hits close to home this week. I don't tend to get too personal on this blog & have debated sharing TMI this week. I don't do emotional very well in the real world (let alone the virtual one) so that is why I have been scarce around here. (who knows, I may come back & delete this later).

About 10 years ago my Dad was diagnosed with a nasty case of cancer. It did not look good.  Luckily he was accepted into an experimental study with some new heavy-duty treatments, and he beat it.  Now he has another kind & has surgery today. Needless to say, we are all hopeful & worried.

I wasn't worth a damn today so  drifted over to DA and trolled through my stock photo faves for some inspiration. Then played in PE9 for a while. Since I have no time to paint anymore, I've been mocking up some digi-sketches in case the calendar clears someday. 

Stay - digital sketch - again, just click to enlarge

I've still got a way to go on this one but it includes my thoughts on "Stay", crossing over, and of course a version of Little Red. I went too faded,need to tone down the white light & give the wolf a bit more ooomf. But as a sketch it is a decent start, I think....

Many thanks to these talented DeviantArt folks for sharing their fabulous stock images:

xCrystals: Arctic Wolf 17

MyBluelight-stock: Cold Winter

AshenSorrow: Premade Background 1277

But I still felt a need to wrap my hand (& mind) around a pencil. On impulse I challenged myself to make something using only a handful of items from the pigsty on my desk. So, there is a scrap of torn patterned paper (it has typewriter-style text with words like -  "sudden", "alone" & "I remember", which seemed apt). Then 2 Pitt Pens, red & blue; a pigma micron brown 05; Plus a handful of Derwent Pencils - metallic Red#7; my go-to Lemon Cadmium watercolor pencil; & a Chinese White Drawing pencil.

Plugged in a Monoral Mix I haven't listened to in a while - it includes this great tune that anime fans will recognize - seemed to fit my mood....

Then I shut out the world and doodled away. Lucky for me, my wonderful husband covered for me in the kitchen and with the kiddo for a couple of hours. Little Dude came in about 3/4 of the way through & declared the illo "meh" - I had to agree. But plodded on & then had a go with some scissors. The cuts seem to let some of the fun texty paper show through without being too dull a background. 

The final is at the top of this post - I had to scan it on black , sorry if the background is distracting. It measures about 5.5" x 12". I was going to just add it to the never ending stack of dusty drawings but am thinking about matting & framing for the ArtSnark etsy shop. What do you think?

Are you inspired by Stay today? Pop on over to I.F. & see some other fun takes on the topic. Please add your own too - come out & play!

Illustration Friday - Remedy

ink, marker, colored pencil, sheet music

Great IF prompt today - Remedy - it brought all sorts of grand themes to mind. I kept having visions of absinthe fairies & other phantasmagoria all day. But (as usual) time is limited. Playing with the cliche that "All You Need Is Love", I'm sharing this little doodle today.

If you feel inspired by Remedy, post your piece & link up over at IllustrationFriday. Be sure to visit some of the other interpretations while you are there.

But before you go, leave a comment here & you will be entered in the 7/14 random drawing for Myke Amend's Coloring Book For Grown Up Kids. Click here for more info

Illustration Friday - Midsummer Night

Midsummer Night - digital collage

The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve;

Lovers, to bed; 'tis almost fairy time. 

- from A Midsummer Night's Dream

Midsummer Night - Another fantastic prompt from IllustrationFriday today. While I felt like drawing, I couldn't find the time. So instead here is a digital doodle - click the image to enlarge

All the stock used in this collage is from DeviantArt.com. You may know that Deviant is one my favorite sites for inspiration. If you aren't a member yet I highly recommend it (basic membership is free). And if you are ... look me up & say hi. I'm here: http://artsnarks-artifacts.deviantart.com/. 

Many thanks to these talented folks for use of their vision & visage:

• Sleeping girl is from Sinned-angel-stock's photo Ethereal Quiet 

• Fairy model is from Chamberstock's Fairy Attempt 3

• Texture is wchild's Snowing Texture. (Want to see some amazing photographs? Run, don't walk to wchild.deviantart.com.  Jari Mäntylä is freakin' brilliant. Lucky for us, he also shares stock images - just click on his "resources" link after you've browsed the gallery pages.)

