Various Doodles

Glass

2009-03-02T19:00:00.000-08:00

I like doing line drawings of glass an other objects. Here I've colored it in using Illustrator. I practiced with the Pen tool and learned about clipping masks in this exercise.

Illustration Friday - Pale

2009-01-21T19:11:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday - Resolve

2009-01-07T19:17:00.000-08:00

This big guy needs resolve to pull the heavy load.

Illustration Friday - Voices

2009-01-02T16:01:00.000-08:00

Here's another sorry attempt at using Illustrator. I didn't have time to finish it for IF, but I'll post it on my blog here. I used the pen tool to outline the cats, and the gradients to color them in. I'm still working on gradients, I hate the way it works in Illustrator. I think I could make a much better illustration of this in Photoshop. Sometimes I think of trying the same illustration in both programs, just to see what the difference would be, but I don't have time to do that, usually.

Illustration Friday - Similar

2008-12-09T19:36:00.000-08:00

It's funny how siblings can be so similar in some ways, yet so different in others.

Balloon Part 2

2008-12-03T19:30:00.000-08:00

This one I did in Photoshop. I like it better than the previous illustration, but it's still pretty terrible. I hope I'm more inspired by next week's topic!

Illustration Friday - Balloon

2008-12-02T19:36:00.000-08:00

This illustration is just terrible, another attempt at using Illustrator. I did practice with the Pathfinder tool to try cutting out "shadow" shapes at first, but then decided on using the gradient for a softer look. I hate the gradient tool in Illustrator, it's so non-intuitive. It's hard to get the color into the gradient palette, I end up clicking all over the place trying to figure it out, and waste a lot of time that way.

This was done for Illustration Friday, but I'm so horrified by it that I'm not even going to post it.

Illustration Friday - Opinion

2008-11-26T07:48:00.001-08:00

I think we all know this feeling...

Illustration Friday - Strings

2008-10-16T17:44:00.000-07:00

Argh! I only had time to do this little sketch this week. I started making a cartoon out of it in Illustrator, but I didn't like the way it turned out, and didn't have a chance to color it in Photoshop yet.

Illustration Friday - Packed

2008-09-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

I know, it's obvious, but it was the first thing that popped into my head. I have never eaten sardines, and it was a surprise to me when I opened the can that they didn't have heads!

Illustration Friday - Clique

2008-09-25T17:17:00.000-07:00

Sally didn't understand why the other girls didn't want to include her in their rides together.

This was a super-quick sketch that I intended to work up more fully, but as I worked on it I tightened up so much and made it look so cramped that I finally just went back to the original quick sketch. It was a little too ambitious a project for the time I allowed myself this week.

Illustration Friday - Island

2008-09-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick sketch done in Photoshop. When I think of islands, I think of the wild ponies of Assateague and Chincoteague Island. I read "Misty of Chincoteague" several times as a child, always dreaming of the pony I'd like to have some day.

Illustration Friday - Clutter

2008-09-10T18:44:00.000-07:00

I could easily have drawn my own studio which is filled to the brim with clutter, but I like all the shapes and grayness that fills my husband's garage bench. There was actually a lot more on the bench but I thought the composition would be a little too cluttered if I included everything.

Illustration Friday - Memories

2008-09-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

This week's illustration is a sad one for me. It's a sketch I did of my mother after she developed cancer and a couple of weeks before she died. The thing about my memories of my mother now is that I can only remember the way she looked when she was sick and dying, those memories are seared into my brain and I can't get rid of them.

My mother also had memory issues before she died, and often didn't remember who I was. She mistook me for one of her nieces, which was very difficult for me to deal with.

This sketch shows the blankness in her face as her own memories faded away, and as mine were indelibly changed.

Illustration Friday - Routine

2008-08-28T18:51:00.000-07:00

Ahh, to live a cat's life! Another quickie from me, this time I tried Painter but ended up finishing it in Photoshop. I love the textures I can get while painting in Painter, but there are a lot of weird little things about that program that bug me.

