Patchwork Cat

There was no time to paint something new today - this is one of my greeting card designs which you can see here. I won't be able to post anything new for a couple of weeks as I'm off on vacation and won't have much access to computers let alone a scanner.

Illustration Friday - obsession

The animals knew that when Martha was in the throes of her housecleaning obsession, it was best to keep out of the way.
I think I rather overdid the perspective of the table on this one, but the subject was fun to paint.

Another summer activity

There wasn't much scope for this where I grew up, but yesterday evening beside a pond we watched a bunch of kids hunting for frogs - which they then let go.

Swing

It's such a milestone, not least for parents, when kids learn to pump themselves on a swing. A quick sketch, quickly colored, in honor of a great summer activity.

Change of medium

I almost always work in watercolor, but today I felt like painting in gouache. It's certainly easier to be bolder in a more opaque medium, but because I don't know it so well I can be surprised by the way the color changes as it dries.

Illustration Friday - perennial

This game is a perennial favorite. The words vary from place to place but it's not the words that the kids care about.

Work in progress

I'm working on this as my response to the Illustration Friday prompt "perennial". This game is a perennial favorite for kids.

Snail

This week's illustration prompt at Watercolor Wednesdays was Baby's first... (fill in the blank). I had just seen some pictures on Facebook of a baby who was having a wonderful time exploring the natural world without his parents worrying unnecessarily about dirt and this is what came to me. I couldn't find the pictures again so I had to rely on memory and imagination to visualize him.

Taking inventory

I met this young lady last winter (hence the snow boots) in an art museum. Her parents had equipped her with clip board and pencil to keep her busy and feeling purposeful while they wandered the galleries together.

After the fair - colored

Illustration Friday - gesture

Everyone who has or ever had little kids knows (and loves) this gesture.

After the fair

I felt we needed a happy ending after the somewhat traumatic incident with the spider puppet (here). Back to the mood of the start of the afternoon (here). Everything looks better with ice cream and a balloon.

One relaxed cat - in 3 poses

I particularly like the feet against the wall next to the shelves. It's a hot day, a good time to get some air on the tummy.

Illustration Friday - stay

My earliest summer holidays always involved a stay at the seaside. Of course since this was Scotland they didn't involve very warm temperatures. Pictures from those times often show the wind break that we took to the beach to help provide some shelter. But kids enjoy playing in the sand anywhere.

Goldfish

Today has been spent doing knitting illustrations and some copy editing so I haven't had time for new children's work. I did this recently as an illustration for Stories for Children magazine and since the relevant edition is now out it's OK to post it. I scanned in my pencil drawing and then colored it digitally. The story is about a little girl who tries to think of a gift for her goldfish friend.

A girl who likes cats

The largest number of cats I've  had at one time was two and since they didn't like each other that was one too many, but this girl looks like she can cope with more than that.

4th of July

We had a wonderful collection of red, white and blue outfits at our small town parade yesterday. Here are a few. The color is a mixture of marker, gouache and watercolor. I did it in a notebook and couldn't get it really wet with watercolor, but you can't get a lot of nuance with marker.

Illustration Friday - remedy

Technique change?

When I step back from my work I can see that it sometimes lacks boldness. I feel it repays close attention, but can be rather gentle and unassertive. (Hmm...what does this say about me?) So in an attempt to be a bit bolder I tried outlining a recent painting with a dip pen instead of the original very fine Sharpie. Here are the two versions for comparison plus a close up. I would love to hear reactions. As a reminder, you can click on them to see a bigger version.