Isadora’s Dream

5″ x 8″
pen in a moleskine

One of the best things about having a kid is the stories they tell you. Isadora is a master crafter of strange stories and crazy phrases.

A few mornings ago she woke and told us about a dream she had. In the dream she said she was turned into a mermaid and she swam around eating bread, fish and carrots. She said this dream was great because in real life she can’t eat bread (we both have celiac). As we talked about the dream more she also mentioned that after she turned into a mermaid she turned around to see what had transformed her and she saw that it was a golden feather. She wanted to avoid touching the feather because she was afraid that it would change her into a shark.

When I neared completion of the drawing she was a bit disappointed because in her dream the bread and carrots were floating in the water as well as some cucumbers. She said the bread floated near the top and the carrots near the bottom.

I just had to do a drawing of this crazy dream! I’m slowly moving along on a children’s book that is made up from a few different choice bits of Isadora lore. Hopefully there will be some drawings to show of that process soon.

What I am working on

Working away. I posted some of these drawings a few weeks ago at earlier stages. The small square piece is a gouache painting on board. The small rectangular piece below is another color gouache on cotton paper. I’m enjoying having pieces that are black & white all the way through crazy bright color.

I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with the gouache at this point. I’ve been blending my own colors finally, you can see my little palette and my tiny jars. I also bought an even finer brush, the finest I’ve ever worked with. I think the little square painting will be a bit rough when it is finished but I feel like I’m learning a lot while working on it. I enjoy using the gouache on this hard surface as opposed to the paper much more. I like the paper for spot color but think the full color is much better on the board.

I’m very excited to be painting again in some form. I miss oil painting but just don’t feel that is where I’m at right now. I cringe a bit knowing that this work will be seen more in the light “illustration” rather than fine art but I like it and that is really what matters.

In-progress work

The pile of drawings I’m currently working on. I’m started to feel limited by the 11.5″ x 14″ sized paper. I have a lot of ideas but I think they need bigger paper. I’ve been trying to finish up the old book before I buy a larger size. I remember when I moved up to the 11.5″ x 14″ from the 9″ x 11″, it felt so vast and scary! Now it feels so hard to fit everything in.

You can also see my new sketchbook in the middle. I really love this book, the sheets are big enough for my sketches and notes to remind me what my vague sketches meant but it is small enough that I don’t mind carrying it around in my purse.

4 Days of Color

I got this lovely little 6″ x 9″ Stonehenge notebook last week with 100% cotton paper.  I wanted to use it specifically for working on my figures with color.  I’m intimidated by the idea of spending weeks and weeks on one of the larger drawings just to botch it when I go to color in a figure.  So each day for the past 4 days I’ve been working on my figures in color.  

The scanned colors are not as accurate as I would like but I think they give you a good idea of the finished product.  I’m pleased with the progress on this and am excited to keep working on them.