Illustration Friday - Detach

2008-08-21T18:24:00.000-07:00

Starfish have detachable appendages. I only had time for a really rough illustration this week, I did the lines in Illustrator and colored it in PS.

Illustration Friday - Sail

2008-08-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

A very simple illustration, I was just playing around with Illustrator and using very simple shapes and a couple of gradients.

Illustration Friday - Poof

2008-08-05T19:27:00.000-07:00

Wow, I finally did something for Illustration Friday again. I've been so busy with other types of artwork that I've been neglecting my digital experiments. This is just a quick sketchy-type drawing that I came up with. I'm working on very elaborate vexel-type picture of a cat that is taking me a long time to do, but I'll post it here when I'm finished with it.

Illustration Friday - Seed

2008-05-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

Hot dogs taste best when they're on a steamed poppyseed bun!

Illustration Friday - Wrinkles

2008-04-29T15:47:00.000-07:00

Hairless cats used to freak me out but now I think they look kind of cool, like little aliens.

Illustration Friday - Primitive

2008-04-18T08:06:00.001-07:00

The Common Loon is considered one of the most primitive of the bird species.

Illustration Friday - Fail

2008-04-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

It was the first time she ever tried a souffle...

Illustration Friday - Save

2008-04-10T18:49:00.001-07:00

Multiple

2008-03-03T20:09:00.000-08:00

I got a late start to Illustration Friday this week, so I didn't get to post it.

Illustration Friday - Theory

2008-02-20T18:06:00.001-08:00

Logo

2008-01-29T21:07:00.001-08:00

Here's a logo I made for my husband. He wanted it to have a sketchy, hand-drawn feel with 60s-style coloring. I used Illustrator and learned a lot with this one.

Illustration Friday - Stitch

2008-01-16T19:31:00.001-08:00

I took a break from Illustration Friday for the holidays and now I feel really rusty! With this illustration I tried to use a clipping mask to create a texture overlaying the picture. I'm not sure if I'm ever doing this stuff right.

Illustration Friday - Little Things

2007-12-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

This is a rather pedestrian illustration; it's just me fooling around with Illustrator, trying to get the hang of things. I drew the toy soldiers with the pen tool, then made a Live Paint group and painted them in, and then fiddled around with the rocket symbol and added that as a graphic in the background. I wanted to do something different with the rockets, like make them go around the circle in an organized fashion, but I didn't know how to do that.

Illustration Friday - Excess

2007-12-05T18:01:00.000-08:00

This is the way I feel about my food!

Illustration Friday - The Zoo

2007-11-27T19:26:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday - Superstition

2007-11-21T21:03:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday - Scale

2007-11-15T20:58:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday -- Hats

2007-11-05T18:48:00.000-08:00

I was fooling around with Illustrator to come up with this one. There were some effects I wanted to try, and I wanted to move the blue hat over a little, but couldn't figure out how to do it. I hope some day this program will become more intuitive for me.

Illustration Friday - Trick or Treat

2007-10-31T18:49:00.000-07:00

This kid got tricked by his treats!

Illustration Friday - Grow

2007-10-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

A simple illustration this week. I kept a nature journal for a couple of years, it was really enjoyable and I need to find the time to start doing it again. I loved watching and documenting the growing process of everything.

Pen and ink with digital color in Painter.

Illustration Friday - Extreme

2007-10-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday - Open

2007-10-11T04:44:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday - The Blues

2007-10-04T14:03:00.001-07:00

Living in the Northwest where it seems like there's constant drizzle and gray skies, I'm very familiar with this type of blues.

Illustration Friday Night - What Goes In...

2007-10-02T19:20:00.001-07:00

Must Come Out.

