Read!

The concept for this illustration woke me out of a dead sleep last week. Bleary-eyed, I grabbed my pencil and paper that I keep by the bed for such moments and began to sketch what was in my head. I've tried to memorize inspirations like this before; convinced that it would all come back to me in the morning, but it never did. I've learned my lesson- paper and pen at bedside at all times. Thank god my husband is a sound sleeper. Unlike my other illustrations, this one is done in watercolor; a medium that I really don't know all that much about. I find I have little patience waiting for it to dry before I venture on. But I do love the fact that it can be so delicate, yet bold when you want it to be. I'm very happy with it. Now onto Mother's Day.

Raining Cats & Dogs!

Sometimes an illustration doesn't appear to be heading in the right direction and that ultimately it won't be worth the time and effort. I started 'Raining Cats & Dogs' with a light sketch on my Pastelbord, and then stopped. I thought it was looking just terrible. I jumped on to a painting and another illustration, and then life got in the way. I spotted it on my drawing board some weeks later and thought I would give it another chance and I'm glad I did. It took a life on of its own, especially after researching the type of rainwear I wanted to draw my characters in. I was thrilled with the outcome, leaving the border wavy and uneven, enforcing the surreal fantasy of dogs & cats actually raining from the sky. It won a TBA on Zazzle when I placed the illustration on a stamp. I never would have thought, of all the drawings, that it would eventually win an award. You just never know the surprises in store when you create a piece of art. It's such an incredible journey, and one that is never the same with each piece.