Monday Art Day ACEO: Green Eyed Girl

New ACEO up on Monday Art Day! Check the site out, and start creating your own ACEO's to trade with other artists! doooo eeet..

Art Monday

Here's my very first aceo done for Monday Art Day, where artists can trade aceo's with other artists, among other things. The drawing was done with Prismacolor Premier 005 point fine line marker on bristol. The Prismacolor marker is awesome! I've worked with other brands of fine line pens and markers, and am really pleased with how this handles. There seems to be a little more tip, so you're positioning is not limited, and the ink flow is constant.. even after leaving the cap off for a few hours. I'd recommend trying them out.
Rounded Square Clouds & Flowers

Illustration Friday: Garden

A simple & quick illo from a sketch for a girl named Tulip, who indeed loves tulips from her tulip garden.

Cheers!

Massive M2 Sketch Dump!

I've been a busy bee, scanning in the remaining spreads from my M2 sketchbook and uploading them to my sketchblog!

I'll be putting up spreads from my latest sketchbook soon. I changed brands, and went with a Global Arts Hand•Book brand this time around, which definitely has more tooth, but for some reason reminds me of drawing on construction paper. I enjoyed drawing on the smoother surfaces of the Moleskines, and will be going back once I've completed this one.


The sketch above is from M2: spreadFortyTwo. It's a prelim. sketch for a "We've Moved" announcement. That's one of our kitties in the tree enjoying the view!

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

To bring in the new year, here's an illustration.
May much happiness, health, and prosperity come your way this year!

We're back in VA!!! (Belated Wooot!!!)

I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with my blog for sometime. My husband and I have been transitioning back into the DC/NOVA metro area since early December from our unfortunate relocation to NC. Lucky for us, it's been pretty smooth. After we came back to VA, everyone we passed on the street said that "NC is for the retired." Now they tell us! We definitely appreciate the things we took for granted before we left, so in saying that, I'm glad that we took the chances that we did when we decided to move.

So now instead of sitting on my bum all day looking for a job in NC, I'm doing it in VA, with much better results! I honestly can't wait to start working again.. this whole temporary retirement thing has had me bummed out and stagnant... Posting something up on the blog has brightened my day though, so maybe I'll continue to do a little more of that! The sketch above is a snippit from my M2 spread 40 on my sketchdump blog. Cheers!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Wishing everyone a wonderful happy holiday season, and best wishes to the New Year! Hope Santa brings you what you wished for this year!
CHEERS!!!

New ID Concept

Just got my CS3 Design Premium, and am sooo loving it... and it's soooo fast on my new super fast computer (compared to my old frankenstein), that I actually had the motivation to create some concepts for a new ID!!! Here's what I came up with first...

this didn't quite work out the way I had anticipated, but it helped get the juices flowing...

Here's concept numbah two that I took a bit further. This, I felt, had a simple, sophisticated, yet dark, and playful feel to it that I thought represented me a little more than the all out bubbliness of the first concept. I'm also liking the Raspberry and dark gray combo.

ID Concept with black background behind lettering:


ID Concept with 90%Gray background behind lettering: (can you soooo see these as little MOO Stickers!!!)


Business Card Concept:

Would lerve some feedback from you!

painting: Owl Eyes On You

felt the urge to paint, and a sketch of owl eyes had been haunting me for some time. I really like how it turned out. I made it such a process, which is something I don't normally do, since I like to get things done in one sitting, but it felt good to see what came of my patience!

He's a cutie, and makes me smile when I see him starin back at me.. although it can be a little creepie at times to know you're being watched, no less, by detached owl eyes.. yoiks.. He's been begging me to make some prints of him, and maybe put him on some stationary. What do you think? Should I listen to him?!!! You'll have to suggest some name's for "him" since he doesn't have one yet.

Hoot Hoot Hooray.. :D

Hello, Kitty!!!

ok.. I'm the biggest kidult EVER.. my friend sent me this link today, and I just about booked a flight to Japan, just so I could use this phone... The phone has been Hello Kittied out.. inside, outside, even sideways, and the graphics are neato.
Check it... :D


gimme.gimme.gimme....

artdc.org Exhibition at U Street Space

This sounds like it'll be a fun show!!! I can't make it, since I'm quite a few hours away, but hope those in the area will show their support for the arts! Check out the artists at artdc.org
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WASHINGTON, D.C.—artdc.org, a Washington, D.C., artist’s forum, presents “Art in Transition Continued” on Saturday, October 13, 2007, in the future Greater Goods building, 1626 U Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20009. Doors open at noon; an art party is 6 p.m. to midnight.

