Illustration Friday - Acrobat

Digital sketches using the Ap "Live Sketch" on my iPhone

My son found this free ap a week or so ago and downloaded it onto my phone for me  I really like the charcoal look of it and the fact that you are forced to work loosely.  You are drawing with your finger on a 2x3 inch screen after all.  Of course it is such a small image that the resolution is not great, but on the iPhone it looks fine.  This week's word made me think of the acrobatic manuevers that birds manage while in flight. I am awed by the flight of the swallows that come back to my house year after year, as well as the redtailed hawks that take nose dives from nearby telephone poles. (Usually to pounce on a windblown leaf)

I took a good month and a half break from IF but hope to still contribute on a semi-regular basis.  I am finding myself more and more busy with teaching, producing art for a local gallery, and working on a masters degree so I will have to balance my time a bit more carefully.  Below are a couple of more images from this sketch ap.  Kinda scary but fun!

Illustration Friday - Artificial

Venus

3.5 x 2.5 inches ATC

colored pencil on toned paper

Some of the synonyms for artificial are: man-made, artful, cunning, imitation, sham.  Man has been imitating nature for a very long time.....

Illustration Friday - Double

Double Thunderhead - Crayon on Manila Paper

Well since I reached my one year goal last week, I thought I would use this week's word to finally make a banner for my blog and give it a design overhaul.  Blogger is starting to offer a lot more options for those of us who are technologically challenged.  I also decided that I would use a traditional public school art media, the good old Crayola Crayon.  Even though I rarely put crayons in my high school student's hands, I think they are as worthy and useful a medium as any available.  Nothing makes me happier than a brand new box of crayons!

Illustration Friday #52! - Breakfast

IHOP Breakfast

water media on rag paper, 9 x 12

ONE FULL YEAR OF ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY!

This weeks illustration is my 52nd consecutive weekly submission to Illustration Friday, meaning I have reached my goal of participating for a full year!  This week's word was a bit of a bonus since it gave me an excuse to visit my favorite breakfast restaurant, The International House of Pancakes, or as most Americans know it, IHOP.  My husband John and I went for breakfast yesterday morning as a sort of mini celebration for having made it through the whole year.  

As you can see, I had one of my favorite selections, the stuffed french toast combo, with scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns,strawberry stuffed french toast, and ironically, a diet Coke. :) (I'm not a coffee drinker)  John had something called loaded minion taters that IHOP is promoting with the "Dispicable Me" movie that recently came out.  His came with a tater tot casserole, scrambled eggs, pancakes, and an added side of bacon.  

We came hungry.  We left happy!

Grow Babies Grow

Early Feathers on Mocking Bird Babies

We also have a nest of swallows about 20 feet from where the mocking birds are nesting, but they are a lot harder to see and the parents get a good deal more upset about visitors.  Here is a single poorly focused image, but I didn't want to stress them out by trying to get a better photo.

Swallow Babies

Illustration Friday - Diary

scanned and digitally manipulated image

click it to big it!

Like many other IF participants, my blog and sketchbooks are my diaries.  They just focus very specifically on a need to communicate visually.  This scanner image was inspired/stolen from this week's Photojojo project.  If you aren't already familiar with Photojojo, it is a fantastically creative photography blog site.   I think I may try do do something like this with my high school kids early next school year.  Fun stuff!

PS: I realized that I improperly submitted this to my blog site rather than the blog post so I am resubmitting it.  I apologize if you are seeing it twice.

Baby Basket

Three Babies in a Basket in a Basket

I wonder if early man/woman looked at bird's nests when he/she, first decided to make a basket.  It seems like a logical connection.  These are the three mockingbird babies that hatched from the eggs/nest I painted a couple of weeks ago.   You can see the nest painting if you scroll down about four blog posts.   The eggs are a beautiful turquoise color with deep rusty red spots.

The nursery is in my bicycle basket on the carport.  They don't look like much here, but these babies are growing really fast.  I will try to document them every few days to show their progression.  Luckily my cats are indoors only or I would worry a lot more about momma bird's choice of location. 

Happy Summer everyone!