HAPPY NEW YEAR !

H A P P Y   2 0 1 6 !

Wishing you all a blessed and happy new year!

Flowers for the Winter Solstice

Flowers From My Garden

FLOWERS IN TEAPOT

This was done based on several sketches I did at the Cleveland Fine Art by the Hand this past November when the traffic got slow. Cleveland skies get quite overcast this time of year and I though illustrating a floral was a nice change of pace.

 

Spring's Promise

Spring's Promise

Okay, I know Christmas is in less than two weeks, but it has been unseasonably warm. Yesterday it felt like a warm day in March. If I didn't see the Christmas wreath on my door, I  would have thought time traveling was possible.  All this year, the weather has been a bit out of sorts. March was like February, April like March and so one. But these last two days, I have seen men sporting shorts, and I live in the Cleveland area! 

Anyway I had fun in illustrating it. 

Must be all this warm weather we've been having!  

The Christmas Pointsettia

The Christmas Poinsettia

Yes, finally, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I have not posted here for a while. Missed November completely. I have been going through a few annoyances that have kept me away from creating, as well as kept me in the BLAH zone! Finally, as I am recovering from my second cataract surgery, it looks like I am getting out of the woods to see the lights of Christmas! 

So here with a little Christmas cheer I post here, 

I wish you all...

M E R R Y   C H R I S T M A S !  

N is for Neptune

 N is for Neptune

Yes, it is another letter N. 

Maybe it is I am on a roll, but when thinking up the idea for N is for Nightingale in my previous post, the idea of using the Greek god Neptune also came to mind. 

 

N is for Nightingale

N is for Nightingale

Every time I do a show, I realize I need to expand my selection of letters. A friend named Nelly had stopped by at one of my shows early this summer, and needless to say, my letter N selection of two options was not blowing up her skirt. 

So this is my new stab at another option of the letter N.

N is for Nightingale,  

nest,  

nasturtiums, 

 and the newspaper pattern in the branches. 

I is for Indian

I is for Indian on an Island with an Idea

I think the letter I, although simple in shape, is one of the more difficult letters to design to. Most of the words associated with the letter I tend to be adjectives. Of the nouns, most of them do not lend themselves to the shape of the letter I.

After two other illustrations of the letter I, designing it as an Indian seemed to be my next choice as opposed to an ibex or an iguana. So this Indian who finds himself on an island needs to use his imagination to come up with an illuminating idea; note the incandescent light bulb. 

Yes, maybe I was stretching it there.

 

M is for Mountains and Moon

M is for Mountains & Moon

Every time I do a show, I realize I need to expand my offering in various letters. The Letter M became a new candidate for a new design. The moon was a request from Carol Mason who politely suggested I could add another M to my collection.

So here is the latest letter M with Mountains, Moon, Moose & Maps!

Those maps being one of the stars in the background and the state of Montana in the foreground!

 

R is for Rose

R is for Rose

Okay, this is the fourth letter R that I have designed! But 2 of them are, well not feminine at all, and one is definitely for kids, so I felt I would take another stab at it.

So if you like roses, or your name is Rose, this letter R is right up your alley.

Of course, I like to add a few ladybugs for luck!

 

On the Bright Side

 On the Bright Side

The blue skies of summer are quickly passing. Because I have a birthday during the summer, this time of year is a reminder of getting yet another year older.

In youth, I could not wait till I became an adult. Youth gives one the promise of the wondrous journey ahead. Age gives you the lens of time to see what you have learned along the way. 

Now that I have seen 64 summers, I have come to appreciate the miracles in my life and have come to know and appreciate what God has tried to teach us through so many people over time. What few commandments that God has given us while honoring his gift of free agency, I have come to find to be protections out of His love for us, rather than restrictions.

 

R is for Rocket

 
R is for Rocket

Now that I have a grandson, I have noticed that I need to add more "boy" interest to some of my 

illustrated letters. Many young children come into my booth when I do shows and search for letters 

that they can relate to. So for all the boys that like the letter R, this one is for you.

Have a blast! 

J is for Jaguar

J is for Jaguar

Yep, it is another letter J. I figured since J is a popular letter, it was time to design another one.

So what should this Jaguar's name be as he resides in the jungle? 

Why Joshua of course!

 

Owl & Cat

Owl & Cat

This one is inspired by my grandson, Oliver. He is 2 1/2. He has lots of stuffed animals, among them an owl and cat. He hands them to me and says "Make them talk, grandma!" and of course, I do.

A little over a month ago, I started to do a sketch of Owl and Cat on an adventure. The sketch stayed dormant for a while, until at my husband's insistence, it came to life. 

F O R   O L I V E R

Women of Creativity: Four Artists, Four Perspectives

I was offered an opportunity to show my work with three other artists that I had worked with at American Greetings at the Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood, Ohio. That was nice enough, but fellow artist Terry Flores came up with a great idea for the Beck Center to make videos feature artists that exhibit with them.

Here is that video!

T H A N K S   T E R R Y !

P is for Penguin

P is for Penguin

 Every time I do a show, I see a need to do another version of a letter.  In this case it is the letter P.  The other two P's were more feminine in nature. 

So for the last week or so, I have been racking my brain to come up with another P.  

I had thought penguin, but to make the P seemed problematic.  

