Yellow Kitty: Tracy's Notebook

Illustration Friday: Swell

2011-08-14T00:44:00.007-04:00

I had thought of a sting or an abrasion that was swollen and all...then I opened up this illo I completed a couple of weeks ago and thought "swell, like an ocean swell," and it fit :)

Ah, it's the little things in life...

I've been knee deep in trying to get back into the swing of the school year. Summers are too short! We started Wednesday with a whole new bunch of Kindergartners! I've been whooped each night, falling asleep on the couch! Soooo tired...no time to draw or anything

*sniff sniff*

Illustration Friday: Gesture

2011-07-15T23:24:00.000-04:00

Piggy gives Bunny a friendly gesture by sharing a rose with her. Bunny will probably share her carrot with Piggy!

Illustration Friday: Stay

2011-07-11T01:13:00.001-04:00

This poor li'l doggie has to stay while everyone else goes out and has fun!

It's been an entire month since I last posted on my blog! I've been side-tracked and busy even though technically this is my summer break...Meanwhile, my computer is running ever so slowly. It's not even mine; this is one that's been revamped TWICE belonging to my 10 year old! Mine died a painful death a while back. This thing is about a year newer than my old one. I have my laptop, but my printer is so ancient, it doesn't recognize it and there are no "patches" or drivers I can even install to make it work. Therefore I can't use my Wacom Bamboo with it (kinda difficult anyway I think with a laptop...maybe just because I've never done that before.) Soooooo, I'm stuck using an old Dell until I can get what I really want: a New Intel Core i5 iMac! http://www.apple.com/imac/specs.html Now I just need to save lots of money (ha!) or sell my house and downsize like I really want to do and maybe spend some $$$ on myself! I've wanted to convert to Apple for a while now. :) What's everyone's opinion?

Illustration Friday: Shadows

2011-06-06T00:16:00.004-04:00

This little bunny loves to play hopscotch with
her shadow! :) Hope you like!

Illustration Friday: Asleep

2011-06-03T00:33:00.002-04:00

I love to sleep! :)

This gal is asleep in her bed with her cutesy blanket designed by me! (Check out my fabric at Spoonflower!) And also like me, she is dreaming of yummy ice cream treats! One of my favorite summer past times...who am I kidding? I love ice cream ANYtime of the year!
Hee hee...

Please go to Threadless and vote for me :)

2011-05-06T23:33:00.001-04:00

Here is my "Rain" image that placed 7th on Spoonflower. I decided to submit it for the Threadless competition for children's t-shirts. PLEASE VOTE! :) Thank you!

Please go to Threadless and vote for me :)

2011-04-26T00:22:00.002-04:00

I PLACED 7th! :)

2011-04-15T12:16:00.000-04:00

OK, I didn't WIN the Spoonflower "Rain" fabric contest, BUT I DID come in 7th...out of at least 360 entries!!!! :) I'm tickled pink that I did come in the top 10, which was my goal and hope :D Thanks to anyone who took time to vote for me. I am definitely going to enter again soon...I made an alphabet pattern for the "Alphabet" contest, but I forgot to actually submit it before the deadline! (Ding-a-ling me...) But I really had a lot of fun playing around and making my own fabric. Just thought I'd share. Here's a picture of my entry:

And here is the link to the Spoonflower "Rain" contest page/results:

http://www.spoonflower.com/contests/76

Illustration Friday: Bottled

2011-04-09T19:24:00.000-04:00

I used to watch I Dream of Jeannie when I was little (in black and white of course until my mom and dad got a COLOR TV!) I thought it would be cool to be a genie. How fun to just *BLINK* (insert sound effect here) :) and suddenly your room was clean! Wow, I could get my whole house clean now, have yummy dinner right there whenever I wanted, blink myself to Hawaii...but one thing was sure...I was NOT gonna call anyone "Master!" Here's my IF entry for "bottled"...with apologies to all the genies out there...

Spring!

2011-04-06T13:19:00.000-04:00

Happy Spring! :)

Illustration Friday: Duet

2011-04-03T16:51:00.001-04:00

These 2 lovebirds are enjoying their duet!

It's nice to finally hear the real birds outside singing for spring :) We're on spring break right now...a whole week of SLEEPING IN! Hope your week goes great!

