Illustration Friday: treasure

The word of the week over at Illustration Friday is "treasure."

This fits the bill, don't you think?

No pun intended!

acrylic paint, colored pencil and a jewel

Illustration Friday: Capable

Ravens are so smart, they even know how to use tools.

But you knew that, right?

Just a quick illustration before heading off to work.

Acrylic paint and colored pencil on patterned paper.

Hi everyone!! I miss you all!

xoxo

Lo♥ 

Illustration Friday: Grounded

Whether soaring high, surveying the skies,

or grounded with feet firmly planted where he stands~

Raven is King of all the land.

For Illustration Friday: grounded

Acrylic paint and colored pencil on patterned paper, and a sticker for his crown. 

Pulled from my archives because I miss playing :)

New paintings and Bear winner!

Somehow I've managed to whip up two new small paintings for Grasmere.

This snowy lamb ...

And this Baroque-era raven.

There's shiny coppery bits on the rave's background which is hard to make out.

It felt good to paint again!

And now....drum roll please...

The winner of the cute bears is

Marion!

Congrats my friend! I know your grandkids will give them lots of love♥

How funny that you entered just in the nick of time :)

Animal Wednesday: Mystery Box

Well what do you think is in this big box that came from Robin?

The lilac tissue is SO her :)

WOW!!! Look at the size of this guy! He's tired after flying all the way from San Francisco.

Well, he sort of flew :)

Emma took off like a shot and hid under the pillow!

It could be that she remembers the story about her daddy (Brian) getting attacked by ravens in Bodega Bay at the same place where "The Birds" was filmed. See the schoolhouse? She just KNOWS Alfred Hitchcock sent this damn bird!

It's true, they showed no mercy.

Bliss is a lot tougher than Emma, believe it or not.

Here she is checking him out near one of her beds.

There'd better not be bird poop in there, hairy guy!

Nope. Good thing for you! I'll be watching you though.

But I love him and he apparantly loves our Rhode Island Red Rooster.

Aww, he'll find a place in Em's heart soon. And Bliss will lighten up too.

Meanwhile, guess what I named him?

Really.....guess!

He's a bit more hairy looking than feathery, probably because he's still young and downish.

Ready?

Hairy CAWnick Jr. !!

Happy Animal Wednesday, my dear friends.

Thank you Robin! I love him. Can I keep him, huh, can I?

xo

Lo♥

Illustration Friday: Stay

The word over at Illustration Friday this week is stay. I had a few ideas that I tried but they weren't working for me. I have felt blocked lately, like many of my other creative friends. And then it dawned on me. I haven't been painting my beloved ravens for a long time. It's as if I had abandoned them without even noticing until painting wasn't making me happy any more.

I hope for my sake they're back to stay.

So here is today's alla prima painting, Raven Totem.

acrylic paint on canvas, 4" x 12'x 1 1/2" deep. Soon to be available on Etsy or perhaps YART

Illustration Friday: Swept

~His beating wings were just a blur on this chilly, windswept day~

For Illustration Friday: swept

acrylic paint, colored pencil and rubber stamp on bristol board.

Illustration Friday: Lesson

Raven taught her lessons she could never learn from people.

Raven is her totem. Her spirit guide. Her connection to the natural world.

acrylic and colored pencil on a paper bag, pulled from my archives

Home to roost

Introducing "Violet Rain."

Yes, I'm a proud mama ;)

I thought perhaps I went a little too heavy-handed with the irridescence, so then I matted her sheen down a bit. I'm not sure she looks better here though.

I'll play with her a bit more tomorrow, but for now we're both calling it a day.

Well, she's cawling it a day!

I hope to be able to make more and get better at it.

What fun this was!!

Marianne, I'm still on that roll! ♥ 

Naked Baby Raven

I'm trying to branch out and play with new mediums and materials.

This was my first time using paper clay. I sat in the studio last night and decided to try to make a baby raven. I didn't look at anything while shaping this guy. I just went from the images in my head from drawing and painting so many of them.

I wanted him to look inquisitive.

Hello there cutie!

Another tip of the head.

I know he doesn't look ravenesque yet...but wait until he dries and I sand him into shape, and paint him in all his glorious irridescent blues and purples.

His eyes are black Swarovski crystals.

Hopefully I can show you the finished results in a few days.

I want to list more things on Etsy that I can make more money from.

I really don't think I can part with my first born though;)

Stay tuned!

xo♥

Illustration Friday: Chicken

"The Imposter"

C'mon, did you really expect the raven Queen to paint a chicken?

The Sketchbook Project deadline has been extended a few days which gave me time to whip this up. Have a great weekend everyone!

