Sassy Cat

This is a class demo I did many moons ago, and have been slow to tickle in the color. But you know what... I am glad that I did not render the willies out of it. I need someone to take away my paintings, because I feel like I overwork them in most cases.

Here's... Sassy Cat!

Mama, our black cat, has the mouth of a bratty fifteen year old girl. It's impressive.

Trail Of Tears

This past winter, Montserrat College of Art hosted another illustration theme show, this year's being Wild West. I opted to go for a more somber approach, focusing on the suppression of the Native American tribes, particularly related to the Trail of Tears.

In 1838 and 1839, as part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. The Cherokee people called this journey the "Trail of Tears," or, as a direct translation from Cherokee, "The Trail Where They Cried" ("Nunna daul Tsuny"), because of its devastating effects. The migrants faced hunger, disease, and exhaustion on the forced march. Over 4,000 out of 15,000 of the Cherokees died.

It might be gentle in color and contrast, but I kind of like the quieter approach that describes something so tragic.

Here's a detail:

Where'd She Go?

So, this spring is slowly covering me in its dust! I've had some long range projects that I've been chipping away at, but nothing to show of merit! School and my independent studies have also occupied more of my time, and I'll be sad to see some of the seniors gradumacate!

BUT! Here are a few things I can show. Some character designs for a board game, and some book cover ideas!



Some fun news about this summer: I'm headed to Italy with Montserrat's Study Abroad program. I am BEYOND stoked to be Fred Lynch's TA in his journalistic drawing class. My mind is about to explode with sketchbook ideas. Fred maintains the sketchbook blog of the student's work and you can find it here.

Now... to learn Italian. I was just getting a hold on French dagnabbit!

Illustration Friday: Bottled

Ok, so this one is actually my blog header! But it matched perfectly with this week's theme. A bit of back story: this is in fact my lame version of my little family, complete with Antoine Revoy: dropping our messages in a bottle, Mama; the bewildered black cat, and of course Lily; bravely at the bow of the mighty vessel!

Alleluia!

My goodness... it's been some time. I've been BURIED! BUT, I am finished with the last project and moving on to the next three. Can't stop now! I'll be back much sooner, I promise!

Mice Sneek Peek!

Been working away on my next chapter novel, and two others in the wing as well. Lots of work, but I couldn't be more pleased. I also managed to slice the dickens out of my thumb... you know, just to make things more challenging during deadline season. WEE!!!

Five Years!

It's a big day here at Did You Drink My Beer! It's the FIVE YEAR anniversay! Back in 2006, I decided to start sniveling away for the world to see. All joking aside, I think it's been a fun chronological experiment to see what's been going on these last few years: work, boozin', travel, teaching, love, marriage, animals, cakes, more work, books, and more books. Pretty exciting to still be here (albeit a few pounds heavier and into the thick of my thirties) and ready to continue on.

CHEERS!

Ah, the innocence of youth...

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

Illustration Friday: Sweater

With a recent trend in ugly sweaters being cool, years of teasing could have been erased from my memory! I still really dig the horrible sweaters I had when I was a kid.

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!

Rogue Ales: Yellow Snow IPA

FINALLY! A chance to prove my parents wrong. I CAN have yellow snow, and like it! Actually, that's really gross and you should never eat yellow snow. Any color snow in fact.

BUT, let me share the joy that Rogue Ales Yellow Snow has provided me this winter! Like most IPA's, a light kick upon first taste that then improves with each sip. I was introduced to this little fella not too long ago and order it whenever I hear its name. Let me give you some more info!

Rogue Ales is an American craft brewery founded in 1988 in Ashland, Oregon. The following year the company opened their second brewpub in Newport, Oregon where they are now headquartered. They operate brewpubs in Oregon, Washington, and California. Rogue exports throughout the US and internationally. Rogue Ales have been described as "invariably fun and full flavored".The company has also expanded into distilling as well, with micro distilleries in Newport and Portland.

