Illustration Friday - Old

the lepidopterist

Exiled Princess? Retired villainess? Once famous for her wild parties, she now prefers to spend her time with butterflies and a bit of Nabokov.

Dusting off an ancient scribble for Illustration Friday's latest prompt: "Old". This butterfly collector is the third painting in the Rogues Gallery series. It is a mix of drawing & watercolor painting on patterned paper and measures 12"square. 

Feeling inspired to share your golden oldies? Ready to check out creations based on the week's challenge? Pop by IllustrationFriday.com. The key word changes every Friday. Feel free to play along! Make something relevant and post it to your site or fave social media and then link up. If you do share, let me know. It is always fun to see where the latest prompt takes people.

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

  ---------

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.

IF - Infinite

In Fieri

"If A Thing Loves It Is Infinite" - William Blake

I've a bit of an obsession with the infinite so the new Illustration Friday prompt made my day. Visit I.F. to see more takes on Infinite or to add your own.

William Blake and the Ouroborus were the 1st things that came to mind. Both tend to pop up in my art (& dreams) quite often. I have posted this drawing here before. Sorry for the repeat - it just seemed to fit so well.

In Fieri = Becoming

This piece is on display at Arts On 9th in Ybor City (Tampa) Florida.

--------------------------------

By the way, I've got 2 random giveaway drawings pending. Click links for details & to enter:

Custom Printed Rolled Poster from Uprinting.com (Free shipping, US only)

Choice of 1 glicee print from Koniver.etsy.com (Free shipping worldwide)

Artarazzi Challenge #21- Spring Flowers

The modest Rose puts forth a thorn,
The humble sheep a threat'ning horn:
While the Lily white shall in love delight,
Nor a thorn nor a threat stain her beauty bright.
- William Blake

This week's visual prompt from Artarazzi is the painting Spring Flowers by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema . I've added some lilies I shot a few years ago & some corner brackets from a scan of an inkadinkadoo stamp package. Pop on over to the comments section (& Mr. Linky) at Artarazzi to add your own creation & enjoy the variety of submissions.


While I'm a big fan of William Blake, I stumbled upon this poem by A.E.Houseman that also feels apt. The Lent Lily is a name that I haven't heard in years. That's what my grandmother,who spent much of her time in the garden, used to call her daffodils.

'Tis spring; come out to ramble
The hilly brakes around,
For under thorn and bramble
About the hollow ground
The primroses are found.

And there's the windflower chilly
With all the winds at play,
And there's the Lenten lily
That has not long to stay
And dies on Easter day.

And since till girls go maying
You find the primrose still,
And find the windflower playing
With every wind at will,
But not the daffodil,

Bring baskets now, and sally
Upon the spring's array,
And bear from hill and valley
The daffodil away
That dies on Easter day.

- A.E. Houseman

Waiting 1 & 2

Oh she looks
but there's nothing to see.
Still she looks
saying come back for me...

Waiting

Been listening to Al Stewart's Fields of France again.

I mentioned a bit ago the dozens of Polaroid Transfers I need to list at ArtSnark . Well, I seem to have the attention span of a gnat lately (not to malign the gnat). I listed some but still have dozens sitting in the studio.

Got bored tho. Tired of waiting to create! So, I decided to slack off responsibilities once these 2 lovely ladies came calling. They're both relaxing in the etsy shop now. Just click the pics to pay them a visit.

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Waiting for Spring

IF - Poise

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone - Audrey Hepburn

Poise ... another stimulating prompt from the folks at
Illustration Friday.

My 1st thought was to draw Audrey H., but I got distracted by some new ideas for the stagnant blue WIP canvas. I've got most of it sketched out now. Hope to have some time in April to bring it all together....

Due to the time-crunch, I've gone archive diving again. This lovely lady seems to fit. She is a life size drawing in lithocoal & chromacoal on thick etching paper.

By the way, I love D'uva Lithocoal products! Comes as stick, powder or liquid & is fully erasable until you heat set it. Then it is permanent without fixative. Not easy to find anymore though.....hmm...what is it with my favorite products going extinct?

I was sooo sad the day Polaroid announced they were eliminating film 669 (among others) It's my fave for transfers. Here are a couple more on marble tiles that are now available at ArtSnark.etsy.com . Click on the pic to go straight to the details :

Sorrow

These are both emulsion transfers of charcoal drawings

So Naive

On the plus side, I heard a rumor that Fuji has a film similar to 669 on the market. Has anybody heard anything? I'll have to get googling. The last of my film stash is expired & temperamental but still works okay most of the time. I'm down to 3 boxes tho...

Illustrated Friday - Breezy

Red's Escape

This 12x12 mixed media on canvas is available in my etsy shop. Just click photo to go straight to details.
Thanks for popping by! Red's Escape was inspired by Illustration Friday. If you get a chance please go check out the other entries for Breezy

Missing You

Thinking about love & loss
my heart goes out to so many of you at this time
this is for you my friends
you know who you are
You are in my thoughts and prayers

WIP - Hot House Flower

Decided to finally start on my little house. Thought about paint or collage but it just wouldn't coalesce. When all else fails I turn to my ginormous stack of scrapbook paper for ideas. This paper jumped out & screamed Diva! Then this chick- part superhero, part Sunset Blvd - started spinning thru my head. She's only 1 of 2 but it's getting late, so I'll tackle her partner tomorrow.

Artarazzi Challenge #9 Vintage Beauty

Supposed to be doing some "serious work" tonight, but it was so much more fun to goof off with this great image from the Artazzi challenge! You can do anything with it, as long as it's digital. Pop over & have a go this week if you have the time.

What a fun opportunity to play with some of the public domain stuff I have tucked in the nooks & crannies of my computer. The man is from artfreebies.blogspot.com. The silhouette - publicdomainpictures.net. The telegram has been in my free use folder so long I don't remember where it came from.

The Telegram

Do you find you get a phrase stuck in your head while creating, like you're forming a back story for the characters? Found the gent 1st & he said to me "I remember... she was very beautiful - but her sister ... ooh la la!"

In case the telegram text is hard to read: Reference yesterdays cable lost government money had to cash checque on Parrs at Anglo Egyptian for the amount - Coles

Art on The Darkside Challenge - SHADOWS

Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings - always darker, emptier and simpler.
-Freidrich Nietzche

My submission to the current Art On The Darkside challenge.
Life size charcoal & pastel drawing

Illustration Friday - Climbing

You cannot learn to fly by flying. First you must learn to walk, and to run, and to climb, and to dance.
- Friedrich NietzcheThis drawing for Illustration Friday is available in my Etsy shop.

Special thanks to the talented Nancy Lefko for introducing me to Illustration Friday through her blog. Click here to see Nancy's wonderful Climbing collage

Red's True Love

Took a break from the Holiday Madness to push some pencils around. As with all my WIPs, who knows when I'll pick this piece up again, but here's phase 1.