Illustration Friday: Toy

2011-04-01T22:29:00.004-04:00

I'm a week late submitting this, but I thought this little guy was cute! I've had parent-teacher conferences all week and have not had enough time to draw!
If you're like me, you had all kinds of favorite toys growing up. My favorites were: stuffed animals reigned in as all time favorite, Barbies (of course), little people like those Fisher Price people, board games like Monopoly and Sorry...I even played with little Matchbox cars with my favorite cousins who were boys. But NOOOO "dolls"...baby dolls were not on my play list! I had one that sneezed and peed...yuck! I never liked playing with them.
I had fun and was a bit nostalgic creating this one. Hope you had fun creating your own toy illustration and reminiscing about when we were carefree and had the whole world before us! Wow! That sounds kinda depressing!

Illustration Friday: Cultivate

2011-03-20T18:35:00.000-04:00

This little guy is working hard to cultivate some yummy carrots!

Contest

2011-03-20T15:22:00.001-04:00

OK dear Blogger friends :) I am submitting a pattern for a fabric contest (over at Spoonflower http://www.spoonflower.com/contests/72) and wonder if anyone has any particular suggestions or comments as to which one to choose to submit. They're basically the same except for the background color. I am sure I have absolutely no chance of winning as there are some AWESOME fabric patterns submitted for contests all the time, but I have fun playing around making stuff :) Thanks for any help!

Illustration Friday: Stir

2011-03-12T22:29:00.000-05:00

Momma Dog stirs the cookie dough while li'l pup watches.

That's one thing I don't do enough of that I always thought I'd do...make homemade cookies and stuff with my kiddos. :( Sometimes I feel like a bad mommy.

Illustration Friday: Warning

2011-03-09T20:57:00.002-05:00

This sassy poodle has only one warning for everyone...and it's in her thought bubble :) She somehow doesn't realize she's a classy li'l girl poodle; she thinks she's a bulldog inside! Sign from: http://www.hemmy.net/2006/04/26/funny-warning-signs/

Swarm

2011-02-26T00:26:00.001-05:00

OK, now this is stretching it just a bit maybe...but, this poor li'l robot guy is being swarmed by some dogs! Maybe it's something to do with the little light on his head...He's trying to get away before more dogs join in, YIKES!

Little bit different style than I usually do, but I am loving this li'l robot! <3

IF-Layer

2011-02-20T21:23:00.001-05:00

This kid is all layered up! Hee hee...he reminds me of Ralphie's poor li'l brother in "A Christmas Story!"

Illustration Friday: Sweater

2011-02-15T23:26:00.000-05:00

OOPS! :) This li'l guy's sweater is waaayyy too big for him! But he doesn't care; he's glad because soon Spring will be here and he can get rid of this baggy and slighty ugly sweater 'til next year!

Spring Birdie

2011-02-12T01:38:00.001-05:00

Ah...if only we could stop having SNOW DAYS :) Maybe soon, we will hear the sound of sweet li'l birdies singing their songs! Last year, we had a robin lay her eggs in our Clematis on the front porch. It was adorable, almost like they were our little eggs to keep safe. Enjoy this wacky colored orange birdie listening for the sounds of spring! Coming soon to a neighborhood near you..........

Our robin's eggs from last spring!

Random Doodle becomes pretty...

2011-02-09T19:53:00.000-05:00

Here's a random doodle that started out (sorry li'l birdie...) UGLY! With a little TLC, now she's a much prettier bird. And check out that confidence with those sassy pink boots! If only I could look so sassy!

Random Doodles

2011-02-09T19:15:00.003-05:00

Fruit!

Random legs 'n' feet!

At a faculty meeting yesterday, I did what I typically do...make random doodles! I had a whole pageful of pink doodles full of characters, flowers, etc. I cut out these two little doo-dads and thought I'd share them. They were interesting to me somehow, more so than the other 73 doodle sketches I made! :) I may work on these some more and develop them into something...Enjoy!

I made this at Tagxedo! Cool!

2011-02-05T11:20:00.002-05:00

I made this at the website www.tagxedo.com. It was really fun to do!

Illustration Friday: Surrender

2011-01-30T23:17:00.001-05:00

Piggies in love, surrendering their hearts...ahhhh...LOVE is in the air! :) Enjoy!

