Teenage Meme

I couldn't pass this one up - the "Draw Yourself as a Teenager" meme, so here's a quick sketch immortalizing some really, really big hair, c. 1994.*

*C'mon. You all totally had those bangs. Just admit it.

Lemon Goodness

I have a penchant for most anything citrus. Lemons in a special way.



And lemon cupcakes most definitely.

Family in town, so off to go socialize.

We Dress Like Students

From the Vector Experiment of '08 a few weeks back.

Today was about dodging rain drops, Flannery O'Connor short stories, and a trip to a rummage sale. My Dad snagged an autoharp at said rummage sale. About a half hour, one snapped string, and four sore fingers later, I've got it working and it's delightful!

Now off to go get in touch with my inner Carter Family.

Illustration Friday - Wrinkles

Grey Skys

It finally rained a bit today. The grey light is making the new grass look all the more intense and saturated. It was a long winter; I'm glad to have some color to look at.



Some quince branches I was forcing inside. The bottle was from a Taco Tuesday run.

Bezier Curve Fun

Forrays into vector art. It's different than the style I usually work in, but a fun change of pace. And you know what else is fun? 80 degree temps, daffodils and the first iced mocha of the season. The little things are always the best.

And I finally signed up for a profile over at Goodreads (could be dangerous considering how much of a time warp Flickr and Facebook already create). Anyhow, it's a pretty nifty site!

Leaf Pile Redux

There's always a sense of euphoria that comes with racing off the schoolbus.

Tortoise Shell Comb

Some lovely weekending in these parts: green tea, sitting out in the sun reading (pssst, "The Arrival" is fabulous), driving with the car windows down, a visit from the nieces, some drawing and pondering, coffee with the family, a red haze on the maples and a nice long run.

And now off to Monday.

(And apologies for sporadic communiqué - my site hosting and email are conspiring against me and have both been acting delightfully irregular as of late)

Illustration Friday - Fail

A quick lunch-time drawing for Illustration Friday.

Sidney

Quite frankly, a pair of frames like that would make my day. It would almost make up for a lack of 20/20 vision.

Going, going, gone:

*Elisa Granowska's 3D illustrations are delightfully magical

*The story over at Milliner's Bliss is awfully charming

Thinking Thoughts

Another ACEO, made up of bits from an old paperback novel. Looks like the page was an advertisement for Keat's poems.

Teresita

Another ACEO. Oh Derwent watercolor pencils, how I love you. Almost as much as the Maryink nesting doll shirt I splurged on the other week over at Etsy.

But not so much as I love melting snow and budding trees.

Leaf Pile!

Working on something new and here's a snippet. I love leaf piles. Raking them, not so much, but the jumping part is pretty fun. Not sure what the neighbors think of that though...

Illustration Friday - Homage

Here's my "homage" to the best band a geek could ever love, They Might Be Giants. In particular, that line in "Birdhouse in your Soul": "Not to put too fine a point on it/Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet."

*I almost drew a "Purple Toupee." The Bee won out.

Sniff

Highlights of the past few days?
Visiting nieces, Thursday night tacos, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", and nice hot tea from my aunt (to offset one doozy of a cold). I also really like Vitamin C drops.



And some more recent Flickr favorites. Click on the links to check out the über-talented photographers/illustrators.

1. Frog Prince? Girl Posed in Shell with Frog, 2. 16118, 3. How To Play Rock 'n' Roll Accordion, 4. .fiddler on the... rope, 5. Flowers, 6. 03 Close-up, 7. Ovens Cemetry, 8. colours, 9. DSC_8372

*I was thinking Tim Burton's version was way less frightening than the original '70's film. Gene Wilder really unnerved me as a kid...

Sainte Jeanne d'Arc

Joan of Arc. Now that's a teenager that means business.

Some blogs I've been enjoying lately:

*Pikaland - Profiles a delightful round-up of artists

*Thompson Family-Life - The photos over here make me smile, every time. It's a good shot in the arm of color and niftiness.

*Amy Ambshier Reyes - Wonderfully Illustrations

Illustration Friday - Pet Peeves

Why is it that they grey hairs always stand straight up?

