Illustration Friday _ Ferrocious

Have you ever had much to do with Alpacas? They look all docile and sweet but they can be quite mean when they get their dander up!
We first learnt this when we went on a holiday with our pooch and stayed at an Alpaca farm. "Make sure your dog doesn't go near the Alpacas" he said, "they will rip it apart" (might have been nice to include that in the brochure....)
Alpacas are used quite successfully on some farms in Australia (and worldwide) to protect the animal herds like sheep or cattle. I've placed a little info and some links below if you are interested.

Meet Al "Paccino" Pacca

This was my first one until I realised I was wrong... but I still like it! Sorry Mr Paccino, Sorry Mr De Niro...

Alpacas -
Apparently they have an aversion to canines and foxes, coyotes etc. Can rear up on their hind legs and stomp them
"Screaming and neck wrestling are behaviors alpaca males display when trying to establish dominance. They try to bite testicles and run at break-neck speeds around the pastures." - Reference article here: http://www.owning-alpaca.com/alpaca-males.html
"Alpacas are very alert, with excellent eyesight. A loud distress or warning call quickly sees the adults in a herd encircle the young to protect them from approaching danger. Much to the
intruder’s surprise, the assertive leaders then approach with great speed, stomping, kicking,
spitting or biting which soon gets the message across and sees the aggressor fleeing for cover." Reference article here: http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/37800/Australian_Alpacas.pdf
Another article: http://www.alpaca.asn.au/docs/about/info/6herdprotectors.pdf

Creative Tuesday - Morning

Well Mortimer Mouse has trouble getting up early and so do I! I love mornings but find getting out of bed on work days to be quite difficult some times.

What a day I have had with computers today. I did my initial sketch this morning during three consecutive waiting periods for my work PC to reboot after three major crashes (resulting in that awful blue screen that has such a bad reputation!) Then tonight I was colouring it at home earlier and - you guessed it - crash! I hadn't saved so lost it all. This is a really quick colouring I have done before I take myself off to bed. If I stay up much longer it will be even harder to get up in the morning than usual!

Please 'do yourself a favour' and check out all the toasty treats for the theme of "morning" at http://goodteatoo.blogspot.com/

Moving forward

Well I am going to soon move into a new stage with my work, I will attend my first market within the next few months... I haven't narrowed it down to which one yet :-) - perhaps that had better come first, but I haven't been completely without preparation or research, I have been scoping the best place for me to start for a while now. I just want something small and intimate as I just want to see how my work is received out there, plus that is more my style. My ultimate path is to do children's book illustration but this might be a nice entry point. I would love to get a little money from what I do to fund more of what I want to do. It would be great if my art paid for my equipment, some new art goodies - there are so many things I want to try  in terms of products and do in terms of techniques-  and even get me some of the reference books I have been craving but haven't gotten to yet and some online courses I like.
Wow ... I don't want much do I?
Anyway, Ill keep you posted.
This is a little card front I have developed today, a reworking of one of my sketch book illustrations I liked. 

Illustration Friday _ Mesmerizing

Puss had been taking some online night classes on hypnotism,

he couldn't wait to see if they worked!

Only trouble was - he hadn't thought about the fact he

hadn't learnt how to undo the process yet...

Illustration Friday - Boundaries

Well hello everyone! Sorry I haven’t been on here for ages, we have had a busy week with family celebrations, work, normal routine and house guests... I’m being a little rude tonight I guess by setting myself up in the computer room and getting this little image done for illustration Friday but I didn’t want to miss a week if I could help it, I enjoy the challenge and I’m sure our visitors understand, they are very supportive of my art.


The boundaries I am depicting here are the ones that come purely from the wonderful colours in the country side, from the different shades and shapes and spaces that are defined by the crops or landscape that fills them. You don’t need fences, the divisions are drawn by the essence of that for which each area is being farmed. I was inspired for this image by my trips ‘home’ through the NSW country side; I love to travel the country roads, flanked by the rich tapestries of colour that always seem to beckon and welcome me back .

Feeling blue... or should that be green

Well I have the flu - again- but this time marked with a really nasty insistent and tiring cough.
I tried to do some painting yesterday and everything I set out to do kind of worked out wrong, it was like my artistic eye was off. that set me to thinking, I wonder if just as we are physically off when we are sick, we may also be artistically impacted as well?
I don't know but it was disconcerting. Ive had days like that before of course but now I wonder if I might have felt under the weather then too... ah I'll have to ponder it a bit more...

Illustration Friday - Mysterious

Alana had heard the stories of the mysterious big black cats that had been terrorising towns and taking cattle but when this little fella rocked up on her doorstep she was sure he was just an ordinary kitty... wasn't he?

