Illustration Friday "Glow"

I wish you all a new year glowing with good health, happiness, and exciting successes in everything you endeavour.

1 more sleep until Christmas

Ho Ho Ho ~ wishing you all a safe and happy Christmas and every success and joy for the coming year! Janet xoxo 

Illustration Friday _ Snow

Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 

("Let it snow" lyricist Sammy Cahn and the composer Jule Styne in 1945)

Illustration Friday _ Explore

I know there have been the sad and empty sounds of crickets chirping around my blog lately, I'm probably like everyone else at this time of year and just extremely busy.

I have a few weeks off now so I might have time to put into my blog as well as doing all of those other things that keep us busy at this time of year.

Here is a little something for the illustration Friday word of "explore" This little fairy has ventured away from home and is enjoying playing and exploring the neighbours garden after the rain.

Illustration Friday - Tree

Something a little bit different today. I was trying out different effects on a tree I drew and then painted in Photoshop. This one really struck a chord with me.

I think its because I have been reading The Folk of the Faraway Tree (etc) by Enid Blyton with my daughter and this just seemed to somehow have a magical lilt to me.

Illustration Friday _ Shy

Mummy Bunny and her shy little bunny boy.

Illustration Friday - Haunt

I remember growing up to the stories of the headless horseman that supposedly haunted the hill behind my grandmothers house.
My nan lived on the outskirts of a quiet little country town, pretty much surrounded by nothingness, with no real 'close neighbours'.
I remember that wonderful tingly feeling of fear and trepidation and a tiny bit of excitement mixed in too when we would visit and leave to go home late at night, walking out to the car in the pitch black dark, with the night noises all around us. I'd strain to hear the hooves of the horse but duck into my mums skirt at the same time. It was especially memorable when my brother or cousins would throw in sound effects or whisper things like "what was that"  to get us littler ones nicely afraid.

In tribute to simple times and wonderful memories, I have provided my rendition of a headless spectre this week, please meet Icabod Bunny. He doesn't ride a horse, he wanders looking for his lost carrot, and rattling a few chains here and there.

 If it is a dark night and you find yourself on a lonely country road, be very aware and indeed, very afraid.... Icabod could be there.....

Illustration Friday - sky

"Her head in the clouds"

Yah, I'm getting in early for this weeks IF after missing the last ... 2 I think.

I had art all arranged for them too! I spent most of my time over the past two weeks preparing for a local craft fair stall that I have been basically waiting a year to do. Its a great event as there are so many clever and high quality crafts and wares there. I've always enjoyed attending it as a visitor, this time all my preparation efforts were worthwhile and I had a very successful day as a seller too. Most importantly,  it was a fun day and I met many other lovely  artisans and wonderful people who commented so positively on my artworks and told me what they liked about them. I had my head in the clouds yesterday evening :-)
Ill definitely do it again next year! 

Blog post about folioacadamy

This little post is in response to a request for support I would guess you would say for folioacademy accessible via this link folioacademy home.


I have purchased a few of the courses presented by Will Terry and I have been incredibly satisfied with them and so I wouldn't hesitate to suggest them if you are considering an art course of some kind. I find the courses really easy to use and I love that I can come back to them whenever I want to, which is really handy when you have a full time job, young family and fairly hectic social life.

I hope to do more courses with them over time.   Janet

Illustration Friday Book

What could be better, reading, drinking a nice cup of coffee and day dreaming the afternoon away....

Illustration Friday crooked

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz6qCLedjFIo1LKQmB8zSygusufgoreEUpRKKL2yGOpIgw64Loabq_hMNxIE_RlmP3FrjuIHx_qH0euKSpxYgY8bo3LSQAHZ_4y29wRdf4RMkzufYtzjxPeDycQIb_BXZ01C3Wi5uycob_/s400/P1010969-1-1.jpg

Illustration Friday

A little picc I was working on for a little project some time ago, it worked perfectly for this weeks IF theme :-)
I didn't have time to smarten it up with a back ground or anything, if I dallied about doing that I would have missed the "burst" deadline!
I hope you enjoy these frollicking pups playing with bubbles with thier dad.

Illustration Friday Freeze

Sadly I think I am going to have to create a new blog, this one is so hard for me to access since I changed my primary email address a little while ago. Anyway, I'm in today so I will make the most of it.
This little girl really wants to play outside and is avoiding the freeze, the best way she knows how.

Illustration friday - lost

Now.... where did I put that bone!

