Illustration Friday - Pioneer

"Have Raygun, will Travel"

i set out to make a pioneer woman and this happened. It's subtle but i think it's there...

The raygun was inspired by a group of Steampunk enthusiasts called the League of Victorian Imagineers (article here) - they have extremely cool props and costumes...check 'em out... also, the set of Sherlock Holmes was very inspiring too...go see that ASAP!

Illustration Friday - Undone

well this egg is definitely undone - it's just beginning to be done

How Awesome is This???!!

i designed a patch for urbanthreads.com and this is what it looks like...


from this art:


"Winter"
i am artist of the month for December at their website and absolutely love all the cool, edgy, snarky and beautiful designs they make over there - please check them out!

i also had to add this amazing song...can't download this yet in the US - RATS!!
(thanks to the amazing artist Danielle Barlow who had it on her blog...)

Illustration Friday - Entangled

there are many ways we can become entangled - and many of us are in one way or another...

Illustration Friday - Music

this was a quick sketch - i love the music that comes from such small things..it's available on etsy...click here

Illustration Friday - Unbalanced

wow. it's soooo nice to be pulling the watercolors back out...so nice to just have this pan with the paint squeezed right on every few months or so, not worrying about it drying out, not cleaning up much and so forth... instead of acrylic which i've been working on the past few weeks for a show...continually squeezing the paints out, cleaning the brushes, squeezing more paint out, cleaning more brushes... can you imagine?? where is my assistant to do this stuff?? yeah, go ahead...call me the Queen of sloth...i can take it.

ok back to Illustration Friday's word of the week - Unbalanced. I had started this painting for my Oracle card deck a little while ago to represent Fertility but i thought it also went well with unbalanced. And since i'm constantly doing the OPPOSITE of Illustration Friday words, i'm sticking to that theme. At first glance a pregnant woman looks all sorts of unbalanced...but the body is an amazing thing. It adapts. Frankly i felt like a swan when i was pregnant - magestic, plump, important. Balanced. i was definitely one of those crazies that loved being preg.

Illustration Friday - Blur

this is a take off of one of my earlier illustrations called "Breezy" - it's designed to be an embroidery patch for the very cool Urban Threads - please take a look at some of their designs... - this image represents Winter and i will hopefully be making the other seasons to go along with it (spring is already in the makings - think "cherry blossoms"!)...i'm thinking the hair blowing around her lends itself to the word "blur"...

Illustration Friday - Skinny

Mucha's woman were not skinny...they were what we now call plump in many instances - greek sculptors, DaVinci, on up to Rueben, Klimt, and Manet and so forth...all were inspired by plump models...when did it change? why did it change? Men's ideal bodies have pretty much stayed the same over time...You can look at male movie stars' and at male models' bodies and most resemble Michaelangelo's the David (which Michaelangelo modeled after the perfect male form in his mind - which i must confess is hard to argue with - but why do i think that???)...how do we figure out what is attractive and what is not? these things fascinate me...and i don't know why.

Anyway, this girl is not skinny. But i think she's beautiful in her way.

Illustration Friday - Fast

this is an older illustration but, since i am WAY behind in what i must get done (art-wise AND life-wise) i thought it wouldn't be TOO terrible to re-use it for Illustration Friday's word today - FAST. i think her hair and hood is moving fast in the sharp wind. Yep, and i'm sticking with it. i'm going to try to work on something else for this because it is a great word to illustrate. And anyone who actually follows this blog knows that's a load of crap since i say that a lot and don't think i've ever come through...oh well...i try...for realz i do...

speaking in code now: if you're here from LTR, Hi - and thanks for stopping! Now hurry back to fanfic!

Bird's Nest

i love robin's eggs...they are perfect...and i love nests...and i love the idea of finding a golden egg...and i kind of look at my two children as one blue egg and one golden egg and they both change colors from one to the other all the time...i normally paint two eggs but did three this time for balance...

the flat yellow-ish area on the one egg is gold leaf...

this is 20 x 20" acrylic on canvas, ready to hang. I'm trying to get a lot of new work for the Reading Museum's Art of the Craft Show that I will be in Nov. 21 and 22. This is available now for $350. Thanks always for looking, xxoo
here's a link to the show: my cherry blossom girl (painting) is on the postcard - she is somewhere in Arizona now, lucky girl!
Museum Show

ooh it's so fun to "link" again!

