"I loved standing under the towers--choose any one, depending on the time of day--looking up and farther up, until the back of my head rested on my shoulders."

The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E.L. Konigsburg

[Portraits of People Who Aren't Real, the much belated #4]

Roar.

Wear it on a button!

Don't get me wrong:  I think this guy is adorable.  But those short arms mean he can't hit the ball hard, so his slugging percentage will be abysmal. He's working on his bunting, clearly, but the T-Rex was likely a slow lug of a dinosaur, and apparently took eons to turn a corner. And a tall body means he'll have an enormous strike zone, so he's not likely to take a walk. This guy's going to set records for low OPS. Who's the dummy who thought to put a bat in his hand? Oh. Right.

Still, that tail will come in handy on defense.

Illustration Friday: Protest

Several years ago, I started a little personal project I called "Portraits of People Who Aren't Real," a series of posed-portrait-style pastel renderings of my favorite children's book characters.  Click on the tag below to see the rest, including Fern from Charlotte's Web, Ethan from Summerland, and Sal from Walk Two Moons.  I drew a fourth sketch to complete the set, of Margaret Rose from E.L. Konigsburg's The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place, but never did it up in pastels.

Today, just a few months after Konigsburg (maybe my favorite middle grade author of all time) passed away, the topic at Illustration Friday is "protest."  This novel is all about a girl's protest for art, history, self-expression, and individuality over The Man that was the bland and self-righteous local homeowners' association.  If I weren't out of town and away from my pastels, I'd do this last portrait lickety split, because all signs point to I should.  Since I can't do that, I'm re-sharing Margaret Rose's sketch as a reminder to myself to finish this one properly someday soon.  Her story deserves revisiting.

Illustration Friday: Eyeglasses

Love those bespectacled folk! A lens-assisted look back at my fellow four-eyes:

2013

2010

2009

2008

2008

2008

2006

2005

2004

Illustration Friday: Whisper

The storm clouds are gathering.

Fine art prints available at Imagekind

Every year to mark the start of the Cincinnati Reds' spring training (noted by the day pitchers and catchers are required to report to camp) I do an original baseball-themed illustration.  This year I've re-imagined an old team photo using four of the 2013 team's top hitters.  It seemed appropriate since I've been doing portraits and focusing so much on the team's history this offseason.  Here's the original:

Image courtesy of ebay. I don't know who took the original photo
but let me know if you do, so I can credit a photographer!

For those not well versed in the Cincinnati Reds, introductions are in order:

• 1961 photo: Vada Pinson, Gus Bell, Jerry Lynch, Wally Post
• 2013 illustration: Shin-Soo Choo, Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Jay Bruce

So why do I celebrate this every year? Why do baseball fans get so excited about a day that's pretty meaningless? Why do we mark the start of over a month of practice and exhibition games?

There's a scene in an early episode of the late, great TV show Sports Night where new producer Jeremy is cutting his first highlight segment for the show, a routine review of a routine baseball game. Problem is, he can't bear to cut anything.  Every moment is important to him. So he ends up with an 8 minute highlight reel. Anchor Casey tries to help him out, and we get this scene:

Casey: Okay, this section here where the batter taps dirt off his shoe and spits four times...
Jeremy: We can't cut that!
Casey: Jeremy.
Jeremy: No! The storm clouds are gathering.
Casey: [sighs] All right.  Just out of curiosity, what voiceover would you have me write for this moment?
Jeremy: What's wrong with "the storm clouds are gathering"? 

That's spring training for me. The storm clouds are gathering. The pace of baseball is uneven. I know that. It's sometimes all about waiting. There's lots of getting ready, of settling into stances, of positioning yourself in the field, of winding up to throw.  But if you know the game, you know the value of those slow times.  You know who to watch, and what to expect, and what to wait for.  And then... something happens.

Yes, Opening Day isn't until April. But baseball is being talked about, and soon it'll be played, and then it'll be played and will count.  I'm so excited, I can't stop smiling. Happy pitchers and catchers report day, internet!

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012]

Superb Owl: a surprise football-themed illustration

Isn't he fancy? I might do him up in color.  Or I might start thinking about this year's "pitchers and catchers report" illustration instead, because spring training starts really soon (yay!) and I actually really don't like football at all. I just like birds and puns.  

And also, the Illustration Friday theme this week is "wings," and I didn't feel like drawing Paul McCartney.

Illustration Friday: TREE

The Illustration Friday topic this week is "tree."  This is great, because I love trees AND I love drawing trees.  I'm actually currently working on a new illustration that is 100% tree, but I can't share it yet.  So in lieu of that, I present an arboreal retrospective:

August 2007

September 2007

October 2007

February 2008

November 2008

March 2010

May 2010

November 2010

August 2011

January 2012 (but really 2004 or so)

Illustration Friday: LOST

Wowza, it's been a long time since I created and posted any new artwork.  Lucky for me, when I went to Illustration Friday to look for some warm-up ideas, I found a word with immediate inspiration.  Lost was my favorite TV show when it was on, and it involves some iconic imagery that lent itself pretty easily to an illustration.

Considering I haven't drawn anything in so long, I was surprised at how quickly this one came together--just about 2-3 hours from idea to finished artwork, not counting a lunch break and a little book reading.  Here's hoping that bodes well for continued creative output!!

Cherry blossoms

 

On Friday I left work a few minutes early and headed down to the Tidal Basin to check out the peak bloom cherry blossoms on a beautiful, blue skies kind of day.  DC is at its loveliest in the spring, even when spring comes early.

