Pages 07/28/11

Working on this tip-in page for a friend's 50th birthday. Size is 7X7. She's doing a 50th birthday journal and capturing her year. Hope she like this! This is the ink only version before adding color. I always scan after I do a black and white piece. I try to capture all stages of the design.

Pages 12/14/2010

I just got this photo from the person I did the illustrated story for. This is the piece framed. Her husband loved it. It's pretty trippy to think something I made is hanging in a person's house. Sounds weird, I know ... but even after I've done this for so many years I still get that 'good' feeling. Pretty cool.

Pages 11/29/10

Here's the final scan of the artwork with color for my client. I think it turned out nice. There's alot of gold leaf added on the stars ... tiny dots of gold all over.

Pages 11/28/10

Well, all finished inking the lines. What do you think? Now to color it all in like a speed demon so I can be done by tomorrow. Colored version soon. (I hope!) I am enjoying this project, just wish I didn't have to rush it. The words are beautiful. I hope they like it.

Pages 11/27/10

This is what I am working on today. It's a love story a client wrote for their husband for their 30th Wedding Anniversary. She wants me to make it look like an illuminated manuscript page. I don't really *do* calligraphy, but she is ok with just my handwriting. The pencil sketch is ready to be inked and I am praying I don't have any kind of pen malfunction, or BRAIN malfunction when I go to redo the lettering. I already had to rewrite it once because I left out a paragraph. (I wondered why it fit really nicely the first time I wrote it out.)

It's an odd feeling creating something so very personal for a client. But I am really honored to have been asked. I just reallllllly don't want to screw this up. (BTW, I blurred out their names for privacy.)

I'll post progression as I go today and tomorrow. I have to hurry, this needs to be done by Hanukkah for a gift. No pressure! (Yeah, right.)

Pages 08/26/10

The Seafood Festival website is finally up. Check out some of the illustrations I got to do for them on the site. Pretty cool. :-) Here's the link.

Pages 06/26/10

Here are the set of 6 illustrations for the Seafood Festival website and print material. I am so glad I am done as it was a pretty large job. I am now recovering from a bad case of arm strain and carpal tunnel! lol.

Pages 06/23/10

Here's the logo for the Pittsburg Seafood Festival I just sent out to the client for approval. Art is colored with pencil crayons and washed with odorless turpentine. It's been awhile since I've used this technique as there seems to be more interest in the patterned ink illustrations I'm doing right now. I forgot how lonnnnnng this technique takes. It takes some time to build up the layers with the pencil crayon. I still have a set of 6 smaller illustrations to complete. I'll post them when they are done.

Pages 05/20/10

Here's my final illustration for the San Joaquin County Fair on one of the covers of the publications. It's cool to see it complete with all the type on it.

Pages 05/08/10

I am making progress on the illustration. I have all the painting in. I've been working on it most of the morning while watching Wife Swap and Most Haunted. (Love that trash TV. *lol*) Now have to go back and build up the color in some places and add all the highlights and accents. The ribbon on the left really needs some better treatment. I'll work on and finish the painting in a few hours. Then, I have to scan and add the logo in Photoshop. Almost there! I'll post the final as soon as I am done. I'm ready to be working on something else. ;-)

Pages 05/04/10

Here's my in-progress illustration for the San Joaquin County Fair for a friend of mine. I have all the lines inked in and ready to paint. There's room for a masthead at the top and once painted and scanned the Fair logo and other info will be dropped in in Photoshop. I always scan at this point – just in case something unexpected happens, like a screw up on the paint. (Or heaven forbid, I spill coffee all over it. Which I've done!) I'll post the final as soon as I am done.

Pages 12/03/08

Here is the final frog wreath illustration for the Gladys Porter Zoo. This was a very fun project!

Pages 12/01/08

I was very fortunate to be asked to do an illustration for the Gladys Porter Zoo Christmas card. They requested a 'frog wreath' in honor of 'Year of the Frog'. Why year of the frog? Our frogs are disappearing and many may become extinct. Read about it here. When I did my research, I was blown away at the amount of varieties of frogs there are ... literally HUNDREDS! I'll post the final once this sketch is approved and I actually finish it. Deadline is Thursday, so I have my work cut out for me.

Pages 11/30/08

Illustration for Sierra Nevada Boomers. Thanks for the work KD! ;-) I'm also showing you the pre-sketch presented to the client so you can see it before any modifications to the art were made.