Illustrators Mix-up

So for a class, a few friends of mine were assigned to take the much beloved work of one picturebook author and have it illustrated by another artist, like as if "Goodnight Moon" was suddenly re-illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg (the Jumanji guy). Creepy thought. I was asked to do a few examples of such mix-uppery to rather interesting results. Can you name the original book and the new illustrator? If you can, I will send you a whole freaking plate of brownies, because I know for sure that I probably couldn't.





Ah, that last one is a giveaway.

Guad-Dog and Annie

One of these paintings is haunted, but it's probably not the one you think. Apologies for the poor picture quality. I have no idea how to work a camera.



oooo...aaaah....

Long road

Just messing with watercolors. Sometimes I just like the water more than the color.

Sketchy Metchy

A few sketches of late...the "Dog of Guadalupe" is actually a preliminary sketch for a recently commissioned piece. Maybe I DO have a future as a painter of pets as religious icons! I almost gave up that dream!



Just finished reading "Wicked Lovely" by Melissa Marr. Whoa. Fairies are mean.


And a girl from a story I'm writing at the moment...the hair particularly delights me.



Ta daaa.

Lawyers say the darndest things!

So I've been doing a little work for a lawyer out West...just a bunch of cartoons here and there to exemplify certain moral codes that lawyers must adhere to. He writes the text, I do the drawings. Enjoy the larfs.

Tree

Ladies and Gents, this one can be yours if you attend Mr. Seth Wood's Dessert, Music and Charity auction THIS Saturday at 8 p.m.! Do it for CHARITY! (Yeah, I know...you're right. I should have just donated some snickerdoodles.)

for ART

I've discovered that painting is far more enjoyable of a time waster than cleaning the house is. Me, wasting time? Nay, 'tis for ART!

I found a scanner!

Hooray!

Needa scanna!

Hi all y'alls. My printer/scanner/lifeblood recently passed away, and my new printer has no scanner. So, until I figure out how to make everything I do on the computer look purty, this blog is going to go on a tiny hiatus. Sorry, lo siento, dui bu qi, j'desolee, ta bron aram and all that.

To the tablet, Robin!

Lost Galactica

I never finished coloring this and I, most likely, never will. How unprofessional is that, right? To put a half finished piece of art on your blo

Sad Seahorse.

Move along. Move along.

Christmas Dragon?

I just realized why I don't really like this drawing.


Those are poinsettias, dangit. Just realized that.

Sketch dump

This is about the entirety of the notes I took for my WP600 class last semester.








La la la di dah...

Corrina

As long as we're rocking out, might as well add her...

Rock on, good sir

Selkies

Jealous much?

I couldn't sleep last night at all. I was up until four just...thinking. Drove me batty. Because I was so jealous of how well Preston was sleeping, I kept the light on until 1:30 and made his nose look funny. Jackie! (And yes, I'm 26 and still find stuffed animals in my bed from time to time. Whatcha gonna do.)

I confess.

I hate Jane Austen like I hate Radiohead, school lunch pizza boats, and early Britney Spears music. Which, guilty me, means I don't hate her at all.

For Beth...

...who says that all my cat picture posts freak her out. Mua ha ha ha...







Mwrow! Mrow fttpht fftph!!

The end.

Good things gone under...

So, once upon a time I churned out drawings and logos and whatnot for a clothing company. I was totally excited about the job and they seemed to really like what I was doing. Alas, things were not to be. Eventually, we lost contact, I got crazy busy with grad school and I think the company just went on hold...or under. I don't know. But where'er they may be, I wish them them the best because they were very nice people. Here's a couple things I did for them a while back. If YOU would like it on a T-shirt, let me know; I draw one on with a Sharpie. Maybe I should just start my own clothing line and call it "Clothes you'll eventually give to D.I." (CYEGTDI) (dot com).

Cheers. Enjoy.



This last one makes me think of pirates, which always puts me in a really good mood.

Oooh, butterflies!

I'm back! (echo...echo...)
Hello? (echo echo echoooo...)
Huh, I guess no one's there anymore. Oh well. Too bad, suckas, cause I've got something awesome to share. My niece Emily is one mad talented artist (her creative genius chronicled previously on this blog here) and she just sent me an example of not only her tracing, drawing and coloring skills, but also her story-telling abilities. Click on the pictures for a larger view:


(I think I'm the fairy who likes yellow, which is alright with moi.) Amazing, is she not? And no backwards "E"s at all! A fairly fairy prodigy. I'm so proud of her...my own forthcoming kids have a lot to live up to. And no (for the third time, Mom) that's not a pregnancy announcement.

