Destiny

click to enlarge

I made a grand romantic gesture this Valentine's Day.  I was so inspired by an illustration I spied on Pinterest that I created my own version.  The original had a hand, a bird and the proverb as an attachment.  I normally would never draw something so similar, but the illustration was a romantic gift. I drew a chickadee because it is my husband's favorite bird.  I used my own hand and then in my version changed the thread into the words.  Literally. And now I'm sharing it with you because I'm sure we all have felt the pull of a predestined attachment. 

"An invisible red thread connects those destined to meet, despite the time, the place and despite the circumstances.  The thread can be tightened or tangled, but can never be broken." 

I love that saying.

This Valentine's illustration is the first entry for www.illustrationfriday.com that was created after the theme twisted was posted.  I couldn't resist hooking up since my tangled thread of words is indeed twisted. 

P.S.  For more romance and a Valentine's recipe check out my last post.  Or click here!

Scary?

I love Halloween. So you'd think my art archives would have wagon loads of scary stuff for http://www.illustrationfriday.com/ But all I have is a little Boo. Not a big Boo!!!

Say hello to my little friend!

My husband had a bright idea. And it actually worked. He held completely still with a hand full of corn. Eventually our little friend darted up and bravely filled her cheeks. And those cheeks can hold at least 16 corn kernels. Luckily my husband just happens to have 100 pounds of corn sitting around. The mother load! No wonder the chippers love us so much.

Now I gave it a try. Success! It was pretty fun to feel her little hands leaning on mine. So cute.

Stuffed cheeks, brave hearts and full dens. (My Friday Night Lights theme for chipmunks)

UPDATE!: A few days later I was sitting outside on a deck chair. I had my feet up and was focused on a drawing project. I noticed our little friend was hanging around. All of a sudden she jumped up on my feet, looked at me and silently pleaded for more corn. I couldn't believe how brave she was. No photos of this event. But it definitely put a smile on my face.

An apple a day keeps the nightmares away!

This illustration is the cover for Art House Co-op's sketchbook project. The Nightmare themed journal can now be found at the Brooklyn Art Library. And I thought it was the perfect choice for Remedy. The theme over at http://www.illustrationfriday.com/ today. I really love this simple illustration. But I'm not sure if the apple would be the cure or the cause. You be the judge...

What's your nightmare?

Some of you might be thinking that your Christmas was a stressful nightmare. Sometimes all the shopping, spending and aspirations of perfection get the better of us. And then there's the relatives.

But my Christmas nightmare was an illustration project. And it wasn't that it was so terrible, it's just my theme. My sketchbook project. For more info on that you can click on the sketchbook project icon I recently added. I've also added an imagekind link recently. You can literally buy some paws since all the art I've posted so far are dogs and cats!

Today's illustration is the cover art for my little sketchbook. I'm still working on the art for the book. But one word describes the nightmare art...Gorillas. They put the scary in my bedtime...bigtime. And then there are those scary apple memories. Ha! An apple a day keeps the nightmares away!

P.S. Be sure to check back next week for my 2 year blogiversary giveaway.

Black Shells

Yesterday I mailed my first donated art card to a buyer in California. The Black Shell at the top. The Black Sand Dollar is still for sale on http://ripplesketches.blogspot.com/ But you'll have to scroll down a ways because there is so much new art flooding in everyday. When I first donated Black Footprints in the Sand, I was around the 60th artist. And the blog had raised around $500. Now over 700 art cards have been donated. And the ripple has grown into a big wave. Over $6,000 has washed in!

Unfortunately I never received the addresses for my first 2 pieces that sold. Which leaves me to believe there was some kind of mix up. I feel bad about that because I was proud of my contribution. But the most important thing is that the blog is still growing and helping all the poor animals affected by the oil spill. I guess it takes 3 bottles of Dawn to clean one bird. And when someone buys 1 illustration for 10 bucks, that buys 3 bottles of soap.

My Black Shells are much like my Black Footprints in the Sand. They are meant to remind us of our imprint and responsibility with this disaster. We do hold the future in our hands.