My newest finished illustration. The Revolutionary couple. I was inspired to do this one because the kids and I were studying a book on the revolution. I have always wanted to do some great costume work and this one was really fun. I had just done the Victorian illustration I recently shared and loved the fashions there too. I also lucked out and the weekly color challenge I participate in on Twitter ended up choosing Phthalo Blue for last week so I decided to throw my blue boy into the mix. It was very well receieved. I have so many great things going I can't finish them fast enough. I will be posting again soon. Thanks for reading.
Well, despite the reminder that goes off every Thursday morning on my phone to remind me to blog, I haven't been heeding it. But here I am, dropping some new art off at the website and stopping by the blog to say Hi! I have been super busy with lots of work on my several projects, plus just lots of practice pieces and some work for contests and challenges. So instead of chatting more, here are a few of the ones I have been sharing on social media over the past few weeks... First, here is a piece I did just as a good practice piece. I wanted to do some costume type work, so I researched a bit of Victorian dress. Some of my favorite books include these types of dresses and furniture. I particularly think of the books by Louisa May Alcott. Her "Old Fashioned Girl" is one of my favorites, as are "A Rose in Bloom" and "Eight Cousins" also "Little Men" and "Jo's Boys". These are books that I can't wait to read to my girl when she is older. Here is one I put together just yesterday and today for a Friday challenge that I like to participate in on Twitter each week. The challenge is to use a particular color in an illustration. This week's color was "Tea Rose". I guess the word tea triggered this image. I gave her the rose colored dress. I call it "The Council Meeting" because the little girl seems to be laying down some rules to her plush friends. I think I could have done more with the background but I ran out of time. I may go back and adjust it more later.
Here was my entry for the SVS Third Thursday contest this week. Out of the 20 or 30 pieces submitted, the top 5 rate a critique and the top 3 get prizes. Unfortunately I didn't make the top 5 this week. I felt like this was a fun and interesting way to tackle the subject. The prompt was to do any scene from 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. I call mine 'Jack in the Box'
I took four of the sketches from last week and colored them and played with some texture and such. I thought they came out kind of cute. More of these to come, I'm sure. They were really fun to do.
Thanks for reading, MM Hello all, I have been uploading sketches to Instagram straight from my sketchbook lately. It's just so easy because it can be done from my phone. I remembered today that I can post to my blog from my phone also, I just never think of it. So I will share some of the sketches I've done recently all at once. Maybe I can make it a new habit. Here are a few... In case you couldn't tell... I'm working on doing children better... A must for a Children's Book Illustrator!
More to come! Thanks for reading, MM Hi all! Thanks for stopping by. Here is a little before and after of a sketch I did yesterday. Following a few days of really bad drawings, it was nice to finally get a sketch I wanted to finish out and paint. I am really happy with this one and will probably load it to the front page of the site.
More news soon about how the book is coming along and my classes. Thanks! MM Well, it's Spring! Now that the flooding and storming has died down, I am able to get outside and work on our garden. The kids have been loving it and I have too. If not for the mosquitoes I would probably want to move my desk out there and work.
While Spring is out my window, Fall is on my mind. I have decided that the season/colors of my children's book that I am working on will be Fall. These little woodland creatures that make up my characters will be cozying up to a warm fire in the fireplace, leaves will be falling and scarves and boots will be worn. I plan on being done with it by fall too! Above is one of the many many character sketches I have been working on over the past few weeks. The class with SVS is really helping me tons! I'm so excited about it! Below are two sketches that are going to be incorporated in my contest entry for the SVS Third Thursday contest which is back! I loved participating in these and then they went away for quite a while and now they are back. I hope to get a critique of my work by Will and Jake. I have improved a ton since the last contest! I hope to show that in my work. Thanks for reading! Gotta get back to the garden and the drawing table! MM |
MistyThanks for stopping by. I'm a published illustrator working on getting better every day. My goal for my work is for it to be charming, bright and endearing. I share my ongoing work progress online because I welcome all the encouragement and feedback I can get as I try to improve my skills. I currently have a children's book project that I am nearing the end of. Archives
February 2017
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