IF: Chicken

Seeing how the lovely Jannie Ho requested this topic, how could I not paint something this week!

This painting took a bit of time, seeing as I was crocheting some baby hats last weekend:

You can see the inspiration as I seem to be in "nesting" mode myself these days!

Sketch for IF: Deja Vu

Happy New Year everyone!

I'm still digging myself out of my to-do list pile, sketching and painting and mothering and getting kicked in the ribs very frequently!

Here is my sketch for this week's Illustration Friday, "Deja Vu".  I want to paint it in watercolour/digital. I will do my best to have it completed by Thursday night, but shall make no promises. ;)

I see many of you writing your 2011 goals. With baby due in April, I don't want to set any soaring expectations that I'm very unlikely to achieve. Once he or she is here, my only plan is to play everything by ear. Until then, my primary focus is to beef up my portfolio and client list. Good luck to everyone - I have good feelings about this year!

Seussical the Musical!

Earlier this year I was hired by Carousel Theatre for Young People to create the artwork for their 2010-2011 Season posters.  This is the first show to kick off the season - Seussical the Musical!  

 

Here's a close-up of the gang:

One particular thrill of doing this job for Carousel was that my artwork was to be displayed very prominently at the entrance to Vancouver's famous Granville Island, where Carousel Theatre is located.  I definitely jumped up and down when I saw this:

If you are in Vancouver or are nearby, I highly recommend seeing this show. The cast is so very talented, and the musical is guaranteed to be a great time with the family. My daughter is still raving about it!

IF: Savour

Happy December! For this week's Illustration Friday piece, I thought I'd try again at digitally painting over a watercolour base painting. It was fun to do. :)

Here's the original watercolour:

IF: Burning

Wow, it's been a month since I've updated. I've heard many times that freelance illustration work is very much "feast or famine", and true to the saying, my past month or so has been very very busy with projects!

After working long hours on the tablet for the past several weeks, my right wrist is starting to bother me when I'm drawing at the computer. I've ordered a new stylus grip as well as new drawing nibs, and hopefully they will alleviate some of that repetitive strain. In the meantime I'm sticking to a good regimen of applying ice, seeing a massage therapist, stretching often, and using muscle relief patches on my arm. I'm really picking apart the way I draw and sit at the computer, too, so I hope to resolve this issue before it gets any worse.

Anyway, because of the wrist pain I started experimenting with my process (for personal projects only - clients, please don't worry!). Drawing with anything other than the tablet doesn't hurt me, so I brought out my pencils, lightbox, and watercolours. I tried this week's Illustration Friday piece, "Burning Up", using this method.

Sketch, (drawn during my daughter's swimming lesson):

Watercolour underpainting:

And the finished piece:

Ultimately it saved a bit of time on the tablet, but I think that the style is too different to act as a substitute for my fully digital work. Still, I think this process and style have potential, plus it's FUN, so I'll keep playing around with it.. When I have time, that is!

Thanks for your continued patience with the sporadic updates on my blog. :)

Bump in the Night

A while back, I spoke with the illustration coordinator at our local chapter of the SCBWI.  She mentioned that she wanted to create a monthly illustration challenge with a blog to showcase our local talent.  This month is our first challenge with the theme, "things that go bump in the night".

I confess I'm not Halloween's biggest fan, but this piece was really fun to do!  Check out our group blog at Go Bananas Illustration!

Edit: I just noticed this week's Illustration Friday topic and decided to use this piece for that, too!

IF: Beneath

I don't look much different on the outside, but beneath the surface...

I announced my big news on Twitter last week, but in case you missed it, I am PREGNANT with my second child! We are absolutely thrilled.  I am due at the end of April, 2011.

It seems that many children's illustrators out there have very small children.  How many of you are freelancers who worked while pregnant and/or with a newborn?  I'd love to hear your stories!