Another little image courtesy of some digital play!
I do enjoy sitting at my computer and having some digital fun. I think I like it so much because I can do things quickly and time is a commodity I  don't seem to have much of these days.

Denise the dancing chicken!

Trialling some different techniques for applying colour! This little lady is inspired by some little girls I know who will be dancing up a storm in a concert tonight.


Meet Denise the dancing chicken!

There is life Jim but not as we know it...

This little illustration was meant for illustration friday last week, the theme was space. Sadly I missed the baot to get it in on time.

Do you think there is life out there grandpa?

Illustration Friday - Refresh!

I'm becoming the Queen of the last minute upload here.

Illustration Friday Secret

Psssst don't tell anyone but..............

The lion king

 

I enjoyed a bit of brush and ink experimentation the other day and from this emerged the very solemn “lion King” – half man half lion and dedicated ruler of his land. Also emerging was his evil brother, the more human looking of the two but certainly less fair and kind. He secretly wants the lion kings realm as his own…


A kind of restlessness has fallen over the kingdom and the animals are unsettled!

Illustration Friday - Hurry

Hurry - crack open the sketchbook, my new inktense have arrived.

I bought some new Inktense pencils so I so have been having a bit of fun sketching with them, just playing with htumbnails in my sketchbook to get a feel for them. This is a little medley of items from my sketchbook.

Apologies to any "boxer dog" owners, I know they are really very sweet, this one is just having a bad day, I think he is being tormented by the scraggy cat on the page.

Re Ink tense... I thought I would be able to just pick them up and go but I find them a little harder to use than I anticipated, it is very easy to make colour too intense and I find in my sketch book paper texture shows through in a less than pleasing way (whilst I love it with other mediums I use). I certainly need lots more practice and I think I will find them a great adjunct to other forms of painting, like using water colours and adding highlights and special bits with these much like I do with my water colour, oil pastel and pastel chalk pencils.

Don’t get me wrong, I love them, just can’t drive them as well as I would like to yet! :-)

I also bought myself an aqua brush, just because everyone who is anyone seems to have one darling… and I’m getting used to that too.

Its great fun experimenting.

Exciting news

Hooray! We had some lovely news this week with the safe arrival of our little nephew. This little sketch is just for him!

All images are © Janet Trotta 2012

Faded_ Illustration Friday

Whilst his youth had faded somewhat Bob still insisted on wearing the fashion of his heyday.

With his gammy knee he had had more than one incident on those platforms too!

Sadly the subtlety of the colour that I worked hard on trying to produce was lost a little in the scanning process..... never mind. I hope you enjoy this weeks Illustration Friday effort for the theme 'faded'.

Janet

Illustration Friday - Sight

What tremendously scary sights are they facing now?… is it the frightening falling crates of the “Madagascar” or the terrifyingly chomping tyrannosaurus rex of the “Jurassic park” ride?

This quick little illustration was prompted by a recent stopover in Singapore where we took out little girl to ‘universal studios!’ A great time was had by all, especially her as she tells everyone that was her most favourite thing of her whole holiday (which included a wonderful 4 weeks making our way around some of the most beautiful places in Italy) :-) She did like that too…..
Oh and I better say the rides were all okay for little ones so the level of scary may have been ramped up here a little… artistic license and all that!

And below is a belated entry for 'kernel' I whipped him up to try and get in on the last few hours of that prompt but despite getting him done in time I couldnt upload him as blogger was 'having a moment' and wouldnt let me into my page. I liked the old coot too much to ditch him so here he is.

“The Kernel” A man’s man and brave leader of the legendary ‘corncrop’ brigade.

I’m sure I will be posting lots of Italy related piccs in the coming weeks! I loved it so much, so inspirational and so beautiful there!

I’ve laid my hand on marble that was chiselled by Michelangelo. (Unfinished sculptures museum in Florence)

Having some fun, trying out new techniques and dabbling...

Funny how there is always at least one bit of my drawing that is wonky and I never really notice it until later. Not that Id probably change it.... I can be a lazy artist sometimes... I tell myself its my style...
And here some mini piccs, grabs from my sketchbook. I do believe my sketching style is getting looser! Yah! Ive been waiting ages for that.

Illustration Friday Vocal

All the single ladies all the single ladies.....

The vocals in our house are coming from our 6 year old Chipmunk ( Chipettes in particular) fan. There are a few favourites, like "firework", "SOS", "Party 'rockets' in the house tonight"
She even loves to draw them, thats them on TV!

