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

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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)