Beauty and The Beast

I am currently working on a few book ideas...one is a twist on the Beauty and The Beast story where the Beauty is actually the "bad" guy and the Beast the "good"...this is a scene where Beauty (until better name can be found) is sneaking into the Beast's (again, until better name can be found) garden. It has a little bit of a Secret Garden twist on it as well.

maybe it will snow...

This year there wasn't a white Christmas...which didn't bother me too much...it is easier to drive/walk in that way. And yet, there is still something so magical about snow at night. Maybe it will snow on New Years?...

Merry Christmas All

May you all have a wonderful, warm, fluffy, fuzzy Christmas full of good company, family, and laughter!

snowy night

snack time...

Here is a sketch that I am thinking of making for Christmas present....What do you think? Would you want this for Christmas?

recent poject...

I helped out on this project with a couple other illustrators I know a few weeks ago. (It can get a little annoying after a while, so feel free to put it on mute and listen to your own music...) Even though it is not "mine" it was fun to work on one style to create something larger than myself...

Aubrey

sketch for a client who loves jewel tones...

walking and chewing gum at the same time

I follow a blog called The Sartorialist. This guy just goes around taking amazing photos of amazing fashions on everyday (but, amazing) people. I love it! I sat down to watch a movie, but my hands wouldn't keep still so I drew this pic as a study.

cold snowy day

Today was a very cold, and blue day. I always find it amazing that I can look outside and tell if it is going to rain or snow. By sight alone I can tell how warm I need to dress, isn't that amazing?

Veterans Day

Today I wanted to thank and honor my Grandpa, Richard K. Sorenson.

In WWII while stationed at Kwajalein, he threw himself on an active Japaneses grenade, taking the full impact and saving the lives of five other Marines. He amazingly survived. For his heroism he recieved the Medal of Honor, the highest honor one in the can receive in the US military. Of the 27 Marines who similarly threw themselves on grenades to save the lives of their fellow Marines during WWII, Sorenson was one of only four who survived.

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to

PRIVATE RICHARD K. SORENSON
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE

for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with an assault battalion attached to the Fourth Marine Division during the battle of Namur Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, on February 1–2, 1944. Putting up a brave defense against a particularly violent counterattack by the enemy during invasion operations, Private Sorenson and five other Marines occupying a shellhole were endangered by a Japanese grenade thrown into their midst. Unhesitatingly, and with complete disregard for his own safety, Private Sorenson hurled himself upon the deadly weapon, heroically taking the full impact of the explosion. As a result of his gallant action, he was severely wounded, but the lives of his comrades were saved. His great personal valor and exceptional spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of almost certain death were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United Stated Naval Service.

/S/ Franklin D Roosevelt

Thank you Grandpa! I love and miss you.

Below is some more information on him:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_K._Sorenson

http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,MoH_Richard_Sorenson,00.html

http://www.ac-hs.org/RichardSorenson.htm

waitng for a green light

another limited palette sketch.

Have a happy day

nothing to wear

"I have nothing to wear!"
...

I felt very much this way today-let me take that back- I feel like this almost everyday. I have a closet full of clothes, beautiful clothes, clothes that are stylish, clothes that I look really good in, clothes that I spent a lot of money on! Yet I can only see what I am lacking (like a pair of camel colored corduroy strait-legged pants) until then how can I possibly ever wear my navy tops when I know that somewhere in the world are those corduroys?! And mind you I have never actually seen these pants in person, I just imagine them and believe the world would be better if I had them.You laugh, but I am serious. I really worry about this kind of stuff. How sad that something so unimportant leans so heavily on my happiness.

first snow

I am not normally a fan of snow, however I do try to find the beauty in all things. So when I saw the snow fall for the first time tonight I decided to make a illustration out of it.

I chose to make the snow looking in, instead of the people looking out. This way the snow was more a character than a object-however the snow is still a secondary character to the main figures. I also tried to play with color contrast and value- wondering what the figures nearest to the window would look like vs the figures farther away. I tried to keep in mind while this is a "cool" palette I still wanted warmth; so I focused on warm grays and shades of yellow ocher, rather than various shades of blue which would be a normal fall back for someone painting night.

I sound a little geeky, but I love this stuff!

Over all, it makes me smile.
And I hope it makes you smile too :)

a slow awakening quilt

Here is a sneak peak of the quilt. It is more blue -like the sketch- in person.

