Sketches during Sunday school at Christ Point Church in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Random thoughts:

- Airport security going through customs is a bit of a bear now, but I thought they did a good job of moving things along despite the extra scanning and long lines.

- My eyes burn. They’ve always burned when in South Texas. I’m allergic to this place.

- I saw a local production of Nunsense this weekend. Enjoyable and well done by the new Aurora Arts Theatre.

-  It can be 65 degrees but feel cold if it’s windy and humid.

Apparently this place  is just oozing with office crushes! The fun part is letting you guys extrapolate on the viability of the relationship, etc. I appreciate the laughs!

Took a few photos along the way.

I don’t have anything to say today, really. I woke up a little late and feel behind with much work to do (Never enough time, ya know..?) I have been posting everyday, though, so I found this in the coffers of some area of the computer–a picture book page I worked on a few months ago. There’s no story it’s a part of. My motive was to create something so I could play with some not-my-usual color palettes, as well as experiment with line work and line color. I like it’s simplicity. I’m a little concerned, however, that there’s no bathmat for Elly to step out on. Bathroom cleanup is going to be a mess. And I’m the one who’s going to have to do it, of course. : )

My contribution to this week’s Illustration Friday. Check out all the other mighty-fine submissions for this week’s topic!

Just some sketches from yesterday’s church service. I struggled this Sunday with feeling comfortable sketching with people around; feeling conspicuous. I did these while sitting in the far back. One positive thing is that I noticed that the sketching was getting to be more habitual…or automated. Not sure what word to use for this, but what I’m saying is that, while I was listening to the sermon, it suddenly came to my mind, “Oh, yeah…I’m sketching right now.” Like driving a car. You don’t conscientiously think of how to drive the car, you just do it. Nice place to come to.

I’m not a big fan of Valentine’s Day. In elementary school it was exciting, because I could put my creative energy into decorating a shoebox with fellow classmates to house our valentines to each other. Pink and white cupcakes with some sort of red punch was the treat for our end-of-day party, when we would all open our boxes and see who gave us what cards. But by middle and high school, it was a downer of a day…if you didn’t have a boyfriend — or crush — who would send you that carnation.  These days it translates to $, as I create greeting cards for occasions like this. Neither my husband or I are the sentimental type. We are not eating chocolates or sweets these days, and I could not care less about diamonds and jewelry. Flowers I like but I’m okay with getting those myself when I want.  I am, however, content to watch others scramble to show some sort of affection to the special folks in their lives! The sitcoms this week had Valentine’s Day themes which I enjoyed.  And it’s a good excuse to do a little drawing of a pig and crocodile getting into the spirit of the day.

So may you have a happy Valentine’s Day–or fantastic Sunday. Whichever is your preference!

Hey all. Another illustration for a kids’ magazine. This time it’s for Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse Jr., the February 2010 issue. I blogged a little about this in early December when I was working on it. These big and busy scenes are time-consuming but awfully fun to do! In the case below, the reader has two puzzles to solve: count and circle all the hugs they see in red, and find all the “silly things” and circle them in blue. My challenge with this project was to not make seniors come across as senile while doing said silly things. So for the most part, I had the kiddos or other things being silly.

If you want to see an enlarged version, just click on the image below. Oh, and let me know how many hugs and “silly things” YOU find, eh?

Copyright Focus on the Family/Clubhouse Jr. magazine 2010.

It being the week before Valentine’s Day, I have a few illustrations that are in the February 2010 issues of various kids magazines. In the February 2010 issue of Highlights magazine, I did the spots for “Valentine’s Day Disaster”, written by Michelle L. Brown. I used a loose line work a watercolor wash for this job.

copyright Highlights For Children, 2010

But is there anything else in early February in Montreal? It’s a big church to warm up. There are large vents on each side of the sanctuary that put out heat. People will congregate there to warm themselves before sitting down. I spent a good part of the service in front of one myself.

But when I wasn’t in front of a heating vent, I was sitting behind Tall Ted. Someone in front of you can take up a lot of the view. In this case, the rector is minuscule in comparison. As for the rabbits, I sometimes switch to them if we’re at prayer time. At least that morning I did. It felt too intimate a moment to watch and sketch. Bunnies substitute in for people, etc.

Muddy Waters, the big blues man. One of my first thoughts when I saw the prompt this week. I also saw several other Muddy Waters so it was a popular solution. As for style and execution, I wanted to see what I could do with the digital watercolor brushes in Painter 11.

