think jot draw

This is a piece I did for a contest over at Think.Jot.Draw. They make these really cool journal/sketchbooks where some of the pages are blank, some are ruled, some have boxes for quick sketches and some have a combination of the rules and the boxes. This contest is for illustrators to design a cover for the books. I can't wait to see what other people come up with for this, I'm sure I'll be blown away by the creative genius of the participants. They'll have a gallery of all the entries on their website sometime in January. Entries are due by 12-31-07.

The art shows the front and back cover:
(On the lower right I left room for their logo and I left room for the UPC code on the left.)

IF - horizon

Jenny had a lot to think about with so much on the horizon after high school.

My 'almost to the last minute' entry for Illustration Friday this week with the theme of horizon. I'm trying to work looser and more sketchy, so I scanned in my pencil sketch this time and colored it in Photoshop, eliminating the ink phase. I think it worked pretty well, but I have a tendency to clean it up too much in the painting phase. There's a fine line between loose and messy that I need to find!

meowy christmas and a yappy new year!

ho ho ho

I was celebrating yesterday after finishing my Christmas shopping, until I found out my Mom bought my daughter the exact same book that I did! So, it's back to Barnes and Noble today for an exchange...bummer! I hope I can find a place to park, then find my car when I get back to the parking lot! Isn't that the worst feeling, when you see an ocean of cars and think, OK, where's my car? That little bit of panic that starts to slowly build? Wish me luck and happy shopping, everyone.

(Image from my line of coffee inspired greeting cards)

IF - backwards

My entry for the IF challenge this week with the theme word of backwards. Two skateboard dudes with their caps on backwards. I did a looser initial drawing with this illo, where the lines are more scratchy. I thought it fit the imagery better than more clean lines, but it was a bit problematic when I went to do the coloring in Photoshop. I'll have to work out the issues I had, if I want to try this again! I'd love to hear what you think of the scratchy style. Does it work for this piece? Please, leave me a comment with your thoughts. I'd appreciate the feedback.

Background textures courtesy of mayang.com/textures. (love them!)

the end

The long road to the championship game finally came to an end on Saturday with a defeat. The mighty Lasers couldn't score against the dreaded Blasters. (yes, they had to play them again! It was a double elimination tornament and they came back to do it all over again!) The end score - 2-0! The girls took it pretty well - after all, 2nd place is not too shabby. It was the farthest they had ever made it, so I think even though it would have been great to win, they felt satisfied with what they accomplished. It was really, really cold on Sat. and I think everyone was just ready to call it quits for the year. No one should be playing soccer in Dec.! Unless of course you live in a warm climate. The top photo is Nikki getting her 2nd place patch. The bottom photo shows the girls being presented at the beginning of the game. See the "war" paint they put on! I guess it didn't scare the opponents as much as they hoped!

the finals!

woo-hoo! The mighty Lasers have made it to the Championship game! After a glorious victory over their arch enemies, The Blasters, in the semi-finals, they will play for the trophy this Saturday! It's the Seattle Rec league all-city tournament and the Lasers play in the girls U14 gold division. Nikki plays sweeper, the position right in front of the goalie and has become quite a good player. I am, of course, so proud of her accomplishments! They have been working toward this goal for years and it's finally here. Wish them luck!! Go Lasers!

IF - little things

I loved doing this for Illustration Friday's challenge of "little things". You know how you sometimes have an idea in mind and then you try to capture that idea and it somehow doesn't turn out exactly like you had imagined? Well, this one actually matches perfectly with what I saw in my mind. I love it when that happens!

IF - excess

Excess living. Hand drawn, then painted and textured in Photoshop. Not much else to say about this one. I tried to do something a little more edgy this time, not so "cute".

quote of the week

I haven't posted for awhile...pretty busy with holiday card orders, but I thought I'd do the quote of the week. In honor of Seattle's All City Youth Soccer Tournament which started this week - here's the quote -

"Keep your head in the Game!"
~said by every coach on every team in every sport in every city and town everywhere!

(So far, my daughter's team is undefeated, but it's still early in the tournament. Go Lasers!)

