We're off on

We leave early tomorrow morning for what we've been referring to as "The Jude Tour"--our chance to introduce this little guy to family and friends in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Ohio. We'll be gone for 12 days racking up lots of air and land miles. I'm sooo looking forward to family time and the chance to just be outside in the warmer NC and Ohio air and talk, laugh, eat, drink, paint, draw, play, and listen.

I'll be sure to post some pics along the way! If you're a Cincinnati friend, make sure to give me a call or shoot me an email and we'd love to see you.

Also for Cincy friends, my good friend Tom Conlon is playing at a place called Taza at 7:30 on April 5th. Check out his myspace for details. We'll be there! You should come too!

L is for Letter Prints

In addition to this series of letter prints, I'm working on another letter set for kids (or adults who just can't seem to get the hang of the whole alphabet thing). I've got six letters down and am looking forward to the project. I plan on making them available in smaller, cheaper, glossy 5x7 versions for those who want to spell out words by hanging them in frames or with clothes pins or ribbon or whatever. I also plan on making a poster version that has the whole alphabet. So keep checking back in the shop to see my progress.

My Burden Is Light

Sometimes when I sit down to paint or draw, I have an image or theme in mind. But usually I don't. Like on this one--I started with the face which led into the body which looked like it was pulling something, hence the little wagon. And when I tried to figure out what she'd be toting behind her, the "My Burden Is Light" came to mind. I think it is a message to me, a reminder that I tend to borrow trouble and stress about things I have no business stressing about.

If you need the reminder too you can pick this up in my shop.

More Painting with Hudson

Painting is quickly becoming my favorite thing to do with Hudson. Reading great children's books (like the ones I've been posting about recently)with him is a close second. One of the best things about not being pregnant anymore, besides being able to hold Jude in my arms instead of my belly, is that Hudson can sit on my lap during story time again. Love it, love it.

Here's the product of yesterday's "Painting With Hudson" time..

H.A.

Here's another children's book we picked up this weekend--"The Lost Thing" by Shaun Tan. Discovering and pouring over children's books with illustrations that are even more creativity-inspiring than the stories seems to be my new thing recently. The story is interesting but the illustrations are captivating. I totally agree with something Tan says in the FAQ's on his site:
"With a blank piece of paper in front of me, my imagination is not especially fired up. I could start drawing, but everything would end up looking the same - and most likely stuff I’ve done before. So I actively look to absorb foreign ideas and influences, which is one key lesson learned from years of illustrating different SF stories. Good ideas don’t just turn up, you have to go looking for them."


The letters on the front cover inspired me to start work on a series of letter prints done over some of the vintage book covers and pages I've been collecting over the past couple years. Here's H and A. I plan on doing more so if there's any letter anyone is especially interested in, let me know and I will skip ahead to that one. You can spell words or just hang your first initial in your living room. If your initials happen to be H.A. then you are already set to go!

Ah, Peace.

I haven't felt much peace recently. I love my boys. They're great. And I love being a mom. But worrying about how Hudson is dealing with all the changes a new baby brings, getting less sleep because of the new baby, and dealing with my "not still pregnant but not yet normal" body has made for some tense, emotional times recently.

But there was a moment this afternoon when Jude was quietly dozing to the rhythmic hum of his swing while Hudson and I were carrying on a pleasant conversation about color theory and experimenting with more watercolors. I suddenly noticed how peaceful the moment felt and grabbed the camera to capture it before one of us inevitably started crying again. : )

And this is what I painted in that brief calm between storms...

Art Therapy

I'm figuring out that, for the time being, it's hard to get much computer work done. I'm sure I'll get in a more productive groove once I get a handle on this whole "mom of two" thing. But I CAN hold Jude, spend time with Hudson, and draw at the same time. So I've managed to get a couple illustrations done over the past week or so with "real" paint, pencils, paper, etc. Here's another from art time with Hudson yesterday afternoon. It's up in the shop if you're interested. I've found that being a bit looser in my style (i.e. messy brush strokes, coloring outside the line, leaving visible pencil lines, etc) is theraputic. I guess it's my way of venting some of the chaos. : )



And after storytime at Starbucks today, we picked up this book by Timothy Basil Ering at our local bookstore. I love children's book illustrations like this one and this one that have so many layers, so much texture, and such energetic yet almost crude linework.



Ering's site shows some of his fine art as well. This one is my favorite. I'd love to see a play staged on a set like this.

Anyways, I'm getting more and more into children's books (chalk it up to having more children now). So if anyone has any recommendations, I'd love to hear them. : )