Oh those trickster ravens ;)


acrylic paint and colored pencil on patterned paper for Illustration Friday

Animal Wednesday: Journal Journey

I've been a bit quiet on the blogs lately because I'm trying to instill some self-discipline towards working. Today I painted this journal for Etsy.

I scooped up a couple of these at Michael's Craft Store knowing right away what I would add. I think any one of you could have guessed!

Yes indeed, my raven friend! I painted him with an acrylic paint base and then detailed him with colored pencils.

And then I added this to the back. So true, don't you think?

So here's my Animal Wednesday post for this week, a journaling journey!

xo♥

Animal Wednesday: Snow Crow

I've been busy trying to get things painted for holiday sales at the gallery and on Etsy.

Here's the first in my series of Snow Crows.

What better way to say Happy Caw-lidays!!

OH, but today is Animal Wednesday so I guess I should say,

Happy HAW-lidays!

(groan)

;P

Illustration Friday: Spooky

Oh yeah, real spooky with that embroidery Mr. Ghosty!

I was wondering where my hanky was, pesky raven.

Hey, this is also for Animal Wednesday. What the heck!

~acrylic paint, micron pen, colored pencil and a scrap of cardboard~

Animal Wednesday: St. Peter & the poodle

Two more commissions to share with you this week.

As you know, any time I get a request to do a raven I'm in heaven!

Anne over at El Milagro Studio asked me to paint a raven with Southern Oak leaves and acorns. She asked that he be holding an acorn stem in his mouth with two acorns from the same stem. She had seen a similar painting of mine I had done years ago, but it was the Oak leaves I was accustomed to. Ah, time for research!

Thank goodness for Google images!

When she received it she called me right away and told me it was almost exactly as she had pictured it in her head! That's a huge compliment :)

And it was extra nice to put a voice with her face.

Thank you Anne, he looks beautiful in his new home!

And I love his name;)

And this is Max. The only references I had for his portrait were very old, faded photos and the grieving owner's recollection. "Make sure his eyes are black. They didn't have any color." I knew what he meant even though I added dark, walnut brown.

"And he was pure white, not off white or any other color."

I disagreed and knew I was going to only use pure white for the highlights but I didn't tell him that. He's a crusty guy and he is firm in his convictions. He's actually our car mechanic across the street!

Well, I called him over to the studio last night and asked him to have a look before I call it finished. He stood there and wiped a tear from his eye.

"I can change anything you want" , I said.

"No, that's my Max. That's my boy."

He'll be delivered later today.

I love commissions even though I may curse a little while doing them. It's only because they carry a certain kind of pressure because of preconceived expectations.

But honestly, I'm honored to do them. So, bring them on!!

Happy Animal Wednesday, my friends ♥

Illustration Friday : Acrobat

~He flew through the air with the greatest of ease~

I'm always thrilled when I find scrumptious scrapbooking paper to paint on like this wonderful piece from K&Company.

All I did was add my harlequin friend, the flying wonder.

Enjoy the weekend my friends!

xoxo

Lolo♥

acrylic paint and prismacolor pencil on sturdy patterned paper

Back in Commission

Well, after a long dry spell in my first year back in Rhode Island I am thrilled to say I finally have a little income trickling in thanks to friends and art commissions.

KJ's partner JB commissioned the raven above and the gorilla below to go with this owl (top one) KJ bought her. JB thought the owl needed the company of these two! 

I just did the gorilla last night so JB hasn't seen it yet~thank goodness she doesn't blog!! She named the raven, Joe. I wonder how the gorilla will present itself, male or female. I'm feeling female energy here when I look in her eyes.  Both paintings are only 4"x4".

I have another commission to start now from Anne over at el Milagro Studio!

(Bless you Anne.) I won't say what it is or post it until Anne has it in her hands. I want her to get the first glimpse ;)

If you haven't been over to see her, please do. She's a wonderful artist herself and a real hoot!

It feels good to be back in the saddle again after having no income for a year. It all starts with a small step, but I feel the gates may open any day now.

Thank you Universe!!

Thank you friends♥  

Illustration Friday: Breakfast

Ravens often visit me.

Sometimes they show up for breakfast.

 Other times, they show up in my dreams.

For Illustration Friday's prompt: breakfast.

acrylic and colored pencils on bristol board

Illustration Friday: Equipment

Most days I find the only equipment I need is a good attitude.

Especially when my raven friend messes up my hair garland!

Happy Weekend my friends!

paper bag, pencil, colored pencils, white ink, glaze, and acrylic paint.

(I spilled something on her face and then smudged it when I tried to save it. Oh well, here she is.)

Illustration Friday: Fearless Creating

An encore in my Moleskine that seems to fit this week's word: Fearless.

Mixed media: acrylic paint, Prismacolor pencils, words from a magazine, butterfly sticker and a raven drawn with a ballpoint pen.

Happy weekend!!