just finished the sunset collage...

Here it is in my office, awaiting its new home in Seattle.

The denim you see is from Andy's old jeans. he!

Good night!

it's the end of a rainy day...

I made some progress on the sunset collage today... slow going but I think it will be satisfying when done.

The cloudy sky outside is lighting up my silky sun!

I don't know what I'd do without you, my beautiful German machine.

Sunset Fabric Collage Update

I've been working on the sunset collage, and here's what it looks like at this point.


Some pieces are missing because I don't have all the right colors. I'm going to have to make a trip to the fabric store tomorrow... uh oh, Joann's has become a very dangerous place for me!

Here are some more pictures of how I got to this point.

picking colors, using my handy dandy fabric swatches

pretty piles of fabric =)

I cut the pieces out of paper first

then I cut the fabric using the paper shapes to guide me

pink and green! That's one of my favorite color combinations. hehe.

all the pieces for the water

That's it for my photo journal today!

Sunset Fabric Collage - Work in Progress

Many thanks to Janelle and Fausto for commissioning this fabric collage! I'm having so much fun with this one! Here's the vector graphic that I just finished. I'll use this as a pattern to cut out the fabric pieces.

Here are some pictures showing the steps I took to make the vector graphic.

reference photo I used

initial drawing from the reference photo

I drew some new plants (the first ones I drew just weren't doin' it for me.)

At 30 by 30 inches, this will be one of the biggest fabric collages I've done. I've always liked working on a large scale, and I'm excited to see how it turns out!

I'm also really enjoying the subject. It's rare for me to do landscapes, and it's actually pretty liberating! I'm allowing myself to have more of an abstract approach, focusing on the form and space rather than literally representing what's in the photo.

Yay! I label today a success! =)

Preita the Polar Bear

Preita is such a pretty Finnish name. I just stumbled across it and thought it perfect for the portrait. It means "most loving one."

Polar bears roll in the snow to clean their fur...

down the hill she goes!

This pose was inspired by my cat, Luther.
He loves to roll around on his back...

detail of the trees in the background

I'm proud of this portrait because it includes movement, expression, and an interesting background. I feel that I've met a lot of previous challenges as well as the last one, which was to choose an animal based on an interesting behavior, and illustrate that behavior.

Discovery - drawing from a small sculpture, or maquette works well too
Lesson - look to other artists for inspiration (shout out to Charley Harper!)
Challenge - two animals fighting or one animal hunting another

(To view the study, sculpture, drawing, and vector graphic for this portrait, please view a previous post.)

Polar Bear Portrait

Polar bears typically roll around in the snow to clean their fur. Looks like fun, doesn't it!? Hope you enjoy these pics of my progress on the next portrait.

the study

the sculptures (just maquettes this time)

the drawing

the drawing with added background

the vector graphic

I also started on the fabric collage. Here are some pictures of my progress so far. I was particularly excited to use some recycled fabric in this one.

a skirt I found at the thrift store

trees in the background

loose peices ready to be sewn together

Poster for Martian Horses

Martian Horses will be playing on Friday, February 4th!

please click to enlarge poster for show details

This was a really fun poster design. I busted out my exacto knife and did some serious paper cutting.

swirly smoke

teeny tiny bug parts!

two down, just a few more to go...

phew!

I painted the paper with acrylic paint
and wrote some of Jimmy's lyrics on top.

more bugs in the clouds of smoke...

Andy and I stamped the printed posters with the Martian Horses logo, and here they are drying.

Hope you can make it to the show. It's going to be a good one. =)

Kiwi Collage

Introducing... Kai the Kiwi!

(To view the study, sculpture, drawing, and vector graphic for this portrait, please view a previous post.)

Kai the Kiwi

I almost gave up on this one, because I didn't like the drawing I initially did. I sat on it for months!

In a way, it was a good break from the book project, and I was able to focus on some other interesting artwork. I feel refreshed from the break and am excited to be back at it.

lesson - If I'm unhappy with a piece, sometimes it's best to take a step back and find a new approach.
discovery - white outlines on the animal is an interesting look that works well for night scenes!
challenge - choose an animal based on an interesting behavior, and illustrate that behavior.

In the end, I think it turned out to be my first successful night-time portrait! I feel good about meeting that challenge.

Happy New Desk!

There's nothing like ringing in the new year with a visit to IKEA. Thanks to my new VIKA BYSKE. I now have enough table space in my studio to sew, draw, and much more!

I love my VIKA BYSKE

working on Kai

I also mounted samples of all my fabrics and organized them by color. It's already helping me choose better gradients for light and shadow in the portraits.

Happy New Year!

Change of Plan

After much thought, I've decided to make some major changes with regards to my book. Due to some issues I was having, I will no longer be doing an alphabet book, but a trilogy of animal books. Each book will have 15-16 portraits (instead of the whopping 26.)

click to enlarge and read the details

The first book will be entitled Animals on Land which will include most of the portraits I've done so far:

Byron the Bullfrog
Fae the Fox
Ira the Ibex
Jamal the Jaguar
Kai the Kiwi
Lauren the Loris
Quinn the Quail

Talia the Turtle will be in the second book, entitled Animals under Water.

One of the main benefits of this decision is that each book and its respective exhibition will have a cohesive environment, which will hopefully draw the audience deeper into the atmospheres I create.

Another perk of this change is that I can now work on any animal that inspires me! I don't have to worry about what letter it's name starts with anymore. So, please do keep sending suggestions of your favorite animals. Pretty much anything goes!

After all three books are done, I may still put together an alphabet book. I'll even have the option of re-using some of the 45 animal characters that I will have already created.

I feel good about this new direction. Things are making more sense to me now, and I feel a new excitement about this project!

Kai the Kiwi

After a long break, I'm finally back to work on my book. Here is my work so far on Kai the Kiwi. Hope you enjoy!

the study

the sculpture

the drawing

the vector graphic

Animal Sculptures (set 1)

Here are a few characters for my alphabet book project. They're now complete with color, and I've found a special spot in our home for each one.

Keeping the picture of my mom company...

Byron the Bullfrog
5" x 3" x 3"

Overlooking the office/studio from atop the cabinets...

Fae the Fox
7" x 5.5" x 4"

Hanging out on the CD shelves...

Jamal the Jaguar
8.5" x 4" x 5"

Gazing up at the Christmas tree ornaments...

Lauren the Loris
4.5" x 5" x 5.5"

Perched in one of the bathroom cubbies...

Quinn the Quail
3" x 4.5" x 5"

I made Quinn a copper wire plume because the original clay one broke off during the firing. Sometimes a mistake can turn out to be a good thing... I quite like his new blingy headdress!

Well, I hope you enjoyed meeting my little friends! This is only the first 5 out of 26, so there will be many more to come...