S is for Spider

It's been a long time since I have done a drawing for my alphabet series. This is based off of the idea of organic gardening. We visited Ravenswood winery a few years ago and they told us that instead of using pesticides they introduce bugs, birds and other animals to assist in protecting the harvest. Spiders are just one of the beneficial residents of a vineyard.

If I take this to color I plan on rendering the body as a dusty looking black grape.

Watercolor Pencils

Watercolor Pencil

We were visiting Dom's parents farm in the mountains of New Jersey and I saw these cool funky flowers. It gave me an excuse to try out a watercolor pencil that was given to me. They are pretty awesome. I'm looking forward to working on them some more.

Goddess Aurora

The Goddess Aurora

This is a project I just finished up for "Blue Moon Aurora". The instructions were to make the goddess Aurora pointing toward an overgrown cave/tree structure with her rainbow scimitar. The knight is holding a torch and entering the cave with trepidation but gaining strength from the goddess. There were some requirements with her coloring and attire as well.

I imagined this scene very vibrant and colorful. With her red hair, blue twilight and rainbow scimitar it chanced being too vibrant. I was afraid with all the color the viewer's eyes would be bouncing around and not landing on anything in particular. I researched a piece by Arthur Rackham that was soft in color while depicting a rainbow. I used that painting as a palette based inspiration to direct the viewer's eyes to the knight while trying to keep true to the goddess's illuminating presence.

I believe the book will be out as a pdf and then hard copy at some point soon so keep your eyes peeled.

Jamie of the Jungle and Big Cat Rescue

Jamie of the Jungle

This was a private commission I finished in July. I was contacted by the owner of Big Cat Rescue to illustrate a fantasy portrait of her daughter. It was a dream job involving a beautiful young woman, wild cats and a whole lot of creative freedom. The client gave me a lot of information and photos to use as inspiration and reference. The main goal was to create a fantasy portrait of Jamie accompanied by icons of her life. She is surrounded by wild cats that she has rescued, nursed and raised, orchids which she grows in her backyard and a swan staff which is her totem animal.

If you like wild cats, rescue stories and wine visit their site.....they now have bottles of wine for sale!

Lily Study

I had a crazy summer and am only now getting back onto my blog. My schedule is still filled but I at least have a few weeks of catch up before the fall starts. This is a study of lilies for a GreenPrints piece I did.