Category Archives: illustration

illustration

Seasonal Greetings

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When gift-giving season rolls around, I usually make my own Christmas tags – except for last year when I rooted around all the leftovers from previous years and did a Christmas tag “retrospective” – haha. Can’t say I was in much of a mood this Christmas tag-wise but I tried drawing stuff a few weeks ago and ended up with some crummy sketches of shoes. They sat on my desk for a bit until the Big Day was almost upon me at which point I just put them in my scanner and opened them up in Photoshop to see if anything could be salvaged.

Surprisingly, they turned out OK. You can download a pdf of the tags for next year here. Print out on 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock, take a ruler (metal preferably) and an exacto knife, match up the blue cutting lines at the edges and slice away.  Here’s a card design using the final illustrations:

 

illustration, Painting

Water

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Crossing back and forth across the Fraser over the past several months gave me many views of the moods of water. I started a painting quite a while ago about the view and the river, and now I think it’s done.

“Big River”, Acrylic Painting, 35″ x 27″

With all endings, there are new beginnings. Work on the next children’s book is starting up again. Here’s a little preview:

They’re looking and listening to something…what could it be?

 

drawing, illustration, Photography

Beautiful things

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Often walking down the street on my way somewhere, I glance in shop windows and see beautiful things then wistfully wish I was at home so I could draw something like it. Then later on, I get home, start doing tasks and forget about the wistful moment. But not a couple of days ago. I saw some lovely vases in a window and wished I could try and draw something like them but I was busy…No, I actually wasn’t. I had a day off. I could just go home, pull out the paints and do something. So I did. A couple of vases…not at all like the ones I was looking at but a nice surprise anyway. Reminds me of roman glass.

“Vases”, watercolour, pencil crayon, pen and ink, approx. 30 x 21cm

Working on a new set of illustrations, studying birds – specifically, starlings. At the Art Gallery Outdoor Cafe a few weeks ago a friend of mine and I were inundated by them (and a few crows). I think they must have heard I was illustrating a children’s book about starlings so they came to model. I took 40 pictures, all great for reference. I got a few lucky shots as well:

Kind of an existential moment. What deep starling thoughts are going through your mind…?

drawing, illustration, printmaking

The Crow Book

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Finally, our little children’s book is done. I worked with my author friend and former co-worker Kat Beaulieu on this project for the past, well, for quite a while. Just before Christmas, we put it on Amazon. Here’s the link: http://newest-stories-in-verse-childrens-books.aoiservices.com/hello-hello-said-craigellachie-crow. Kat has written another charming kids book and I get to illustrate this one too. Stay tuned. It’s about an opera loving starling…

Life has been pretty chaotic but I’ve managed to do a bit of artwork. During the Christmas break in 2015 I did a couple of monoprints. I recently pulled one of them off the wall and added some drawing.

“Alley near Main”, 22.5 cm x 30 cm, oil monoprint with charcoal drawing on paper

 

illustration, printmaking

New prints and a crow

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Over the Christmas break I spent a few days down at Malaspina Printmakers. I only had a short time so I thought monoprinting might be the best thing to do. Of course I’m not totally happy with the prints – so what else is new – but it sure was nice to work at the studio again. Plus I met some new people who made my feeble printmaking efforts so much more enjoyable.

Today I took out the largest print and added some pastel and charcoal. Here it is:

Fairview Slopes-1_500px“Fairview Slopes 1″, Oil monoprint on paper w/charcoal & pastel, 17.5″ x 22.5”

AND, I finally finished the changes/revisions/redrawing  of the illustrations for the children’s book I’ve been working on since last year about this little guy:

Hopped to and fro_300px

His name is Craigellachie Crow. Not sure if/when the book will be available but if/when it is, you’ll find out about it here.