Figure Drawing

Here are some of my sketches from my weekly figure drawing group. I'm pleased with them....but I can definitely tell that I'm very out of practice! Haven't done this since my Junior year at Kent. Yikes!
I've been going every Sunday with my cool artsy illustrator-friend Shannon, and she's inspired me to re-vamp my dusty old website! It's about time. I'll let you know when it's up & running...

The Illustrated Dog

Once in a while I find time to squeeze in a fun piece that isn't aware of deadlines or created to please a client. Usually I find myself working away on a clay illustration at my desk...and I glance at the snoozing dog at my feet and can't help but break out the sketchbook! This sketch happened to make it into Illustrator + Photoshop for some fun with color.
I've recently joined a life drawing group here in Charleston at an awesome art center called Redux; it's been a while! Making my brain flex again... it's good practice.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Once in a while my art table gets a bit out of hand, so some organization was called for today. Some projects that have been completed get recycled back into new ones. One of the great things about polymer clay is that it doesn't dry out!
These were letters for a headline I made recently... ready for reincarnation.

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.