Illustration Friday - Quiet

This is a pen & ink drawing I did a while ago, based on a photograph that my father took of me when I was little. If I remember correctly, this is along one of the Great Lakes in Ontario, Canada. His photo truly captured my inner spirit quietly communing with nature. I hope that my drawing conveys that same feeling of quiet contemplation. The image has always spoken deeply to me and is something I treasure from my childhood and from him.



All of the illustrations in this blog are copyrighted, so don't be a jerk and use them for your own selfish purposes. Thanks.

Illustration Friday - Safe

This week I get to join the ranks of the overachieving IF participants who post the very day the week's theme is announced! (Any rancor in my "voice" is purely envy and admiration for you all).

These two baby hummingbirds, safe in their nest, are from a piece I worked on a few years ago and then got distracted by life and never finished. I found the piece again recently and with fresh eyes saw enough value in it to inspire me to complete it, finally. But first I wanted to post the almost finished version here for this week's theme. These hummers hatched and grew up right outside my cousins' cabin and we all enjoyed the treat of seeing these tiny birds develop.




All of the illustrations in this blog are copyrighted, so don't be a jerk and use them for your own selfish purposes. Thanks.

Illustration Friday - Sacrifice

I'm rather late with this one. I had been pretty stumped by this topic as I didn't want to do anything similar to anyone else's. I toyed with the idea of a landscape ruined by a WalMart or that type of thing but nothing really spoke to me. Meanwhile I'd gotten distracted this week by a painting that was itching to get painted. My husband and I had gone up to the National Bison Range a few weeks ago and he'd taken a beautiful picture of a bull standing alone in the grasslands in that wonderful evening light and I just had to paint it. Great, but I still needed something for IF... but wait - this fits! The slaughter and near-extinction of the bison by the US government to bring the Indians to their knees was certainly a sacrifice of a magnificent animal and the sacrifice of many cultures' way of life!

The painting itself is not my final work on this. I am struggling with how to capture the quality of the light and how to show the texture of the grasses. So stay tuned...



All of the illustrations in this blog are copyrighted, so don't be a jerk and use them for your own selfish purposes. Thanks.

Illustration Friday - Skyline

Pen & ink. Roughly 14" x 17".

Not exactly your typical skyline, but I've been looking for an excuse to use this picture. I did this for a class assignment a few years ago and it was one of the few assignments I liked from that class. I love the inner and outer worlds feel to it; multiple dimensions. The process of adding texture actually became a little addictive. The instructor felt I hadn't used enough contrast or a full value range, but I still like the results.




All of the illustrations in this blog are copyrighted, so don't be a jerk and use them for your own selfish purposes. Thanks.

Illustration Friday - Rain

This is a pen & ink picture I did many years ago, treated with Photoshop for the rain effect. A cat snoozing away a rainy day makes me think of hot tea or cocoa, a roaring fire and a good book. A far cry from this week's hot weather!


All of the illustrations in this blog are copyrighted, so don't be a jerk and use them for your own selfish purposes. Thanks.

Illustration Friday - Portrait

1st try

2nd try







I have always had the automatic disclaimer "I don't do people", until a few years ago a friend of mine brought a picture of her granddaughter to work and I suddenly found myself strongly drawn to do a painting of it. I've included my first and second attempts here. Although I do like the looser, almost sketchy feel of the first one, my second try is much more of an actual likeness to my subject.

All of the illustrations in this blog are copyrighted, so don't be a jerk and use them for your own selfish purposes. Thanks.