2 months to go

I'll be 30 weeks along tomorrow in my second pregnancy. There's so many things to do (illustration-wise), before baby comes. I have all my class-prep work ready to go for the illustration techniques section I'm teaching in October (on acrylics) for MacEwan college, but there's quite a bit of artwork to finish... and... ahem... most of that should happen before baby arrives. Feeling the crunch of deadlines, but I'm also feeling this incredible nesting urge. Instead of painting during the doodlebugs naps, I've been cleaning closets. Go figure!

Today, instead of working on the princess licensing image I should be working on, I put some paint on one of my plywood sketches. I've been wishing to find a way to keep my pencil lines under visible and dark under paint and this technique seems promising. (Liquitex glazes and acrylic wash with pencil).

Oh, and ps: Here's the princess image thus far. Still have so much farther to go and I'm painting like a turtle.

Kaleido Arts Festival Gala

Please join me in the gala opening (casual) of the Kaleido Arts Festival this Friday. It's from 7 - 10 pm on the arts district of 118th ave. There are four different shows opening and I have four pieces in the Festival.

Here are the listed galleries (not sure which one mine will be in yet, I'll edit this post when I know more)

1. Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts (9225 – 118 Ave)
2. St. Faith’s Anglican Church (11725 – 93 Street)
3. Avenue Theatre Lobby (9030 – 118 Ave)
4. The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse (9351 – 118 Ave)

The festival runs from September 9 - 11 and you can visit their website for more information. Thank you for voting on the different art pieces I wished to submit! The Ghana piece looks gorgeous in it's frame, I'm so pleased with my framer (Birks on 118th & 124 st).

Wedding Thank You Cards

I'm delighted to be able to share the finished designs of my cousin's thank-you cards. The groom is a pilot, who before the wedding had a rather fabulous beard (I was shocked to see he had shaved it for the wedding). This is the second stamp design I've done for a wedding (something very economical for the bride and groom, as they can choose the paper stock and ink colour themselves and have the option to use the stamp for other purposes later on, such as a scrapbook). The first was an invitation for my brother & sister-in-law last year. I love the look that the stamps provide and how different the applications can be.

Some of the other sketch designs:

Leanin' Tree Samples

Boy do I ever appreciate my agent! I got a stack of leanin' tree card samples in the mail this week, which was tremendous fun to open. The icing on the cake was my son exclaiming, "They're Beauuuutiful!". Can't beat a genuine compliment from a toddler, because they're quite honest creatures.

September Colouring Page

Here's the free monthly colouring page. Download a larger version here. As always, I'd love to post some coloured versions of the pages, if you can get your kid to sit down and colour while it's still nice outside!

Kaleido Arts Festival 2011

I've been going through my work trying to pick 3-4 images to submit to the Kaleido Arts Festival Art Show. I'd love to know your opinion on some of the pieces I'm considering, including a couple of sketches that I would get framed. To see any of these images in a larger format, please just poke through my website in the paintings, sketch or illustration section.

Here's my post about last year's festival.

August Free Colouring Page

Here's the free August Colouring page. Download a larger version here. Each month I draw up a new colouring page. Feel free to ask to have this page added (for free) to your community newsletter, your school or library collection or have it delivered via email to your inbox each month. Simply email me to be added.

I'd love to post coloured versions of any of my free pages. Scan and email me a copy and I promise to post it (regardless of your age).



Sneak Peak

What's cooking in the studio these days? A piece for the 2012 Grassroots Press Catalog. I shall not and cannot post this piece in it's entirety, but will give you a small close-up for now! Enjoy. Or don't. It's up to you.

Princess Artwork Update

Still working on creating a princess piece for my licensing portfolio (to follow - a pirate piece and dinosaur piece of the same style/feel, as often licensing work is done in sets). Here is the first sketch (a flying unicorn) and the follow-up sketch based on feedback from my amazing agent, Elaine.

Feedback that was given: turn the flying unicorn into a unicorn on the ground, add critters (a suggestion I fully embraced). I did forget to make the castle larger, but that is something I can change easily in photoshop before transferring to canvas. I'm still finding it an odd transition to create artwork that is not strictly meant for one particular client, but the process intrigues me and I'm hopeful that as I create work in this new field that my artwork will be picked up.

Life is changing...

Life is changing and so is my studio. I'm back in the basement (with I hope more improvements to come, like paint on the ugly faux wood-panel walls and rearranging of paintings and boards). Things are a bit squishier now, as the room doubles as my spare room. Still, I'm happy down here because it's really nice and cool.

It's just occurred to me that I don't think I've made the official announcement that I'm expecting my second child this November (hence the reason for the studio move from the sunny little space upstairs). I'm over the half-way point in my pregnancy which means I'm in the glorious 2nd trimester, where my nausea only comes and goes when I'm really hungry or tired and my bump isn't big enough to get me stuck in-between narrow doorways. I hope to one day pursue the noble art of doula work, on top of my illustration work, when my kids have grown up a little (a doula is someone who supports a woman during pregnancy and more importantly, labour). I'd also like to offer belly casting and of course, painting of said belly cast after it sets. I'm so fascinated by birth, pregnancy and general immediate post-partum that I feel this will eventually be a great thing for me. Just not now.

