Sketchbook page

Drawing is a core skill for me and despite having done it since I was four, it's something I need to continually practice. Figure drawing sessions are great but illustrations tend to require clothed people. I live near a mall that seems to function as a town center--come to think of it, that's what it's called. Every Wednesday there's a farmer's market and I go there to draw people. I never realized how much people move until I began drawing them. I have literally seconds to capture someone's form. So what I call street drawing is a composite of a number of different poses and memory. It's an exhilarating exercise to draw a person with a few lightning-fast scribbles and it's also fun educating myself on what people wear, or in some cases what they don't wear. And what do people have in those giant purses? A couple of chihuahuas?

Acrobat

An illustration for Illustration Friday (click on the word "acrobat" to see the site). Doing this piece made me think about my creative process. I screwed around all morning, went for a bike ride, came back and had lunch, wrestled with the cat as it kept walking on my art to get my attention, and finally started the painting in the late afternoon. I think it took about three hours to do. But it took about a day of thinking about it. I always berate myself for not getting right down to work early in the morning, but I think is like a baby--it's going to come when it's ready.

Parade

Some ideas take a long time to develop, others like this one just pop into my head. I was struggling with another idea for a few days so I decided to try something else. This one just came to me and only took a couple hours to work out. The image needed something in the foreground and then goofy rabbits dancing showed up and were a perfect addition.

Magic Box

Book cover art for a story that has been running laps in my head. I always have fun designing weird creatures. Acrylic on watercolor board.

Garage Kids

Doing illustration for kids is fun because it requires me to pull things and situations from my childhood. A lot of my free time was spent messing around in our chaotic garage. There was a brief time when a car my aunt gave me was parked in it, but other than that, there was simply no room for a car because of all the junk that was piled up there. My dad encouraged me to make my own toys and there was always plenty of tools and pieces of cars and machinery around to make things with, so this was probably the start of my imaginative thinking.

A Way Out

This piece is a donation for illustrator Kelly Light's Ripple project, a fundraiser that sends money to help the wildlife affected by the BP oil spill. http://ripplesketches.blogspot.com/

Sprinting Practice

I saw a cartoon with some scary rhinos in it that gave me the idea to do this piece.