More boys!

Some time ago, I was wondering 

why I always get to illustrate stories that feature girls.

I've done a whole string of girl stories.  Back to back.

But right after my post about this,

I got a boy story to do.

And now I have another, and this one features twin boys.

There's yet another book waiting in the wings, and also features

 - you guessed it - a boy!

Here's a sample drawing from the story about the twins...

I made a rough sketch, scanned it, then placed the text on it

(not something I normally have to do since that's 

taken care of at the publishing end)

and then I saw a whole bunch of white space left over, 

so I drew in things with the mouse, straight on my image.

I've sent it to the publisher to see what he thinks.

Once I have the green light, I'll draw the whole thing again by hand.

Properly :)

The kid on his Daddy's lap looks like he has three legs, doesn't it?

I'll definitely need to fix that!

But overall, do you have any ideas or suggestions?

A is for...Alphabet Art!

My painting

+

a nice fat type

+

some clipping mask magic

Put them all together and you get...

this!

Nursery art, grown-up art...I'm not fussy :)

Sunshine In My Hand

Real paint (YAY - REAL PAINT!)

on paper.

OK, a tiny bit of PhotoShop too...

but mostly just honest-to-goodness acrylics.

Ditzy Doodle Day

Hey!  I like the sound of that.

That's it. One day of the week should officially be called

Ditzy Doodle Day.

So here's my ditzy doodle for today - 

ink pen and felt markers (some nearly dead but braving it)

on printer paper.

Drawing really doesn't need fancy paraphernalia 

(ah, another juicy word!),

but just a minute or two of not being afraid.

Really.

I've been told my ditzy doodles would make great fabric prints.

It's funny, but many people have asked me if I design fabric,

and the truth is I don't know the first thing about it.

By the way, I'd like to share with you this wonderful place

that sells designer fabric.

It's full of amazing talent. Do check it out!

Soup Season!

I like soup.

Carrot, pumpkin, chicken, tomato, potato, onion, 

rutabaga, wheat-and-barley...

...soup made with any of these,

or all of them mixed together, and spinach, oh yeah spinach!

With lots of black pepper, ginger, cinnamon...mmm...

Soups are wonderful!

Well, soup season is here!

Do YOU like soup?

Fully equipped

Pencil-drawn, scanned, colored in PhotoShop.

It's Children's Day in India today.

Here's to all children, everywhere, being able to

learn, discover and grow in safe, happy environments.

Over The Moon Stories Facebook party

Author Suzanne Muir of Over The Moon Stories

asked me if I would like to participate in her blog party.  

She is trying to raise money for an iPad for a special needs kid.

It always humbles and amazes me when people organize events 

in order to benefit someone else!

I hope this party does well!

Here's my contribution:

Red Leaf

Reproduction print of my original acrylic painting.

I scanned the original and created digital variations, 

so I have the same painting in a few different colorways.

The two below are slightly different from each other,

but they both share the same exuberance :)

My contribution is one print in one of the different colorways 

(I haven't shown them all here).

It'll be a bit of a luck of the draw kinda thing!

Drop in at Over The Moon Stories this Saturday at 1 P.M. EST 

and bid for a good cause.

Art Everyday Challenge - Day 6 to Day 14

Art Everyday...I'm hoping I can get away with CREATING, 

if not POSTING everyday...

This piece above is acrylics and crayons on canvas.

This one is an old drawing I re-colored.

The above is a mishmash of many things, but mainly digital.

 A doodle...

Another doodle...

And some biscuits!

This is from a lovely blog called The Nourishing Gourmet.

You can read the recipe here - it's very worth trying.

There are a couple more things, but I don't have the pics yet...

And also, soon to follow, the NanoBot's work~

Art Everyday Challenge - Day 5 and 6

Another watercolor

(these are fun!)

 A couple of drawings by the NanoBot...

She said these are seals who have just been scared by a shark...

The Daddy seal has a lots of hair and a beard.  

I think he really does look terrified.

The other seal is a baby, and has only its head 

sticking out of the water, which may look like a beard, 

but is most emphatically NOT, 

just in case you were mistaken into thinking it was.

And another ditzy doodle by me..

Art Everyday Challenge - Day 4

Art Everyday Challenge - Day 3

Another watercolor....

I have a feeling you'll be seeing a bunch of these,

thanks to Wendy and her challenge.

Art Everyday Challenge - Day 2

I must thank Wendy Malowany, fellow homeschooler and entrepreneur, 

for the Art Idea Challenge idea she posted on our homeschooling forum.

I've been far too neglectful of creating something everyday, 

so thank you, Wendy, for spurring me on.

 Do check out Wendy's website for tips and resources for teaching your kids at home as well as for running a business.

Here's my entry for today - 

a simple watercolor on paper.

I like it either way up :)

Art Everyday Challenge

So I signed up for it, and I dunno if I can (will?) do it,

but like I said, I signed up for it, so here goes

DAY NUMBER ONE!

A ditzy doodle.

Yup - that's what I'm gonna call it.

The NanoBot is supposed to be making something everyday as well,

but the only thing she made today was a mess. 

I mean toys all over the place kinda mess.

Maybe tomorrow she will have something for me to upload...