New Interview

Joanna Marple very graciously invited me to her blog recently. There's an interview and some recent illustration work: acrylic sketches of mice, black and white drawings and a new acrylic illustration. Click over and take a look! And you might want to peruse Joanna's archive of illustrator interviews. You'll find a lot of beautiful work and great reading.

Sweet Square #21

Playing with watercolors is fun. Just when you think you've gone too far, you go further. It's play.
I used violet and prussian blue for the background. The faraway birds were drawn in with a silver pen.

Sweet Square #20

You may have noticed the the Month of Experimentation is over. I'm enjoying these little sqaures so much that I'm going to continue. I may not post every single one but I'll try and do them.They're a good warm up and a great way to keep creating, even a tiny bit, each day. Let's think of the MOE as Moments of Experimentation from now on.

Today I took a piece of a kleenex box, 2 pieces of a instant mash potato box and glued them on a chocolate bar wrapper. I stared at it and then decided to make the boy working in the field and the sun. Silly but fun.

Sweet Square #19

Today I had absolutely no idea what I'd do. I used some very old oil pastels that I found in my parents house that were perhaps mine a long, long time ago. The pinks were pretty so I started with those then added some red and the sky blue was nice too so, why not? Still had no idea what to do but these spots of color weren't going anywhere so I took the dark blue and colored over everything. When I turned the square on an angle, I saw a landscape. I scratched. And then I added in green and other colors, alternating scratching and coloring. And voilà!

Happy to have done something very unexpected today.

Sweet Square #18

My Dad has lent me more than tools (see previous Sweet Squares). This is his old cloth bound copy of ONE HUNDRED AND ONE POEMS edited by Roy J. Cook for The Cable Company in Chicago in 1928; it's older than my Dad. He not only lent this book but he made me the reader I am. He instilled a need by transmitting the idea that reading and books are important. I never wrote in school or library books; he thought it was a horrible thing to deface a book. Some things your parents tell you, stay with you. Forever.

sepia marker, watercolor, watercolor pencils

Sweet Square #16

I'm thinking of my father a lot these days. I brought back some of his tools I used to borrow or I watched him use in the garage when I was a girl. His garage shelves were fascinating to my little girl self. I wonder if he noticed the traces I must have left, disrupting his stacks and arrangements; playing with his electrical tape and grease pencils, tape measures and levels... I used to help him when he used power tools (that would never happen nowadays but back then people improvised ;) ) and I was scared and thrilled at once. It was a privilege for me; my Dad trusted me and thought I was strong enough to help. I wish there was more I could do to help now.

Sweet Square #15

I've been away for nearly two weeks on an unexpected trip to help out with my parents. It was a very busy time filled with the full range of emotions. I'm happy to be home and making Sweet Squares again but my thoughts are on my parents. I'm wishing them peace and safety and good moments. Spending time in their home has made me think about the little things, the everyday things parents do for us.