Illustration Friday: BLUR

Experimenting with texture and outlines (and continuing to work on movement!) for this week's Illustration Friday prompt...

Illustration Friday: FROZEN

What's more frozen than ICE? And ice skating is one of the best wintery things!

Note to Mother Nature: This does not mean I'm ready for winter yet.

Illustration Friday: FLYING

It's never too early to think about Christmas cards, right?

Goodbye, baseball! See you in the spring...

I've been collecting a few baseball-related images and thoughts over the last few weeks, intending to post them here. As I say a lingering farewell to the 2009 season, this seemed as good a time as any to scrap them together into a post...

1. CURRENT WORK: I spent some time today sketching the greatest baseball player of my childhood, as rumors of his retirement continue to swirl. I may do this in pastels eventually. With apologies to anyone in Seattle, I'll be doing it in red.


2. FLASHBACK #1: The recent 10-year anniversary of an incredibly exciting game (and the equally exciting but ultimately disappointing 1999 Reds season) sent me foraging in the attic for this old drawing.

It's my 16-year-old take on a photo of second baseman Pokey Reese that ran in the Cincinnati Enquirer at the time. I called it "Twelfth Inning Triumph." There are parts of it I still really like (the treatment of the uniform and the arm, the title) and others I cringe at (it doesn't look a thing like Pokey! And that red and yellow glow...hmmm. No comment.)

3. FLASHBACK #2: Seeing my flashback Reds art led my Dad to do some foraging in the attic of his own, and he came up with this grease pencil and watercolor portrait of the great Pete Rose.

This coincided nicely with the recent release of this fantastic book. And it also gives me a chance to show off my artistic genealogy! :)

4. I LOVE PUBLIC ART: One of my favorite things about Great American Ballpark is these two beautiful mosaics. They're the first thing you see when you walk into the stadium, which just makes me all kinds of happy. I mean, how could I not love the intersection of baseball and art?

The 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, first professional baseball team.

The 1975-76 Big Red Machine, last National League team to win back to back World Series.

5. A LITTLE CRAFTING: I don't really have any craft skills--all my creative energy gets used up in art and, to a lesser extent, cooking--so this is about as crafty as I get. After years of absentmindedly using baseball ticket stubs for bookmarks, I decided to be more intentional about it. Ticket stub+contact paper+ribbon=voila!


6. HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL: 144 days until pitchers and catchers report. In the meantime, I can always watch this on a loop. Love that hint of a smile at the end. And love that team!

...and more food art!

I love red onions. I'm not sure if they taste better than their less colorful cousins or if I just like a little purple on my plate...

warming up

Getting back in the swing of drawing with something fun and simple... food art!

The almighty mason jar

My first foray into canning last weekend didn't just result in 60 jars of tomato sauce, whole tomatoes, applesauce, and apple conserve. It also birthed the idea for this illustration. Five people + ten hours + one kitchen = production on all fronts!

Well, hello there!

It's been nothing but crickets here lately, hasn't it? Maybe my longest creative dry spell since I started this blog and re-started my art production two years ago.

There were lots of reasons, but what do they matter now? I'm back in business! I don't know how many local Cincinnati readers I have here, but if you're in town, stop by Habanero in Clifton sometime in the next few weeks. Their salsa is divine, but their walls aren't so bad right now either: I'm exhibiting my illustrations there for the next month or so!!

I've shown work in a few collaborative shows in the last few years, but this one's all me--a first. The opening reception is Friday. Maybe I'll take some pictures so you can see how delightful it all looks. :)





















Updated! Scenes from the opening...

Vote for Zoo-Mates!

I don't mention my other job-- my day job, real job, paycheck-wielding job, however you want to put it-- very often on this blog, but today I want to highlight a really great program and ask for your support.

I work at the Center for Community Engagement at the University of Cincinnati. One of the coolest programs we get to take credit for is called Zoo-Mates. Zoo-Mates pairs college students with children experiencing homelessness for yearlong mentoring relationships. The pairs meet once a month at the (incredible!) Cincinnati Zoo and once a month at the children's school or another place in the community (the art museum was one!)

I don't run this program--one of our fantastic graduate assistants handles that quite capably--but I tag along whenever I can. You'll see why once you take a look at these pictures and stories: zoomates.blogspot.com.

Now we've stumbled upon an organization called True Hero, which awards funding to deserving student service projects based on votes from community members. So can you do me (and my community! and the kids!) a favor? Click here and vote just once for this fantastic, innovative project, and allow it to keep working.

Thanks!

Love is in the air

These illustrations will, respectively, grace the front and back of a wedding program I'm putting together for two very good friends who are getting married next week.

I'm not sure I've ever done finished work in black and white before. I'd definitely do it again! The first is my traditional pastel. The second is ink pen and (dare I confess?) wite-out on grayish printer paper. Now that's fine art!