Critter Sale in the Shop + Photo Restoration

I usually don't post shop updates here, but I wanted to say a few things.

I added Photo-retouching and Photo-restoration to my etsy shop. It's always been a hobby of mine, and I wanted to offer my services to all!

ALSO!

My handmade Stuffed Critters have been marked $5 off. :)
Bunny, Bear and Dino! Take your pick!

Cornelia the Bear ................. Kizzy the Bunny

Fred The dino!!!
Check them out, or forward the links? I want them to find good homes. They've been sitting around, looking very sad lately.

My First Bellycast Painting

So it's pretty straight forward.

There's a pregnant lady who wants her pregnant belly immortalized and hung on the future baby's nursery wall. She's made a cast from paper mâché and now she doesn't want it to be just plain white. (as below)

BEFORE!!

I got a request for Cherry Blossoms and the baby's name. The mother who has already given birth knows the colors of the nursery and want it to match. Pink blossoms, brown branch, green leaves, brown type, ivory background.

So i put about 4 coats of gesso paint on the cast and sanded down all the rough spots. It took e a while to get the layout of the flowers set. I took a whole day and just sat down and focused. It took about 7 hours, and it was a learning experience. I've never worked with acrylic paints in this scale, so it was great. I was a perfectionist where i needed to be, and real organic where it would work best. I'm happy with the result. The mother loves it and I guess it hanging up now!

Happy Birthday Colleen

:)

So! I decided to put my drawing skills to use and draw a portrait of my friend Colleen. She's a co-worker of mine as well and her bday was Dec 4th!

 

Before and After photo-shopping... I decided to change her hand placement after a passerby commented "why is the girl on your screen scratching her crotch?".. needless to say, it got changed!

i'm happy with the colors and the effect. I think I'm much better than I was when I started this blog, and I'm excited to continue. :)

Also! Happy Holidays to you all!

Ian and I picked a wedding date... October 20th 2012. 311 days to go!

HAPPY HAPPY DAY!!

This is not a school, art, or drawing related post.

Long Story Short:


I love Ian, so when he asked me to Marry Him on Saturday, I of course said YES!!

Our view on our hike!

He drew me this book!

the ring  :)

We're so excited for the future and overjoyed to be spending it with each other. :)

Quickie, but big Update! Textures & Boxes Week 9

Hi Guys,

It's been a while since updating!  Here are some quick photos of things I've been doing in school!

 

 

 

The top two were in-class assignments. Shading white, grey and black boxes. I'm very pleased with the way the second one came out.

The last two were texture projects. I love cross hatching! :)

And this is a butterfly that was flying around at Maskar Orchards when we went Apple Picking.  :)

I've also been commissioned to paint a small mural on a belly cast for a nursery! I'm super excited. 3 coats of gesso down, 2 coats of ivory to go! Then some cherry blossoms and things. :)

Drawing Class Week #6 : Shading some Cubes

We started doing more in depth projects this week, including but not limited to: shading, lines, perspective, tone, angle, texture and shape!  A lot going on really, but with my 2D class learning almost the same things, I think I'm doing all right.

This was our in class assignment.

Draw the huge Styrofoam box in the middle of the classroom, and shade as you see it. "Draw from what you see, rather than what you think you see." I must say that to myself 20 million times a day now... My boxes aren't perfect, but I'm pretty happy with my shading so far.. it needs work, but eh.. :)

THEN, if you don't think it could get any tougher than that crazy insane intricate cube, my professor adds one more!

Here is my drawing:

I am certainly pleased with this one. :)  again, I am not any sort of professional here, but I like the way it looks. cube #2 is a bit wonky on the bottom, but eh.. I like it.

Our homework was to draw 3 cubes around the house in a pile.. everyone in class loved mine which was a big confidence booster. (thank you all ::sniffle::)
Once I take a good picture of it, i'll post it up for you guys to see!

We began class this week with a long 2, possibly 3 day drawing of LOTS of boxes. A huge, yet organized, pile of them! I'm pretty happy with where mine is right now, but since it's in class, I didn't get to take a photo of it yet... I will though!  I am unable to attend 2D design tonight, but I promise to make up the work and then share it with you. Enjoy your night!  :)

Drawing Class Week #1-5

Wow, i can't believe that I am on week 6 already. I haven't shared any of my work from Drawing class. I was most excited to post my stuff from that class here too!

