Illustration Friday~Farewell

This piece felt right for the word Farewell. She seems to be sending off her little puffs of tree...whatever the heck that means?

Wishful Thinking 

Although it has been fun and challenging to do this series of work, bidding it farewell is also a welcome relief. I've been picking away at it since February and it is pretty much done.  I just need to wire up the frames for hanging. The 5 pieces will be shown at the Lakeland Community College library for a spring/summer display in May. Thank you to my friend/co-worker Mark who works at both Willoughby Hills library and LCC library for asking me if I would like to show my work. He always seems to have a knack for motivating me :)

The Land in Between

Spring Time

The Celebration

The Tango

Illustration Friday~Train

In the land of Whimsy where life is so strange...people and animals like to ride trains...bad, really bad!

This comes from a line in my first "Whimsy poem" In a series of poems that began with "In the land of  Whimsy..." On the other hand, along with that line came one of my all time favorite illustrations.

The completed pic with the help of Photoshop

I searched around to see if I could find a hard copy of that poem, but no such luck. I know it lives on my old mac, but I didn't really feel the need to boot that up since it takes forever and a day to get it up and running.

The original with the fish

There's another line in the poem that goes something like..."Children wear rainbows and fish like to run" That line I kinda like.

A couple of roughs

Writing poems has always been something I've enjoyed.  In high school creative writing was one of my favorite classes, and one of the few that I did really well in.

I remember when I did this illustration, Annie (my daughter) kept asking me "When is it gonna be done!" And it did take a while. I really worked at it!

The original line work on the train

I think about the process in writing my poems, compared to doing an illustration. When I get an idea, or an opening line stirs about. I can't let it go! I can't relax and just let it come to me. It keeps gnawing at me, and I stay obsessed until the last line.

There's a different kind of obsession with illustrating, it's quieter, more of a slow burn. I find myself purposely letting it ride out longer, in order to see it better. I've learned that if I rush an illustration, more than likely I will over-work it, or miss something.

Having kids has slowed me down, whether I want to be or not. Yet all the stops and goes can help the process too. Looking at a piece with "fresh eyes" usually works to my advantage. I might look at the art one day and think this looks great! Only to come back to it again, and see it might need more contrast, a color might be off,  or maybe there's two elements sharing the same space? Whatever it is, seeing it with fresh eyes never hurts.

As for the poem...for now it will remain on my old mac, maybe someday I'll rework it?  As for the illustration, well you can see the original never was completed. The train itself did get new life in Photoshop and turned out to be a nice addition to my portfolio and website.

Just a little side note on trains: I've been reading "The Road to Grace" by Richard Paul Evans. In it he talks about the difference between Hobos and Tramps. Hobos panhandle and ride trains, Tramps do not panhandle and they hitchhike. Apparently Hobos give Tramps a bad name.

I thought that was kinda funny~

So long for now...Make art, have fun :)

Illustration Friday~Wild

 They danced a wild dance of celebration as these two spirits finally hooked up!

This is the fourth piece in a series of Tree Spirits I am creating for a display next month to be shown at  the Lakeland Community College library. A friend I work with at the Willoughby Hills library also works for the college library, and he asked if I would be interested in showing my work for his spring/summer display. Mark has a knack for motivating me. He's also the one who poked at me when I didn't think I had enough time to pull off the Tomie dePaola Award  this past November.  Although I didn't win,  I now have a nice piece for my online portfolio  That art may also end up in his display.

It's good to have people who motivate you. Being a freelance creative is sometimes a lonely business, and when you find those people in your life that give you that extra push it's always a good thing. 

As for the piece above; I like it in black and white, yet I think I will be adding some touches of color, to be more consistent with the other three. 

This is why a sketch book comes in handy-- things you've done in the past as a doodle can often come back to you later on and shake up your muse.

http://marylourosatocaineillustrator.blogspot.com/2012/12/thanks-mark-sometimes-good-kick-in.html

Illustration Friday~Urban

A peace wizard saves the urban jungle... and life is good!