Illustration Friday - Juggle

2007-09-26T18:32:00.001-07:00

I didn't think I would like this week's theme but this idea popped into my head and I had a lot of fun executing it. I tried drawing the lines in Illustrator and coloring it in Photoshop. I've really been struggling to get my head around Illustrator, but I just used one of the brush tools and it went okay.

Illustration Friday - Wedding

2007-09-20T17:25:00.000-07:00

I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of Photoshop a little bit. I wanted this illustration to be simple so I could practice basic coloring techniques. Now if I could only get the hang of Illustrator!

Squash

2007-09-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

Since fall is right around the corner, I thought I'd share a painting I did a while back of some squash. I love painting and eating squash, although I usually look for the decorative kind to paint.

Woman

2007-09-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

Nude Woman

2007-09-13T19:13:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday - Momentum

2007-09-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

Amber Vase

2007-09-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

On eBay Now

Illustration Friday - Alphabets

2007-09-06T21:14:00.000-07:00

I loved this week's theme! I've always wanted to do a series of alphabets, and I can think up a million things I'd like to use as he subject: vegetables, candy, animals, dog breeds, cat breeds, etc.

I wanted to make the Z in Illustrator but I knew I wouldn't have time this week, so I just did this one all in Photoshop. I need to learn more about channels and masks. It feels like I forget how to do everything every time I sit down with the program. I wonder how long it will take to feel comfortable for me?

Portrait Party - Mim

2007-09-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday - Visitors

2007-08-30T08:54:00.001-07:00

I hate this kind of visitor!

Portrait Party - Kerstin

2007-08-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a portrait I did for the fun blog The Portrait Party. The idea is for two people to get together and draw each other, then post the results on the Portrait Party blog site. It's really fun to see all the different interpretations and styles!

This was my first one, and I used pen with no preliminary drawing, so I ended up making Kerstin's mouth a little too big. I scanned it and colored it in Photoshop.

Thanks Kerstin!

Cat

2007-08-27T19:32:00.001-07:00

Here's another pen and ink of my cat I did a while ago. She has strange pop-eyes.

Onion

2007-08-24T18:42:00.000-07:00

Charcoal and Pastel

Male Nude Figure

2007-08-20T21:13:00.001-07:00

This model was a dancer with an amazing figure and interesting poses. He only posed a couple of times for our group.

Illustration Friday - Captain

2007-08-18T16:14:00.001-07:00

This illustration was inspired by a short story called "Benito Cereno" by Herman Melville. He was the captain of a troubled sailing ship that another ship approached to help. Cereno was a really mysterious figure and the captain who came to help him couldn't figure out what was going on. The imagery that Melville comes up with is really memorable, this story and "Bartleby" are two of my favorite short stories by Melville that I've read in the last couple of years.

This was done in Painter. The hat wasn't very successful but I just couldn't find a good close-up picture of a pirate's hat for reference and so had fudge it.

Illustration Friday - Emergency

2007-08-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

I went for a more painterly approach this time.

Cat

2007-08-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

Another pen and ink drawing of my cat, done from a photo.

Illustration Friday - Missing

2007-08-03T18:51:00.000-07:00

This idea popped into my head as soon as I saw this week's topic. At first I was going to make a landscape for the puzzle, but then I thought about the Mona Lisa, and how everybody always talks about her enigmatic smile. How appropriate to have a missing puzzle piece be that very smile!

I also learned something about Photoshop this time, since I hadn't known there were extra textures that could be loaded from the presets, so now I know!

Illustration Friday - Moon

2007-08-02T20:53:00.000-07:00

The sun is always portrayed as happy, so I thought I'd make the moon with a slightly more mischievous look.

Figure

2007-08-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

Squash

2007-07-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

I went through a squash period for a while. I like painting squash because they keep for a while and they're usually interesting shapes and have neat, nubbly textures.

