Happy Holidays!

The Artist's Wave

Ups and downs of rejection and hope

BWAAAKKKK!!!!

School Play

Not sure whose smile is bigger hers or mine,
but watching Sunny have so much fun in the school play was awesome!

Moon face embrace

Look what landed on my drawing table this morning...

Mike Benign Compulsion


Click on it to get a preview of the cool new LP.  I did the cover, and I love the close up!

Fun with pastels

Pastels are such a fun medium for me.  They are like drawing and painting at the same time.  They are very expressive and sometimes I need to just make anything, with no agenda.  So in between dropping off and picking up the girls from school Iturned the computer off and made a fun mess with chalk.

My dog Ginger

storm cloud

ummm.....eyebrow nest?

So not crafty

Turtle

Okay, I am so NOT crafty.  I can paint, I can draw but when it comes to crafts, or neatness, or projects I am the worst.  It has taken me over 2 hours to print out 9 pictures for my daughters pre-school scrapbook projects, along with $$ of wasted paper just now.  Whenever the girls want to do a project we look at all these amazing craft blogs, and even simple stuff like national geographic kids.  We were going to make a CD disco ball.  I didn't really have all the stuff...kinda, so spread it all out and almost put their eyes out, so we put on sunglasses, and blah blah blah, directions, directions directions.  Finally I gave up and said" let's just make stuff out of this junk".  AND we did!  Actually turned out to be kinda fun, and cute, and just a little sharp.  So I hung them on the bathroom wall with some of that ticky tacky gummy poster hanging stuff.  In the middle of the night, I heard them all crash into the bathtub, lucky the kids weren't in it. 

 Toucan

Star Fish

fish or maybe owl?

peacock

Here's another one for my Anti-Craft record book.  Kinda cute, except for the dog ate all the lentil beans, threw up and I lost the other button eye before I could finish it.  But the kids learned how to sew, just like their mother.

Third Grade

Interesting News....

Another year, another birthday, another walk...

It's my Mom's birthday today.  She has Alzheimer's Disease. Since this is my art blog, I try to keep it filled with just sketches and current projects that relate to "art".  Which actually is ridiculous because my whole life seems to be revolved around trying to make art. I have another blog documenting the care of my Mom in hopes of helping research and ultimately cure of Alzheimer's.  It's here.  So another year has gone by, so many changes have happened in her.  Last year the whole family visited and although still in her wheelchair, she could participate.  This year, she was just present, and the presents I did bring were really just for the girls because she is so unaware of anything, except hugs, she kinda likes those.

Happy Birthday Nana

So today, on her birthday I am starting the fundraising for this year's Alzheimer's Association Walk to END Alzheimer's.  Please click here to get to my donation page and support the care, research and awaremenss needed to eliminate this terrible disease.  THANK YOU!

Illustration Friday- INFLUENCE

So last week's topic was INFLUENCE.  It was such a timely word for me because I have definitely been under the influence of other writers and illustrators these days.  Just coming off of the SCBWI conference here in LA, I was overwhelmed by the talent, creativity and well just plain hard work it takes to make a great book.  That being said, I had a slight glimmer that I could do it.  I WANT to do it, I just need to do the dang work! The really cool thing is that some of the people that influence me  gave me actual encouragement.  I wrote to David Small, he wrote back....he stoked my fire.  Marla Frazee breathed air into my dreams, Denise Doyen looked me in the eye and told me I could get there. Today SCBWI  sent me a "certificate of merit" for my book What's Your Name Again.
So, I've taken everything and am pushing myself.  I signed up for Karl Gnass's figure drawing on Friday's, unplugged my computer during the day and got four solid hours of writing and drawing time.  (Thank you Antoinette Portis!)  I'm reading Stephen Frys The Ode Less Traveled.  Taking Ann Whitford Paul's rhythm and rhyming workshop and then....well this quote from Ogden Nash expresses my best of intentions moving forward. (have you noticed people saying that a lot lately?)

'For better or worse, I have followed the course, and the only course, that enabled me to set pencil to paper as a writer; that is, to proceed as if nothing you have to say has been said earlier and better is a paralyzing one, and the only thing to do is ignore it, and assume that you are living in the first day of the world." OGDEN NASH

Natural Science Mural

My assistant

The Earth, from it's inner core all the way out to the thermosphere.

The Water Cycle!

Bridge to Books

Sunny at the Armory

We had a pretty cool day at the Armory Center for the ARts.  We went to the library yesterday to hand in Sunny's summer reading stuff, and Ms. Barbara the wonderful librarian there told us about Bridge to Books special event yesterday.  Bob Boyle, Dan Santat, James Burks and Kazu Kibuishi were heading up a graphic novel workshop for kids!  Adults, (me) got to listen and learn more about graphic novels for all ages.  Yeah, living in LA has it's benefits.

Big Bang Theory Mural

I'm back in the science lab.  Mrs. Belateche had some great ideas how to show complex subjects in a fun and "enlightening" way.

Light, Stars, Big Bang Theory, protons, neutrons and atoms, oh my!

Serendipity- I just took a drive up the the Mt. Wilson observatory where Hubble sat in this chair and developed the theory of our expanding universe.

Favorite food, cherries!

SCBWI Summer Conference 2011

Wow, so I was totally inspired by the work and artists and writers at the conference.  I have lots of work to do, but believe I can get there...  just keep drawing.  So instead of telling you about all of the amazing artists and writers like Judy Blume or David Small,  Denise Fleming, Kadir Nelson...click on the title and see for yourselves.  I'll be at my drawing table.

Who am I?

Getting ready for the conference, and I am filled with excitement, anxiety and caffeine.  Trying to get my portfolio and 10 images that represent me, that make me stand out among hundreds of people that already stand out.  My cards from Moo are cute, but tiny, too tiny...  

my dummy books are not glued together and photoshop is NOT MY FRIEND!

Now here is some real conference advice from Ingrid

Ballerina color ink sketches

Snail Salon

Curls of squirrels

Having fun with my new theme

Natural Beauty

A Beauty

I am Bee-yoo-ti-ful!

Working on my portfolio for the SCBWI annual conference.

Rainbow playground mural

 More kid mural action.  Rainbow playground....Spent the two week break, touching up, adding some new stuff and putting sunscreen on all the pre-school murals at both Sunnyside's.  Outdoor murals need to be protected against the elements.  I highly recommend Nova Paint for any outdoor work.

William Powhida- FROM MEMORY

William Powhida

I went to the Kohler Art Centerr in Wisconsin on our trip back to the Midwest, the exhibit was all about memory.  I encourage you to read more about my experiences and the exhibit here at my blog about Alzheimer's
www.lois-peggy.blogspot.com



But, this is my art blog and I want to  post my response to William Powhida's interactive piece which encouraged us, the general public to draw from memory or imagination someone we have never met.  When I go back to Wisconsin, I always feel a little melancholy.  I look out at the lake, and wonder how, where, when, why and will I ever meet my birth family.  I was born by the lake, and she must of looked out at the water the same way I do.  Anyway...so I drew these.

Home

Home

New Mural Umbrella Idea

Splashy rain can be fun, choose your umbrella and boots.  Gidget inspired me to add the faces, like she did on her drawing.  What do you think, better with more space around them so that you can actually figure out that they are umbrellas, or with tiny rainboots sticking out underneath?  Please comment!