Toast With Zombie Butter

2011-01-29T00:11:00.006-05:00

Here is a reading and writing activity I did with one of my Guided Reading Groups a while back. After reading our book, we chose a sentence from the book (or I randomly gave them one.) The sentences' words were cut apart. They had to put the sentence back in order and glue them down. I did my sentence first to demonstrate. Then they copied the words down as I did and illustrated. I was being in a silly mood that day so I decided to make mine have zombie butter chasing the toast (since the sentence was about bread.) :) Just thought I'd share a moment of Kindergarten teaching! (What was so cute about this is that one of my "budding artists" decided to do her own version with her sentence and made an anthropomorphic character too, feet, hands, face...it was so cute! I'd meant to upload her work; :( I must have sent it home with her because she was so proud of it!) Here's my "teacher" blog: http://cundiffskindergartencritters.blogspot.com/

Dancing Birdie

2011-01-23T12:48:00.000-05:00

Just experimenting with textures...my first time trying them! :) Feel like a big ol' goober just now using them. Don't be too cruel :) Remember, it's my first time!

Random Pink Birdie

2011-01-22T23:45:00.000-05:00

Just a random picture I did of a bird.

Yay! It's an AWARD! :)

2011-01-19T05:18:00.002-05:00

I have just been given a "Stylish Blogger Award" by Ann Pilicer . Thank you so much, Ann! That means a lot to me and it is a wonderful award to receive. Much appreciated! :)
Now I am supposed to pass this award along to 10 more bloggers......oooooh, this will be hard!
I shall do the passing of the award on soon and post "7 things about myself" later, too...we've been at the E.R. tonight (it's now 5:16 a.m.!) because my fiance was rear ended earlier. He's OK, he has some p.t.s. due to a severe automobile accident in 2008. He was told to get some bed rest :( We're off to get some sleep and I'll do my duty to fellow bloggers soon :)

Illustration Friday: Chicken

2011-01-17T15:01:00.000-05:00

Here's my rainy day chicken :) Hope you like!

IF: Resolutions

2011-01-03T22:56:00.000-05:00

This little bear has made his resolution...exercising and getting in shape! :) Enjoy!

Illustration Friday: Winter

2010-12-30T18:55:00.000-05:00

Li'l Penguin wants to build a snowman cause it's winter! :)

Little Chick

2010-12-26T20:27:00.005-05:00

I so love Little Golden Books illustrations! :) I love this book,

Funny Bunny

Illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen

Written by Rachel Learnard

I looked at one of the little chicks on one of the pages and quickly tried to illustrate my own version of it. It's not nearly as wonderful as the original illustration, but I just thought I'd give it a quick try. Love love LOVE the little golden book style :)

OK, compare...but you'll see mine is nothing like the original:

Illustration Friday: Mail 2

2010-12-21T02:30:00.000-05:00

Now I know who Kitty was sending a letter to...his good friend Dog! :) It was a "Merry Christmas" letter to his old friend.

Illustration Friday: Mail

2010-12-19T19:40:00.000-05:00

Kitty composing some mail. Wonder who will get it?

Illustration Friday: Phenomenon

2010-12-14T20:09:00.008-05:00

A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere.

from wikipedia

Jib Jab-Country Dancin' Elves

2010-12-11T22:46:00.000-05:00

Illustration Friday: Prehistoric

2010-12-07T00:48:00.000-05:00

OK, OK, I'm not one for scary dinosaurs, so here is a cutesy one. He's all safe and ready to lick a lollipop. Why a lollipop? Why not!?! :) Thanks for viewing...

Golden Gems blog...adorable artwork

2010-12-01T20:43:00.002-05:00

Oh my, I am simply LOVING this! Just discovered this blog with Little Golden Books illustrations throughout. Beautiful images :) Check it out! (I especially LOVE this bunny book!) http://goldengems.blogspot.com/2008/03/funny-bunny.html

Illustration Friday: Savour

2010-11-29T21:50:00.001-05:00

She likes to savour the little bit of Christmas candy cane
after Santa's visit.

Just for fun...Snowgirl

2010-11-28T17:59:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to do a random snowy picture. :) Enjoy!

Illustration Friday: Burning

2010-11-15T00:13:00.000-05:00

Even though Christmas was long gone with Easter egg hunting in full swing, Daisy still got the occasional sick burning in her chest when she would think of her mother kissing Santa Claus. If it was the Santa from the mall with the stinky breath and nasty teeth, her mom had lost her mind.

Illustration Friday: Afterwards

2010-11-07T23:04:00.001-05:00

Here's one fat kitty who should think afterwards
about what he has just done!
Really, really quick one for Illustration Friday this week :)

Illustration Friday: Spent (Sorry...I'm a week late!)

2010-11-04T04:11:00.003-04:00

This little piggy took the money being saved in him and spent it on some candy at the store!