So... week #1 we learned about Blind Contour Drawings..
"The student, fixing their eyes on the outline of the model or object, draws the contour very slowly in a steady, continuous line without looking at the paper."

I drew my own hand, and a few objects in class that I didn't take photos of... and for homework that week we had to draw a piece of lettuce 2 times.

As you can see.... i didn't look at the paper very much at all! (which is the point) ... its cool how features end up in the completely wrong place. It was funny when i got to look for the first time. haha.

Week 2 was Semi-Blind Contour drawings... Pretty much the same idea, except this time you can glance at the paper to see how its going, but once your pencil starts moving, you must look away. Not allowed to look as you draw. Its cleaner and more organized, but still has the same wonky distorted feel to it. Here is my homework for that week.

antique sewing bobbin, votive holder and bamboo.

Week #3 and 4 .. We learned about the rule of thirds, as we did in my 2D Class.
During the drawing class we made some drawings based on still life in the room following the rule of thirds.

Subject in either of the 4 "hot spots" on the page, never centered.
That wicker basket was a pain in my arse!

My homework that week:

big silk flower, small pyrex, and a mason jar filled with buttons!

We've finally started on shading and light sources and angles and things! We drew many boxes last class and had to draw a bunch for homework.. I'll share those another time. This post is long enough as it is!!

6 hours til Drawing class tonight!

also, I had some other drawings but my professor asked if he could put them in the display case. :)  Again, I'm sure no big deal, but to me I felt very honored. I'm new to this college thing... so to have the approval of my professor, and to be doing things correctly and well enough to make it into the case was an incredible honor for me.  :) It's silly, but I'm excited to see them in the case. :)

Thanks for reading, and your critiques!

Back to School: 2D Design Class Update!

I guess you could consider this Part 2 of my Back to School Journey... Part 1 is here.

So... This is what went on last week. We had a project wherein we drew a zoomed in (cropped) drawing of our keys, or whatever objects we wanted, following the rule of thirds. Then we have to remove obvious detailed lines, and darken areas to make the image more abstract. We drew about 6 thumbnails and then chose one to blow up to 8 x 10in.

This is my final one from the In-Class Assignment.

Then.... We did the same process at home, except now we needed to make three 8 x 10in final drawings... as "abstract" as you can make it. From close up while I was drawing, it didn't look so obvious, but when I saw from in the back of the classroom, it wasn't as abstract. It very much looks like a ring, some earrings and a few safety pins. haha.

 

After we went through the classroom student critiques and watched a few PowerPoint presentations we got to create something my professor called "One Expressive Brushstroke" .. which sounds pretty simple. Again, No.. everything rests on that one stroke! It's a lot of pressure to get it right. One stroke, just one. We were given one piece of paper, one brush with some ink (we got dark purple-ish grey when it was supposed to be black.. hmmm)  .. After we created the most intense brush stroke we possibly could think up, we had to cut out one shape fro construction paper and glue it on in a spot that would enhance the expressiveness of our brushstroke.

I had a grand ol' time time cutting out my shape ... but in the end, it really didnt compliment my stroke at all. I wish i could've redone it. Anywhoo.. this is my finished work.

I call it: "Snake wearing a Tiara"

 

- ink and construction paper on mix media paper. haha.  :) 

More to come as the weeks go by.  :)

Our homework this weekend is called "The Shape Mask" .. we must cut a shape out of paper, and then paint, color, spray paint, rub charcoal, or something around the edges of the shape as a stencil. So that when you pick up the shape, that area where the shape was lying is still white and the outside has the color. We've gotta overlap them 30 times. If we use black, it should look like a negative? Does that make sense? The we cut out another shape out of black construction paper and glue it down to compliment our collage of shape masks. I can't wait to start. I better pick a good shape.  :)

I'll post photos when I'm all done!

I dunno who is actually reading, but thanks :)

Digitized Polka Dot Invites with Burlap?

I made these invites in Adobe Illustrator with wedding in mind, except I don't quite think they fit in. A bit too casual.  I imagined the cute & dainty, but rustic invites I've seen around, hence the poor excuse for digitized burlap and letterpress! I love the idea of real burlap being wrapped around a very feminine base. Pretty, rustic, vintage, typewriters, outdoors, lace.... and so on..

I was happy with them, so I wanted to share!

 

These are pretty much the types of projects I love to get at work. :)

Wednesday Night 2D Design Class

I feel like I've been neglecting this blog! I've actually been doing a lot of art now that school has begun and I want to share some with you all!