There have long been tales of mysterious big cats roaming Australian bushland with stories of escaped zoo animals or freed mascots that had gone out and bred with the feral cats in the wild. There is even talk of the big cats being ferrals and that have genetically engineered themselves over time to be bigger and stronger to deal with a life in the wild.

Whatever they are, I've seen one, years ago, out with my brother and cousins and a friend on a farm, we all saw it and all were stunned and amazed at the size and speed of the animal we saw. All we do know is that it wasn't a domestic cat.

Seems lots of people have seen them. Here are a few links about the mysterious big cats. Fact or fiction, you decide!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHWhC9tO3dM (fast forward past the football)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_cat

my entry in the London Art College 2011 art competition

Well its that time of year again and the Art College I study with are having their annual art competition. I have chosen to use this piece for my entry, inspired by an early morning walk through the botanical garden next to my workplace when the lovely water lily pond was in full bloom. It truly was sight to behold and imprinted on my memory so I wanted to capture that in this little piece. You need to be a student of the college to enter and entries have now closed, I only got in by the skin of my teeth as I have been away from my course work for a little while.

I love this college as I have done a prior course, straight into my current and have plans for more, for me its like getting my BA but being able to pick and chose exactly what I want to study and work on my personal limitations and strengths. The true learner centred adult learning environment! Of course I won't hold a BA but for me its more about the knowledge and skill I achieve and once I finish I hope to hold a few Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas.  The other great thing about it are the wonderfully helpful staff and supportive learning environment. Being an adult educator myself I value what they provide.

London Art College: http://www.londonartcollege.co.uk/

Water lily

All images on appear on this blog are copyright Janet Trotta

I'm bonkers for bunnies!

I told you I had a thing for bunnies at the moment! Expect to see more!

I also have a thing for experimenting but that's not new, maybe I am just more confident about putting my artistic musings on my blog now :-)

Sunny day bunnies in love!

I find a lot of my work is quick, but that's often so I can get some done as I don't have a lot of time to paint and draw, it has to fit around the rest of my world but it is such an important part i need to maximise what time I do have. Maybe I will work these up into a "proper" illustration one day

I actually have several projects I need to start working on so better start focusing on them.

xx Janet

Creative Tuesday - ideal coffee break

Cappuccino's with the bunny girl pals. (I have a thing for bunnies at the moment)

The kids are playing happily together, we have time to catch up, chat, laugh, and relax. An ideal way to unwind and treat yourself: good friends, nice coffee and a lightness that comes with familiarity, being yourself and just enjoying each others company.

Sorry, ths is a real quick one, done in a bit of a rough and experimental style. Im not sure that I like it.... oh well.

To check out all the other lovely artworks pelase go to http://goodteatoo.blogspot.com/

Cheers - have a great day everyone.

Illustration Friday - Disguise

Just like any good business person the Easter bunny needed to maximise his profits. Every year in his non peak seasons he disguises himself as a local chicken farmer to pedal some of his surplus stock

This is a bit of a dalliance with vector art. I did an online tutorial recently which gave me a few basics so I could experiment and give it a try, I have done one or two other little trials, I might pop them up later. I don't know that it is for me though, the symmetry is off putting for me - not really my style. This is a blended approach, not all vector.

I know there are some vector artists out there that do stunning work, so I certainly won't right it off for myself just yet, I will practice when I can and see what comes. I do love experimenting with new things and teaching myself new skills. :-)

This is the vector tutorial I used, I found it really straight forward and simple to follow. It's for fireworks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvaUr67KB00&feature=relmfu uploaded by mlwebconsultation

Then I developed this in illustrator with the knowledge I learnt from the above tutorial. I must say, I find illustrator quite hard to work with and ended up doing my outlines there and all of the painting in photoshop. More tutorials required i feel :-D If anyone knows any good ones, please let me know.

Illustration Friday _ Influence

My illustration is a little personal this week. When the word was influence I immediately thought of our little pooch Tuvoc, who sadly isn't with us anymore, but as such a huge part of all of our lives there is not a day that goes past where we don't mention her, or tell a funny story, or shed a quiet tear,  or think of her in some way. She was truly an important part of our family.

Her influence,

Live life everyday, love the people who love you and show them how much you care, with carefree abandon! Never hold back. love the sun on your back and the wind in your face and most of all, never grow old, enjoy every minute as if you were young enough to roll on the grass, chase butterflies, run like the wind, dig holes in the sand, and jump into any close body of water when you know you really shouldn't, all just because it feels so good!

She got the nickname "little pig" when my brother was telling us he had heard the only animal that can't be successfully put in a harness is a pig because of their rotund body shape - of course this was while we were trying to her harness on for a walk one day and she kept backing out of it! Most unkind but the name stuck!

Having a great time ripping paper after one of our moves

Creative Tuesday = Moon

I've been watching a lot of the TV show "true blood" lately and the significance of a full moon is often talked about there, but more than anything I was drawn to the majesty of the wolf, I'm very much a canine person and what could be more lunar than a wolf baying at the moon.