Much love, people. Thanks for looking.

A little color...

So, this is the first piece I've ever done using a tablet and Corel Painter. Yes, after all my years in college doing art, I never once used a tablet. Nevertheless, after snatching an almost illegal deal on an awesome tablet---(no...really...when I went to pick it up from the craigslist guy, there were a LOT of car stereos on his table. I'm just saying)---I felt it was about time to get updated on some equipment. Huzzah!

Tablets. Isn't it about...time?

Prestora tora tora

I like drawing pictures of my husband because he makes good faces. The other night I asked him to look like an angry Emperor Hirohito. And he complied.

Lo, that's how we roll.

Hizztory is HOT

So, I sent in some work to some company for a contract job...they were looking for a certain style of illustration and wanted really "hip" pictures of historical figures. Give us a hot, fierce Joan of Arc, said they. Give Lincoln some street cred. I don't know what half of those terms mean, so this is what I came up with.

Fierce hot tranny fierce hot mess!

They said they'd get back to me...I'm totally holding my breath.

Winter

Another brief experiment in color...and Heather, yes, I know Winter (the Star Wars character on which her coloring is based) had long hair, but I figure that this is what she would look like if she was on America's Next Top Model. (side note: Who's out there watching Cycle 10? Go Claire! Drama doesn't pay!)

Das righ. S'me.

So...awesome news! An amazing clothing line, Allstarlife, is looking at some of my designs and have expressed a lot of interest in what I've got to offer...so guess who's going to be hard at work on her spanking new version of Painter X this week? Das righ. S'me. Spring Break's gonna rawk.

Thanks for stopping by once again!

Brush Your Teeth

This was a gift to Preston for his future office. I won't lie, I LOVE going to the dentist.

Adios, bird.

Another sale! See you, raven-friend. (Sorry for the repeat Poe quote. What more can the general public relate to ravens except for the trite "nevermore" thing? I should wiki ravens...) Thanks again for the support, everyone...being a little start-up like this, it means so much to me. Much love!


Prints available, but it'll take me a while.

A special commission....

...for a special client. Don't mind the smudge on top...that was actually my boffo in lighting the thing. She's been sold, too, and sadly, prints are not available. Maybe later.
Thanks again for looking, all y'alls.

Good News!

Good news! The feet painting that I posted here last week was just sold. Hooray! Prints still available on demand; just e-mail me and we'll chat.


Thanks to everyone stopping by! I truly appreciate the support!

I like school

Sketching during my (non-art) classes in no way implies that I don't pay attention. To the contrary, if I don't keep my hands occupied, my mind tends to drift off, usually towards "what shall I have for dinner" category. So...lo, my instruments of focus. Unfortunately, however, not all of them keep my mind off of dinner.







That's all I got.

For Jenny

This is for Jenny. She's going to use it to cure diabetes. Good luck!!

Totally untitled

This is what I feel truly comfortable with.
Acrylic on a really long canvas

Nevermore...okay, maybe once more.

More real paintings! Wow, I get a lot done when I neglect to clean the house.
Acrylic on canvas 16 x 20

Feet for the naysayers

I do feet! And real painting.
Acrylic on canvas 16 x 20

It's a Boy! Meow!

5 minute sketch of someone's kid. Honestly, I think it looks like a cat. And...I'm alright with that.

Wheeeee!

Trampolines are for chickens!

I'm bugging out, Alice

A rare venture into the scratchy world of colored pencils. A familiar venture into the world of Alice...I don't know why I like drawing her so much, she's just so innocently...creepy.

The Magic Hen!

There is an excellent story behind this picture, really. It involves a magic hen and a dog and...oh, you're not listening anyway. Oh well. This was a painting specifically commissioned by a client off of craigslist. She actually gave me the job because she liked what she saw on this blog! This blog! Right here! Tell your friends, kids! (and no, the client was not my mom. Although I am working on a piece for her, too.)

Honestly...thank you all *so much* for the support!

The Spaghetti Fairy

Another idea for a children's book...although it might keep kids from eating their dinners rather than encouraging them as one would hope. Oh well.

Tortoise's Revenge

Fables are for suckas.

The Pond Princess

This is a little idea I'm bouncing around for a children's book. Imagine a prince finding his supposed damsel in distress just to realize that she wasn't drowning, just playing with the fishes. And I thought that mini-pony kinda rocked, too.

Whee!