CEO Jack Joyce has described the company's goals as, "We try to do four things - keep making great product, keep trying to make our packaging great, keep trying to integrate ourselves in our communities, and keep creating unique thunder (in promotions)...". Rogue maintains a company manifesto that expands on their values. The company gives back to its community in a variety of ways, for example helping the City of Newport celebrate its 125th anniversary with the issue of a limited edition Newport Anniversary Ale, whose historical label pays tribute to the Yaquina Brewery, Newport's first. Rogue also donates ongoing proceeds of a specialty brew series to the Oregon Coast Aquarium (past beers have included Spiny Lumpsucker Ale, Wolf Eel Ale, Shark Tooth Ale and Sea Otter Amber). One (Whale Ale) was even crafted in honor of Keiko, the orca, the Aquariums most celebrated resident and star of the movie Free Willy before his release into open waters. Heh heh... I love Free Willy Yo Mama jokes. In addition there are ongoing sponsored activities like the annual surfing event "The Gathering Longboard Classic" on Newport's South Beach.

I love that on their website, they have spec cards for each beer. Here's Yellow Snow's!

They also list that Yellow Snow IPA was originally introduced for the 2000 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. It is Rogue’s tribute to winter sports everywhere—downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross country, ice hockey, ice fishing, snowmobiling, and even curling. I might add that it's a chance for timid rebels like myself to go against those tried and true warning my parents gave me about my affection for snow. Take that! And getch yoself a pint of the Yellow Snow when you hear it on tap. You'll love the zing!

Ps.) With all that Oregon talk, it totally remind me of this:

You can put a bird on anything, and call it ART!

The End of the Tang Dynasty... well the Tang Project

I've just completed the fourth installment for the four part series I've been doing for Cricket. The first and second installments are out for January and February, and I think they printed nicely! So now I'll pack up my lavish silks and glittering gold for another project.

Nathaniel Fludd: Beastologist Web Launch!

I am more than excited to announce the launch of the official Nathaniel Fludd: Beastologist website! It's been a bit in the making, and will continuously have more content added; including more tidbits about Nate family, newer entries into the Book of Beasts, and a downloadable section for teachers and librarians. It's roughly two months before the fourth book's release, The Unicorn's Tale, so keep checking in!!

A special thanks goes out to Antoine Revoy, for his coding mastery, R.L. LaFevers for her wonderful words and creation of such a fun series, and Kate O'Sullivan, editor genius!

They're Dancin' Fools!

All work and no play makes Kelly drink no beer.
Beer post coming dang soon, peoples!

Here's a sneak peek to what's being finished on the ol' desk!

ps) it's currently 0˚F here. I kinda like it. I won't like the bill from the gas company in 2 weeks time though.

Beastologist Teaser

So, Shybird's been hard at work creating a special project for R.L. LaFever's chapter novel series, Nathaniel Fludd: Beastologist. We hope to be unveiling it in the next few weeks, but here's a slight teaser!

The Oceanliner Era

A project I've been working on has allowed me to research the golden age of the Transatlantic ocean-liners. There's something memorizing, yet frightening about the shear size of the ships. Looking at pictures of their construction, and imagining the craftsmen who built them is amazing.

Looking at some of the old pictures gives me the feeling of how cold these ships mght have been in the winter, or how the smell of the cleaning solutions might have been. I grew up hearing stories of when my grandparents came over from Ireland, and how the whole upper deck was covered in ice. About ten years after, the ship that brought them over, the Lancastria, was bombed and sunk off St. Nazaire, France. While lying at anchor in the Charpentier Roads, five enemy German planes dive bombed the ship which sank in twenty minutes taking the lives of nearly 3,000 troops and over 1,000 civilians. The Lancastria had been converted into a troopship and set sail from Liverpool on June 14th. to assist in the evacuation of British troops and refugees from France.

The Last of The Golden Fish

I kinda really enjoying some of the sketch quality of pencil! Hmmmm, time to start experimenting again! Wencheng was a blast to research. I am in love with the design sense of the Tang Dynasty. Awesome stuff.

Illustrated Classics... PHEW!

Wow, I know it doesn't look like much in the finish, but for some reason the size and detail level on this puppy took a LONG time! It was fun to paint this cover for Usborne, but I have to admit... I'm not a one hair brush kinda gal! I would love to be but it's just not in the cards!

I do like the detail of their version of Wizard of Oz. I had to stick fairly close to the interior's art of the stories, but it was fun to paint regardless!