Let's see.... I've been in this class for, oh.. about 3 weeks now. Tomorrow will be the start of the 4th week. This class has been rather challenging. It's completely non-representational. Meaning, all shapes and lines that do not form a familiar object. No dogs, people or houses. Impossible right? Really! No squares, circles or rectangles either. All organic shapes and weird free drawn lines. That is something I am not very good at. Our first in class assignment was to create "Three Significant Lines". We had to draw out in a thumbnail box (2" w x 2.5" h) three lines, all different shapes, sizes, thickness, forms and angles. The second thumbnail was just adding more details... the 3rd was changing the thickness and the 4th, 5th and 6th were to finalize the changes and pick the best one. Then we had to draw it out in an 8x10in box, and color it with a fine point sharpie.

This was my in class... My final, and all my thumbnails.

During the critiques from the class I was told I have an obvious style (umm excuse me what? I didn't think so. Do you see my blog tagline? That's the point of this blog! I guess everyone does have one... i'm glad that i'm getting close. I was also told that my lines were whimsical. Sounds good to me!)



The at home assignment was the same idea, except with larger thumbnails. This is my final!

 

AT HOME!  I got 12/12 points. A+  :)   

I'm very proud of my neatly drawn lines. I used a ruler, something completely unheard of before school. That's something I'm trying very hard to maintain!

We've since had to make "Three Significant Shapes"  and "Realism to Abstract" assignments. I will post those when i get around to taking photos!

This class has a ton of work and a ton of power point presentations... But I do like learning new things. I also have my Drawing I class on Tuesday Nights (tonight), but I haven't really been able to snap any good photos. We've been doing Contour drawings, Blind and Semi-blind. We're also drawing from still life, and (re)learning the Rule of Thirds. I learned it in photography, but it's cool to use it in more than just a viewfinder.

Anywhoo.. I hope you guys will stick around and see more of my classwork. The in-class critiques are very hepful, I'd be very happy to hear from anyone out there in the blogosphere!

Take Care & Wish me more luck. haha

- D

Going Back to School : Drawing I

Last night, I went to my first class at the local Community College. I began taking Drawing I. Most of the students were younger than me, one was older than me, and most acted like they were right out of elementary school. I don't know about other older attendees, but I am there to learn and intend to use this expensive education I've purchased to further my skills and career.

Photo by John Jay (I'm NOT going there btw)

I do not want to go home early. 
I do not want another break. 
I will not complain about buying books and supplies.
I will not show up late or skip class.


I've been out of tech school for 5 years. I've been working full time for those 5 years in an established company doing design work.  Only recently have I gotten much better at talking with adults, and now I have to reverse that. It's been a long time since dealing with people in college.

I don't know half of the jokes and slang that were muttered while the professor was talking, and I'm not sure if I really care...

I'm excited for my second class tonight, 2D Design.

I hope to post projects here throughout my semesters, and maybe get little feedback?  :)

Photo by Crayola

IF: I Think I Missed a Few Stitches...

For this weeks illustration Friday theme, "Imperfect".

Fredrick rushed to get his sweater done before the Hibernation Dinner Dance, 

maybe he should have read his knitting book a bit more carefully...

This Cuteness Must be Seen!

For all who get their inspiration from the cuteness all around, feast your eyes on this!

 

oh, you can't see what I'm talking about?

BABY BUNNIES! 
I love them!  :)

 They've been living in/under Ian's front yard for quite a while, and finally poked their heads out of the hole! (I think i disturbed a feeding session hehe.)

That's mommy, Cecilia, in the top picture. Yes, I named them. This is Maxwell, Doris and Henry. (Henry is hiding, he's real shy).

These bunnies have since grown up and moved away. Cecilia comes by to visit now and again. Anywhoo, since I've finally uploaded the pics to my computer, they must be shared!

I hope they made you smile. :) Feel free to pass the cute along.

My First ATC's :)

From Wikipedia: 
Artist Trading Cards (or ATCs) are miniature works of art about the same size as modern baseball cards or 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches,  small enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets, sleeves or sheets. The ATC movement developed out of the mail art movement and has its origins in Switzerland. Cards are produced in various media, including dry media (pencils, pens, markers, etc.), wet media (watercolor, acrylic paints, etc.), paper media (in the form of collage, papercuts, found objects, etc.) or even metals or cloth. The cards are usually traded or exchanged rather than sold.

