Illustration Friday Submission: Topic - SURVIVAL

Illustration Friday Submission: GONE FISHING

A Sneak Peak at My Latest Picture Book Commission.

Here is a peek at one of my most recent picture book commissions. 

Written by, Rachel A. Cedar. 

This Week's Illustration Friday Topic was TWISTED

I struggled a bit with this concept. 

Thanks to some creative input from friends, 

I am happy where I finally ended up. 

Illustration Friday Topic: Beginning

Looks like I missed posting last week's submission: Better late than never! 

Available for Purchase HERE

Illustration Friday Topic: Disguise

Available for Purchase HERE

Posted on Illustration Friday HERE

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: SEARCH

Last Week's Illustration Friday Post. 

Topic: SEARCH

Submission: Searching for Adventure

From Single to Double: Lessons Learned in Art

As we neared completion of the final drafts for the new Santa book, my client threw 

in a ringer - He asked if all of the illustrations could be expanded from a single page 

to a double page spread. My first reaction was, "Yikes, what a task!" But as things 

expanded, I grew more and more pleased at the outcome. And now, after a couple 

days of readjusting and redrawing, I LOVE IT. 

What do you think? 

Nautical Art

Just a peek at the watercolor I painted to benefit, Annapolis Charity, 

Box of Rain. {xox} I thought maybe a nautical theme would be 

a good direction for the silent auction. 

The Black and White Photography of Wayne Levin

I love the beautiful photography of Wayne Levin. To me, each photo a moment in 

time where Art and Adventure collide and create something totally timeless. 

Happy Friday to you my Friends. I hope your weekend is timeless. 

ILLUSTRATION INSPIRATION: Katherine Black

A root canal left me out of commission yesterday, so I am posting this week's 

Illustration Inspiration a day late. But Katherine Black is sure to impress! Katherine

 has worked for Disney and American Greetings. She is one of eleven siblings! And

 I absolutely love her sister series shown here in the last two images. 

Thanks for the Inspiration Katherine!

ILLUSTRATION INSPIRATION: Molly Idle

This week's illustration inspiration features the incredibly inspiring work of illustrator, 

Molly Idle. Molly uses exclusively colored pencils in her brilliant work and look at the 

beautiful, creamy outcome. There is a subtle texture in her work, which I think adds a 

nice amount of 'jitter' {I think it is nice to have a little jitter in children's books, it 

compliments a child's mind - anything too smooth and formal feels out of place} 

The composition on the T-Rex illustration is fantastic. The tail frames the situation 

wonderfully. And aren't you all ready in love with that adoring little ballerina? 

So many things to love about the art of Molly Idle. 

Thanks for the inspiration Molly! {xo}

ILLUSTRATION INSPIRATION: Erwin Madrid

Its ILLUSTRATION INSPIRATION Day! My favorite day of the week!

This week's feature is are amazing beautiful and skillfully composed illustrations 

of Erwin Madrid. He has worked with Dreamworks studio on Shrek 2 and has 

done continued work in the Shrek and Madagascar franchise. His work stands out 

for obvious reasons. But, I am personally drawn to it for its beautiful perspective. 

He sets the viewer up for an adventure every time they partake in one of his peices. 

The Red Riding Hood sequence is particularly intriguing. The perspective auto-

matically makes you feel like you are stalking prey. And innocent little red riding 

hood is isolated and unsuspecting. I totally love it!

 His work is well thought out and brilliantly captured. 

Thanks for the Inspiration Erwin! xo

Ho-Ryon Lee - Too Impressive

Ho-Ryon Lee ladies and gentlemen... (And the crowd goes wild). These blurred effect 

paintings have me rubbing my eyes and dropping my jaw at the same time. This 

is not a photoshop effect, this is technical skill on steriods. These suggestive oil paintings

 feel as if they are in action as Painter Ho-Ryon Lee overlaps the same subject in 

various sequential poses. Very Impressive.

Tree Trunk Bowls...Love

What do you think of these colorful log bowls? I am a huge

 fan. However I am not tall enough to view them from this 

angle all the time so they might alway just look like a log to

 me... But I love how the designer Doha Chebib mixed the

 polished and glossy colorful sheen with the natural texture

 of the wood. Big Fan. 

According to Jeanie Jeanie, each bowl is handmade using 

only locally reclaimed trees of all varieties (fallen or cut down

 due to infrastructure, re-landscaping, droughts, or stormy 

weather). Becoming an even bigger fan. What do you think?

 Would you put a tree trunk bowl on your table as a center piece?

Paper Cut Lovin...

Paper Cuts by Joe... are these not the most incredible 

things you have ever seen? Silhouette art has always 

fascinated me but I particularly LOVE the subjects Joe 

has chosen here. There is so much life and 

movement in each one. And a bit of mystery too...

Great Work Joe!

Say hello to my little friend.

I have become totally obsessed with Etsy and I am constantly amazed at the cool items I find there.

Recently there has been a big trend in printing on vintage book pages...

I have particularly enjoyed the contrast in these using black and red... what do you think? 

For more prints like this check out Black Baroque on Etsy.

And for some really cool finds from all over Etsy check this out.

I just stumbled upon the incredible work of Sun Xun...

Isn't it fantastic? 

For more visit this site