Mouse on Ice

Don't ask me why, but this little guy popped into my head at church last night. Had some down time, so I sketch him out real quick. Let me know what you think. I am going to color him, but any suggestions for improvement would be appreciated!

Old St. Nick

Not real busy today, so I took some time to draw some Santas. Three different versions for your enjoyment!

I hope to clean up and paint them (and get Santa to put on a bit more weight!), but we'll see how time goes with the holidays approaching.

Tag... I'm it.

Fellow artist Deb has tagged me to share 7 things about myself. I did this a while back, so here is some new stuff!

1. In addition to drawing and photography, I enjoy wood working, model trains, and gardening. Finding time for all those activities, needless to say, proves difficult!

2. I love roller coasters, except for wooden ones. (I'll ride the wooden ones, but I enjoy the smooth ride of the steel coasters way more!!)

3. I loathe having to work indoors on beautiful days (like today!).

4. Mountain Dew is my coffee.

5. I listen to contemporary Christian music. My favorite group is Third Day.

6. I like to cook. I will usually do Saturday morning breakfast of either pancakes or French toast, which the kids love. Sometimes we have breakfast for dinner, and I will cook that as well. I can cook other foods, mind you, but breakfast is my "special" thing to do.

7. I am somewhat selfish with my time. It takes an effort for me to volunteer to help out with certain events, but once I commit, I am glad I did.

Here are the artists I am going to tag to share 7 things about themselves if they so desire:

Joyce Ann Martin

Nikki Shoemaker

Matalonga Jorge

Diane Smith

Hermit Crabs – Colored

This is the colored version of last weeks IF "vacant." I still need to get bolder with the colors, but I am really happy with how this came out. It is watercolor, then outlined with a warm grey Prismacolor pencil. (It looks better on paper than on screen. I can't get my scanner to capture the paper as white, so I have to adjust in Photoshop, which removes some of the color. Any hints would be appreciated.)

I think I may have asked this before, but I would love to know what paper you find suits watercolor best (this was just done on some heavy cardstock I had left over. I know.. not good for watercolor, but I want to get my technique down before I begin using good paper.) I gotta start stretching the paper, too!

IF – Wise

The original "wise guys."

Quick sketch I did last night, inspired in part after seeing Linda's "wise guys."

And here is a clip for your enjoyment!

IF – vacant

A vacant shell up for grabs!

I haven't participated in a while and I always seem to get my ideas for IF real close to the end of each week, thus making it hard for me to have time to color (or even clean up) my first sketch before the "deadline". So, for potential lack of time, I am posting said sketch now. I do hope to color it within the coming week. Check back if you like and let me know what you think.

Young love... colored

Did this watercolor in about 20 minutes today while burning some DVDs to clean up my computer. Still need practice, of course, but it came out OK. Should have resharpened the pencil before I outlined the girl. My shadows didn't come out like I wanted either. I have been observing others work and how they do shadows, and experimenting to see what works for me. Would love your thoughts...

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I have applied for a job which, if I get it (and accept), would mean a big move for me and my family (from Florida to North Carolina), leaving our families here. This is the main reason I haven't been drawing much... Been researching the city and lifestyle quite a bit, praying, weighing pros and cons, and all the fun stuff that goes with it. So, any prayers or words of encouragement (or discouragement, if you feel so inclined) would be appreciated! And, if anyone has done a move such as this, I would love to hear your experience.