A few months ago I joined the website Swap-bot. It's a crafting/ art website devoted to snail mail. For example: sending handmade postcards, quilting blocks, ATCs, buttons and tons of things that fellow crafters may need. I participated in a few. (Posted on my Craft Blog) 

Most recently I sent out a handmade Coin Purse and Yarn Earrings, and also a Potholder and I did a few email swaps too. This was my first real drawing, artwork swap. Which is why I am also posting it here on my Art Blog!


Most ATCs have themes, These two were alphabet themed ones. "I is for..." and " H is for..." 

 

I picked the word "Hats" for H. I sketched out some fancy Kentucky Derby-inspired hats and colored them with markers and colored pencils.

And for i, I chose "invincible"! I drew a little bunny in my sketchbook (Super Bunn, to be exact) . Cut him out and pasted him on yellow paper, and then pasted that yellow paper on some gold foil. Then I drew some little lines and wrote the theme up top. 

Both are attached to thick card stock similar to baseball cards that I got at Michael's craft store.

For the back, you must add your name, location and other info on the back. I decided to make mine on the computer. I was going for a Comic-book-y theme.  :)  I am really happy with how they came out. 

Since my partners have since received them, I decided to post them up! (I didn't want to spoil the surprise).

I encourage everyone to join swap-bot, or just trade things and art with fellow bloggers. It's fun to get mail and make things for others. 

Take Care!
Dara

IF: I Always Wanted To Be An Astronaut

 For Illustration Friday this week, Launch:

Harold didn't realize when he sat, that he was sending Elliot Mouse into Orbit.

I am in love with my elephant.  

As quickly as this came together, I'm very pleased with how it ended up.  :)

You Scream, I Scream.. for What Again?

:)  Ice cream!  In the forest!  Can you believe I haven't had any soft-serve ice cream yet this Spring? If it gets to summer and I still haven't been to our local spot, Hoyer's, I might go crazy!

Please click to view larger. :)

I sketched this about a week ago, with the intention of coloring in photoshop. I am loving all the filters and brushes that I downloaded years ago and never used. i put some on my work computer and poof! I like it. The background is slightly eerie and grungy which i love, but i guess it doesn't exactly go with the nice happy ice cream truck.  Once i force myself to re-learn use of my pen tablet, I can only imagine how much better it could look. :)

Sketchbook Page! Zombie Cupcakes

Why shouldn't you leave a cupcake half eaten? They turn into huge mutant cupcake zombies and feast on the others.  :)

I've been doodling many cupcakes lately. I'm still tweaking this one, but I couldn't resist sharing. I don't know how i want to color it. I wasn't 100% happy with my safari coloring.. I'm trying to feel out these sketchbook pages, and which mediums work best. I want to use watercolors, but I don't know if i want to paste in the paper... Hmm...

IF: Little Harry's Traveling Safari Train!

Choo Choo! Here comes the Best Safari ever!

(Stuffed animals keep insurance costs down). Click to view bigger!

Harry's outfit is inspired by a Halloween costume my boyfriend, Ian, wore a 2 Halloweens ago.

A circa 1890s African Treasure hunter. He made maps, and tags, and even  had an arrow shot through himself. 

And after all that work, everyone kept asking him if he was the "guy from jumanji". Poor thing...

This is also the first Sketchbook Project page I'll be sharing so far!
More to come!

A Birthday Portrait for Diana!

This is an illustration of my Co-worker Diana. Today is her birthday! I hope its a good one!

Spring gets me all Twitterpated

 

A Little Spring Romance

Done with colored pencils and a bit of Photoshop 5.8.2011 

When I think of Spring, I think of flowers and animals, and then 

eventually I think of the Disney movie Bambi, and I think of all the 

little twitterpated critters. :)

Definition according to the Urban Dictionary:

 Twitterpated (adj)

 1) to be completely enamored with someone/something.

 2) the flighty exciting feeling you get when you think about/see the object of your affection.

 3) the ever increasing acceleration of heartbeat and body temperature as a result of being engulfed amidst the exhilaration and joy of being/having a romantic entity in someone's life.

 

I'm trying to practice some more sketches before i start in my Sketchbook Project book.

I have heard that the pages aren't very watercolor friendly.. hmm... I've gotta think of a good, but strong way to rebind it. Also how to decorate the cover. I only have til Jan 2012! haha