IF - the zoo

Here's my entry for the theme of 'the zoo', over at Illustration Friday this week. When my kids were little, we had a lot of flashcards around the house, so I decided to create my own little set of cards and a chalkboard to lay them on. I drew the animals, scanned them into Photoshop, then created the rest of the elements digitally. It was really fun to do, I enjoyed working on this one! Of course, I enjoy working on all of them! Oh, the wonders of Photoshop! It's an amazing tool!

love this site!

I love, love, love this site 3191, a year of mornings! It's a collaboration between Stephanie Barnes and Maria Vettese. Stephanie lives in Portland, Oregon and Maria in Portland, Maine. They live 3191 miles apart and each morning they each take a photograph. Stephanie sends hers to Maria and Maria makes a diptych of the two photos and posts them on their site. Nothing is planned ahead, except that they will each take a photo of something in their world each weekday. The colloboration is almost always visually stunning and completely unique. The images are so fresh and crisp!

They have been doing this since January and plan to do it through until the end of the year, which is almost over! I wish I would have found out about this site earlier to follow along each morning. I hope they plan to do a year of afternoons in 2008!

i've been tagged!

I've been tagged by Marci! Which also means I have to tag 5 other people and write 5 things about myself! I decided to tag some fellow IF participants, since that is how I know Marci. Here are the rules for the tag.

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on thier blog.

Here are my 5 things:

1. When I was about 6 years old, I was riding in the back of my Dad's little car (it was a turquoise and white Metropolitan, so cute!) and I was playing around with a pencil, sticking it in my ear. He turned a corner and the pencil went right into my ear, breaking off the lead inside of it! I screamed like crazy, my Dad freaked out and I ended up having to have surgery to remove the lead!

2. My favorite colors change all the time, but right now they are red and mustard yellow. I love all colors except colors that are too bright.

3. My daughter turned 13 this year so now I have 2 teenagers in the house! It's fun, though...so far.

4. When I lived in Bend, OR I had a black dog named Jessie and I would put a long leash on her and she would pull me around town on my roller skates. It was a blast, but sometimes she would go so fast, I got scared!

5. One of my favorite foods is salad. Call me crazy, but it is!


I am tagging Mika, Michelle, Jeope, Elizabeth and Kim.

IF - superstition

step on a crack, break your mother's back

My entry for the IF challenge of superstition. Thank goodness for all the mother's out there that this is only a superstition and never comes true! This little guy is getting some enjoyment out of jumping on the cracks to see if it will come true and "ouch", this time it did!

new on etsy

I just added these 4 original mixed media paintings to my Etsy shop. I love these pieces and they are just sitting in my studio in a pile with other assorted artwork. They need a home!
Check out my etsy shop right here. Thanks for stopping by!

quote of the week

"The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does."
~James M. Barrie

IF - scale

Going to school with scales on my arms

The summer right before I entered fifth grade, I contracted a case of ringworm from our family dog. My arms were covered with really gross ring shaped scales that were red and blistery. The entire first week of school I wore long sleeves, even though it was still 80 degrees outside! This was, of course, one of the most horrifying and embarrassing events of my grade school life and a memory I will never forget. So, when I saw the word of the week was 'scale' over at IF, I had to try to capture my experience.
I was going for a look of horror and embarassment on her face...I'm working on trying to capture emotions better with my people. What do you think, does this work? What could I have done better? Any tips would be greatly appreciated from all you wonderful illustrators out there.

Illustration Friday

Penelope Dullaghan, the genius behind the ever popular website Illustration Friday, posted a beautifully written article about the community of illustrators that submit regularly on Illustration Friday. After reading it, I realized all over again, what an amazing group I had stumbling upon while surfing abound on blogs one day. It's not a club, where you have to be invited to join, you don't need to be "good" to enter the challenges. No one is judging you or saying hurtful things. I can't say it any better than she has right here.

IF - hats

Penguins have always been one of my favorite animals and penguins wearing top hats... is, of course, pretty darn cute! So, here's my entry for the IF challenge of the week - hats. Nothing too original or clever, but if you are a penguin lover, like me, I think you will like this one.