Illustration Friday - Poem

2007-07-26T18:56:00.001-07:00

This was a really difficult illustration for me. I had a hard time coming up with an idea, and then I had to research everything I drew because I wasn't familiar with any of the items. I actually had a lot of trouble with the fountain pen, trying to get it in the right position so it didn't look like it was floating. By the time I got all the logistics figured out, I had very little time to actually practice rendering the picture. I tried going for a more painterly look this time.

Figure

2007-07-25T19:05:00.001-07:00

Illustration Friday - Discovery

2007-07-19T18:38:00.001-07:00

Figure

2007-07-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

Sitting Woman

2007-07-17T20:22:00.000-07:00

I think this is the last of my figure drawings from my college days. I don't think this one was very successful, too soft and too many vertical lines. My instructor constantly told me to include the background in my drawings. I did that while I was in school, but frankly I like the negative space surrounding the figure and so I like to draw my figures against a blank background nowadays.

Woman

2007-07-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

This is an OLD drawing I did while still in college. I had a great figure drawing class; of course it was mostly nudes but occasionally the instructor brought a clothed model in and this was one of the drawings I did. I still remember the day I drew it, even though it was 16 years ago. We talked the instructor into hosting our final critiques at his loft in Chicago, and I brought this picture to show. It was great fun.

Illustration Friday - Geeky

2007-07-11T16:30:00.000-07:00

Cat

2007-07-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

Rutabagas

2007-07-05T18:43:00.001-07:00

Here's an example of a painting that went wrong and me trying to make it right in my mind. The top picture shows the first version of this painting. I liked the rutabagas, but somehow I tightened up when doing the fabric and ended up fussing over the pattern and getting too detailed. I didn't like it at all, so I tried smearing the pattern around so it wouldn't stand out as much, but I still didn't like it.

I ended up scraping it off and repainting the whole thing. I like the final painting much better. I hate it when a painting doesn't go smoothly, but it usually does end up better in the end.

Illustration Friday - Twist

2007-07-03T19:30:00.001-07:00

Thankfully, this has never happened to me while running.

Yawning Cat

2007-06-30T17:55:00.000-07:00

Here's my cat yawning. This was done some time ago.

Illustration Friday - Camouflage

2007-06-28T18:34:00.000-07:00

Ugh! I had big plans for making this my best digital piece yet, but it all fell apart due mostly to time constraints. I tried making a plaid pattern in Photoshop but I couldn't figure out how to tile it correctly, so had to search for pictures of plaid. I ran out of time while rendering it in Photoshop and it never really came out the way I wanted it to. A lot of this has to do with the fact that I'm still learning my way around the brushes and other tools in Photoshop. I wanted to make a drop shadow but I couldn't figure out how to make the edges soft. I tried feathering it but it didn't help, so I ended up just using the airbrush tool at 30% or so to make a little bit of shadow. Will I ever learn what I'm doing with this program?

Illustration Friday - Rejection

2007-06-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

Somehow cats seem to dislike men they don't know.

Woman

2007-06-20T18:06:00.001-07:00

Woman's Head

2007-06-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

This drawing was done using Char-Kole, and I'm afraid I'm a little too heavy-handed with it. I ended up switching to General's compressed charcoal which I like better, although I do like the really dark blacks I can get with Char-Kole.

Illustration Friday - Suit

2007-06-13T19:40:00.001-07:00

King of Hearts. This is my very first piece done in Illustrator. I've had the program for a long time but never got around to playing with it, so I got the Total Training DVD for it and went through all the lessons recently. I can't remember most of it, but enough stuck that I was able to make this rudimentary illustration. After some initial frustration with the anchor points, I started to catch on and it actually became enjoyable.

Self Portrait

2007-06-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

Here's an old self-portrait I did a decade ago. I was clearly struggling back then with proportion and distortion, although I find that all of my self-portraits are a little bit distorted when drawn from life. Check out the giraffe neck!

Curt

2007-06-10T12:36:00.001-07:00

Here's a quick sketch I did a few winters ago.