Arabesque - triumphant RETURN to dancing!

She hadn't danced for years but when her feet hit that stage

and the music flowed it was like she had never been away!

I have had some time today to just have some fun so I have been working on vector images, just because I have missed doing anything digitally lately and I'm keen to keep learning and trying new things. There is just so much to learn!
After a couple of frogs and an Easter chick I progressed onto one of my favourite subjects - dancing mice....
I hope you enjoy her show

30 day drawing challenge

30 day drawing challenge! Yah! What a concept.
Ive been too busy lately to do much art and posting of art, Well actually, I have been doing the illustrations, just not putting them up here. This might be just what I need to redirect me to take the time I need in my busy days and get onto my blog, which feels very neglected and forgotten of late. Ive decided that it is always like this at the beginning of a new year and I'm not sure why. There are pockets of busy chaos then quieter times where I get more done. Anyway, re my blog - I miss it!
Every couple of days I will put up my updates - warts and all. I reckon that some of them will be pretty rushed quick piccs, but I don't care, its all about fun!
Here's one I prepared earlier... ;-) well one of my hand painted mini greeting cards  anyway. Cant stand to do a post without a picc even if it doesn't necessarily relate to the post. :-)

I plan to start this weekend! Whoo hoo!



Illustration Friday - Intention

Hello my wonderful blogger friends, I'm so sorry I have been MIA for such a long time. I have been busssyyyyyy  - hectic and on top of that having "blogger issues" so I cant just pop in for 5 minutes when I have a chance. I hope you are all still with me and I hope to rectify the " I never have time " syndrome that has been plaguing me.

Anyway here is my IF entry for "Intention"

Meet Wild Bill Hic-croc! Its his intention to keep the west safe from varmints and if I were you, I wouldn't stand in his way!

      Hey Pardner.... whats your intention?

You might ask whats a crocodile doing way out in desert country... but I wouldn't!

He has dedicated his life to his mission, he will go wherever he needs to.

Illustration Friday - Suspense

Better late than never.

And the winner is........

Illustration Friday Forward

This illustration is an older one and it came to mind when I saw the topic for this week as I see him as being a very upwardly mobile business rhino and the only way for him in his career is forward!
I gave him an appropriate background and here he is, ready to share his success with you!

Anniversary trip

Oh its been ages since I posted, sorry, I'm back at work and in full swing!
I have had a lovely break though, it was our anniversary so we ( the family ) went down the coast and had a wonderful "time out" from everyday activity.
The place we stayed was idyllic, it is a working farm with accommodation, just out of a small town but far enough away from everything that it was completely tranquil and serene.
The sun went down in the evening to a chorus of birds of lots of varieties and came up to more of the same.
We had breakfast out in our covered porch in our own little piece of paradise, visited by the farmers dogs and cat after a bit of anything they could get their paws on to eat,  and sheep at our back door.
We went to the small local beaches which were dotted along the coastline and the water was gorgeous, calm mostly and deep blues and aqua greens.
After 5 o'clock we had to travel 1/2 an hour to get to find anything open (shops restaurants etc) and on our evening trips out to get dinner from a bigger town we would pass loads of kangaroos grazing happily in paddocks.
I absolutely loved the colours, being our summer the earth was pretty parched and dry but the colours just looked gorgeous together!These and the landscape reminded me of my home town growing up (albeit that wasn't coastal) but it did have a lot of familiar looking scenery.

Safe to say that a wonderful and relating time was had by all!

Some piccs below!

The colours

Ahhh feel the serenity!

Dibbydabby sand art :-)

Sunsets

 

A wet dog imprint - I thought it looked pretty cool!

An emu!

Okay, that's the family picc 'slide show' over... hope you enjoyed it :)

I enjoy seeing other peoples lovely photos, especially of places I have never been, that's why i thought i would share ours.

xxxx Janet 

Creative Tuesday Bubblegum

Ned is not pleased!

Please dispose of your bubblegum thoughtfully, this has been a 'Ned' community announcement.

The creative Tuesday word this week is Bubblegum ( in case you haven't figured it out :P) See the other interpretations at http://creativetuesdays.blogspot.com/

Excuse the dullness of the photo of Ned, its 0630 here and I'm doing this while getting ready for work. I've had the illustration done for days. There is something to be said about doing things last minute

xx Janet