Finally, another P word came to mind: pennant! 

A patterned pennant at that!

Bicycle Bouquet

Bicycle Bouquet

I was visiting an old friend of mine in New Jersey. We both met when we were 4 years old. This past Christmas, he had suffered a heart attack. The doctors did not think he was going to make it. Fortunately, he did. 

We had the chance to go down memory lane. Part of that trip was how we use to ride our bikes to places like the "little store" in Garwood, or through the endless roads in Fairview Cemetery by the Ghost Pond on Gallows Hill Road, or just into town to the Five and Ten for some kind of treasure.

I don't have many chances to go back to New Jersey, let alone my home town of Westfield.

It was there I had learned to ride my bike by the age of 5. Bikes were the essential way of getting around as a kid. As time passed, I road my bike all over town, where summers would fly by sailing on my Schwinn, never knowing what adventure would lie ahead.

This one is for you, Fred.

Y is for Yellow Bird

Y is for Yellow Bird

The Letter Y is a tough one. Don't believe me, just check the dictionary. Okay, Yak, maybe, but I was not in a Yak mood. 

My husband calls me Yellow Bird sometimes. That is a long story in itself. So here is a yellow bird standing in the shape of the letter Y.  A stretch, I must confess, but I have only one other Letter Y and I thought it would be nice to have some variety there. 

The Letter K is for Koala

K is for Koala

I think this K is a Keeper. Who doesn't love a Koala bear. 

PS: He is a lucky one after all, with all those ladybugs to bring him luck!

Signs of Spring!

Hello! 

Blue Bird and Ladybugs

The nicest part of April is hearing the birds sing when I work outside clearing the debris of winter. Who knew such little ones could bring so much joy after winter.

Special Project: Clague Family Tree

Clague Family Tree

This is a break from tradition. 
I was asked by a friend to come in on to a project that relates to a little local history. 

In Westlake, Ohio, there is a little museum called the Clague House Museum that sports the Clague Playhouse in the back of it. Across from it is Clague Park.

So you kind of get with all the name dropping that the Clague family were kind of the pioneers that help established the surrounding area. It was the Clague family that cut down the trees to create the road that is now called Clague Rd.  

As I said, my friend, Betty Franklin, asked me to help on a project which turned out to be illustrating a family tree for the Clague family for the house museum at the request, help, and research of the curator, Lysa Stanton. 

This was a new journey for me. I have never illustrated a family tree before. As I started my sketches, trying to figure out who's who, I realized it was a bit more complicated than I thought. It was easy to get lost on who should go on what limb. But at last, after this evening's approval, here it is.

Side note to those that are interested in the kite and the Latin quote below; these relate to the family's place of origin. The Clague family came from the Isle of Man. 

The "triskelion" or the symbol of the three legs joined at the thigh is on the flag of the Isle of Man. Putting the three legged symbol on a kite was a little bit of creative license, but I later found out that they do a bit of kite flying with the kids at the museum. 

The Latin quote at the bottom is the island's motto translated as "whichever way you throw, it will stand". Upon further research from Wikipedia, I found that the meaning of the motto may have referred to the poor quality of the coinage around the 17th century, which more likely meant "however it is tested it will pass". 

And why an apple tree you might ask? They were farmers that planted orchards and one of their many crops were apples. 

Flower Drama and Celebration!

Flower Drama and Celebration

With so many gray skies and fields of white this winter, I needed to escape from illustrating letters. I have been recovering from 2 surgeries and when I got a get well pot of flowers, I knew what I needed to illustrate. Here is a floral arrangement with punch!

 

The Letter H for Henry the Horse

The Letter H for Henry the Horse

In my preparation for up coming shows in 2015, I figured I needed another H. Here is a lower case one featuring a horse I call Henry standing in a H shape in the country hills.

G is for Geisha Girl

G is for Geisha Girl

Here is an new additional G to join my two other G's in my ever growing collection of illustrated letters I call Alphabet Soup.  

I went for some bright color to contrast with the white and milky light grays of  February.

E is for Elk and Eagles

E is for Elk and Eagles

 It has been a long winter, so to escape the gray skies, cold and snow, designing a new letter E with  spring and summer in mind, seems preferable. 

So here is a new letter E for Elk, Eagles, Eggs, along with Emerald Green.

F is for Fairy

F is for Fairy

The letter F is not as easy as it looks. I needed the magic of a Fairy to pull this one off.

The Letter L is for Lighthouse

L is for Lighthouse 

I have always liked lighthouses. They are a beacon of hope. So suitable for the letter L.

You could add other L words like Lunar and Lake to describe

 this Lovely illustration of this  

 Little Lighthearted Lighthouse.

D is for Duncan the Dragon

The Letter D for Duncan the Dragon

I have been thinking that I needed to add another D to the collection of Alphabet Soup.

This is dedicated to all those who love Dragons and the letter D.

The Letter C for Cat & Canary

C is for Cat, Canary & Cup

I don't know if the C is obvious as the handle on the cup, but I was trying to avoid bending a cat into the shape of the letter C. I wonder how others will receive it. 

Each one of these is a fun exploration design. Of course there is another C word in the design. 

The word Chevron describes the pattern on the cup.

 

Listen to Your Heart

Listen to Your Heart

A good thought to start the new year.