My aunt Lucy had a stuffed penguin in her room at my grandmother's house, that I loved to play with on visits there. Lucy was grown up and gone from the house, but the penguin stayed behind, waiting for me to visit and play with it. Sadly, Lucy and the penguin are both gone now, ...so this one's for them and a fond childhood memory.

quote of the week

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it."
~Lou Holtz

I'm not sure who Lou Holtz is, but I like this quote because it reminds me that attitude is the key to success in anything we try to do..

A Muse window - sneak peek

Here's a little sneak peek at the window props I used in A Muse's retail shop display today. After Halloween, we had to do a winter theme and Santa bird was perfect for it. Linda found a great branch to hang from the ceiling, I made an old basket into a nest and created Santa bird from some foamcore. We also hung a bunch of snowflakes from the ceiling. It turned out pretty cute. Hopefully, Linda will bring her camera and take some photos of the finished product and post them on the A Muse News blog, soon.

IF - trick or treat

A quick entry for this week's IF theme of 'trick or treat'. The trick or treaters parade and haunted house images are stamps that I designed for A Muse a few years ago. I love both of these, so I had to do an illo with them for this topic. I didn't spend a lot of time creating this...so don't examine it too closely! Happy Halloween, everyone and don't eat too much candy!

peaceful holiday

I designed this holiday card for my friend, Stacey, over at Northwest Behavioral Assoc. I love the message it has, for this year in particular. I hope to see a lot of cards with this message of peace and hope for this coming holiday season. Stacey and her staff do amazing and worthwhile work with children affected by autism. My son and I have worked with them since he was about 4 or 5 and we couldn't have survived without them!

quote of the week

If I ever die, do me a favor. Go on Oprah and tell the world I loved kittens.
~submitted by Nikki Seven, age 13, from the TV series Veronica Mars (much to her dismay, it was cancelled last season)

I love this quote, it really makes me chuckle and I could use a good laugh after continuing to suffer from vertigo since Oct 8th. I had posted that it was a one time thing, but Nooooooo, it's a virus living in my inner ear, causing dizziness and nausea! and lasting a really long time! Luckily, I have some meds that help some. They never really take it away, but it's surpressed enough to function. So, the world spins madly on and I love kittens.

Etsy shop!

I've opened my very own little Etsy shop. See the groovy side bar ad below my archives section? Pretty cool, huh? I'll be selling some of my mixed media paintings at very affordable prices. Check it out!

florishes

I just completed these 1st three pieces in a NEW series of artwork! They measure 18" W x 26" L. My original plan was to show them at the Sales Gallery at the Seattle Art Museum, where I show other work, but just as I was putting the finishing touches on the last piece, I got an email from the gallery, saying they will not be accepting any new art until the beginning of 2008! Drat!

So, I contacted my good friend, Doris, for a backup plan. She finds artists for a corporate office building here in the Seattle area and I can hang them there in late November. Other artists have sold pieces there, so there's still hope that they will find a good home. If not, I can take them to the gallery in Jan. Making art is kind of like having a litter of kittens, you want them to find a good home!

quote of the week

It's true that you don't know what you've got until it's gone, but you don't know what you've been missing until it arrives.
~author unknown

IF - grow

I have a lot of art already that fits this week's Illustration Friday theme of "grow". Almost all of my fine art work has a nature theme, so I first thought of entering one of those, but seeing as it's Illustration Friday, not Fine Art Friday, I decided to go with an image from my greeting card line. This one is called Fresh. You can't get much fresher than this cup of coffee with a coffee plant growing right out of it! It's fun to be able to do an illo just for the theme, but this one fits perfectly, so here it is!

Illustration Friday - extremes

Life is flying by! It seems like I just did the IF challenge! Anyhow, here's my entry - The extreme differences in the high school experience for girls. I was more in the middle, myself. Definitely not prom queen! Sorry to say, but not brainy girl either! More arty hippie chick! I'll save that one for another illo some day.

quote for the week

"A dream without a plan is just a dream."
Helen Thayer, adventurer and author of the book "Polar Dream"

monster mash

Penelope Dullaghan is hosting her annual Monster Mash illustration contest. Here's my entry for it. It was a lot of fun creating this little green monster and his scary shadow! What do you think he's thinking? Maybe something like "oh boy, here we go, it's Halloween again"?

