2012 Part 2

Here is the my biggest project of 2012. This is a mural I did for my neighbors, ironically enough AFTER I moved to a new town. Such a cute house! This was for their playroom which consisted of this outer wall and then three smaller rooms within.

The artwork is very obviously inspired by Kate Hindley. (Her Blog here). She was an artist whom I had just heard about and fell completely in love with at first sight. Her artwork is very cute, the colors wonderful, and the home owner loved the artwork as well. Obviously I had to change things up a bit, but it is very close to what we found on her blog and in her book. These are all beginning shots as well as some sketches I worked from...

And here is the final product...

Okay, so like an idiot, I forgot to take pictures of the final outer wall, the big burrito, so I will go back and do that post haste. But there you go, and since I always get asked I will say right now that it took me 51 hours to complete (not including prep time: sketching or planning). I loved working on this project. It's nice to do a piece that I love as much as the person I'm doing it for. Takes all the guess work out.



UPDATE:

Here are the final pictures of the outer wall. My husband was nice enough to go back and take them for me while I had a cold.

2012 projects completed

I will separate these posts, but here is the beginning of my 2012 finished projects. It's been a long time coming, such a long year with lots of health issues, but I'm finally back in the game.

These first are just some fun cards that I did for family members. My own design, no copying this time. I think I've fallen away from that habit. Now onto my own style.

This first was for my sister-in-law...

 ...And this second was for my hubby.

Just a sample of what I have been doing card-wise.

 

This next project is inspired by The Land of Nod. They are one of my favorite stores now. Check them out here. They have some super cute lanterns. I made my own design on some lanterns I had that have been sitting around for ages, waiting for me to decide what to do with them. And being in a rental home and being limited as far as decorating (or at least, in my case, not being able to paint murals like I normally do), this is what I decided to do for my girls room to add some interest.

                                                                                                                     

And finally, here is another card, a Thank You to my wonderfully sweet cousin who is always giving me amazing jewelry. Check her out <--here and here, she is amazing!

Some more doodles

Here is a peak inside my sketch book, since I always love to see what other artists have in their's. Above-Right, I think I was watching the office and this came out. I am going through my 'ugly' phase, trying to get out of the habit of just drawing proportionately correct people. Also working on designs.

Just being silly on this day....

Above is my attempt to be just a little like Edmund Dulac.

I started this sketch not really knowing where I was going, but trying not to be proportionate once again, this time with furniture.

Here again is an example of what happens when I don't have a plan and am just doodling. I'm not good at coming up with gadgets, however. But a good exercise nonetheless.

I can't remember what artist's work I was looking at that inspired this doodle. 

Le Purrrrrrrrr

Just stopping in to say 'hello' with a doodle.

I.F. Lonely

For those of you new to the blog, I've started doing illustrations based on a prompt from a website called 'Illustration Friday'. It's a site for artists to share their work. It's a fun project, one that has helped me be more creative and also be inspired by other artists.

Here is my illustration for this week based off the prompt, Lonely:

She's so lonely she grew a tree on her leg. Or maybe it's just her imagination.

IF - Carry

This gal, we'll call her Hildegarde, got a little wet. But I actually like her this way. Sort of schmeery. Another one that I could put in my 'she's no beauty' collection =). She is 'carrying' her lollypop.

IF: Lost

This is the only picture of my recent doodles to fit the theme of LOST.

I just started drawing this little character, not knowing where I'd end up, and decided on a very precarious situation for him. And, of course, this little boy had to bring his trusting house cat along with him on his adventure.

I.F. Suspend

Just a quick doodle this week.

 This girl is suspended and also in suspense because whoever she was talking to got cut off in the middle of the tragic retelling of a torid romance. At least that's what I think.

Father's Day etc.

I know this is late in coming, but better late than...

This was actually a card I did for my husband and almost didn't complete because of the hecticity of my life.

This is a very true-to-life portrait. Yes, indeed, it is. =)

Here is a project I did for church...

This one I was actually having a super hard time doing because of recovery pains, and my husband likes to tease me about my style (the kids with the big heads), but whatever =). The primary wanted a poster to go with their theme for the year. I think I forgot to post the first poster I did. It didn't seem appropraite at the time. Maybe I'll change my mind and put it up later.



And this last one is just a poster I made for my Parents who are coming home from the DRC (Democratice Republic of Congo, Africa) after being there for two years serving as Mission President for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Can't wait to see them again!

I guess I could have actually tried to take a decent picture, but I wasn't planning on posting it here. Oh well.

Tada. So, apart from trying to recover and pack up and move all at once, this is what I've been up to. Yes, I'm a glutton for punishment.

Stay tuned. I have mural planning underway. I'm so excited for this next project! I cant' wait until I'm not renting anymore so I can paint my own walls. Then I can get really crazy =). For now, however, I get to paint someone elses'. Yeah!

IF - HURRY!

Yes, I was in a 'hurry' to get this done before the deadline. Please click on picture to enlarge...so you can really notice all my mistakes =)

Okay, so I'm not sure how I feel about this one. One of these days I will actually take the time to edit and make something worth looking at. You can tell me your harsh opinions in the comments =).

Obviously, this picture for Illustration Friday is entitled: Hurry! These girls are rushing to catch the bridal bouquet. These are little girls, but I actually imagine them marrying age, only acting like children to catch the bouquet first. (We all have some amount of childishness in us).

I was playing around again with style and technique. This time I used pencil to help with shading which I also thought sort of tacky, then I saw a really awesome artist use pencil over their paint and they did an amazing job. I'm still working on my abilities. It's pretty obvious I never went to art school. Any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!

Illustration Friday: FADED

I wasn't sure I wanted to post this picture--ever--since the feelings behind it are personal, but I thought this fit the theme quite well in my mind.

Last month I had major surgery done and this picture was born of the feelings produced by the event. Normally I don't scare easily, but I was pretty shaken up just before I went under the knife. I felt, indeed, as though I was fading. Another way to see it is that those feelings have faded with my recovery, or hopefully will in entirety very soon. The damage done has also begun to fade.

So, that's my peice. If it looks like a bunch of scribbles to you, then you aren't far off! I started off seriously and then went crazy. Sort of experimenting, in part giving up. A crazy piece, for me.