Which witch is which?

Here's a quick sampling of some quick warm-ups and practices I've been making as of late. Trying to give costume design a go! It's been very fun to create this motley assortment of witches.

The Dead Swamp

I'm so excited to have finished the third painting in my childhood memory series. I've been having so much fun taking a break from other work making these, and I have a fourth forming in my mind already.

The Dead Swamp is located in southeastern Massachusetts and feeds into the larger Hockomock Swamp. In Wampanoag, the name Hockomock translates into "place where spirits dwell", and my childhood experiences there could corroborate that name. During the seventeenth century, the Hockomock Swamp was used as a fortress by the Wampanoags against invasion by early white settlers. It played a role in King Philip's War as a strategic base of operations for Metacomet (also known as King Philip) to launch assaults upon nearby white settlements. My town was largely unscathed because of the friendship between Metcomet and the Leonard family who operated the first Iron Works in the new colony. The Dead Swamp provided not only fish and game, but also inland protection from some of the harsher New England seasons. While the swampy areas have their beauty of flora and fauna, there's a much darker side to this mystical place. There have been accounts dating back to the 1700s of will o' the wisps (or feu follet), poltergeists, large thunderbirds, ghost dogs, and  larger than life snakes. All this makes the provides the perfect combination to fuel a young girl's imagination.

On one cold, fall day... this very swamp called our names. From just over the hill, where the path lead into the swamp, we heard a whisper that carried towards us as we biked up the hill. First I heard it, then my friend. There was no denying that this was no ordinary voice. And it wasn't the last time that the woods called my name.

Floral Inspiration

Today, as the temperatures struggle to go beyond 17˚, I am looking at J.J. Grandville's Les Fleurs Animées. I was able to purchase this book for my husband at Christmas along with another featuring his amazing ink work. Grandville's characters and scenes border on the absurd but always have such an amazing accuracy of personality and expression.

J.J. Grandville was born at Nancy, in northeastern France, to an artistic and theatrical family. The name "Grandville" was his grandparents' professional stage name. Grandville received his first instruction in drawing from his father, a painter of miniatures. At the age of twenty-one he moved to Paris, and soon afterwards published collection of lithographs. Grandville's ability for political provocation made his work much in demand. He worked in a wide variety of formats, from his first job illustrating the parlor game Old Maid, to illustrated newspaper strips of which he was a master. One of Grandville's supreme achievements, at a time when French printing technology was ascendant, was Les Fleurs Animées, a series of images that are both poetic and satirical. But perhaps his most original contribution to the illustrated book form was L'Autre Monde, which approaches the status of pure surrealism, despite being conceived in a pre-Freudian age. Leading members of the Surrealist movement such as André Breton and Georges Bataille recognised in Grandville a significant precursor and inspiration for the movement. The rock band Queen used part of his artwork for the cover and backcover of their 1991 album Innuendo. Even they knew how awesome Grandville's work was!

Refreshing!

While in Japan, I started an archive of the different drinks available at some of the various vending machines. Japan LOVES vending machines, and these things are so well placed. My favorite were the hotel vending machines stocked with beer. Ice cold beer.

...Just Draw.

If there is one message I try to get through to students or anyone looking to become an illustrator, it's this: Just draw. Draw all the time. Draw to get excited, draw to get angry, draw to improve, draw to make mistakes. But for God's sake, just draw!

Renata Liwska's sketchbooks take the cake! Check out this really great video made by Mike Kerr.

A Quiet Look - How to become a children's book illustrator in one (not so easy) step from mike kerr on Vimeo.

Reminders like this are important for me to remember that important ingredient for creativity!

Lighted Lawn Dandruff 2012!

Another success year Lawn Dandruff Night! Flasks were filled, cars were warmed, cameras were charged, and pizza was consumed. We were a bit nervous with our destination, not too sure if people would be festive enough for our thirst. North Providence did not disappoint ONE bit! Christmas is no longer complete without this ridiculous tradition. Can't wait for next year! As each year passes, the prospect of actually approaching a publisher for a coffee table book of silly Christmas Americana seems more possible.

What IS a weekend?

Maggie Smith is just as confused as I am. Deadline season is upon us, friends! Day, night, week, weekend... it don't matter!

Lighted Lawn Dandruff 2011!!

Our annual Holiday festivities proved to be successful again this year! We noticed a rise in wicker animals and a decrease in inflatable snow globes. This year, the cold cold lights of the LEDs shone brightly over Little Rhodey, showing that us US Americans are indeed, trying to save money on energy consumption. A mid-nugget adventure, capped by a delicious shot served by our friend Holly fueled our fire and thirst to find the best of the lighted lawn dandruff this year. Can't wait for next year!

And as always, flasks up! Pants DOWN!

Old House, New Studio

So, about a month or so ago, we rearranged the top floor (it's basically a finished attic with slanted roofs). We moved the desks into the room with a wonderful skylight, making it a pleasure to wake and start working in the morning, I am looking forward to spending more time here this winter finishing two picturebooks!