(Just to let you know, it is so much easier to critique a 3D object when it is scanned. I already know where I need to fix now- where before I was interrupted by shadow and I wasn't sure.)

a slow awakening

[a slow awakening]

I drew this image the moment I woke up today, below is a description I wrote next to the sketch:

"The day after I quit my job on a sales floor selling furniture; I quit so that I could have time to be an artist. It is one of the bravest things I have ever done- to give up a security for a passion. Wakening slowly, the thoughts of what I will now have to do (with my life) to reach my goal as an artist now begins to flood my mind. They (the thoughts) become *more solid, more real. There is a white space between the blanket and the girl, that blank space is faith- facing the fear of the unknown, trusting in me, and my God."

*quilt is the represented as the mind's understanding/space between dreaming and reality, wish and a goal. The solidness of the blocks is the reality that this is all possible.

(The final will be in fabric and paper)

wet weather

Rainy/chilly weather was on my mind today, apparently. Here are a few sketches that I did this evening: I tossed some value and color on in Photoshop. I look forward to making these final illustrations!
Have a happy day!
And as always let me know what you think?!

first leaf of october

I wanted to quickly scan this in and show you a more finalized sketch of the girl (thumb and color comp in previous posting) I have been sketching in pen for so long (training my eye and hand not to erase) that once I put the pencil to the paper I didn't need to erase, that was a pretty neat feeling.

Happy October

Tuesdays with Sally

I listened to a talk today about using time wisely...I knew I was guilty because I haven't been building my portfolio or creating at all. So I quickly sketched this up while I listened.


I played with color (which is o.k.)


It is hard to juggle life, but I need to make time for my art, after all I am an artist.

say hello

Labor Day

today I was pulling up the weeds in the garden & I saw a butterfly go over my head. There is just something about a butterfly on a cloudy day that makes me happy.

street in fall

illustration idea sketch

September 2nd

illustration idea sketch

pile

illustration idea

flight

sketch for illustration idea

Coffee Cup Girl

Here is the "Coffee Cup Girl" so far...

...since it is only scanned it only looks ok. It would look 10x better when assembled all together.

(P.S. I made the dpi high so you could see the detail.)

Have a happy day!

As luck would have it

So as luck would have it I can't find my watercolor set for the life of me; or my favorite brushes! They have gone missing since my trip to Bear Lake. Oh well...I have a plan B.



Do you remember this comp?

I inked the main girl today (not shown-yet) and got her clothes done (above). The examples look poor, because my tools are poor. I am selling art at an auction this Thursday -in Provo if you are in the area- so I hope to earn money for at least a camera ($600-ish) and scanner ($3000-ish.) Maybe I will earn the camera? Scanner is in the far future, but the camera will help me produce quality photos so I can get some jobs which will help me pay for that.

Well, that is the plan :)


I want the lighting on the main girl to have this look (above.)

study of a painting

Here is a painting by Fredrick Carl Frieseke --The Yellow Room, next to it is my study from it. Another study, perhaps too close to the original. But I wasn't trying to pull this off as my original idea to begin with. Just a study of color and pattern with a more modern twist.

study of night

As I have mentioned before, I am building my portfolio- trying to find a market to put it in, as well. I have too many images of women in flowing dresses in nature. I needed a mix. So I made myself a challenge:

1)night
2)limited palette
3)mystery scene


The third wasn't as much of a challenge as I thought it would be (meaning I wasn't pulling at my hair.) It was really fun! It made me think and create in a way that wasn't my norm.

Above are color comps/sketches of possible paintings for a young adult book (tween), children's book market. The first is a book cover idea, the second could be a cover as well a page in a children's book.

The first image, I wanted to create the illusion of being in a bird cage. So I painted stripes around the crow on the wall and on the girls dress. By slanting the image I created a sense of urgency along with the clues of the sudden appearance of a light, the opened letter, and the squawking of the crow. But even in this scene I just couldn't quite get by without flowing hair and fluffy dresses :)

The second image, I wanted to give the viewer the feeling of waking up in a strange space. So everything in the room is twice the size it should be. I love the the girl in the HUGE chair! I am excited to make that one into a real painting.

I love knowing that with each image I make I get a little better. Notice that my contrast between values is getting better? I love being an artist, it allows me to have have a visual journal of growth.

Have a happy day!

Drawsome Monday! Bear Lake Sketches

I went to Bear Lake, Idaho this weekend with mu church group. We went boating, water sports, swimming, slept under the stars- super fun! Here are some sketches I made while there.






Have a wonderful day!

I Drew This Thing, Friday

The word this week is:

Obsession

I will make something this week, but like I said I have been a little busy. More than expected.
Have a happy day!

This Artist is Neat Wednesday! Karen Klassen

Sorry about the delay in my posts, I had to take care of things and I am just barley getting back into the groove.

This week I am introducing you to Karen Klassen. Not only is she great because we share the same name, or because she is a super nice artist-- but also because she is good at what she does.

Look for yourself.



I just wish I was a brave with color as she was :)

Have a happy day!