Wednesday, December 30, 2009

New magazine work



I really love working for children's magazines! Here are a couple pieces I recently illustrated for Highlight's and Humpty Dumpty magazine. The spread for Humpty Dumpty was in the Nov/Dec 2009 issue and the single page for Highlight's is in the Jan. 2010 issue.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

A White Christmas



Although I feel sad for the families that didn't get to spend Christmas together because of flight delays or cancellations I still enjoyed our white Christmas.(Sorry Dickersons!) My 4 door Jeep Wrangler really gets around in the snow great, thankfully.

Here is a shot of our house just a couple hours ago as it began to turn dark and the snow keeps falling. It looks like we didn't get much snow but they say we got 7 inches. I think it's because the winds were so high (40 mph gusts) that the snow has just blown around and drifted instead of accumulating.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Merry Christmas!!


Wishing all my blogging friends a very Merry Christmas!

I have been working on a new book and can't post anything from it but here's a sketch I did very quickly last week. Can you guess what's been on my mind lately?! We are going to get a dog in the Spring if I can wait that long! Can't wait!!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes

A fellow artist shared this youtube for all of us who have had a tough year! Hope it inspires you to keep up the good fight! :o)

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

First snow


We got our first snow last night...well, more like a dusting of snow but it started out as freezing rain so I was very happy to see it change to snow. Here's a photo as of this morning. It was freezing! I took my camera out to the curb when I had to go fetch the trash can.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Thankful!


This is a bit late but I am VERY thankful this year for so many things! My health, my family and friends and so much more! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration!

Blessings to you all!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

It's almost time for the Holidays again!


Thanksgiving is next week and then let the Christmas decorating begin the day after! It's tradition at the Harris household! :o)

Friday, November 6, 2009

Blur - Illustration Friday


This is a small look at a piece I did for an upcoming magazine piece but I changed it a bit and put it through a really fun Photoshop filter to give it the blur effect as if you are looking through a frosted glass window. Be sure to click on the piece to see the larger version and the full effect.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Skinny - Illustration Friday



Here are a couple characters that were part of a series of six books I illustrated last year. They are definitely on the "skinny" side.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Sunday, October 18, 2009

My favorite tree


I had some fun with Photoshop and my favorite tree in my front yard. It's especially bright this Autumn. The leaves in the background were all gathered from this tree. It's always fun to see what color it will be each year.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Great tips for getting published in Children's Illustration


For those who want to get started in Children's publishing as an illustrator or even those who are already working in kid's publishing; check out this wonderfully informative post by Paige Keiser. Thanks Paige for all you do for illustrators on your blog!!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Highlight's Illustrators Party 2009

Here are some of the "Highlights" to the 2009 Highlight's Illustrators Party! As you can see...fun was had by all!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

My sweet Brandy girl


It will be a year in October since we had to let our sweet Brandy girl. I still miss her so. Here she is just a couple years ago by my favorite tree in the front yard.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Highlight's Illustrator's Party 2009


Honesdale, PA...here we come!! I know I've posted this one before but it seemed appropriate. :o) I'm looking forward to seeing my illustrator friends again this year at the 2009 Highlights Illustrator's Party. What a great group of people!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The fabulous Quentin Blake!

Here is a wonderful new video by one of my favorites, Quentin Blake! Thanks to Anette Heiberg for this fabulous link !

Monday, August 31, 2009

Fall is in the air


Sorry for my long absence on my blog. I have been working on my writing and have been neglecting the drawing side.

Fall is just around the corner which is my favorite time of the year! I love the cooler nights and the lower humidity this time of year in the midwest. A few of the trees are just starting to get tipped with warm hues of oranges and reds.

Here are a few of the leaves I picked up last Fall.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Illustration Friday - Wrapped

Here's the traditional version of the post below. It is also my IF post for the week.
Grace's kitty had her wrapped around her little finger. Kitty could do no wrong in her eyes.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

color study


Here is my digital color study and although it's in final form I am still going to try a traditional version so stay tuned. Here's the original sketch. It's funny, with all the cats I have been drawing lately you'd think I was a cat person but actually I am a dog person. My hubby's allergy to cats is most likey a big reason for that. Don't get me wrong...I love kitties, it's just I am a MAJOR dog-lover!

Another observation I made regarding the chair pattern. I love plaids and polka dots and I realize this pattern may look a bit too traditional or out of style with the current trends but it reminds me of a well loved and worn-in grandpa's chair so I kept the pattern.

Monday, August 10, 2009

a little peek


I have been busy working on a new magazine piece but it won't be published until November so in the mean time all I can show is a little peek. I'll be painting some of my recent sketches soon so check back.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Monday, August 3, 2009

first try...


OK, here's my first try. I will eventually try one with the boy, too. That is if I find time before the fall mailers need to go out. I have been keeping busy with some work...yay! That is a very good thing considering what a dismal year it's been in the industry. So, once I get my magazine illo. painted, I'll get back to trying another painting. But for now, here is the first try.

Monday, July 27, 2009

A Fall sketch


I know it's a bit early for Fall but I am working on images for my next mailer. I need to decide wether to leave the boy in the background. My hubby thinks it would make a more dynamic piece if I left him out. What do you all think?

Thursday, July 23, 2009

another sketch


Here is another sketch...I am working on some Fall images for my next mailer so you will see that theme in the next couple sketches.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

a new sketch



While on vacation last week I had a little time for sketching just for fun. Here is one of them. I'll post more soon.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

We're back!!

We're back from a fabulous vacation. Here are just a couple of the many photos I took of the Big Sur coastline in California. Some of the most beautiful country I've seen in my life!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Joyride in color

I practiced on Strathmore bristol board and then did it on watercolor paper, Winsor & Newton Hot Press which has a little more tooth to it than most hot press. I like things about both of them. What do you all think?



Tuesday, June 30, 2009

On my desk




As I am waiting for sketch approval on an assignment I am painting the previous "Joyride" piece. I'll post the final soon.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Worn - Illustration Friday



Crockett loves his worn in skate-boarding t-shirt best! This is a character sketch for a book series I did awhile back...

my favorite flower


Sorry, I have been absent from posting for awhile. I have a fun new magazine piece I am working on so I have been a bit busy. I will return with some new art soon but in the meantime here is a photo of what's in my kitchen at the moment. I found these lovely sunflowers at the grocery store and just could not resist!

I love so many flowers but if I had to pick my favorite, it would be sunflowers...at least for now. Tomorrow, it might be tulips or poppies or....

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Joyride!

While relaxing at my brother's wonderful cabin this weekend I also got a little sketching in...

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Summer art


My hubby and I recently flagged down the popsicle man and got orange creamsicles. We both felt like kids again! Oh the memories of summer's past.

Sorry about all the copyright marks but with the internet, it's become a necessity since so many folks don't understand they can't just borrow images that don't belong to them without permission.
: (

Thursday, May 28, 2009

painting



Here is the traditional watercolor of the previous piece. As you can see I changed the colors a bit here and there. I may still add some more to it but thought I'd go ahead and post it in case I overwork it. Then again, I may not touch it and leave it as is.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

digital color study


Here is a digital water color study. I plan on painting it traditionally next. I find that when I paint without doing a color study first, I usually regret it.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Illustration Friday - Cracked

I know I am taking these IF topics pretty literally but I had this one in the archives so I thought why not! This was done for an Easter/Spring book back in 2007.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Peonies

My sweet friend, Kathy Couri brought me the most beautiful bouquet today! I never knew there were so many varieties of peonies!! I had fun playing with the camera and lighting as well as Photoshop. THANK YOU, Kathy!!