A recent character study for a project. I don’t do many monsters and aliens, etc. I should work some into my portfolio, I think.

Oops! I kind of missed posting this in January. That’s probably because sample issues from Highlights get sent to Texas and, well, I’m still up north right now. So I forget these things are coming out. Anyway, I did a few spots for a spread entitled, “Old Dog, New Tricks?” (written by Jeffrey B. Fuerst) that was in the issue. I thought I’d go ahead and post them along with some of the roughs. When I work on roughs for spreads, I like to use the layout I’m sent by the art director/designer as a template. That way I can make sure the spot fits well within the copy/text of the spread.

So when I get my hands on a copy of this issue, I’ll add the spread. In the mean time, voila!

copyright Highlights for Children, 2010

Picked out a random rough of something I’ve been working on. This is actually a throw-away rough for a spread from an early/emergent reader. The story was changed and the bears’ day starts at 5 a.m. now so this spread is kaput. But I rather liked it so wanted to give it some reason for being.

Hourly Comic Day was officially yesterday and I decided to participate. Problem is, my day looked a lot like the last hourly I did a week or so ago! Many of the same events. Hopefully I took just a slightly different perspective so it wasn’t redundant. And I noticed mine focused in on food a lot! So…my “hourly”, below.

Click on these to get more info about Hourly Comic Day or to see other Hourly Comic Day comics.  And fellow illustrator Chuck Dillon did an hourly too! Check it out!

A worried Berney spent the morning focused on how to construct the new South Bend Beaver Dam.

Continuing with the mole study, here’s little mole with his mouse friend. This is a segment from a much larger scene, but it allows mole to be shown in some context besides just a study.  He’s turning into a fun character to draw. Oh. And so is little mouse!

Something I’ve been working on…

Clumsy style, clumsy story line, clumsy punchline.  Even a character named “Clumsy”.  Just all-around clumsy!

Below: I took a walk yesterday on Lac St-Louis. It’s frozen over solid presently. You can see other folks and critters venturing out for a hike as well. This is also a popular area for the winter parasailers.

Below: The Christmas tree in front of Bilboquet (an ice cream shop) in the Pointe Claire Village.  And a photo from an skiing excursion on the golf course across the street.

I’ve been enjoying using the painterly style for a few jobs I’ve had lately. I did this small editorial illustration for Children’s Ministry magazine’s Jan/Feb 2010 issue. It’s a fun style to work in and seems to be coming along nicely.

I looked up and thought I noticed a faint pink in the blue sky; so faint, I had to squint and rub my eyes and…Oh. No, that’s because I’m tired.

I’ve thought time after time about sketching the winter scene from my window so this time, instead of just thinking about it, I pulled up a “canvas” in Painter and had at it. Very wintery, yes. But it was a lovely day, really; above freezing and lightly snowing off and on. Winter, winter, wonder-land. I’m tired…

I’ve been wanting to do an hourly comic (well, ANY type of comic, for that matter) for a good while after seeing others do them, so I finally tried my hand at it yesterday. Despite a very busy day, I stopped every hour to draw what I had done in a particular hour. It was kind of fun and kept me on my toes!

By the way, if you’re not familiar with the hourly comic concept, here’s a website by John…? who does hourly comics, & a  forum where you can check out what others have done. Many are down-right funny!

So my yesterday begins, below. Oh, and to see an enlargement of a panel, click on the panel.

Just for the heck of it, I took pics of one of today’s snacks and lunch.

Snack: Crunchy home-made cashew butter on a slice of honey, raisin & hazelnut bread next to a fruit medley consisting of apple, orange and banana segments, topped with blackberries and wild blueberries.

Lunch: Lasagna with a side of seasoned and steamed broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and onion.

Some photos from this morning.

Below: Scrambled egg with smoked cheddar & and a few baby spinach leaves, tucked inside a corn tortilla; broiled tomato with same smoked cheddar; an orange. You’re welcome.

Below: Orange Kitty (feral kitty who nests on our balcony) looking inside (Reflection is of Christmas red pepper lights, in case you’re wondering).

Below: Orange Kitty now trudging off to get his breakfast I suspect. Someone else feeds him canned food, I think. He’s quite hefty!

Happy Tuesday, people. After an invigorating (albeit cold!) morning walk outdoors and a strong cup of coffee, I’m energized and ready to tackle the day. So I begin with posting a piece I worked on back in November  for the Jan/Feb 2010 issue of Chirp! magazine (Owlkids).  I worked these up on my laptop and baby Cintiq while I was down in South Texas for a few weeks. I remember doing the dinosaurs over and over because I was frustrated with the line work (I suppose if I were a dog, I’d be chasing my tail). I hope in the end, the kiddos had fun with it!