Happy Easter!

Suddenly I have a hankering for marshmallow peeps...

Hope

Inspired by some recent Arcade Fire listening: "Every spark of friendship and love / Will die without a home."

Illustration Friday - Garden

Pen drawing, digital color. With this one I wanted to loosen up my coloring style a bit and really try to mimic that look of '60's and '70's picture books. I wish I'd thought to cue up the Partridge Family before I got going though!

Brighter By the Minute

I started coloring the drawing I started last week. I think because the subject matter reminds me so much of childhood camping trips up North there's a real personal connection for me. I can almost feel that cooling that comes in the mountains once the sun goes down. I wish I could taste the blueberries though. That would be pretty swell.



I spent some time making gift tags this weekend. It probably seems foolhardy to take time to cut these out by hand, but I actually really enjoy it. It slows me down, working on something that's not just bits and bytes and fits perfectly into Saturday morning coffee drinking.

Other assorted goodness:
Bright Common Spikes - The Sculpture of John Bisbee, daylight savings time, yellow and blue tea, and the sound of birds in the morning.

Lingonberry Love

As soon as I shot the photo, I added more jam, rest assured. My sister picked up lingonberry preserves for us at IKEA and I'm quite the happy camper.



And some twilight magic, revisited. What's that quote, "You Can Never Go Home Again?" I can't help but think for a minute you can recapture those glorious, carefree moments of childhood when drawing. Maybe it's all about just going home via a different route.

Here Comes the Bride

For the past few months, I've been fascinated by vintage wedding cake toppers. I've been attempting to make my own for Etsy and the desk by the door has been littered with various prototypes, but I think I've finally got it. Thank goodness for the previously mentioned Jane Austen-a-thon on PBS which makes cutting these out slightly more enjoyable.

And yes, I really liked an excuse to bust out the Martha Stewart glitter. Fabulous stuff.

Illustration Friday - Multiple

A Likeness of Sorts

The Jane Austen Extravaganza on Masterpiece Theatre has made my winter. The stellar part is that through some delightful fluke of the cable gods we pick up the Boston, New Hampshire, and Maine affiliates, meaning that I can catch the episodes on multiple days!

Anyhow, there's one part mid-way through "Pride and Prejudice" where Elizabeth is examining a collection of miniatures and I was thinking of that looking at this photo. I've been working on some tiny portrait pendants and the above is one of them. I have a bit of a weakness for making very tiny things, so these necklaces were right up my alley. And speaking of miniatures, Artists and Ancestors is a terrific blog that features miniature portraits.

Other likes and loves:
*Tazo Orange Tea (Tazo has a pretty spiffy site, some fun bells and whistles)

*Etsy on Martha Stewart's show this Friday

*Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. About an unusual a pairing as you can find, but a delightful listen

Books, Blueberries, and Blushing Roses

Some sketching, while thinking of balmy breezes, fireflies flitting, and blueberries ripe for the picking.

I had a swell weekend, the highlight of which was visiting my nieces. And while driving about the commonwealth of Massachusetts with them we happened to drive past the Louisa May Alcott house. A moment of geeking out in the backseat ensued for me. Regrettably, the house was closed, but that's on a "to-do" list for spring. That and the Swan Boats.



I'm not much for roses, but tea roses are another story. Much less ostentatious, slightly Victorian in demeanor, and delightful, in short.

Green Tea

When I was making this the fish pattern on the paper had me thinking of koi ponds. I've always wanted to live someplace with a koi pond. This could be slightly problematic owing to the fact that I'm really bad at remembering to feed fish. So I think I'll stick to house plants.

Illustration Friday - Theory

Better late than never, here's my Illustration Friday for the week. Roswell, JFK, Hoffa - conspiracy theory anyone? Take your pick.

At this moment

Liking as of late:
Creme Brulée coffee, the wonderfully kitschy Ultra-Lounge recordings, revamping old shirts (above), slowly increasing amounts of daylight, and running (albeit rather slowly).

Illustration Friday - Choose

I can't ever make up my mind before the barista's ready for me to order. Thank goodness they're patient!