Just a little aside, we get much amusement as our little girl misunderstood what we said when she heard us talking about the moon one night and now she calls her (moon) mooner (instead of lunar).

I'm sorry folks, I won't be able to comment on other images until later, I'm off to work in a short time. Its going to be a hard day after about 1 hour sleep overnight as I have been up with my little munchkin who has had a bad earache - all night! Poor poppet, so the moon has been our companion over the past 8 hours. Dad has taken over now, so its hi ho hi ho ... for me.

check out all the other images at Hot Toast and Jam

Illustration Friday - swell

When Theodore set out the weather prediction was for sunshine and smooth sailing, but when he hit the open water, things began to change. The swell had picked up and it was becoming quite choppy. Grey clouds rolled in.

Illustration Friday - Imperfect

Hello, just a quick illo this week, whats new I hear you ask?

This little image was inspired by the illustration Friday word imperfect which brought back some childhood memories of mine. We had chooks ( chickens) and they were allowed to roam free around our yard, they laid our egg supply but we also had broody hens and chicks from time to time.

On at least two occasions i remember there was a little chick born with a deformed leg. These little chickens really fought for survival and to keep up with their much healthier siblings and mum but alas, they could never really compete. When they could no longer keep up and things were glum we would take them inside and put them in an ice cream container with lots of soft padding and keep them warm, feeding them with an eye dropper until their time came.

I like to think we brought those little chicks some comfort at that time.

Of course it all seems a little rosier in this little picc.

ice cream - creative tuesday

Well I have decided to join in with the creative and talented crew of Mr Toasts Creative Tuesday and pop in an illustration of my own.  I'm so excited about it, I have two.

The first one is one I did specifically but the second is one that my little girl and I did together for Creative Tuesday, when I first decided I would join in when I can. When I sat down to have a sketch in the lounge room and told her about the theme she sat with me and then the pencils and texta's came out and we had baby bear ready for uploading ( I did a little touch up in a few spots ) but many of the colours - especially the ice cream flavours ( strawberry and banana - her favourites) , choice of topping and lots of bits are hers.

Don't expect two too often - finding time for one is usually a drama for me. 

Babies first ice cream

I hope you enjoy these for now. Cheers Janet

Click the link above or here to visit Hot Toast and Jam website



Illustration Friday - Obsession

What a great word this week!

My adapted sketch this week reflects that obsession can be a potentially dark subject but I don't need to explain that!

What is his story, why is he there?

Who has that uncomfortable feeling they are being watched but can't pinpoint whats causing it ?

How long has he been there?

Lets hope that he has a good reason for being there!

my tooth is feeling better! Yah!

Me over the weekend

Well.... I didn't actually wear a thing around my head but that's all I could think about - those cartoon characters with the bandage around their face when they had a sore tooth. 1 root canal (1/2 done?) and I feel so much better, just the residual discomfort from the work now. 1 - 2 more to go to complete the process in 1 month and then eventually a crown.

I just want to say, even know he will never read this, a huge thank you to the endodontist who helped me, Dr Farmer - he was fantastic and took great care and made sure I was pain free and relaxed the whole time. A lovely man who is wonderful at his job and has a wonderful respect for his patients.  A big thank you to all endodentists and dentists and health workers out there who read this post! You make a big difference in peoples lives!

Thanks also to everyone who popped by my last post with reassurance, it really meant a lot and you were all right, it didn't hurt and I just kept my eye on the prize - relief !

xo Janet

Illustration Friday - Purr-ennial

I'm afraid my take on illustration Friday has been led a touch astray by a little folly this week. I thought of lots of true perennial things and was going to do a little tribute to the Australian gum tree which grows to majestic heights and lives for many hundreds of years... but I needed something cheery in my week this weekend - I'm nursing a cracked and infected molar, going for root canal tomorrow ( Ive never had one before so I'm a bit apprehensive as well as sore  :-/) and just wanted to have some fun!

Meet Miss Kitty and the illustration Friday image this week is about her purr - ennial drive to be a fashionista, looked up to by the kitties in her group and to always make a positive fashion statement (and not become a fashion victim)

Business kitty             Glamour puss                    Kitty next door

Illustration friday - Gesture.... Bunny makes a wish

Just something I'm trialling.... I move between digital and traditional illustration a lot, I guess I have grown to love creating in both mediums so that's a good thing.

That night, before she turned out her light and went to sleep

bunny looked to the stars and made a wish

Hoping all of your wishes come true :-)

Now I have decided to make this my Illustration Friday entry as well. It's my gesture of friendship to all of you wonderful people who visit my blog and make this a shared experience which is rewarding and so very enjoyable for me! xo Janet