It's Snowing in Dallas!

Miracle of miracles. It is snowing in Dallas on December 24th. And it is starting to stick. We are hoping for a white Christmas. Here are some pictures of our house. OK, so this is nothing compared to what you get in more northerly climates, but for Dallas folks, it is a big deal. Kids are ecstatic, and grown ups feel like kids again. Happy holidays!

Illustration Friday - Undone

She's coming undone.

.05 Micron pen on Bienfang Graphics 360 100% Rag Translucent Marker Paper, with a touch of pink Prismacolor pencil. I love the paper--there is absolutely no bleeding.

Illustration Friday - Hatch

A new crop of babies arrives in the cabbage patch. Here is a close up of the baby:

Book Review: Sketch Book

Just finished reading Sketch Book: Conceptual Drawings from the World's Most Influential Designers by Timothy O'Donnell. The book profiles a number of different designers and shows pages from their sketch books. The focus is on graphic design, not illustration or fine art. The book is interesting in that the subjects use their sketch books as a thinking tool, not as objects of art. No pretty pictures here. I got the book from the library. I wouldn't buy it, but it is worth checking out from the library. It provides food for thought on how to make good use of a sketch book.

Illustration Friday - Entangled

When I saw the prompt entangled, I immediately thought of a thicket of bushes in my backyard. The tangles have long fascinated me, and I have been wanting to draw them for some time now. This prompt was a good excuse. I drew from life for about an hour and then switched to imagination. I developed the drawing in pencil and at the end added some colored pencil, colored pen, and pastel pencil. I left part of the drawing undone, because I think it looks more interesting that way.

Box Figure

I am practicing reducing figures to basic shapes such as boxes. This drawing is based on a photograph in Yoga Magazine. It is a woman doing a yoga pose.

Illustration Friday - Music

The children eagerly follow the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

I am working on my silhouettes. I think the key to a good silhouette is (1) gesture and (2) details such as hair, ribbons, profile, and clothing. Arthur Rackham was a master at silhouette.

I drew the figures from imagination. I have been practicing figures and am finding practice pays off for imaginative work. The figures are drawn in Chartpack AD Marker on printer paper. The marker bled a little; next time I need to remember to use paper specifically made for markers.