“Art in Transition Continued” is the continuance of a group art show held in 2005. For the first show, “Art in Transition,” 27 Washington, D.C.-area artists displayed their work in four transitioning commercial spaces in Silver Spring, Md.

This year’s show is in the future home of Greater Goods at 1626 U Street, NW. This “empty” building provides the perfect opportunity for an organization such as artdc to host its own art show. Jesse Cohen, founder of artdc.org, explains, “Transitional space provides an opportunity to develop grassroots art shows, which currently aren’t available through existing spaces.”

The participating artists are: Steve Mead, Antoinette Wysocki, Jodi A. Patterson, John N. Grunwell, Dan Rosenstein, Alexandra Zealand, Alexandra Silverthorne, Kim Reyes, Emily Berl, Christie Ortiz, Rhett Rebold, Raju Singh, Steve Loya, Stephen T. Hanks, Matthew Best, Graham Meyer and Adam Eig.

“A unique feature about this show, aside from the great art,” Cohen says, “is that the artwork was selected by an external jury member who does not have ties to artdc.org artists.”

Mark S. Waskow, art collector and founder of the Waskomium in Burlington, Vt., is the juror for “Art in Transition Continued.” The Waskomium is a collection of contemporary art.
Waskow selected the work of 17 artdc.org members (there are more than 1,500 members of artdc.org). Pieces include 2-D, 3-D and installation art.

“He (Waskow) juried the art from artdc.org’s online gallery,” Cohen says of the selection process, “based on the idea that you can experience the presence of a work of art through its image.”

A fellow artdc.org member recommended that Waskow jury “Art in Transition Continued” because of Waskow’s support for the development of art communities.

Through events like “Art in Transition Continued,” artdc.org initiates artist discovery, encourages art discussion, advances creative development and promotes art collection, with the goal of developing movements in Washington, D.C. artdc.org provides virtual real estate for artists and art organizations. artdc.org aims to bridge the communication between artists of all mediums, galleries and collectors. With this goal in mind, the aim of artdc.org is to develop face-to-face relationships in addition to those in the virtual world.
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Meomi has a new book out!!! The Octonauts and The Sea of Shade!!!

Meomi, an awesome design team that is all about the cuteness, has come out with book TWO!!! The illustrations and characters grab your heart and won't let go as soon as you first glance at them. It's like a stare down, and they're going to win no matter how hard you try to put on your mean face!

blurb from site:
"THE OCTONAUTS are a crew of cute critters who love to explore the big blue ocean. From their undersea "Octopod" base, the eight talented animals are always ready for fun and excitement. In their second adventure, all the shadows in the world have gone missing! The Octonauts must travel to the mysterious Sea of Shade to learn why. Can the Octonauts convince the great Shade King to return everyone's shadows?"

And here's a sneak peek spread from their new book.

tooooo freakin cute!!! Go check out their sites too!!!

www.meomi.com
www.octonauts.com

Sketch Blog Updates!!

I haven't shared too many details, but I've been MIA due to a big move to the Charlotte, NC area from the hectic DC metro area. It's been pretty crazy, but things are starting to settle down some since the big move. We have been wanting to move out the DC area for awhile, so when the opportunity came up for my husband, we took it! We did a lot of research, and had the chance to visit before moving. I have a friend who moved from this area up to DC, so he's been super helpful as far as finding good eats, and fun places. There's been ups and downs, not gonna lie, but I think things are starting to settle, yay!
It's been a tough job market for me down here, compared to the DC area. I think I'm doing everything a job hunter can do to find a job, so it's just a matter of time. (i hope) If you've read down this far, and know of anyone in the charlotte area looking for a Graphic/Web Designer, I'd love to chat!Now, the big news!!! I've updated my Sketch Blog with new spreads, so go check it out!!!

IF: Citrus

I made it this week, Hoooray! I'm really happy that I could make some time this week to participate in IF. It's been a little hard lately, I know I keep saying that. This was designed to be the front of a card. It was sketched out on textured lined cream cardstock, outlined in pen, and colored in with watercolor colored pencils. There's some tweakage to be done, but I love how the banner at the top turned out, overall, and being spot-on with the hand-lettering. (I never can get that right.)