  

[Dear Illustration Friday visitors:  you're probably wondering what the "swamp" connection is. Legend has it that our nation's capital was built on a swamp.  Not quite true, but there were wetlands involved, and it gets awfully humid in the summer.]

Testing out pastel colors!

The Old Ballgame

Fine art prints available!

"That's the true harbinger of spring, not crocuses or swallows returning to Capistrano, but the sound of a bat on a ball."  
- Bill Veeck

"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." - A. Bartlett Giametti

"Baseball, it is said, is only a game.  True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona."  -George F. Will

For any baseball fan, "Pitchers and Catchers Report Day," the dawn of spring training and thus a new season, is a veritable feast day. I've celebrated the last four years by creating an original baseball-themed illustration.  After highlighting the hitter last year, I thought I'd focus this year on the pitcher, for a few reasons:  (1)  they're the ones reporting to Arizona today, along with their battery mates, and (2) for the first time since I can remember, I'm excited for the Reds' pitching.  Seriously, you guys, I have a good feeling about this year.  Go Reds!

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011]

Illustration Friday: GROUNDED

One morning she found an unusually large turnip... When she pulled it up she was surprised to find that it left a hole
through which she could look down upon the green earth.

For this week's topic, I decided to dig into my old work a bit.  These two pieces were created back in college to illustrate the folk tale "The Girl Who Climbed to the Sky."  The story tells of a girl named Sapana who is kidnapped by a porcupine man, forced to marry him, and kept captive in his kingdom in the sky--so she's grounded but actually far above the ground itself. With a little digging, a little ingenuity and the help of a few bird friends, Sapana makes it back home safely. 

She hung there for a long time, swinging back and forth above the trees..."Come and help me," she called to Buzzard. The bird glided under her feet several times, and Sapana told him all that had happened to her.

"My middle name, Tree, comes from your basic tree, a thing of such beauty to my mother that she made it part of my name."

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

[Portraits of People Who Aren't Real #3] 

p.s. This week's illustration Friday topic is "imperfect."  I'd feel comfortable linking pretty much any illustration for that topic, as perfection is pretty much impossible to achieve--particularly when the illustrator is as rusty and off her game as I am!

Illustration Friday: DUSTY

I've been working all afternoon on perfecting the sketch from my previous post in preparation for some pastel work.  That's why, when I clicked over to Illustration Friday and saw that this week's topic is "dusty," my mind went immediately to Reds manager Dusty Baker.  So I grabbed a pencil, a pen, and a post-it and went to town on a quick sketch of the runner-up to the 2010 NL Manager of the Year award.

24 days until pitchers and catchers (and managers) report!

Each Moment

There's a story that goes with this image.  A rather personal one, actually.  But I'll tell it anyway.  It's okay if you don't quite follow the genealogy.  I have a large and lovable family.

First:  my second cousin commissioned this illustration as a Christmas gift for her mother (my Dad's cousin.)  The words are from her late mother (my Grandma's sister, and a poet!)

Second:  For Christmas, I bought a print of this for my paternal grandparents, who just this year celebrated their 60th anniversary.  My parents purchased a print to give to my maternal grandparents, who just this year celebrated their 65th anniversary.

Third:  Just before Christmas, while I was visiting in Ohio, my paternal grandmother spent time in the hospital and very nearly left us--making this illustration quite poignant.  Just after Christmas, while I was visiting in Missouri, my maternal grandfather suffered a heart attack and passed away--making this illustration painfully poignant.  On top of everything, he was both a birdwatcher and a St. Louis Cardinals fan.

So, there's that.  That's the baggage (and the beauty) this image will carry with it for me.  Here, I'd like to dedicate this post to all four of my grandparents, their many years of love, and our large and lovable family.

Warming up (no, really!)

The Illustration Friday prompt a few weeks ago was "burning"... right at the same time a particular tree at the end of my street exploded in a sort of flaming color not unlike the palette used in these illustrations.  Unfortunately, not only did I miss the deadline for the IF prompt, but I came home from work last week to discover that every last leaf had fallen from that tree.  So this post is dedicated to the swift passage of time.

So what do you think?  White outlines or no?

Warming up.

I'm all (mostly) settled in to my new place in Washington, DC!  Now it's time to loosen up the old sketching/smearing fingers with a "just for fun" illustration...

The Family Tree

Remembering Romero

Tomorrow, March 24, 2010, marks the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero.  Archbishop Romero spoke out on behalf of the poor of El Salvador in the midst of military repression, overwhelming poverty and shocking economic disparity, ultimately paying for his courage with his life.  Apparently, this extraordinary man is not as well known as he should be, so I thought I'd do my small part to right that wrong.  If you'd like to know more about Romero, start with this recent tribute.

Presente, Oscar Romero!

Nina Reads in a Tree

The last in this little series of illustrations features our intrepid heroine Nina reading her favorite adventure novel from her perch in a tall tree.  When I was Nina's age, I would occasionally take a book up into a tree in my backyard.  It was not the most comfortable place to read, so I didn't do it often.  But it seemed like something a character in a book would do--one of those girl protagonists* who were kind of like me, but a bit braver, a bit more witty, a bit more exciting. 

And with that, I'm going out for a walk.  It's over 60 degrees in Ohio in March... this I must enjoy while it lasts!

*Like Garet Atkins, Jill Pecq, Turtle Wexler, Mary Lennox, Sal Hiddle, Claudia Kincaid, or  Vicky Austin, for example.