Illustration Friday - My Paradise

2007-06-07T19:28:00.000-07:00

Whew! I wasn't sure if I'd get this one done in time because I had to research so many different elements. The inspiration for this illustration of course comes from the paintings titled "Peaceable Kingdom" by Edward Hicks. I've always loved animals and my idea of paradise would be spending a lot of time with all my favorite animals at once! I included some storm clouds in the background because I also love severe weather, in fact it's the biggest thing I miss about my Midwest upbringing.

Illustration Friday - Cars

2007-05-31T19:36:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the Topps "Odd Rods" for inspiration for this one!

Illustration Friday - Signs

2007-05-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

Bloodhounds are great at finding signs.

Problems

2007-05-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

I'm having trouble posting images to Blogger. I hope I can get it cleared up soon! I've figured out a little workaround until this gets fixed.

test

2007-05-17T18:34:00.001-07:00

testing

Illustration Friday - Neighbor

2007-05-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

Green Still Life

2007-05-09T19:42:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite contemporary artists is Janet Fish and it was looking at her paintings that got me really interested in still life (I was already interested in color!) This was an ambitious early attempt by me to create a colorful still life. I love drawing the dishes in my kitchen but painting in the kitchen just wasn't going to happen, so I bought another dishrack and made this setup in my studio. I don't know why I picked that green cloth because I don't like green that much; I grew to hate that cloth and I'll probably never use it again in a setup.

Billy Goats Gruff

2007-05-05T17:18:00.000-07:00

Here's the final Billy Goats Gruff picture that I did.

Remember

2007-05-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

This has actually happened to me twice.

Woman

2007-05-02T05:58:00.000-07:00

When I first started attending figure drawing sessions here in the mid-90s, I liked to use the softer, darker types of charcoal like Alphacolor Char-Kole.

Cat Head

2007-04-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

I got interested in the stippling pen and ink effect a while back and did some ink drawings of my cats. This was an early effort that wasn't very successful.

Polar

2007-04-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

This polar bear has settled in for the winter and has everything he needs to stay comfy!

Seated Woman

2007-04-24T18:03:00.000-07:00

An old figure drawing that I did in college. I was more into value than line at that time.

Billy Goats Gruff

2007-04-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

Here's another old Billy Goats Gruff drawing.

Fortune

2007-04-19T18:22:00.000-07:00

My entry for Illustration Friday. This was going to be a lot more elaborate, with some other images in the background, but I couldn't figure out how to do it in Photoshop! I feel like I'll *never* figure this program out, and I study, too!

Still Life with Pumpkin

2007-04-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

My mom came to visit me one year and was delighted to find Orangina here, "Like they have in France!" I kept one of the bottles. I like the shape and texture of the glass, but it's difficult to put it into a composition because it's so bottom heavy. I like experimenting with different colored fabrics for backgrounds. At one point I liked going around the rainbow, doing one painting on a white background, one on a yellow background, orange, red, etc. That's my obsessive-compulsive side showing itself.

Billy Goats Gruff

2007-04-17T16:22:00.000-07:00

I drew this as an assignment for a cartooning class that I took in college. I usually don't draw with colored pencil but I thought it fit this illustration well. I really like goats, so it was a lot of fun to research goat pictures.

Gesture

2007-04-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

Quick gesture done while watching tv

Drawing

2007-04-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

Conte on large paper, 1999

Curt in Chair

2007-04-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

Here's an older painting that I did in acrylics. I struggled for a year or so to paint with acrylics, but it was always very difficult for me. I liked to blend a lot and I found it hard to do in that medium. This was painted from life in a series of sittings.

Green

2007-04-11T20:07:00.000-07:00

Based on a true story of a cat green with envy! He can't stand that the other cat gets all the attention.

Old Self Portrait

2007-04-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

Here's an oldie I did in oil pastel. It's really distorted. Check out those giant glasses: unfortunately, that's how big they really were!