Pictured below is my current studio, with the "doodle-bugs" easel in the corner and a very cluttered work space. I think I may have to get rid of the inspiration board, it's a horrible mess... but I do like having pictures up that chance on a sometimes weekly basis while I work. So, who knows. The spare bed is right behind my computer, so if I really wanted, I suppose I could "draw"... or snooze a little until I find good ideas. ha ha! Leppard, my sweet mixed mutt, is finally brave enough to join me downstairs. The first few years we had her she wouldn't go down stairs even if there was a fully roasted chicken two steps down with her name on it. I suspect some sort of trauma involving stairs happened to her when before we adopted her.

Here is the doodle-bug, listening to the baby. He also took the time to drive little cars on the belly.

What I'm currently working on:

Princess artwork for a potential client via my lovely agent, Elaine at Cypress Fine Art Licensing. Hopefully this will eventually become a die-cut puzzle. More to come as I get feedback from Elaine, and I think I'd like to try something with a castle in the background too.

The Future (is here)

Amazing. I'm so glad my husband teaches 3D animation... this great attribute might come in handy later in my life (for things other than plain bragging rights of course).

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore iPad App Trailer from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.

Beautiful escape

Holidays put into perspective how many amazing things are within driving distance of my home. On Canada Day (July 1), I walked amongst scorching hot hoo-doos then later sat silently in the shadow of the worlds largest dinosaur as fireworks crackled over it's head. We drove from Drumheller to Kananaskis where we climbed a mountain, ankles deep in snow and the roar of a glacial waterfall bouncing off the cliffs. There were morale mushrooms to fry and a surprise encounter with a geo-cache at Marl Lake where I left behind the only thing in my pocket - a red ruby sucker - in exchange for a lovely Caribbean 25cent coin. In Banff we rode a gondola in time for a snowstorm to allow me to break out my new baby-wearing coat and later took in the romance of my cousin's beautiful wedding.

I am glad to be home, but I miss the new adventure that hiking and new places provided. My pants have muddy knees and my ankles are speckled with mosquito bites but I suppose one has to return home at some point to weed the garden!

Puzzle designs

Recently finished two paintings for a puzzle company. Thought I'd share them with you.

So simple to do, can't wait to see the printed pieces.

June Free Colouring Page

Here's the June Colouring page. Download a larger version here. Each month I draw up a new colouring page. Feel free to ask to have this page added (for free) to your community newsletter, your school or library collection or have it delivered via email to your inbox each month. Simply email me to be added.

Have fun colouring! This page was inspired by my son, who loves helping me in the garden. He does not own a hat like that, but I think I need to get him one...

Dexter's Digger Dog

Finished the painting just in time! Dexter's second birthday party is tomorrow.
See the sketch here.

Eee & Bee photography

Twice in one week, who knew it was national "plug a friend" week? Yesterday, I plugged Alex, a bookbinder... today, my brother-in-law and his wife just put their website live - Eee & Bee Photography! I noticed, also, that because they are just starting up, for a limited time, all of their services are FREE! If you're in the Edmonton area, please contact them... engagement, event photography, maternity, new baby shoot, whatever, you name it. They're good, have wonderful personalities - just take a look at their website and let the work speak for itself. Good luck Liz & Brant!

Digger Dog

Next week my "doodlebug" turns 2! Last year, I painted him a train... and this year all he talks about are machines (particularly, "Diggers! Mommy, i love diggers"). He tells me he dreams about them, he screams in excitement from the backseat when he sees them on drives through the city and, yes, you guessed it, bedtime books are always machine related! So, naturally, I am going to paint a "Digger" for his birthday gift this year.

Alex McGuckin - book binder

A good friend of mine, Alex McGuckin, also from Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), recently launched his website. Alex is a professional bookbinder (yes, think traditional leather and embossing tools and elegant marbled paper so beautiful you just have to run your hands over it) and his studio is simple gorgeous! I wish there was a photo of it on his website - you'll just have to imagine the most incredible collection of tools and inspirational illustrations. He does period bindings, restoration, design bindings (example above), boxes and of course, you can commission him to create the book of your dreams...

May 2011 Colouring Page

Enjoy! Colour & share with your class, your kids, whatever! Email me scans/photos of finished artwork and I'll post them on my blog. On a side note, the Edmonton Public Library has picked up my colouring pages for their summer program called "Splash" which makes it the third place that the page will appear in print every month. Want to add your community newsletter to the list? Email me!

Check my "Colouring Pages" tab on my website for larger, more printable versions of the page.

Surtex Cards

Just got these in the mail from my agent, Elaine, at Cypress Fine Art Licensing. In love!!!
For those of you visiting the show - please stop by her booth and say hello for me - Booth # 527, show runs from May 15 - 17.

What is Surtex? Watch this video: