Sunday, April 25, 2010

IF - ahead


"Derek ran ahead, kicking a can, while Nikki dawdled behind doing cartwheels."

I know, I was supposed to be taking a break from Illustration Friday and doing my fine artwork, and I am working on it, but I had to do this one, it was soooo what my kids were like when they were little. Derek was the hare and Nikki was the tortoise and I was in the middle. "Derek slow down! Nikki, hurry up, Derek's getting too far ahead!" A simple walk could be so stressful, it was crazy! It's funny, though, now that they older, I miss our tortoise and the hare walks.

22 comments:

Sandra said...

Great illo. Love the colors and textures.

Shirley said...

SO sweet, Nina. What a great concept for the prompt. I really like this new style you have...it has depth and contrast and the characters seem to pop off of the page. Vibrant colors, too. Glad you worked on this fun illo in between your fine art pieces..it's a winner!

I had a bit of the tortoise and hare today at our local park...2+ miles and we were all playing tortoise for a bit (allergies and all)...funny! Glad you have those good memories though. : )

life without novacaine said...

This is so fun! Love the textures in all the grass and trees and everywhere... it adds so much interest. Your tortoise and hare story is cute too!

Anonymous said...

Great illo, as always. Love the way you've brought everything together - the colours, the textures, the expressions.. Really nice. :)

Ellen Byrne said...

Thoroughly charming illustration!

Lucy said...

Great job... and yes, my kids were and still are the same.

Nur said...

very nice and personal! which makes it even nicer. I've got a beautiful tortoise... and start to think about going for the hare now! : )

Nur said...

oh! by the way, my tortoise is also a Nina!

Joy Steuerwald said...

Very sweet illo and I like your story that goes along with it.

bee said...

What a lovely idea for the subject of 'ahead' I love that it has such a personal story behind it too. Gorgeous characters as always, and so bright and fun - well done!

MrBibleHead said...

This is adorable Nina!! Love the action and the poses. Your style is so fabulous!

ted said...

yes... adorable

Christina Rodriguez said...

Cute! I really like the story that goes with it!

justdoodleit said...

Nice story and cool illo.

thefridayfrog said...

rather be nickie! if i could do a cartwheel...maybe a somersault, er, maybe just a full body roll down the hill.

super, nina! :))

Valerie Krist said...

Looks like alot of fun! Great job capturing that feeling.

Unknown said...

Yeah, love the textures and colors. Really fun.

michael robertson said...

fun piece, nina! love the colors, especially that green.

lil kim said...

cute, Nina!

anil ks said...

..awesome..love these colors..

Julissa Mora said...

Wow, this is so fun and kid like. I love the fun shapes you created with the hills. Great texture and colors too!!!

That's so nice that you get inspiration from your kids :)

Brad said...

wonderful!! i love the textured background and the colors really pop! i loved playing kick the can when i was a kid