Have you been inspired by Midsummer Night? Post your piece and then hop over to IllustrationFriday.com to make a link. Be sure to check out the wide variety of work while you are there. Fun times.

Illustration Friday - Launch

Ship of Fools

 Laura stretched her gleaming neck

  Like a rush-imbedded swan,

Like a lily from the beck,

Like a moonlit poplar branch,

 Like a vessel at the launch

When its last restraint is gone.

  - from Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti

The new Illustration Friday prompt, Launch, was rattling around in my head when it dislodged this poem from my school days. Remember Goblin Market? Back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth English teachers used to assign this poem to get the symbolism/feminism discussion rolling. If you're intrigued by lovely ladies, goblin men & forbidden fruits it is a fun one. You can catch it here.

Ship of Fools was  was originally created for a collaborative self portrait book. It measures 4" sq. and is a mix of watercolor pencil and metallic inks/paints on paper. It it now in my ArtSnark Etsy shop. 

Rossetti reminds me- I don't think I have mentioned yet the wonderful Pre-Raphaelite exhibit we enjoyed at the Musee d'Orsay last month. The dryly titled A Ballad of Love and Death: Pre-Raphaelite  Photography in Great Brittian, 1848 - 1875 showcased classic photos and paintings from some of my favorites, Julia Margaret Cameron, Lewis Carroll, John Ruskin, Dante Gabriel Rossetti (Christina's brother) and others. Several models/poses/scenes were similar (or almost identical) in these early photographs and the paintings. Some of the photos were handcolored, increasing the resemblance to the famous paintings. While I knew these folks were reading the same material (and in some cases hanging out), it never occurred to me just how much the photographers and painters were influencing each other. 

Loaded with lovely images, the exhibition book, The Pre-Raphaelite Lens was too heavy to lug overseas.  I've since found it (cheaper) on Amazon.com and am saving my pennies. Another interesting source for Pre-Raphaelite info is mixed media artist Maureen Tillman's blog . On her right sidebar you'll find links to some of her great posts about these artists and their models/muses. 

Sorry if I've bored you with the ramble. I'm on some heavy cold meds, so the synapses might be misfiring more than usual today. If you are feeling inspired to "Launch" - make an illo, post it online and share the link over at IllustrationFriday.com. Or just pop over there to see what everyone else is up to. 

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Before I go, I'm hosting a new custom printing giveaway for Uprinting.com. Next Thursday 1 random winner gets 250 color printed nightclub-style flyers. To enter leave a comment before 1 am (EST) on 6/23. This particular giveaway is only open to USA residents though - sorry about that International folks. Click here for flyer details.

Illustration Friday - Asleep

Drift

"The idea that sleep is every man's gateway to madness is altogether harder to live with"- Alvarez

Loving the new IllustrationFriday prompt:"Asleep" - right up my alley. Not much time to play today, so I tracked down some old sketches to smoosh & tweak in PE9. Click on the image to enlarge. 

I have a love/hate relationship with sleep.  I've always had insomnia... but once asleep have very vivid dreams, as well as hypnagogic hallucinations. I also have a history of lucid dreaming. In my teens, I actually preferred the land of Nod; at least there I could create (& control) my reality.

I came a cross the Alvarez quotation while digging though some old journals. I have no idea who Alvarez is or where the line is from - not having much luck with google either. If you recognize it, I'd love to know the origin. Probably from a sci-fi flick or something I was reading in 1996.

Back to IF : Are you feeling inspired by "Asleep"? If so, post your creation and link it to IllustrationFriday.com. Want to see more interesting takes on the theme? You can find them at the IF link as well.

By the way, I'm posting a few more Paris pics this weekend.  Until then - pleasant dreams!

IF - Journey

Work in progress - digital manip. 