Halloween is such a fun time of the year. We finally have had a few nice days in a row here in the NW, so I went to the market and got some pumpkins for the front steps, hung Indian corn on the door and cleaned up the yard some. I love crisp, sunny fall days and drawing monsters. Life is good.

spinning

My daughter made this sign for her bedroom door over the summer. It's the title from a song by The Weepies. She's a big fan of quotes, song titles and snippets that mean something to her life as a teenager.
I'm posting this today, because I had a episode of vertigo a few days ago. If you've never had vertigo, it is as if the world is spinning. Not only did I feel like the world was spinning, I couldn't see, I was shaking all over, I got really hot and felt like I was going to throw up. It lasted about 5 mins.
I'm not a doctor, but apparently, the virus from a recent cold decided to live in my eyes and ears. My research on vertigo came up with many causes, one of which was the common cold. Others include not drinking enough water, drinking too much caffeine and eating too many sweets! I think I've been guilty of all of those at one time!
On a more serious note, it can be a chronic condition for some people and boy, my heart goes out to them. It was not a fun experience. Happily, I only had the one episode, so the world spins madly on, just not in my head.

IF - open

It's Illustration Friday time again! This week we illustrated the word "open". I did an open container of take-out food and an open fortune cookie with the fortune "open your mind", coming out of it. Three "opens" in one illo!

This week they are doing something fun over at IF. After all the illustrations have been entered, 25 lucky winners will have their art shown in a bookstore called Open, located in Long Beach, CA. How are the winners chosen?, you ask. By the people who vote for their favorites, of course! So, if you like mine, vote for me! right here. Just click on the star by my name. (You have to be registered for the IF forum to vote) The voting is open until Oct.19 and you can vote for 5 of your favorites.

the joys of home ownership

This is a mixed media painting I did a while back, called little pink houses. I'm posting it and lamenting about the joys of owning a home and the fun things we get to spend money on.

First, our kitchen sink water pressure was sooooo low, it barely came out at all...so, a call to the plumber and that got fixed. Next, 2 of our window sills had rotted over time, so we had to have those replaced, because rain began to get in through the window! They had to take out the existing windows to do the repairs, so we decided to replace one of the windows, since it was fairly old and not energy efficient.

Two days ago the thermostat on the freezer part of our refrigerator started to go bad, so a call to Sears and we got that fixed today. Now, my vacuum cleaner is beginning to act strange! As I vacuum along, it all of the sudden gets too difficult to even push it, then suddenly zooms ahead real fast.

These are the many joys of owning a home and spending money on things that nobody notices, but I guess I wouldn't trade it for condo living, I do love my house. Here's hoping for a repair free winter!

Illustration Friday - the blues

This week's entry for Illustration Friday with the blues as the word to illustrate. I actually had this mixed media painting that I did a few years ago that was almost perfect for the theme. I scanned it, fixed it up a bit in Photoshop and now it's a good match for the blues. I'm thinking cool cats, swingin' in a java jive. Coolio, man.

a new look

As you can see, I finally updated my blog to a custom look, instead of the basic blogger standard template! Woo hoo! To tell you the truth, I've been wanting to do this for some time, but have put it off, thinking that it would be difficult to figure out, since I don't know HTML. Surprise, surprise, it was pretty easy.

Blogger has made some wonderful changes since I first signed up and the custom templates are very user friendly. The only thing that I wish is that they gave basic pixel dimensions for the custom headers. It took me a little while to figure out what size to make mine, but compared to what I thought it was going to be like, it was simple! If I can do it, anyone can!

Now that I know how easy it is, I'll eventually do a header just for my blog. This one borrows elements from my illustration website. Not knowing what I needed size wise, I started with something I already had. I saw a really cute owl on Jenn Shurkus's blog header, so I might have to do one with owls. It will be a HOOT! (sorry...couldn't resist writing that)

10 essentials to style

My daughter, an aspiring fashion stylist, was watching Tim Gunn's new reality TV show, Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, the other day and yelled at me to come and "check it out". "It's you", she said.

For those of you who don't know, Tim Gunn is the fashion guru from Project Runway, who loves to say "Make it work" and uses a lot of big words, which nobody knows what they mean. Anyway, on his new show, he goes to women's houses and "makes them over" by throwing out all their clothes and sending them off to shop for his 10 essential pieces.