Remember that feeling as a kid, when you were jumping on the trampoline and you'd stomped and stomped until you'd gotten so high that for the briefest of moments---the moment between your rapid ascent and the inevitably just as rapid fall---that time seemed to stop, the birds would fall silent, and the air became as clear and fresh and still, save for the breezes that would tease your tangled kid hair into black, red, brown, sun-bleached blond crowns? Remember?

If you didn't have a trampoline as a kid, I'm sorry. It was pretty cool.

ATTACK

Looks like he woke up just in time.

Alice

So I'm trying my hand at digital coloring...it's a learning process at best. In the meantime, Happy New Year! Here's to new ventures and happy minds!

An homage...

..to two semesters of failed Hawaiian dance. Kupaianaha!!

My Team, Your Team

So the game is "My Team, Your Team" and the premise is this: You draw a superhero with awesome superpowers. The world rejoices. Your opponent then creates a superhero with even more awesome superpowers to defeat yours. And so on. Here is a brilliant episode of this awesome game played by yours truly, my sister Michelle and her superhero awesome kid Emily! (age 6!) Explanations below...





1. Superfat man (to sit on his enemies!)
2. Mista Muscle (Muscle weighs more than fat!)
3. Lockwoman (to keep Mista Muscle out of the gym!)
4. Cap'n Runinplace (who needs a gym to exercise?)
5. Super Cryr (preventing exercise at home since birth!)
6. Miss Lullaby (to sing villains to sleep!)
7. Wrong Note Rita (who can sleep to THAT?)
8. Ms. Smack'emintheface (this was Emily's suggestion, Michelle's drawing. Brilliant!!!)
9. Mr. Brickman (because, according to Emily, who slaps a brick?)
10. Third Little Pig ('cause the house gots to git built.)
11. Da Butcher (started as a grandma, ended up a very hairy Italian)
12. SUPERCOWAFRAG (no one butchers the Supercow!!)

And of course, no one beats a Supercowafrag, so Emily was the winner! Woohoo!

(For another version of this by professionals, check out "The Superest" link on the sidebar...nice, but Emily would take 'em all down for sure. Did I mention this kid is an artistic prodigy? She is.)

Latin for...

An older sketch, but I like it just the same. Sic Semper Parva, Sic Semper Magnus. Sometimes I'm under the impression that if you put Latin in something, it makes it more esoteric, therefore COOLER. One fellow who saw this said, "Is that Latin for 'honeymoon'?"
Ha ha ... uh ... ha?

Joshua Middleton

No, the woman's name isn't Josh Middleton. Josh Middleton is an incredibly talented hombre, and I love these ethereal women he does sometimes. The style of the woman on the right is directly lifted from him. The chick in the corner, however, is not; she's just angry because I didn't finish her arm. Check out Josh Middleton, do it. Your inner superhero will thank you.

All hail the Cuke!

I love cities.  And that's all I'll say about it.

Eeehhh!!

hee hee.

Die Dame ist dort

Originally, this was a violently vibrant watercolor.  Her hair was blue and her skin was green and I just thought, "You know...I'm okay with this as a black and white for now."  Would that all vibrant mistakes were that easy to fix.

"That doesn't look like me at all..."

Quoth the Preston.  So be it!  We eschew perfection!

For Dr. Spock

What probably not to expect when you're expecting.

Yub yub...

First one to tell me who this person's name is gets my husband's old wookiee gloves!

(Note: you can always click on the picture to get a bigger size. And an overwhelming sense of satisfaction.)

Leggings

Quick! It's a bug with leggings! Squish it!

Long Day

Drew this a while ago, in my "surreptitious Batman" stage of '02. I don't think I'd enjoy being in his shoes, although I wouldn't mind an egg, sunny side up right now.

Good start. I'm feeling good. I'm going to post another. Look at me go!

Greets!

Hey, good people!

So I've decided to be an illustrator. Apparently the thing to do for illustrators is to make a blog of their stuff and hope for the best. So here it is! Many have asked what a "quibbly" is, i.e. "Pen Quibblies" and now "Brush Quibblies." Best I can describe it as is this:

Quibbly (noun) from the Latin "quid pibbly" which just sounds funny:
A sudden fit of creative, mental, emotional or physical excitement, often manifested in some tangible form. Can also be used as a verb, i.e. "Don't bother me, I'm quibbling."

That said, please do bother me when quibbling. It makes me all huffinloof inside.

Enjoy!

Wheee!!

Hee hee! Wheee!