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” ~Greg Anderson

I am such an art-addict. Each Friday I eagerly open my email (usually over coffee while still in p.j.s) to check out the new IllustrationFriday.com prompt. Then I pray to have some free time!

Loving this week's challenge,"journey", and the quote that came with it.

I recently finished a fabulous online workshop, Photomainpulations 3, with the always brilliant Susan Tuttle (I absolutely love her  blog, Ilka's Attic) and have been looking forward to playing with a few of the things I learned.

There are a few things I still need to tweak, including some subtle faux hand coloring which is a little too subtle. And some more blending/ shading.  I'm trying to show motion but wanted her face to be clear. This has been fun to play with... But I have to run & don't know if I'll get to work on it again for a few days - so best to post as is. By the way click on the image for a larger view.

Stock used is from these generous & talented deviant-art stock photographers:

Spectral Stock's Steampunk XII

Its All Stock's Old Airplane

If you are inspired by the thought of a journey, I hope you add your creation to  IllustrationFriday.com. You have all week to play along. Or just stop by & see what other folks have made.

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And if you want to see some amazing figurative/fantasy art, click here. It'll take you to yesterday's interview with the insanely talented Bethalynne Bejema. You can also read about the 3 awesome prizes I'll be giving to random blog commenters for her

IF - Duet

Red's True Love

Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.  - C.S. Lewis

I am finally taking on a belated New Year resolution and tackling the wobbling mounds of unfinished pieces. Though I'm not too thrilled with the end result, I'm calling it a day on this one.

Can you believe this 1st doodle posted here in '08? Sheesh

Last weekend I ignored all of the bad reviews & went to see the latest version of Red Riding Hood. Yep, it was pretty bad... but I do love all things wolfy, so I was happy. I  also remembered that this drawing was faithfully waiting for me. So I had another go. Unfortunately I haven't yet figured out how to photograph the shiny gold bits. The dull rectangles, text & squiggle around Red's eye are a shimmery gold foil that was already on the paper. This adds a nice bit of flash & contrast to the original.

The IllustrationFriday prompt Duet has so much potential. Are you playing along this week? If so, do tell & I'll be by to check it out. If not, it is still worth clicking through to IF & seeing what others have have been inspired to create.

Regarding Little Red & her Love: the question remains will they serenade the moon together ? Or is it true that " One beast and only one howls in the woods by night. The wolf is carnivore incarnate and he's as cunning as he is ferocious; once he's had a taste of flesh then nothing else will do" ?

 

These sentences open Angela Carter's short story The Company of Wolves. I've been reading her collected shorts in Burning Your Boats, which include some juicy takes on well known fairy tales.  I've always loved the old stories but the last few years the characters have been creeping up on me again.  I've been picking up everything from The Brother's Grimm to Chesterton at the local library -  makes me want to paint again....

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On a final note, any comment left before 4/7  enters you in the random drawing for a piece of art (value $20 or less) from Curioddities.etsy.com. Click here for prize details and an interview with the artist,  Clara Boo, who's is a fan of the dark side with a wonderful sense of humor.

IF - Toy

poppet holiday atc

I am loving the new IllustrationFriday.com prompt, "toy". This is right up my alley - unfortunately my schedule won't let me play. So here is a marionette art trading card from a 2009 Days of summer swap. The model is Circus Doll by one of my favorite stock providers, Mizzd-stock on Deviant Art. 

If toys inspire you, please create & post to your blog or flickr and then add it to the mix over at IllustrationFriday.com . Be sure to check out the other entries - there is always something fun going on over there.

So, how was your weekend? Busy busy around here. I'd planned on posting some photos of Greenfest today, but life got ahead of me. (supposed to be either putting away 20 lbs of laundry, straightening the studio or catching up on 2 almost-overdue deadlines - but instead I goof off here...shhhh...don't tell). So, I'll post some of the green stuff tomorrow.

By the way, if you haven't entered the new Thursday Giveaway, click here to check it out. The fun & quirky Clara Boo of Curioddities.etsy.com is sponsoring the next random drawing.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend & are ready for the week ahead