On the episode we watched, the woman was a mom of two kids (I'm a mom of 2 kids). She was 5'3" (I'm 5' 4"). She only wore T-shirts and capris and jeans when it was winter (I only wear T-shirts, capris and jeans) She basically only wore solid colors (I usually only wear solid colors) Well, Tim Gunn made her throw out all of her clothes! He was horrified at all her capris (especially the cargo style, which are my favorites!) and said tsk, tsk tsk. He said they made her look shorter and heavier.

He proceeded to tell her to go shopping for his 10 essentials. Here's his list with my comments:

1. The black dress (mine would be covered in cat hair)

2. The trench coat (I'd feel like a private eye in one of those!)

3. Classic dress pants (of course these would be worn with heels, so I'm not going to do that)

4. White blouse (who will iron this for me?)

5. Jeans (I'm OK with this one!)

6. Cashmere sweater (I don't really like sweaters, too itchy!)

7. Skirt (can you see me mopping the floor and cleaning the bathroom in a skirt?)

8. Blazer (too constricting!)

9. Day dress (perfect for a soccer game? I don't think so)

10. Sweat suit alternative (I don't really wear sweat suits, so my alternative would be...you guessed it - CAPRIS!)

IF - juggle

The Illustration Friday theme this week is - juggle. I had a little time over the last few days to do an illo for it, so this is what I came up with. Kinda fun, with a bit of a retro feel.

My daughter is a little afraid of clowns...have you ever seen the movie "IT"? She watched it with a group of girls at a sleepover, when they were about 10, and that did it. That was one scary clown. I think I'll print this out and leave it on her pillow, so she can see it before she goes to bed. Hee hee.

a nice surprise

Every month I get a little check from the seattle art museum gallery, fees for the rental of the artwork that I show there. This month I got a nice surprise with the sale of one of my pieces! I never know if I have sold or rented anything until the check comes, so it's fun to see what activity has been going on over there, when I open up the check. I love surprises like this one!

funny cat

Our cat Scout isn't a very affectionate cat. He likes to be with us...at a distance, but hates being held and won't sit in our laps. To make up for his lack of affection, he entertains us with his crazy antics. I thought I'd share a few photos of him for all you cat lovers out there. (Sorry to bore you if you are a DOG person!) I personally LOVE cats and have always had them as pets, since I was a little girl. The 1st two cats I can remeber having, looked a lot like Scout. They were brothers. We had just seen the play, The King and I, and wanted to name the cats after the play. We decided on King for one of them, but thought 'I' wouldn't be a good name, so the other cat became Tiny, because he was smaller. I'm sure it made lots of sense at the time! Now, I'm not so sure.

A Muse window - sneek peek

We are a little behind schedule, but the Halloween window at the A Muse retail store is going in tomorrow! Here's a sneek peek of some of the elements that will be in it. A large version of our Boris the mad scientist stamp and eyeballs, spiders and salamanders that will be put into jars to recreate our Ingredients stamp. It's going to be so much fun! Spooky and creepy, but in a fun way, so little kids can enjoy it, too.

happy birthday to me!

That's right! Today is my birthday! I thought I would share a photo of myself on my one year birthday. Looks pretty vintage, huh? If you look real close at the date across the top you'll see Sept 1958. OK, so if I was one in 1958...that would make me...ummm, Yikes! 50! How did that happen? I don't feel 50. I hope I don't look 50. But, it's true, today I am 50.

I'm OK with it, though. It's amazing to look back on my life and remember all the different lives within a life that I have had. Here are some of the things I've been - a baby, a kid, a student, a rebellious teenager, an art college hippie chick, a display trimmer, a corporate visual manager, a wife, a mom (including the soccer part - but I don't drive a mini van!), an artist, illustrator and a business owner.

What else will I be? The possibilites are endless. We never know what path our lives will take and what decisions we may make that will change our lives in profound ways. It's an amazing journey and I've had a lot of fun in mine. Here's to many more birthdays. Today, I am going to treat myself to a mini spa day and a little pampering. Cheers!

to do list

I don't have much time to blog this week. I don't have time to do the Illustration Friday challenge either, which makes me sad!
Here's what's on my to do list this week!