Illustration Friday - not quite FLYING but soon

i haven't done a peacock tree in ages so this felt good to do. i wanted to design something for the Oracle card deck i'm making for the back of each card. I couldn't imagine anything else but this tree and so painted away...

as for how it pertains to Illustration Friday (word this week is Flying) - i think it should really be called "Pre-flying" - or "Potential" or "Hope"...i guess this illo could actually mean many things...any thoughts? i'd love to know what you think...

Illustration Friday Update - Pattern

here is my patterned aura/halo goddess/angel (trying to be politically correct here) updated in color...(had to make a new post because IF wouldn't let me re-post as an updated post...sigh)

Illustration Friday - Pattern

i wanted to do another Klimt-y type pattern again and this week's word sort of pushed me in that direction - it shows up in her halo or aura...

this is the first installment - black and white - i'll paint her tomorrow...

The Wish Dish

this is what it started out as - the wish dish - but that's too corny. What i really had in mind was a dish you could look into that would tell you the future...wouldn't that be awesome?

anyway, it's been like a hundred years since i posted last and if you noticed that, sorry for the mini break...i seemed to hit a wall there...

Illustration Friday - Strong

this girl is not just strong. she will kick your ass.

So here's how the conversation between me and my 12-year-old went yesterday...

me: i need to get a reference of that popular war poster...you know, it has a lady on it and she's rolling up her sleeves and...i want to modernize her...i can't seem to find it anywhere online - i don't know what the heck to call it...

12-year-old: (look of incredulity on face) oh you mean the "we can do it" poster with Rosie the Riveter on it?

So i look up "we can do it" and like 8,000 of said poster shows up.

i have been in denial about this but it's official - my 12-year-old is cooler and smarter than me.

On another note: tomorrow is Labor Day here in the States and i want to say i hope you like your country (whichever it might be) as much as i like mine - because even though there are a few morons running around spewing vitriol, it's still a very cool place to be.

Illustration Friday - Magnify

mermaid's allure magnified underwater...hmmmmm....i was thinking of the delirious and dehydrated sailors that would "see" the mermaids when i made this...

Contest Winner! Thank you so much for all your comments last week and congrats to Loni Edwards who's name was picked from a baseball cap by my daughter - you've won the Queen of Hearts print - please contact me with an address and i'll mail it out this week...(i'll have pics soon of the actual name picking process - i'm just a little behind due to a minor but painful injury - and no i was not bitten by a horse like my friend she-who-must-not-be-named)

Illustration Friday - Caution - and a Contest Giveaway

i had posted this last night but felt it sort of fits with "caution". i was thinking about how the ancient Greeks thought our lives hung from a thread and that the gods had the power to snip that thread at any time - and that is not too shocking a concept to grasp...that life is delicate, unpredictable, fragile and should be appreciated every moment, even the sad broken moments...this young muse is holding someone's life by a thread, maybe it's her own. Should she use caution?

Anyways, today is my Blog's 3rd year anniversary!! I'd like to thank all who've come in to look, lurk, and comment by giving away a giclee of the Queen of Hearts...



please leave a comment on this post and then next Friday, August 28, 2009 i'll place all your names in a hat and choose a winner - wheeeee fun times in Adrienne Blogland!! xoxoxo

Illustration Friday - Impatience

it's funny. i have this idea in the back of my head...what would a certain person look like IF they were a vampire? and i set out to try to paint this. and can't. the girl never is pretty enough. so i move on. on to possibly my next and last queen? the one i haven't done yet - queen of diamonds? and then i see this great photo of a famous actress all goddessed up and i think, that's it - the next queen will be a goddess (which originally in my head was going to be India Indian) and so i start drawing...three tries until i get what leads to the final painting - "what if Bella was a vampire when she went to the prom" - yep. that's the way i go...carefully thought out and planned. never. Well anyway, i'm happy with it. this looks so much better hi rez. (Must speak in code now...the fog in the background is Forks fog)

but on to Illustration Friday... as far as vampires go they are most likely a little more impatient than humans - i know i would be the most impatient vampire alive/dead because i'm pretty impatient in human form. thank you all for being patient enough to read this far...i'll stop now...

Illustration Friday - Modify

"Go Ask Steampunk Alice"

too corny? well, ok - you're probably right but...i said a few posts back that i'm not that clever and am sticking to that... HOWEVER...this Alice inspires me a bit - she has definitely been modified...not just by Steampunk but by attitude - i'm thinking she just may not drink that "drink me" drink...

