Good Book. Read.

Good book. Read.

Weeping Cherry in Blue

I really like how you can experiment so much in Illustrator.
If only you could change the color of your living room as easily:)

IF: Theater/ Weeping Cherry

The Weeping Cherry tree provides a lot of drama in the theater of the garden.

Feels Like Summer

Really hot here!

Weekend in the Finger Lakes

Back from a great weekend in the Finger Lakes region of NY State. A perfect weekend weather wise. It was Parent's Weekend at Cornell for some of the fraternities and sororities. Here's a peek inside Psi Upsilon . A nice surprise in the basement were murals on the walls done by one the fraternity brothers (not sure of the date), a hallway off the main foyer and living room that boasts signed color lithographs by Frederic Remington (I advised to move out of the sunlight:), a dining room filled with 100 year old furniture and a squash court! The boys look a lot different than they did in 1883:) but all were gentlemen! Spring was just busting out all over. Weeping cherry from the Cayuga Lake winery tour at Knapp winery where we had lunch. It was also Wine and Herb Festival Weekend, so there were tasters everywhere. Wonderful (a little pricey) dinner at The Heights Cafe and Grill ( falls into the " art on a plate that taste divine" category) and brunch at my favorite The Carriage House. Perfect! Then it was off for my first experience at the infamous Flax Barn Sale. Well, as one woman said to me "..This is a study in women's psychology!" Great sale! Prices ranged from $5 to $15 !! Everyone said prices this year were way down:) Thank you Flax.

Choose Your Foods Wisely

Getting ready to start another gouache illo with some hand-drawn type...a revisit of a smaller watercolor, Choose Your Foods Wisely...I really like Edible Communities. Find one in your area!
I subscribe to Edible Finger Lakes here.
Glorious weather in the forecast...have a wonderful weekend!

Ranunculus: Three versions

Ilustrator: Flip Flops

Simple sketch scanned in, and colored in Illustrator. Looks like it is going to be summery weather for the weekend.

Earth Day: Ranunculus

Happy Earth Day. This is unfinished gouache painting, but wanted to post it in stages.
More versions to come. I like the sketch and may do some line drawings just in black and white...hmm...

Have a nice Earth Day night:)

Relief Printing: El Conejo

I will be making some changes in the original block. So there will be more versions later....I was really inspired by the amazing, witty, and prolific Lisa Brawn who sent Camilla Engman a woodcut of Moran. I would love to meet this artist...

Love My Squeaky Ball

I need to dedicate this post to my dog Punkin. Unfortunately, he is blind. Not too long ago we would go to the park to play fetch with his favorite squeaky ball. Now he is confined to a small area in the kitchen where he feels safe enough to play fetch. It is very sad to watch him. But his love for his squeaky ball inspired me today...

Tomorrow will cut a Speedy-Cut (Speedball) Rabbit.
Better to use with water-soluble ink.
I also like the square size of the Stadtler MasterCarve (4x4x1/2")

The Spring Rain Rabbit

Rabbit

looking at rabbits more ....did a live trace in Illustrator from my marker drawing.

IF: Impossibility

It seems an impossibility that these tiny seedlings will become giant sunflowers:)

Seedlings, watercolor and gouache (last photo)
(Also above, Watercolor and Cutout Effects in Illustrator)

Work in Progress: Pastel

Okay, I know I am supposed to be drawing and painting, but I knew this would happen. All winter I wait for a day like we are having today and I am drawn instead, outside into the garden. These gorgeous ranunculus from a local market which I'll plant later. I found good info here about growing this tuber. I get a little twitchy though thinking about drawing it....I have my limits. Seedlings for my kitchen garden on the grow....now back to the drawing board....

It's beginning to feel a lot like Spring...

Oh! rabbit rug ...and more inspiration videos.

Ok, here is yet another lovely rabbit...this one hooked by my big sister:) Love it!

Reading Communication Arts March/ April anniversary issue... 50 years! I like the Milton Glaser interview. (except for the part where he says "Oh, sweetie I don't think that way about anything..."...did he really have to say "sweetie"?)

Here is an interview on Vimeo (Thanks to Chad Grohman) with one of my all -time favorites, Brad Holland. And Richard Solomon (artist rep) gives a series (18 or 19) of short answers to questions about illustration, self-promotion, and contract negotiating. Very helpful.

Inspiration

Trip to Ithaca. Decided to push the saturation in PS.
Ithaca is such a colorful town:)

reading and listening to....
Elizabeth Gilbert's thoughts on writing
Elizabeth Gilbert's talk at TED conference on creativity.
Maira Kalman's talk "The Illustrated Woman"at TED

Rabbits everywhere

Just good old fashioned spring cleaning and organizing. These would be nice.

So with the holiday coming (Easter) there are rabbits popping up everywhere. This wooden one on wheels is an oldie but goodie. The other is carved out of soap:) and here is another bunny I am in love with by Chad Grohman.