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.

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Octopi

Octopi

Recently unearthed hundreds of slides I shot back in 2000-2001. A lot of fun pics to play with. Supposed to be cleaning but I keep finding more "toys" ....

Can't believe I used to ride this thing - now I'm the one who holds everybody's stuff.

Burning the midnight oil

May 13 2010

Why is it that with weeks & weeks to do a project, I always wait till the last minute?

(Um, don't answer that - purely rhetorical)

Had fun knocking out a couple of pieces for Diary 2010 last night. I actually tried to start several times in the last month but kept over thinking things. 1 deadline extension later (apparently I'm not the only well intentioned procrastinator) figured I best keep my word & hand in something. So put the little dude to bed, made some espresso, and started searching my mac for pieces to dissect & reassemble.

What is Diary 2010? A very cool project that artist/blogger Ewian turned me on to. (By the way, she keeps adding art supplies to her giveaway - pop over & check it out). Volunteers world wide send in calendar pages which will be assembled & sold as planners. Each page has the date in 3 languages. Plus, on the bottom, your online shop and what you sell there. Other than that, artwork is in shades of grey & needs to be laid out in such a way that the page is still usable for writing on. This is the 3rd diary project they've done. You can also find images of previous diaries on flickr HERE.

I had so much fun making the 1st that I decided to take on one of the extra pages still available. Found this wonderful Leaf Font over at Dafont.com & this drawing seemed to fit with it.

November 13 2010

Funny thing is, I wish I had started sooner so I had time to make a few more. Ah well, there is always 2011 !

Final note: Any interest in winning a 16" x 20" canvas print of your summery photo? This giveaway's sponsor OnlinePosterPrinting.com will send a gallery or museum wrapped canvas print to 1 lucky winner. To enter this random drawing just leave a comment describing your favorite summer photo that you'd like to have printed. There are a couple of disclaimers so CLICK HERE for details. You have until noon (EST) Thursday 7/30 to enter.

New Giveaway - Days Of Summer

I don't know about you guys, but it seems like I'm always taking lots of pictures & then leaving them in the computer. I've decided to preserve my family's fun in the sun by getting a canvas print of this double-exposed photo. There is something about this pic of my son splashing around in the Gulf of Mexico that reminds me of my own carefree days long long ago.

So your asking, C'mon, What's the new giveaway? The folks over at OnlinePosterPrinting.com have generously offered a fabulous prize that will help you remember the days of summer long after they’re gone.

A free 16x20" Gallery or Museum Wrapped Canvas Print to 1 Very Lucky Winner!

To Enter just leave a comment describing a summer photo that you would like to have printed. Please do this before noon (EST) Thursday July 30th. (Please note there will be no random drawing next Thursday 7/23.) That is when I’ll use Random.org to pick a winner. Also, make sure you can be easily contacted. You don't need to leave an email address as long as I can reach you through your blog

Some notes from the sponsor:

Giveaway is open to US/CAN residents. Shipping of prizes is not included and must be paid by winner. Online Poster Printing reserves the right not to print obscene or offensive materials.

All designs submitted in the form of a giveaway may be used by Online Poster Printing for online marketing and promotional uses. The designs will be used solely as examples and will not be printed or commercially distributed.

About Online Poster Printing
Online Poster Printing specializes in printing high-quality posters using premium materials. We offers a money back guarantee on all our products, such as photo canvas prints, vinyl banners, wall stickers, and rolled or mounted poster prints.

Now I know you've got some great summer pics around there somewhere. Go find that perfect one & describe it here to enter this fabulous giveaway!

Monday's Muse- "Beauty is everywhere..."

Beauty is everywhere a welcome guest
-Goethe


As life has been extra challenging lately,


I keep reminding myself of this.

Don't feel much like "talking" today but felt the need to share.


Hope all of you are well. And creative. And off to a good week.

If not, take a minute to look around


and really see what is before you.


This week I take my own advice and a with few deep breaths


also remember that This too shall pass


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Speaking of beauty, this week's Thursday Giveaway prize is a $20 merchandise certificate for WillOakStudio's gorgeous jewelry. To enter this random drawing just leave a comment on this blog before noon (EST) Thursday 6/18. For details about this great prize, the giveaway, and an interview Will Oak Studio's designer click HERE

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Also, I guess I need to state this again. Unless otherwise indicated, all images on my blog are my own. Please do not reproduce any of them with out my permission

Summer fun in the sun

Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. - Ray Bradbury

My 5 yr old loves taking pictures. He's had the Fisher Price bulletproof digital kids camera for a few years. You can drop it off a cliff & it still works (trust me; we have). Earlier this year, he received a cheapie waterproof film camera & took 1/2 dozen rolls of film. Bad-mommy finally got them developed. Here's me in the blazing sun. Gotta love the cone-head! It's really my big head in a baseball hat as seen from little dude's perspective.

He took several cool photos so I decided to pick a few & have some fun. Made a few tweaks in P.Elements, printed on glossy paper & embellished with watercolor and markers.

Would love to make some giant sunny paintings (ala Charles Burchfield or something). No time for big these days, so played with 4 ATC sized summery pieces instead. Now that I think about it, the sun has finally come out again after about 10 days of rain. Must be where the whole solar theme is coming from. Unfortunately my scanner is uglifying things a bit so I'll wait for the sun to shoot & post the rest.

If you want to see some truly fabulous sun-auras, check out a few of my favorite artists:

Charles Burchfield

Rockwell Kent

William Blake

The eye altering, alters all - William Blake

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Please remember to leave a comment before Thursday noon (EST) to be entered in this week's Thursday Giveaway. For details CLICK HERE

The Butterfly Charmer & Faux Frescoes

Cleaning out some shelves & uncovered these wonderful teeny frames

Decided I needed to make a little something.

And I do mean little. The frames are 3"sq & almost 1.5" deep.
So made this tiny Butterfly Charmer

It feels good to create something...anything. Too many days without making stuff & I get cranky!

Hope to really dig my heels into something meaty soon.

Till then, I added 5 Polaroid Transfers to my etsy sale at ArtSnark.

These are emulsion transfers on marble tile.* Ready to hang
Fun to make The final look reminds me of old frescoes & ruined walls.Just click on any pic for details
* If you'd like to read more about the different steps for making emulsion vs. image Polaroid transfers click here. The photos I posted yesterday were image transfers. Friday's post featured an emulsion transfer