But this time from a local where I could get a more expansive view of the interior. With such height to the ceilings, it makes it hard to heat the building. Frigid temps outside made it cold inside, hence people still wearing their parkas, etc.

Below: Sketch before adding color. I started with a blue pen but it started to skip on me so switched to a black one. I rather like how that looks.

Below: Colorized sketch (with Painter 11)

Given I need to renew my passport, this is the kind of “renewal” that’s been on my mind.

It’s hard to believe a year–a decade!– has gone by already. I don’t know about you, but I find time not marching, but racing by! Whew!  So with the arrival of 2010, I want to take pause and reflect over 2009’s accomplishments, work-wise. I also want to share my plans for 2010, but will do so in a separate post. First up…Some highlights of 2009!

Illustration jobs were pretty steady–despite the recession–so I was happy to have had textbook work and repeat-clients from various book publishers and magazines for children, doing illustrations, spots and spreads throughout the year. I’ve been working on greeting cards for one company for a few years, and though jobs from them slowed down a little, I still was asked to do quite a few.

It was a special treat when Highlights For Children asked me to do a poster and sign them at their booth for the International Reading Association this past February in Phoenix. Talk about getting out of the studio! I had never been to Phoenix and it was fun to go and hang out with some of the folks from Highlights for a few days.

Speaking of my studio, my space is small and cramped, so earlier in the year, I did a little rearranging and changing to try and make it less so. It’s still not all I would want it to be, but it’s at least less stuffy.  And this was my first full year using the Cintiqs (I have a 21″ & 12″); they worked well for both the studio and traveling. No complaints.

As for marketing, etc., My website is still in need a of a mega make-over. We changed hosts a few months ago and that should make a difference this coming year. Besides my website and blog, I had folios on two other pay-for sites. I can’t say I reaped much from them so I am reconsidering what to do with those. I am still involved with Illustration For Kids and appreciate these creative gals and the benefits from having bonded with them over the last few years.

As for my work itself, I still have an on-going battle with liking what I produce. That’s par for the course for artists, I understand, but I wish there was a way to turn that switch off! I wasn’t quite as hard on myself this year (I don’t think), and it helped to have developed a new style late in the year that was looser and more painterly than my line work.

Coming up soon: hopes & plans for 2010.

I had a very nice break this holiday season–time away from the computer/the studio/the art; Facebook and Twitter, etc. It was much needed, I tell ya. And now it’s time to get into gear and back to work. I’m looking forward to it.

And so I start this year of blogging with a sketch from yesterday’s church service. It’s been a while since I’ve had some church sketches to offer up and I was happy to have had a little time to eek this one out during the sermon. It was a cold and very snowy day yesterday here in Montreal making it a challenge to get to and from destinations, but we did it. It was all worth it to see people I hadn’t seen in a long while.

I converted the little warm-up drawing of Ski Bunny into a Christmas card (or seasonal card. Whatever). I also worked on one with the beavers but…I’m still messing around with that one (read: not happy with the results–yet).

So, I guess you’re all doing what I’m doing: preparing for the holidays in one way or another. I don’t know about you, but I always ponder how it is that SOME thing got us all to collectively choose to do all the things we do surrounding and on the day December 25th. In many ways it has it’s benefits (time off from labor; an opportunity to spend time with friends and family; special meals and foods, etc.), but I sometimes wonder how the psychology of it all works; how almost everybody is on board in some form or fashion.

Anyway, that aside, I am (as usual) doing a bit of scrambling here at the end, picking up gifts and such. I have decorated our little Norfolk pine with chili pepper lights and home-made ceramic ornaments; I am listening to Christmas/seasonal music as I work. I note that a couple of inches of snow on the ground makes it more “festive”. I enjoy seeing homes burdened with outdoor lights, reflected on the snowy lawns. I drool over the chocolate raspberry bread at the village bakery that is only made at this time of year. Mmm–mm! It is the best!

So I am, indeed, pretty much on board with the collective on this holiday thing. Sometimes begrudgingly, but most times not.

A big thank you and holiday wishes to all those who stop by here-whether on a regular basis or not–to see what I’ve posted now and then. I appreciate your comments and encouragement in my work. Be safe and enjoy the season!