Risk! A Sure Fire Way For Family Arguments

This year's RISK! battle only produced a few shouted cuss words.
Peach and tranquility was achieved world wide by Kelly's pony and kitten loving regiments.

Antoine's last red regiment was enslaved in the Glitter Sparkle Mines off the coast of Madagascar.

Round 2: Jane Au-some

I guess I am getting into this character design stuff a bit more than I should. But I had the idea for a Jane Austen girl... but named Jane Au-some. Not too sure if it either reads as someone from that time era, or the name itself tells you who she is. Either way, fun to pick up watercolors and swear at them for an hour or so. Such a tricky medium!

Hot Shot

So, fun things are happening this semester at Montserrat College of Art. Antoine Revoy and I are hositng a battle of characters between our classes. It's been fun seeing the students come up with ideas ranging from the absurd to genius. After finishing the last chapter book today, I leaped at the opportunity to join the creativity. Here's my round girl for the big battle!

I'm having a bit of fun messing around with digital color.
And when match time comes, my lady Hot Shot here can yell, "TO THE DEATH!!!"

Get Higher, Baby!

Kelly's Takeoff from Antoine Revoy on Vimeo.

I think I found a new hobby. I LOVE being in the sky!

Kelly's Landing from Antoine Revoy on Vimeo.

Anish Kapoor: Leviathan

Wooooooah. These images are amazing!



MONUMENTA 2011
Anish Kapoor at the Grand Palais in Paris
Leviathan from 11th May to 23rd June 2011

Each year MONUMENTA invites an internationally-renowned artist to turn their vision to the vast Nave of Paris’ Grand Palais and to create a new artwork especially for this space. MONUMENTA is an artistic interaction on an unparalleled scale, filling 13,500m2 and a height of 35m. For its fourth incarnation, the French Ministry for Culture and Communication has invited Anish Kapoor, one of his generation’s greatest artists, to produce a new work for the Nave’s monumental space, from 11th May to 23rd June 2011.

Thirty years after his first exhibition in Paris, MONUMENTA marks Anish Kapoor’s return to the French capital. He is considered as one of the most important sculptors of our time. His work has profoundly enlarged the scope of contemporary sculpture, as much by his mastery of monumental scale as by the colourful sensuality and apparent simplicity emanating from his works. Born in Bombay in 1954, he has lived in London since the 1970s. His work rapidly gained international recognition and has been awarded numerous prizes, including the famous Turner Prize, which he won in 1991. His career has been the subject of a number of solo exhibitions at the world’s most prestigious museums, including the Louvre, the Royal Academy, Tate Modern, etc. Recently, he has been commissioned to design the key landmark for the forthcoming Olympic Games in London: a 116-metre-high sculpture entitled « Orbit ».

The artist describes the work he is creating for MONUMENTA as follows: “A single object, a single form, a single colour.” “My ambition”, he adds, “is to create a space within a space that responds to the height and luminosity of the Nave at the Grand Palais. Visitors will be invited to walk inside the work, to immerse themselves in colour, and it will, I hope, be a contemplative and poetic experience.”

Here is a link to more photos, taken by Stefan Tuchila. I love the combination of something that feels so thin and brittle, next to something heavy and bulbous. The sense of scale must be amazing. Uuuugh so jealous to not be able to see this!

Ne'er were truer words typed

ps.) I MIGHT get in trouble for this image.

Ah, the innocence of youth...

If there was footage of me as a child... here it is:

Ahoy! Another Painting Demo

Here's another painting demo from last semester. This one is on watercolor paper, with watercolors, some colored pencils and gamsol, and then some oils on top. Mixed media is one word for it! Then to bump up some of the dark, I monkeyed with it in the ol' p-shop. Finally got around to finishing it months after class.

I have no idea what it means.

Tough Day At The Office

Yup, caught sleeping on the job. Cats make THE WORST employees.

Actually, it's been fairly chilly in the ol' house, and I refuse to give National Grid all of my munmuns, so Mama found the warmest place she could.

MINDBLOWING!! GoogleArtProject Insanity

Ok, maybe I am the last person to check this out, but holy cow... GoogleArtProject is amazing, and I've blown the better par of an evening getting close to the world's treasures. Now, it's one thing to finally be in these museums, but being able to see the art THIS close is amazing. Art Project is an online compilation of high-resolution images of artworks from galleries worldwide, as well as a virtual tour of the galleries in which they are housed.

Check it out!

Marie-Antoinette's lookin' balls are GINORMOUS!

Nothing Says Happy Birthday like...

...an anatomical human heart made out of cake?


This was a recent commission, and truthfully... was a BLAST to make! It's frosted with buttercream, and then covered with rolled fondant. When asked to make this cake, I was only told it was for a sixteen year old's birthday party. I decided not to ask anymore questions!

YOWZA!