* Finish inking the designs for a NEW A Muse stamp release (think Valentine's Day!)
* Finish the custom holiday design I'm doing for a local non-profit group
* Paint our walkway and steps (I starting prepping them over the weekend and didn't get it finished!)
* Decorate the window at the A Muse retail store with a Halloween theme
* Begin some custom coffee designs for the Starbucks Partner store in the Starbucks Center
* Take my son in to the Dr. for some blood work (this will not be fun!)
* Pamper myself on Thursday, because it's my birthday! (more on this later)
* Make up orders for my greeting cards that came in last week
* and of course my usual wife and mom duties that I do every week!

Phew! I better go start on some of this stuff!

IF - alphabets

With alphabets as the word to illustrate over on IF this week, I'd thought I would post this alpha set that I designed recently for A Muse. It's a set of clear stamps for use in scrapbooking, card making and other kinds of crafty projects. This set is called Broadway and is available right here. I designed a couple of other sets as well - a stitched set and a paisley set, but this one is my favorite. It's just really fun!

a sweet ride

Woo hoo! I got a new car! Yep, I finally traded in my 1999 Subaru Legacy for a brand spanking NEW dark grey 2008 Subaru Forester. It's my third Subaru, so I guess I'm just a Subie kind of girl. It's got all kinds of cool features that I didn't have in my old car...CD player, keyless entry, heated seats, a really big sunroof! I had a sunroof in my old car but this one is a MEGA sunroof. It almost feels like a convertible, it's that BIG! My daughter said "No eating in the car for a few months, huh?" You got that right, sweetie! The car is so spotless, I'm almost afraid to drive it, but I think I will anyway. I'm in love!

IF - visitor

Aliens have invaded Seattle! Thousands have been seen visiting Pike Place Market and the Waterfront with hundreds more seen flocking to the Space Needle. They are easy to spot with their maps, cameras, binouculars and of course, the ever present fanny pack! (my entry for IF's theme of visitor)

IF - captain

I'm sneeking this one in at the last momet...the IF challenge for the week with the theme of captain. I didn't really illustrate a captain, I did boats. Boats have captains, though...don't they? Or is that skippers for boats and captains for ships? Hmmm...oh, well, here it is anyway.
I had fun with all the textures.

2 more new!

Here are the last two NEW holiday card designs. Jenny contacted me today and will be updating my site soon with all 4 new images! It's so weird to be thinking and planning for the holidays, when it doesn't feel like summer has even begun yet here in the Northwest. It was so wet and cold today, I had to turn on the heat!

another sneek peek!

I thought I would share another NEW holiday image from my greeting card line. Some of you might recognize some of these elements from the previous IF challenge - polar. I loved the polar bear with his fun scarf so much, I had to use him in a card design, too! I'm hoping to get the new images on to my website soon, but Jenny, my site updater, is MIA. Jenny...where are you? I need my site updated!

I wish I could just do this kind of thing myself! I know I could, if someone would just show me how. The easy way! I tried to take a class on website designing, but as soon as the instructor began to speak...MEGO! (my eyes glazed over) It was beyond what I needed to know, or cared to know. I followed along the best I could, then promptly forgot most of it.

IF - emergency

A quick little illo for this week's IF theme of emergency. A vintage ambulance racing through the streets of England.

IF - missing

My IF entry for this week with the theme - missing. Poor bear with his missing eye and arm. And poor chair - he's only got two legs! Not my best work, but I'm learning how to add textures in Photoshop. Check out the wood grain floor and chair and the groovy wall texture! This was a trial piece and I made my share of mistakes, but I'm getting there! I wanted to have a whole assortment of things with missing parts, but I just don't have time...where are the lazy days of summer, anyway?

holiday card - sneek peek

I thought I'd post a little sneek peek of what I've been working on - this is one of the four NEW holiday designs that I am releasing this year for my greeting card line. For those of you who are new to my blog, all my greeting cards have coffee related themes. (what can I say...I'm from Seattle!) The new designs won't officially be on my website until the end of August. This one is turning out to be my favorite. Even a gingerbread man's gotta have his grande non-fat vanilla latte! Cheers!