Illustration Friday - Idle

i'll admit at first, i was just going to talk about how "idle" i have been - because it's summer and my girls are home with me, i haven't gotten a whole lot of art done - and i really need to since i've actually now signed a contract to make art for a very specific project (more on that later) and yet...it's been hard to concentrate with the haze of summer and the distractions all around...however, no more "IDLE"ness up here in the house...

so here's my Idle lady...possibly she is not idle at all...perhaps she is the opposite...

which brings me to my latest fixation - Steampunk...yes this has been around since the 80's but i have always been one to jump on the bandwagon well after it has passed so here i am...my amazing friend, talented artist and sometimes muse, Amy Weber, has been making steampunk art for quite some time (please check it out) - i have one of her steampunk crow paintings that another amazing friend, talented artist and jeweler - Stacey Maddock - gave to me as a gift. This painting is something i stare at literally everyday...and a year later it has finally sunk in...steampunk has pretty much been situated in my brain for quite some time waiting to come out...i have so many ideas!! hopefully i can stop being "idle" (groan) and get them all out...

Illustration Friday - Tango

I guess better late than never...

(anyways, my blog's 3rd birthday is coming up and i'll be handing out prizes...more news on that as i post...)

Some times we all need a little Strength

i don't know...she looks strong enough right?

i'm working on another painting...about going in to a sphere - it's where i go now, you know, instead of that OTHER place...the one where you actually DEAL with things...working on that in my head right now...

Illustration Friday - Shaky

ok, i think the only way this is "shaky" is the direction this whole image went - i started out with a delicate line drawing and was picturing lovely clouds and blues greys and greens and then all of sudden she's standing just above h-e-double toothpicks (as my daughters say). And honestly i like that whole idea - that she's guarding the entrance there or not letting people out or not letting people in or contemplating whether to go in?? i don't know, it's all shaky.

Illustration Friday - Worn

IF word of the week is "Worn" - i was thinking literally about this...about things people wore. i've always been amazed by corsets and why people (because some men did) wore them. and still do. Crazy. All in the name of fashion.

i was trying for a "saloon" look with this young lady, possibly even a little steam punk but it's not quite there...need some metal and ruffles...

Illustration Friday - Drifting

The Hudson drifts behind her...

wow. Two cool words in a row...this week's Illustration Friday word is "drifting"...i kind of feel like i've been doing that myself this whole week - drifting in and out of real world vs. book world. I read The Good Life by Jay McInerney - mostly about what happened to relationships after the twin towers came down. I'm stating the obvious but many New Yorkers (as well as out of towners) were drifting around like ghosts after this happened. Many knew people that were lost, many were almost lost. On my trips to NYC right after this happened i watched the New Yorkers, their sleek urban veneer still intact yet their hearts visibly damaged. You could feel it. I will never forget it. Even as time drifts passed this terrible event.

My young woman (influenced by Tamara deLempicka) is hopeful about going back into the city, damaged heart and all.

Oh what a great word. Maybe it applies to me this week more than the actual illustration. Maybe i'll try to do one that is more apparent. i think i visualize it already.

Illustration Friday - Unfold

Lyra and Iorek

Unfold. Finally a word that really evokes meaning for me. Illustration Friday has been a challenge most of the time for me because i'm not very clever and many of the Illustration Friday words just made me almost give up. But that's the idea, right? To get your mind to work? I didn't really have to work on this one - in fact i think it has been a theme i've been concentrating on since December. To unfold. Unfolding.

That's what a great writer does. That's what Philip Pullman did with His Dark Materials Trilogy. The story was in his head and it unfolded. Into a miracle. Yes i really feel that way. Never have i wanted to be a character in a story more than Lyra Belacqua. What is Lyra's life like now? How has her life unfolded? i think of these kinds of things...thank you Mr. Pullman.

i love this word so much i might try to do more than one...might is key though.

Illustration Friday - Craving

this is kinda corny but let's face it, what do most people crave? why, heart-shaped rubies of course! Ok, not that...we crave love love love...

the tattoo on her left arm was inspired by Mike Tyson's face tattoo - how many people can say they were artistically inspired by Mike Tyson today?

Illustration Friday - Adapt

i guess there isn't a group much better at adapting to their surroundings than gypsies...i just learned the original gypsies were displaced Egyptians (that is Isis behind her) and that many of the ladies were trained in "magic"...hmmmmmmm love that....

