So long as you come home at the end of the day.

For my tenth (!!!???) year celebrating the start of spring training with an original baseball illustration, I've kept things simple. This is for one very practical reason: I made an inter-city move in the last year, my art supplies (along with many of my worldly possessions) have been in storage for the last few months, and I only just retrieved my pastels and paper over the weekend.

But in a year that saw me return to my hometown, I like the symbolism. I'm sure I'm not the first person to notice that home plate is shaped like a house. There's a lot of poetry in "getting him home," and "home run," and "safe at home." Heck, I got to repurpose a Hamilton (née Sorkin) lyric for my title up top, and it completely works. I just love this game so much, you guys. Happy spring training!

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016]

Fine art print of this illustration is available over here.

"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]

Robot umpires!

Anytime I'm watching baseball with my brother and an umpire makes a terrible call (usually on balls and strikes) we'll turn to each other, shake our heads and occasionally our fists, and shout something like, "The time for robot umpires is now!" 

Here's a prototype. You're welcome, Bud Selig. 

Have fun storming the castle!

Finished art (or nearly finished?) from my Skillshare lettering class. See progress on the project here.

Lettering

I'm taking a class over at Skillshare called "Lettering: Learn to Draw Illustrative Words," taught by Neil Tasker.

My project for the class is to illustrate the phrase "Have fun storming the castle," from one of the best scenes of my favorite movie. You can follow my progress on that project over in the Skillshare classroom.  I'll probably do a post here when I finish up.

But in the meantime, I've been drawing words for practice like crazy, trying to get a feel for different materials, different styles, different letterforms.  I thought I'd let you in on the madness...

Click for a larger view!

Illustration Friday: Whisper

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]

"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!

"Ethan Feld was the least gifted ballplayer that Clam Island had ever seen."

Summerland by Michael Chabon

[Portraits of People Who Aren't Real #2]

"Fern loved Wilbur more than anything."

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

[Portraits of People Who Aren't Real #1]

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.

The Family Tree

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!

Let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King

There is a feeling like the clenching of a fist
There is a hunger in the center of the chest
There is a passage through the darkness and the mist
And though the body sleeps the heart will never rest
Oh, let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King...

-"Shed a Little Light," by the incomparable James Taylor

It's a big week! Martin Luther King Day of Service tomorrow, inauguration on Tuesday, Lost season premiere on Wednesday, and I'm back on my blog today. (Yes, I recognize that there are strikingly different levels of bigness in that string of events. I'm just being thorough.)

p.s. This is a re-imagining (this one in pastel on paper) of an earlier piece (that one in paint on a canvas apron.)

p.p.s. Happy 2009!

Blog Action Day

Today is Blog Action Day, a day when millions of bloggers world-wide have made a commitment to write (or draw, in this case!) about issues related to poverty, in an effort to raise awareness, prompt action, and get a conversation started.

I've chosen to focus on fair trade. According to Co-Op America, "fair trade is a system of exchange that honors producers, communities, consumers, and the environment. It is a model for the global economy rooted in people-to-people connections, justice, and sustainability."

For more information on fair trade chocolate, including where to purchase...

For more information on fair trade coffee, including where to purchase...

For more information about what you can do to promote fair trade, visit TransFair USA. (Now's a great time, because in addition to today being Blog Action Day, October is also Fair Trade Month!)

Finally, a shout-out to Illustration Friday visitors-- the only strings I could find in this illustration are the strings that connect it to my last post, the preliminary sketch for the chocolate illustration. Thanks to Aimee for her insightful comment on that one, which led me to take my drawing a step further and ultimately inspired the coffee piece, too. Another testament to the wonders of blogging!!

King

Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 15, 1929- April 4, 1968

An interesting examination of Dr. King's legacy and what it's perceived as today.

Illustration Friday: EXCESS

We live in a country full of excessive lifestyles, excessive options, excessive waste, and yet so many have less than they need. I don't know any magic solutions, but I know there's something very wrong with that picture....

p.s. This is an old piece, from college.

p.p.s. Have you seen this? Improve your vocabulary AND the lives of others over at FreeRice. Thanks to my sister Anni for alerting me to this FABULOUS way to waste excess time!

Illustration Friday: ALPHABET

My first response to this prompt was to draw a quick sketch of King Azaz the Unabridged of Dictionopolis (from The Phantom Tollbooth), but then I remembered another book I'd read recently, Ella Minnow Pea, in which this famous sentence features prominently.

This was good practice drawing animals, which I desperately needed since I am not by any stretch of the imagination an animal person (unlike, it seems, every single person in the children's book community.) I hope they're convincing!

Illustration Friday: EMERGENCY

This illustration dates back to my Illustration II days at the University of Dayton. Our assignment: an editorial illustration. I remembered a recent article in the New York Times that a friend had forwarded along: apparently, the town of Brasstown, North Carolina, the self-proclaimed "Possum Capital of the World," drops an opossum each year at the stroke of midnight on January first (in lieu of Times Square's decidedly overdone and overhyped ball-drop.) This was my editorialized interpretation of the event.

Though it may be a celebrated tradition for the people of Brasstown, for the captured-but-later-released-unharmed possum it must feel like the ultimate emergency-- complete with a running clock, a dangerous drop, and lots of noise and explosions.