Why not?

An abstract collage in which I mash together various bits and pieces, then try to make sense of the result. I was instructed in my class to do this piece, so I happily armed myself with scissors and glue. It's 12 x 12 on plywood. Having not done an abstract in a while, and being a huge fan of vintage ephemera, the project was really quite enjoyable.

Why, you ask? Why not?!

Hare vs. Tortoise

For my first November post,  a project I'm doing for a class with Lilla Rogers, an artist's rep and illustrator who I worked with during my years as an art director. She runs an excellent school that focuses on creating art that can be licensed, an area I've been a bit fuzzy on. This is the project I particularly took the class for: children's picture books. We're doing a page for the well-known Aesop's fable. Hard to work on this without thinking of the Bugs Bunny version... or the beautiful 1934 Disney short. I'm going to wait to re-watch them until I'm done, otherwise I might be too easily influenced!

The Tortoise & the Hare by Mr. Aesop Fable

And here's the final piece.

Mysterioso No. 2

Happy Halloween! Do stop by for some melted Reeses's Cups and slightly damaged Doritos.

Black cats and their ghostly cohorts. 

The Birdsong family car trip

Ah, the road trips to Grandma's and to Skyline Drive. The boys fighting in the back, watching the landscape fly by while trying to fight off car sickness. Grandma had a game: "Higgledy-piggledy buttercup, how many fingers do I hold up?" and I can still recall the touch of her hand against my back while I was trying to guess how many.

On the road

Illustration for Vegetarian Times

For the November issue of Vegetarian Times, I did this piece for the feature celebrating their 40th anniversary. Thanks to Creative Director Daphna Shalev.

Illustration for Vegetarian Times

Add here's the color sketch I did in my journal

Ponderings of a poodle

The poodle pages

Unexpected guest part deux

Here's one I'm revisiting from a while back.  Sometimes you just never know who will drop in.

Unexpected guest II

The sketchbook

Bad Luck to the nth degree

Finally getting back to my journals, and feeling the autumn bug, even when it's 90 degrees here.

Bad luck to the nth degree 

Mo. & Co.

I've now completed this commissioned piece. I don't really have a name for it, but have been calling it "Mo & Co." It's gouache and acrylic on wood panel, 18" x 24" and has since travelled to its home in Oregon, where it will be a birthday present for a very young man, here seen sitting on a log petting a frog. Maureen, the client (left) was a pleasure to work with. It was truly a fun project.

Here's my progress. I could probably use some workspace efficiency improvements, but until then, I go as I go.

Wednesday. Good morning!

Midday...

Day's end

End of the day Thursday

Almost!

Sunshine Launderama

I don't know why I have such a fascination with laundromats — it's not as if I ever exactly enjoyed the time I spent in them, and yet...

Last Saturday at the laundromat