Birds, Acorns & Fluffy Tails

Some days don't start out so well, but who knows how they'll end up.

This is a little study of a bird who appears in my work again and again.

 Little yellow birds play the part of best friends in my series,

Animals at Work and Play!

More in bird news....

and sketching. 

I love sketching, whether in pencil, pen or charcoal.

It's tough to create a finished piece with that same energy, looseness

and humor that a sketch may have. 

woof

Below are sketches I made for a CBIG event, Illustrator Day, which was held yesterday.

The assignment was to pick a time tested story and recreate a spread from the book.

I chose the classic "Miss Suzy" written by Miriam Young in 1964, 

illustrated beautifully by the great, Arnold Lobel. 

It's about a sweet grey squirrel who is chased out of her lovely house atop an oak tree. 

She finds a place to live and makes new friends, but longs to return home. 

With some help, she does just that!

I chose Semadar Megged, art director at Philomel, Penguin Group 

to critique my piece. 

I received constructive feedback from her about my sketches and she suggested I

work up the one below for my final.

Unfortunately, I did not complete my final piece, but for some reason I wanted to share.

I'm disappointed that I've let Miss Suzy and myself down.

My jobs in the film business, on commercials, can be unpredictable, 

sometimes hectic, sometimes long hours. Last week was a busy one for me. 

That's not an excuse, because had I simply started sooner I would have had work to share.

I will continue to work on Miss Suzy.

She's one of the kindest characters, down on her luck and in need of a hand,

one that she deservedly gets :)

Everyone can relate to that.

:::

Hope your week is off to a strong start!

xo, A

My Sketchbook : Easter : Chick, Bunnies, Fox & foxes

Easter Bunnies and Foxes are on my mind this week.

Here are some pen drawings in my Moleskine notebook, love the paper.

These buns appear to be confused, suspicious, sleepy, loving &/or distracted.

I imagine this rabbit is gathering instructions for this year's Easter route. 

I sketched a bunch of foxes for my class MATS3A with Lilla Rogers. 

I'll let you guess what the theme is ;) 

I'll use one of these characters for the final, but thought I'd share bc I always like 

the way sketches look together on a page.

This was a very quick sketch. The class can choose to illustrate a cover or a spread from Aesop's fable.

This is also a chance for me to work on lettering. 

I think this one might have the right mischievous look :) 

We'll see. I'm sure I'll share whatever I come up with next week.

If you'd like to learn more about this class - licensing your art, 

I wrote much more about it in my previous post on Monday.

:::

Thanks as always for taking a look.

Enjoy the rest of your week and get those Easter baskets ready!

xo, A

Illustration West 52 - sketches - Instagram & iMac

See Subway Animals in person :)

If you're in the Los Angeles area, the SILA Illustration West 52 exhibit Opens tonight

along with the website launch of the show 

March 7th at Center Stage Gallery 7-10p

I do not have an Instagram account, but I plan to soon, because - why not upload my stuff  

onto as many social media platforms as possible ;)

:::

At the moment, I anxiously await the arrival of my 1st iMac. As friends know, 

I have depended on a Dell computer for at least a decade, 

which is amazing considering all the files and photos I have saved on this thing!

Dear Dell, you are amazing, but it's time we part ways. It's in the best interest of us both.

I hope I don't regret this.

After much deliberation and encouragement from fellow artists, designers, illustrators ...

I decided to make the switch. I don't know what to do with myself. I Can't Wait!

Pen + Moleskine = joy

I like Clairefontaine's paper for quick sketches, also. 

...

Above, is the sketch of Porcu-punk-pine, he became Harvey (below)

I think I'll do a painting of him looking this nervous, though.

My afterthought was having the cats play chess with the mice (probably makes more sense)

Oddly enough, I came across taxidermied  mice chess sets on Etsy - The Curious13 

Clever, cute? but I don't want one.

Uplifting message of the day!

This is one of my Valentine card rejects. Poor raccoon's day didn't go as hoped.

Below is the original sketch for Subway Animals. 

It's missing a key character. Can you tell which one without scrolling up?

Copyrighting. I have started to copyright EVERYTHING.

Consider yourself warned ;)

Of course, Share, Pin, Post, Enjoy as much as you'd like.

** Have a great weekend **

It's supposed to be warmer here on the East Coast. Hooray!

xo, A

Animal Characters at Work & Play

"There are no short cuts to any place worth going. " - Beverly Sills

"That's no reason to stop looking!" -me

*

:: It's Art Update Monday ::

Meet Harvey and French

New friends in my Animals at Work & Play series ...

This is Piglet and Trix. Piglet loves books and Trix loves Piglet.

Dining area turned humble studio, here are more animals ready for the big bright world!

Thought I'd share a few before & after pictures.

I know I'm not the 1st to express how tricky it can be to maintain 

the charm and looseness of sketches in the finished piece.

We all try!

The Venice paintings starring Gustavo Gondolier are favorites of mine. 

If you read my blog regularly, I'm sure you've seen the one above.

Below is a new addition -

Gustavo and others spot cat's big catch!

Mmmmmm  Meeee-YOW !

Now, meet Scuba Cat 

It's not just fish she's finding, but treasure!

I suppose this could be a line for warm toasty Cronuts.

Whatever they're all waiting for, the suitcase is a mystery.

See something, Say something.

Say Anything.

Loosely based on a Holiday Magazine cover from 1959, I love this painting. 

I'd like to have a vacation spot here in wherever it is Europe :)

This is a revised Yoga Bun. I like the lighter sketchy touch,

even though original Yoga Bun will remain close to my heart. 

Here she is trying on her tops.

Above is a detail from Museum trip. I will one day (soon) complete or re-do this one!

This is little Louanne. She follows Claude Cat

for a day of fishing. You can find her in the post

Animals with Dreams Big and Small

and finally, more characters I've been working & reworking ...

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a great week!

xo, A

Some Sketches on a Sunday

I see something!

:::

Sketches for a summer series of paintings...

Water sports are fun! but, not for everyone.

Scrappy Pals

You may have seen them on my Valentine's Day card :)

Long day at work, but there's something dad's just got to see!

Mom tucks baby in, snug as a bug.

Okay, this one's a bit late, but 

I just found it in my sketchbook and I like it! 

Have a great week!

xo, A