Picture Book Idea Month

2010-11-01T20:44:00.001-04:00

OK I'm joining in the picture book idea month challenge. Here's what the site says about it: "The concept is to create 30 picture book ideas in 30 days. You don’t have to write a manuscript. You don’t need potential best-seller ideas." That's good; cause trying to produce a potential best-seller would REALLY add the stress! :)

Illustration Friday: SPOOKY

2010-10-16T23:18:00.000-04:00

I haven't gotten a chance to participate recently in IF...so I decided to finish this sketch I'd made earlier this week a bit differently than I normally do. Instead of my usual black lines, I decided to paint over my scan instead of keeping lines. I finished it using a dry brush for shading and making highlights. Halloween is my favorite holiday, so I hope you all will enjoy my "Not-So-Spooky-Raccoon" :)

Illustration Friday: Old Fashioned

2010-09-29T23:49:00.004-04:00

Paddy Pig was an old-fashioned loverboy...and the girl pigs LOVED him!

Illustration Friday: Proverbs

2010-09-16T22:13:00.003-04:00

"Don't cry over spilled milk!"

Illustration Friday: Double

2010-07-24T19:54:00.004-04:00

She has met her double!
I'm so glad to have my new Bamboo tablet up and running with my OLD computer! Couldn't get my laptop to work because my printer is old...anyway, I'm happy to finally be able to post something original for Illustration Friday. It's been MONTHS :) Thanks for visiting!

Breakfast - - A Happy Meal

2010-07-22T15:06:00.004-04:00

Wow ... it's been a LLLLOOOONNNNGGGG time since I last posted on IF! I FINALLY have a computer that is compatible with my new Bamboo and the printer. It's been very frustrating as I bought a new tablet back in MAY! Anyways, here's an oldie since today is Thursday and tomorrow will be a new topic. Thanks for visiting! :)
OH BTW, this ISN'T digital...it's colored pencils! This is a saved image of an ATC I did for Monday Artday ATC a long time ago. Forgive my boo-boo!

IF: Muddy

2010-02-08T18:02:00.007-05:00

Here's something I worked on a couple of years ago, hoping :) I'd turn it into a board book. Here, Big Pig is throwing mud-balls at the birthday boy (on the preceding page). It's a MUDDY day, that's for sure!

Happy 2010!

2009-12-31T12:41:00.002-05:00

Hey there all my blogger friends! :) Yes, I'm still alive and missing visiting all of my favorite blogs and posting any artwork. My SON messed up my Wacom tablet pen, my desktop computer exploded, and now I have a new laptop. BUT my software from my tablet isn't compatible with the new operating system so I have to get my NEW honey :) to work out the problem for me. I miss drawing soooooo much and will definitely get back to posting work soon. Thanks to all my blogger friends who have not forgotten me! Love y'all and wishing all of you a happy new 2010!

Illustration Friday: Caution

2009-08-21T21:30:00.005-04:00

Proceed with CAUTION when giving baby her 1st birthday cake made of mud! :)

Yay for me! I only worked about 1 hour on this from start to finish. I like working faster ;)

IF: Impatience

2009-08-09T21:24:00.004-04:00

Many people (and pigs for that matter) find themselves having great impatience when seeking true love...Penelope Pig did not have that problem. She was patient. True love found its way to Penelope's heart. :)

Yay for me...I only worked about an hour on this one! I usually can spend at least 2 or 3 hours "fixing" my work so it's nice to see similar results with my art using less time! :) Thanks for dropping by...

Illustration Friday: Shaky

2009-07-06T20:46:00.004-04:00

This piggy's Jack-in-the-Box

is a little shaky. :)

Illustration Friday: Worn

2009-06-28T23:19:00.003-04:00

Penelope Pig should have WORN her hair bonnet in this windstorm!

Illustration Friday: Adapt

2009-06-03T00:08:00.002-04:00

Looks like this cute little penguin is going to have to adapt to her new environment...like the polar bears. :(

Illustration Friday: Contagious

2009-05-16T16:49:00.001-04:00

Mohawks have become quite CONTAGIOUS in my Kindergarten classroom! We're thinking of outlawing the hairstyle LOL :)

2009-05-16T16:32:00.003-04:00

Illustration Friday: Legendary

2009-03-14T21:18:00.004-04:00

What could be more legendary than a good ol' Easter egg hunt? :) Kinda' stretching it here, but I haven't been participating in IF much lately...lots of stress going on. It seems after 17 years of marriage and 22 years together, I'm finding myself beginning the process of a divorce, very, very painful. My mind and all have been on other things rather than drawing cutesy bunnies and such. Sorry to be so personal, but since it's a fact and my relationship with my spouse has been my life, it's a BIG part of who I am. Just wanted to explain my absences.