Here's another little sketch of something goofy I like to do when eating oranges. :D

Geisha on a Cliff

Watercolor (in progress) done from a doodle. The idea was to show a geisha losing her virginity for the first time, by showing flowers flowing from under her dress in the wind. When I had finished up with the sketch, it looked like maybe she had let one go and was bashfully saying 'oops, I tooted'

Even though that's what it looks like.. I really like how the flowers and lines flowed from the dress. I may just carry this over to the watercolor anyway!

yaaarrrgh

arrr.. matey..

Still trying my hand at digital painting. I finally was able to devote some time to it! yay!
The sketch was scanned in this evening, and digitally painted in Photoshop. The middle piece is a chip from Vegas. A friend had gone recently, and brought me back this token chip.. and who better to guard the chip then a swash-buckling peg-handed pirate.

Hope ye like me bootie.. aarrr.. :)

IF: Remember

This is an old old drawing I did for an art class. It must have been right when I started high school from the look of my signature. I grew up as a foreign service brat, and had lived in Zaire for a little more than a few years before moving back to the U.S. I really had a hard time adjusting, and really missed many things about Zaire. We had moved months before the country went to crap, so we were lucky to have left when we did.
I still remember a lot of beautiful things about the country. This drawing shows Zongo Falls. We had driven four hours from the city out into the country where some parts of the roads had been washed away. Sometimes when we past little mud hut villages, the children would come out running after our cars to just smile and wave at us as we went by. My experience at Zongo Falls was exhiliarating. Everything was so natural and as it was. Even the restaurant that was located upstream seemed in its place. They served authentic Zairian food, and it was delicious. I ordered Chicken Mwambwe, a kind of spicy tomato stew, and Fu-Fu, a leafy green local favorite. Afterwards a guide took us on a hike towards the falls. He lead us to about the middle portion of the falls so we could see the water coming over the ledge and into the crevice. My brother, friend and I dared to walk on the slippery rocks to look over the ledge a little more and to be in the mist of the falls. So that was some of what I remember of Zaire. A beautiful country and lots of memories!

slowly makin my way back!

I have a little more time on my hands (finally!)
I've started uploading a few moleskine spreads on my Doodle Monkey Dump blog, if you want to check those out.
I hope to keep uploading a spread/day until I can catch up with the current spreads.

I also hope to share with you some concepts I have for my portfolio site, portfolio booklet, and card, if anything it'll help me see my progress, and hopefully some feedback from you! I've been taking some time to do some research and getting some resources together to do this! I'm kinda excited about the design, and think it will reflect me as a designer, and on a personal level as well. :D (i'm screaming like a school girl inside! ieeee!!!)

Ok.. i can't contain myself.. here's a sneak peak! This is a concept for the portfolio booklet.

The 'M' and the banner are common theme elements I plan on using on all media. I'm not sure if the booklet will be square or more rectangular, since it depends on how I lay out the inside.

MiSo Sowwy

Hey guys, this message is long overdue. I haven't abandoned my blogs, and it kills me to not update them on a more daily basis, but I've just been so crazy busy lately that I haven't been able to make the time.
I hope that within the next month or two I can get back into the groove of updating and participating in IF, and Three Thumbs Up again. I really miss taking part in them, since they are such a positive influence.

Hope to be back soon!

Cheers

IF: Communication

This is the original sketch I wanted to use for this week's IF theme, Communication. The sketch just kind of 'screamed' out! :D


This is my first real attempt at digital painting. The tablet makes it so much easier to do this. I first established where my lighting was going to be coming from and drew an arrow to remind me. I also started roughing in tonal values of her face. This is my first time doing a step-by-step, and it's kinda of a sad one.. I'm a little further in the detailing in this example btw.
I placed a colored background in the back to help me see the outline of her face, mouth and teeth. I worked on her facial structure and attempted to highlight and shadow. It's pretty sad, I know. I also added her hair, but didn't focus on the details, since I'm beginning, I figured her face would be a good start.
I kind of cheated with adding color. I painted a flat brown tone over the entire facial area, and under the layer blend mode options, I chose 'color' which gave me the depth and color I was looking for. I took the eraser and cleaned up my edges some. Using a darker and lighter tone of brown, I shaded and highlighted some of the areas.

I have a ways to go, but had a lot of fun doing this! Must.. do.. mooore... :)
oy... why does she have an adams apple.. blargh..