Starfish

I caught a starfish this week for the theme Star. It was either this or go the celestial route. I do actually have a manger scene on Christmas day. And you know what had a staring role!

Here's what I had to say for the fluid theme...

Something is fishy around here.  But it's not my entry for Friday Fish Fry  (click to enlarge) It is perfect for the fluid theme.  Not a loosey goosey interpretation like usual.  My mermaid is obviously floating in water.  And the way she is painted is very fluid or liquid.  Especially her arms.  I guess she doesn't have bones.  All the better when it is time to fillet her.  For shame! And there is another thing that makes this more fluid. I usually use references to aid in my painting.  If I'm drawing a monkey I look at a photo of a monkey. And so on and so on.  But this was completely off the top of my head.  It is very unusual for me to paint like that.    

I painted this one way back in the day.  I've been slowly scanning some of my old, older and oldest images over time.  And I still like this one.  I love the swirly water and vibrant color.  I actually used a fabric paint for the hair.  And I used more textured papers back then.  Nothing fishy about that.  

Just fun.

Mermaid Me

click to enlarge

I went fishing in my vast cyber ocean and hooked Mermaid Me. It is my choice fillet for the www.illustrationfriday.com mermaid theme. Self portraits are so much fun to do. I think we all have so many sides (or fins) to ourselves.  I don't exactly swim like a mermaid.  But my love of the ocean goes back to when I was 5 years old and saw it for the first time.  I grew up far from any ocean on a boring farm in Wisconsin.  Well, now I think of it as a scenic area of rolling hills and bountiful crops.  But back then it was one dull day after another.  Until our first trip to Florida.  Magic!  It has been a love affair ever since. 

 I've done some serious shelling on Sanibel Island.  Put my tanned paws in the silky sands of Siesta Key.  Sat with Sea turtles on the black sand of the Big Island.  Snorkeled with the fishes in Belize.  And most importantly boogie boarded in Dominical, Costa Rica.  I definitely have a little bit of mermaid in me.  Even though I often sport a life jacket.  A little girl pointed at me after bike riding along the lake this Summer.  I was still wearing my helmet.   She pointed and said to her Mom, "Safety Girl"  Yep.  That's me.

Safety mermaid artist girl to the rescue.

Under Water Art

click to enlarge

I have a lot of underwater scenes to choose from in my illustration fish tank.  But I thought this self portrait was a good choice for the www.illustrationfriday.com theme underwater.  I'm taking matters into my own hands and giving my reef home a fresh coat of paint.  Someone has to do it.

I've got mad skills!

click to enlarge

I've been making a splash in the art world for quite awhile.  O.K., maybe just a ripple!  But I thought my self portrait Mermaid Me was perfect for the www.illustrationfriday.com theme talent.

It shows me using my painting skills.  I'm adding some color to my ocean lair.  I finally used the word lair in a sentence.  Nice.

I got to pretend I was a mermaid in Belize this winter.  We did a little snorkeling. And we got up close and personal with giant sea turtles.  It was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had.  But one of the turtles started swimming towards me.  Da...dum.  Da...dum.  DadumDadumDadum.

 I learned that I was no mermaid after all.  I awkwardly tried to twist and flail out of harm's way.  It didn't work.  The turtle thumped into me.  Of course I was unharmed and exhilarated.  But later on the boat I found out that darned turtle took a big poke at me. Tastes like tourist.  Not fish.      

Don't be shy

I usually say click to enlarge.  Well, don't bother today. I'd prefer you admire this humble old illustration small.  Thank you very much.  It's not that I'm saying it is bad.  Just that it is kind of bad.  

The Mermaid is stealing a kiss.  The shy manatee doesn't quite know what to think.  Or maybe he just burped.  Who knows what goes on in our underwater world.  And then there is the movie Water World.  Another stinker...

Shy is the word of the day over at www.illustrationfriday.com    

SNORKEL NOT STIRRED

It's http://www.illustrationfriday.com/ already. Friday is also Hawaiian shirt day. But today Stir is the theme. And I tied it in with photos of a fun day of snorkeling in Belize this year. That's pretty easy to do when your artwork is about a mermaid. I did this piece W......A......Y... back in 1997. And the swirly pattern reminded me of stirring. The piece is done in watercolor and gouache. But the swirls are from a metallic colored pencil. I also used some fabric paint for the (raised effect) of the mermaid's hair. Now let's hit the water...

The first photo shows us heading out to the ocean. Sit back and relax is the theme! That's me in the 2nd photo. Mermaid me.

It's pretty hard to capture the beauty of the ocean with a water camera. But these photos show some of the mysteries we saw.

We stopped at an island for lunch.

That's Patrick. He was our guide for the day. He was a really fun guy. His motto in life was to have as much fun as possible. And I still laugh at his quote, "I don't mind a mango falling on my head...but not a coconut!"

P.S. As I'm posting this I'm listening to news coverage of the Tsunami. They are saying it might be the 5th worst on record. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the people in Hawaii.

Me Kissing a Manatee

My friend Nina http://www.ninacrittenden.blogspot.com/ highlighted the ChickenNuggetLemonTooty blog http://www.isaacgracelily.blogspot.com/ last week. They're celebrating 3 years of blogging with an invitation to do some new art. The catch...pick out one of his kid's masterpieces and do your own version. It was really fun to see the adult artists interpreting all the funny things kids come up with when you give them a paint brush. I picked, "Me Kissing a Manatee" I guess my version would be, "Kissing a Manatee" Because that's not really me. But I definately feel like I have a little bit of mermaid in me. But only when I'm snorkeling!

Mermaid Me

I decided to delay the release of "Princess and the Me" and post "Mermaid Me" first. I might try to post the latter on pay per view or try to take up a collection for a new crown! "Mermaid Me" was illustrated for CBIG. Which you can check out at http://www.childrens-illustrators.com/ Finally, an excuse to paint a self portrait. I'm such a Ham about my art. When I was a kid the first thing that friends and relatives were subjected to was me and my latest masterpiece. I'm sure they barely had a chance to step in the door. And painting myself as a mermaid was a no brainer. As you can see I managed to find some art supplies and do some painting on the Ocean floor. Just another day at the office.