Illustration Friday - Cracked

the Illustration Friday word this week is "cracked" but i think i'm going to name this "the guardian"...

Illustration Friday - Contagious

Happiness is contagious. So is melancholia. I think this young woman is making me feel both.

Small Acrylics

i'm posting a few small (10x10") acrylics on canvas that i did in the last few days...i scanned these in so the sides were a little cut off - sorry about that -

BumbleSpike - Spike from the Humane Society of Berks County

http://www.berkshumane.org/events/events_pints.asp

A Good Sign


The Main Man

Immaculata Art Show - May 9-17, 2009

UPDATE: as of 5/19 sold five paintings and five prints - woo hooo - in this economy right now i can't tell you how thankful i am to be selling!

WOW! Very excited about the upcoming Immaculata Art Show that i was invited to participate in - Preview starts this Friday and i will try to take pics...also excited about the fabulous invitations they sent out to their patrons - one of my paintings is featured on the invite...here is a link to the show - Immaculata Art Show





that's me in the spotlight (painting in the middle)!


List of artists (you can't really see names but can if you go to the show's website - just wanted to show you the amount of peeps involved)

on a different note, i want to give a shout out to Bekah for introducing me to her friends Paper Route and their great music - xoxo!

Illustration Friday - Theater

i am a teensy bit obsessed with geisha stuff so this might seem like a stretch but i definitely thought this painting was very relevant to the illustration friday theme...i mean: costume, make-up, painted set in the background, drama...Theater!

Sending the Messenger

Sending the Messenger

go, dear friend.
send this message to him.
wait as his hand opens,
then land gently there.
don't leave until my love is
everywhere.

look into his face and
breathe it out slowly -
nothing is more important.
make sure he knows
as you tell him so,
that his light is the color that
painted your wings.
that he is the reason
i make many things.
he is the reason
everyone sings.

The Fate of a Woman

Poor Guinnevere. She kind of HAD to marry King Arthur. Which is kind of like saying you HAD to marry Edward Cullen or Brad Pitt. Nevertheless, her heart was meant for Lancelot. Thus igniting the downward spiral of Camelot. Off to the nunnery with you. Thankfully Henry VIII wasn't her spouse because we all know how that would have ended.

Marilyn

a commission of one of my favorite icons

Illustration Friday - "Impossibility" AND Happy Birthday Stacey!

ok, i'm thinking this is self-explanatory, hmmmm? (Illustration Friday word of the week - Impossibility)

i painted a similar Skelly Diva on a canvas tote for my dear friend Stacey (a big fan of skeletons) a while ago and just painted this on watercolor paper to send to her for her birthday...

Illustration Friday - Fleeting

my dear friend Tami was here yesterday and we were drawing and chatting - she was drawing a lovely woman under the cherry blossoms and DING! i was like, well, i must steal that for fleeting because, after all, cherry blossoms ARE fleeting and ARE my favorite flower and tree and so forth so this painting happened...some of it was inspired by a painting done by Mucha...the cherry blossoms are falling down around her already...fleeting...

so we went outside to take pics of my most prized possession in my yard - my scraggy and lopsided cherry blossom tree (Tami called it a Charlie Brown tree which is perfect) lopsided because i refuse to trim it and important because it grows on top of my beloved cat, Jordan, sort of like his crown...anyway, Tami used her new space shuttle camera and i used my old toy pretend camera - here are some pics...go here to see REAL photos of the blossoms...



sadly Tami and sons had to go and i'm already looking forward to the next visit...

Also, thank you so much to David McMahon at Authorblog for this truly amazing shout out - Post of the Day Contender

(Now that i know how to hyperlink, i'll never stop...)

Portrait

This is a portrait i did for a man to give to his wife for her birthday. Funny part was when i saw the photos i realized she was someone i went to school with! This made me nervous of course because i worried if she would like it or not...i must have painted the one arm like 27,000 times...

Illustration Friday - Talisman

It wasn't her heart, but she suddenly felt quite powerful with it around...

Illustration Friday - Poise - Queen of Clubs

Here's my third queen for an imaginary card deck - i was kind of stuck on what to do with clubs...and then my mind wandered and i pictured how clubs look like clover and then i was picturing rolling Irish hills with a redheaded queen with green eyes and all of a sudden i had some sort of gaelic queen...and i'm not even sure if there ever was a gaelic queen of any kind but hey, it's make believe...

Anyway, for Illustration Friday this week the word is Poise and i think she definitely looks poised for something...