Illustration Friday: Time

2009-02-07T00:14:00.014-05:00

Isn't it about TIME you switched to some good toilet paper???

John Wayne TP in color above.

Here's John Wayne TP in black and white.

Which do you prefer? I kinda like the plain old

B & W version. (But really I prefer Charmin with ALOE :) hee hee)

Illustration Friday: Climbing

2009-01-27T14:25:00.004-05:00

Nanny-nanny-boo-boo! This kitty is climbing to get away from that annoying neighbor dog! Been a while since I posted; lots going on. Thanks for dropping by.

Illustration Friday: Wise

2008-11-09T21:06:00.002-05:00

Mama Rabbit has learned that it is wise to separate darks from lights when doing the laundry! Hubby won't be too happy with his new pink shirt!

Illustration Friday: Vacant

2008-11-03T20:16:00.007-05:00

Just thought I'd post a few sketches that came to mind for this week's theme. I may try to develop one of these a little more. Which do you think I should work on? (Let me explain these scribbles in case they aren't clear :)... empty nest syndrome OR vacant nest; vacant spot in the cemetery; vacant house; vacant brain Hee hee!; vacant bed)

Illustration Friday: Strings

2008-10-11T21:11:00.003-04:00

Who doesn't like to use STRINGS to torment, I mean, play with a kitty? Just kidding! :)

Illustration Friday: Sugary

2008-10-07T21:10:00.008-04:00

Wonder if this little Panda's bamboo shoots are too sugary for a school lunch? Thought I'd try something different. I guess my "21 day challenge" has passed the 21 day mark, but I think I'll still try to do different things until I've reached 21 :) And yes, I know they changed the "food pyramid" thingy, but I like the looks of the old one...horizontal lines!

Oh, my reunion video is below...

Class Reunion Video

2008-10-04T17:23:00.005-04:00

Hee hee! It's too funny to see pictures of classmates from L - O - N - G ago and then to see them again at reunions! It's fun to reminisce on those days. Here's the video I made for my recent class reunion. (Don't watch it unless you REALLY want to watch! It's about 14 minutes long.) I'm posting this mainly for the people who wanted to see the video from the reunion OR who were unable to attend. Thanks! (If you don't see a screen, click on the little arrow at the toolbar) :)

IF: Clutter

2008-09-10T20:51:00.009-04:00

EDIT: Here's the finished colored version. :)

Here's what I envision happens in or on top of my desk when I leave school:

Pencil Dude to Pen Girl and Paper Boy: There is NO WAY I'm going back in there!

Just a really quick pen sketch of my doodlings :) I will try to finish later digitally. I think Pencil Dude needs to look more upset! And with those really chunky shoes, maybe it should be Paper GIRL instead of Boy!

Illustration Friday: Memories

2008-08-30T13:43:00.008-04:00

Memories...I remember wanting to be an artist when I grew up! Maybe it's not too late :)

Day 15...Thought I'd combine some familiar technique with the brush I used last week. This actually didn't take as long as it usually does. Also, I'm on some pig kick right now! I used to NEVER draw pigs! :)

Illustration Friday: Routine

2008-08-24T19:30:00.005-04:00

Anytime a Mommy has a new baby, her entire routine gets all messed up!

Day 14...I thought I'd try some different brushes in Photoshop for this piece. Let me know your thoughts! :) (Been a long time since I've posted...school started 2 weeks ago, and I've been exhausted teaching Kindergartners how to line up, raise their hands, walk in the hall, get their lunch tray, say the pledge, get on the correct buses, not to mention anything academic! :) ) Thanks for stopping by.

Pencil Sketches

2008-08-09T19:38:00.003-04:00

Just some quick pencil sketches. Enjoy :)

Here's one for Halloween...my favorite holiday :)

Robot girl hearts Can o' Soup boy!

Couple of cutie pets

Illustration Friday: Canned

2008-07-25T22:34:00.005-04:00

Nothing like opening a big ol can of worms! Don't ya' hate when you do that? :) Also my Day 13...practicing with different textures and those big ol' eyes again.

