My Dog as a Landscape.

While this isn't really illustration-related, I do love a good photo safari once in a while. I was shooting some sculptures in the light tent today, and Miss Terra conked out on her bed right next to me. (Extra-long walk today.) Some of her details caught my eye, and I already had one of my macro filters on....

A very textured snout.


Leg Landscapes.








...I always liked these spots on her chest/bib. I think it's called 'party mix?'





...and some talons for a finale.

She didn't even know I was taking her picture!

Needle Felting Test

I've always seen artists on Etsy who do this amazing fiber craft: Needle felting. I wanted to try it out for myself---and it's not as hard as I thought it would be!!
All you do is take loose wool roving (which is basically the fluff that is shorn right of the sheep or alpaca) and roll into little balls or forms, and stick it with a barbed needle a million times until the fibers are all mixed together and everything stays put. Keep sticking on new forms....then add some color patterns...it was very fun! I definitely recommend this to any crafter who might have the urge.
I made these 3 guys over the course of maybe 4 hours. The brontosaurus was my first.

(the giraffe started off his life as a bumblebee...but I changed my mind. Now he's a mutant with all of his appendages, but I'm okay with that!)


...looks like everyone in my family is getting wool Christmas ornaments this year!

Check out this felting-artist:

ameliamakesart.etsy.com
...really amazing work!

Aw Shucks!

Here's a fun little hobby of mine...I make a few of these guys whenever I need to get away from my not-so-fun deadlines for a few hours! These real Bluepoint oysters (that were quite tasty with horseradish and hot sauce last night!) have had their empty shells scrubbed clean and are now host to some polymer clay characters.
We went to our favorite Charleston restaurant/raw bar (PEARLZ) for some happy hour snacks yesterday, and the shells were just too perfect to pass up! I was a little embarrassed to ask for a to-go box for them ...until our server told me that people often request buckets & buckets of oyster shells! I felt better then.
(What on earth are people doing with all those shells?)

Entrepreneurs final

Here's the final full-page illustration for the Entrepreneur story. I'm happy I got to sculpt some local wildlife. We have a marshy area with a dock right behind our apartment, and I take Terra out there a few times a week to look for gators. None yet, but we've found plenty of evidence! ...just slides and claw prints so far.
Happy Tax Day!
~P.

Sleeping Terra Sketch

My dog can be such a distraction! I guess I miss my life drawing group...
This is how Terra spends about 85% of her day. Protecting my home from the UPS man must require plenty of rest!!!

Gator Done!

One of the final spot illustrations for a series for the College of Charleston's Alumni Magazine. It's an article with tips for entrepreneurs on getting their businesses to flourish. I was so happy I found a way to incorporate gators... they were so much fun to sculpt :~)
Have a good weekend!

...working!

I've been working on a ton of different projects lately. I should have some awesome finals to post here on Monday! So far here's a work in progress:

...a quick snapshot of part of a title for an article I'm illustrating.


This is a boxer sculpture I made for the Blue Ridge Boxer Rescue's Nub & Grub this weekend, a charity event to help raise some money for the rescue. This will be part of the auction...I hope it brings in some cash for BRBR!


...a little something fun I made with an oyster shell I found at the Isle of Palms this week. I was wondering about it's past occupant... this was sold on Etsy.com.


Another Etsy sculpture.

My Workspace

This is my art desk, all montaged together. It's usually much messier than this!