Lost in the woods....

This project pretty much has been lost in the woods for quite a while. I have been working on this TOP SECRET children's book project for a while (started summer 2004) and I thought I would share a snippet of some new beginnings. This is a scene where the main character becomes lost in the woods. I actually did this during last semester as the heavy work load of graduate school gnawed away at my sanity and confidence. But out of that stressful time came this piece and a renewed interest in this story. I basically rewrote the entire thing in rhyming verse and tried to rework the characters and give them a little more depth.

Here it is and hopefully I will have more to share soon. This piece was done using ink and ink wash on watercolor paper. My goal is to get a submission package ready by the end of next summer. Fingers crossed.

Happy Father's Day

Wishing all you fathers out there a happy (belated) Father's Day. Being a father is probably the most important role a man can have and I was blessed with a dad that really understood that. So for my great dad I created a homemade card using his favorite genre- the western.

I feel like this may have been a bit of a break through piece for me in that I experimented with a very limited color palette and some new inking techniques. I was trying to evoke that sepia-toned western atmosphere. The card was created on cold press watercolor paper using higgins black magic ink, pelican sepia drawing ink, and an assortment of brushes. I scored the fold using an exacto knife to get it to fold properly.

I hope one day my broke ass will be able to give my dad more than just a card, but for now, this will have to do.

I love you Dad! Thank you for everything!

Card cover

Card inside

Bartleby the Dragon

I just finished the first of what I hope will be a series of sock puppets. My hope is that I may be able to sell them at some point. I used a sock that I dyed green for the body and the features were mostly created out of fabric and poly-fil. The fins on the side of the neck have wire sandwiched between two pieces of extra thick interfacing so they are very posable. The next batch will probably use pingpong balls for eyes instead of styrofoam. Not that styrofoam is bad, but I am curious to see the difference between the two. And so without further ado, say hello to Bartleby the Dragon!