Well, I received my first REJECTION letter today via e-mail. The publishing company is in the UK, but I've reviewed lots of books they have published and really like their style. Apparently they don't like mine! *Sniff* I don't know why I expected anything but a rejection letter; I guess I had hoped the first one I sent something to would think, "Wow! This is awesome! We gotta grab this girl!" HA! :) Yeah, right...still, it's wishful thinking. I sent them my dummy book and manuscript in mid-June, and she e-mailed me back today. Oh well...I guess I'll send it off to someone else soon. At least they didn't make me wait forever to know, and I can send it somewhere else. Or maybe not...maybe I'll wait a while.

Day 12

2008-07-21T12:43:00.004-04:00

Here are a couple of kiddoes...I cropped my image to post just these 2. Please let me know what you think!

Illustration Friday: Enough

2008-07-18T23:37:00.006-04:00

One can never have enough Happy Cat Brand cat food! This is an illustration of a cat food label I did several months ago but never posted on my blog. I was experimenting with different techniques. If I redid this now, I would change some things, but I think it's good to post some older stuff...I really can see my progress :)

Day 11

2008-07-17T22:54:00.003-04:00

Here are some different illustrations of the same characters with outlines and without. I appreciate your comments!

BTW we've been camping at the lake this week! Really fun! No roughing it...we have our RV with air, TV, comfy beds :) I'm too much of a wimp to be outdoorsy. Should have seen my body flying out of Big Bertha, the huge innertube pulled behind the boat. It was fun...but a little scary!

Day 10 of Challenge: Blushing Bunny Bride

2008-07-10T18:20:00.005-04:00

Here's another one for the challenge! Please feel free to leave comments...it really helps me out :) One question I do have if anyone is interested in helping me, is that I seem to draw in mostly 2 different ways...unrealistic characters with black outlines and without black outlines (with an occasional "real" looking something in there). Does anybody prefer one over the other? For tomorrow's post...or day 11 whenever that may be :)...maybe I can post one with outlines and one without and get some opinions. Thanks for your help!

2008-07-09T10:54:00.006-04:00

Yeah! I have been given an award by the very talented ERIC BARCLAY. His work is absolutely wonderful! Check out his blog if you aren't a frequent visitor already.

The rules of accepting are as follows:

1) Put the logo on your blog.

2) Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4) Add links to those blogs on yours.

5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

So here is the difficult task of nominating 7 other blogs...in blog alphabetical order :)

Jannie at Chickengirl Design, Michelle at InnovativeIllustration.com, Jennifer E. Morris, Monica at MSC Art & Books, John Randall York at randomyork, Roz at Rozzie Land, and Kim at Sully’s Design Studio Blog. All have inspiring artwork, and all have left supportive and helpful comments for me either on my blog or their blogs. :)

Illustration Friday: Sour

2008-07-05T22:52:00.002-04:00

Day 9 of Challenge and "Sour" for IF

Day 8

2008-07-04T17:58:00.003-04:00

Happy 4th of July! Experimenting again with shading and trying to be quicker. :) **OH! Remember to be safe around fireworks! Sparklers cause a LOT of burns each year.**

Day 7

2008-07-03T18:25:00.003-04:00

I decided to submit this Christmas tree for wild animals to enjoy for Alicia Padron's give-away! My place over the hill All the art submitted to her site has been awesome! This is a really great idea to have a challenge and give away copies of her book.

Day 6

2008-07-02T20:54:00.003-04:00

Just experimenting with some different colors and simple shapes. No fancy-shmancy shading or textures (like I do fancy-shmancy anything!).

Illustration Friday: Fierce

2008-06-27T12:59:00.004-04:00

Day 5 of 21 Day Challenge Molly loves her stuffed human something fierce!

I did work on this MUCH more quickly than typical. I guess the practice is helping me become faster. :) Please feel free to comment!

Day 4

2008-06-26T11:44:00.003-04:00

Here are some pencil sketches of different styles I tend to do...a slightly realistic style (not my favorite thing to do), a "cutesy" style, a big headed personified style, and a big eyed "person" with big ol' round eyes. I used to always draw in the "cutesy" style, but lately, I've been liking the big head style. What do you think? (*These were like 5 minute sketches.)

21 Days

2008-06-24T22:03:00.003-04:00

1st day: Way out of my comfort zone with this one...but I had several :) comments! 2nd day: Different techniques...I like this little guy!

3rd day: My attempt at "scratchboard"...these colors look much paler and washed out than they did before I posted them online!

My challenge to myself is to experiment with different styles and find one I like AND to do work more efficiently and quickly. So far I've done well with "different styles"...need work on the "quickly" part!

