Book with my illustrations

I have my first illustrated book published!

Just sketches

Tried to make quick sketches from photos. The Sharpie marker is bold and you need to work quickly if you don't want ink building up along lines.

Antiqued book bundles

I saw these antiqued book bundles in the Restoration Hardware catalog and was fascinated! I love how anonymous and sculptural the old books without covers are!
Needless to say I knew what I would pick up on the next book sale in our library. We found bunch of old unwanted books on the table near the door - all free. I chose the yellowed ones and brought a full bag of them home.
The covers cut off - piece of string tied around - and I have my own free version of the lovely book sculptures.

Check out their site - I love, love, love melancholic beauty of their interiors.

Work in progress

I need an Excel table to keep tracks of all the planned pictures, small and big. I keep forgetting which ones I've traced already to the board for painting.
It's a book about a young and naive mouse girl which my sister wrote. The author said she is a lot like me - loves small precious things like stones,glass pieces, shells and pods, for example. So it's easy to draw:) - I ask myself - what I could wear in the situation or what things would be scattered around when I am ill - and voila! - they go to the paper.

I will try a conveyor method for painting - all the similar objects from different pictures at one time. Less fun but definitely time saving!

Spooky spoons

My scanner did it to the sketch of spoons. I don't know how! It would be interesting to repeat the effect, but I have no idea what to do. All the spoons are made seated so neatly as if on the stairs.

I need to experiment. I suspect that the paper should be moved during scanning.

Winter roses

We went to visit Eugene O'Neill's house ( it was my daughter's school assignment - and a good one, I must say), and while waiting for the shuttle I noticed these shy small roses on the sidewalk. I think this is how blush color look. Anyway, I had my new camera and took pictures of everything I saw. It wasn't very clever because batteries died in the middle of our visit when most interesting part began.
So I don't have pictures of O'Neill's incredibly tiny handwriting and of the holes with acorns that woodpeckers made in the old barn. Sigh.

But I have this:) Roses in January.

Cat

I drew this cat some time ago. Later it lent its slimness and beaded decorations to Madeline the Silver Cat series.

Birdcage necklace

I played with different beads and pendants and the result was four necklaces for four color types named after seasons. This one is definitely Summer - with its cool powdered colors,darkened metal and slick casual appearance.
Planned to put it on Etsy but other urgent plans made me put the holidays Etsy selling on stop.

There is a tiny bird in a ring inside the cage!

During the Bead Extravaganza show I was stopped with compliments by every other person when I wore this necklace:)

Artjournaling with friend

My artist friend from Germany came to visit me. So much fun! We brought catalogs from some shops in nearby plaza and sat down in the evening to make new pages in our artist journals.

When I saw the lamps on photo it immediately brought to my mind the pictures of ladies in crinolines and ballerinas in tutus.



Have you noticed that a hummingbird on a stamp is made entirely from butterflies?

Why am I not working???

I want to feel like that:



But actually I feel like that:



Something is preventing me from drawing:(