A Comparison

2008-06-23T20:55:00.005-04:00

I've been looking through my blog at some of my earlier IF entries. Here's one I did recently of a swinging monkey (which I happen to love) and one I did last May '07 that I don't happen to love! They're both digital, but I think there's hope for me. I do see improvements! :)

IF: Hoard

2008-06-21T16:29:00.003-04:00

This little squirrel is on the search for nuts to hoard over the winter.

Illustration Friday: Punchline

2008-06-15T09:45:00.002-04:00

Cool Cal Cat at the Comedy Caravan...always have a good laugh when he's there.

Inspired by Others

2008-06-12T10:37:00.014-04:00

Here's a new illustration I worked on today...and nope, I didn't do it quickly! Still no shortcut...just trying to figure out "my style." Spent WAY too much time on it!

I have been inspired by the work that all the artists have been doing (21 day challenge...The Pineapple Diary) and have decided to challenge myself to doing either a) different styles of work for 21 entries (to find a style I like) or b) doing a quick illustration for 21 entries which is apparently the original intent of the challenge...doing something for at least 15 minutes for 21 days to make it a habit. I find that I'll spend HOURS on something that doesn't look like I've spent hours on! I'm thinking I need to refocus my efforts...do something more quickly and efficiently. I'm thinking a lot of it has to do with the fact that I don't know how to achieve the look I'm wanting digitally. I experiment but cannot find the right brush, opacity, etc. to get the style I want. I also need to find a consistent style. I guess I haven't because of the above...I've yet to find a style that I love. (Well, one that I love that's original and my own!) I love LOTS of other artists' styles...Jannie Ho's work is ADORABLE Chickengirl Design! I'm a HUGE fan of her work. As a Kindergarten teacher, I've seen her work in my big books I use at school, and I always pointed out to my kiddoes this year how I could tell it was her art! I love Roz Fulcher's feltwork and her digital feltwork Rozzie Land. I love Liz Goulet Dubois' style and her use of fabrics ChatRabbit. Mike Baker says he's not a professional illustrator...yet, but his work is amazing mike r. baker » something about me! I absolutely love Rachelle Anne Miller's work Rachelle Anne Miller Illustration! Her creations are adorable! There are so many blogs that I visit frequently that I couldn't begin to list them all. Everyone I've listed above has beautiful work, but it is all distinctly their own. I don't feel like I have developed a unique style. I've read Kathleen Rietz's article about discovering her own style The Prairie Wind » Illustrator Tips. I'd love her to share some of her shortcuts with me! :) I guess it's a journey everyone has to discover on their own, though. Oh, well...I'm definitely not a professional illustrator. It's just something I've always done since I can remember; drawing, playing with colors, charcoal sketches. I almost went to art school after HS graduation, but instead decided to become a teacher which is a rewarding career. But I feel that it wasn't the choice I should have made. Now I'm trying to teach myself things I could have already learned and be "mastering" had I gone to art school instead.

I am proud of my accomplishments...I'm a National Board Certified Teacher in the area of literacy. My students and parents love me (most of the time!) My principal is proud of me. My colleagues enjoy working with me. And I still have kids that come and give me a hug...kids going to be a Junior in HS this year that I had in 1st grade! I know I've made a positive impact on others...but now I'm ready to do something for me. Sorry for blabbering on, and on, AND ON! :)

I created this blog so that I had somewhere to post artwork for Illustration Friday...last summer I decided if I was really serious about enhancing my work, I'd better have an outlet for doing it and a weekly challenge to get me going and hold me somewhat responsible for posting my work. There are a few people who visit me and post comments frequently...you don't know how much that means to me! I appreciate your upbeat comments and suggestions on how to improve. Below is a little witch girl that I had intended on doing QUICKLY but then, I got experimenting with different brushes and played a little too long with it. But I did let go and decide that it didn't have to be perfectly rendered and some straggly lines could be visible...blah blah blah! Golly this post is long!

IF: Forgotten Part 2

2008-06-07T15:09:00.005-04:00

Every new school year, I seem to have forgotten that my little Kindergartners come to me not knowing how to do anything! Many can't write their name, color in the lines, know how to use glue, know how to use scissors...it's crazy that I forget every year and think OMIGOSH! It's like that because by the end of Kindergarten, my kiddoes are reading, writing actual stories and books and illustrating them nicely, problem solving in math, understanding regrouping with 100s, 10s, 1s, recognizing money, actually know how to line up, walk down the hall, etc. When I taught first grade, I took all those basic skills like knowing where to put your name and date on your paper and walking on the right side of the hallway for granted. In Kindergarten, you have to teach them EVERYthing! But it is amazing what they can do at the end of the year! Below is the pencil sketch of this piece. :) Thanks for visiting!

IF: Forgotten

2008-06-07T03:08:00.005-04:00

Has this ever happened to you? You wake up in the middle of the night and realize you have forgotten to study for the test tomorrow? I still have bad dreams like that! This girl has a little too much patterning going on in her room! I guess she couldn't decide the colors and patterns to use :)

Illustration Friday: Baby

2008-06-01T01:16:00.004-04:00

Say hello to little baby boy, Tommy! His mommy loves him and his silly purrs he makes when he's sleeping.

Illustration Friday: Worry

2008-05-24T20:30:00.003-04:00

Piggy is a little concerned about the present he's about to receive for his birthday!

This is an example of a character I'm creating for a board book...hope I can actually accomplish finishing it then work on begging someone to publish it! :) Thanks for viewing. Feel free to leave comments...all are greatly appreciated!

Spring Cleaning

2008-05-19T20:41:00.004-04:00

Uh-oh...NEVER hide a real Easter egg in your house! I remember in 2nd grade a boy who moved to my school from Texas (I also remember he always had nose bleeds!) left Easter eggs in his desk over Spring Break! When we got back to school...ugh! We had to have class in the hallway!

Illustration Friday: Seed

2008-05-03T00:00:00.002-04:00

Of course, this is the time of the year when we plant our little seeds in cups in our classroom and wait for them to grow! We water them and give them sun then give them to our Mommies for Mother's Day! We've been doing LOTS of plant themed projects in my Kindergarten class. Also we just received our caterpillars this past week, so soon, we'll have little caterpillars making their own chrysalis then BEAUTIFUL butterflies! This is a fun time of year! Except we begin testing next week...in Kindergarten...no child left behind...I'd like to get all those bureaucrats to get their fat @$$e$ in there in the classroom and see what it's really like! :) Sorry...I tend to get preachy about school stuff!

Illustration Friday: Wrinkles

2008-04-28T22:18:00.003-04:00

This is one wrinkly, warty witch! But as Bugs Bunny would say, "She might be ugly now, but she was somebody's baby once."

Illustration Friday: SAVE

2008-04-05T21:00:00.007-04:00

Save some coins! :)

This is a redo of a Monday Artday I submitted a while back for "change." It's a little darker than I'd like.

Illustration Friday: Homage

2008-03-30T20:08:00.006-04:00

Webster's Dictionary says an homage is something that shows respect or attests to the worth or influence of another. My 11 1/2 year old dog, Meg had to be put to sleep Thursday afternoon because of kidney failure. She was a beautiful dog with a beautiful personality. She was the gentlest dog I'd ever met. My quick sketch is a small tribute to her and the impact she had on our lives. She was a gorgeous Golden Retriever who will be greatly missed.

Margaret Belle (Meg) 1996-2008

IF: Pet Peeves

2008-03-26T21:30:00.003-04:00

One of my biggest pet peeves as a teacher is working ALL DAY long at school with 24 Kindergartners then waiting all evening for parents who've scheduled a conference to NEVER show up! (Then of course, they want to reschedule for another night.) Anyone have cheese to go along with my "whine?" :)

IF: Garden

2008-03-15T20:40:00.002-04:00

I'm a week late, but I wanted to share :)

A Look at Our Year 2005-2006

2008-03-05T18:58:00.009-05:00

My Illustration Friday: LEAP is the next post below :)

This is a video I made from various photos as a fundraiser. It was for our first school year at our new elementary school. Thought I'd post it if anyone was interested :) I'm going to let my students' parents check it out and see if they'd like one for this year with just our class photos.

IF: Leap

2008-03-01T11:07:00.003-05:00

Wow! I haven't posted anything for 3 months! Good grief! Well, here's my interpretation of Illustration Friday's theme, Leap. Even though I think it was meant to go along with Feb. 29 (Leap Year), I took a different approach! We're studying all about the seasons in my Kindergarten classroom, and this seemed to fit perfectly. This little duck is LEAPing for joy that it's (almost) Spring! Thanks for stopping by...please feel free to leave any comments. This was done quickly without a lot of "fluff," but I kinda' like this one that way...simply colored. :)