More Samples

This is the last of the group of characters that were licensed for product. This guy is huge. Around 40". This is based on the characters from Amanda and Max.

Illustration Friday Topic-Vanity

Here is an example of beauty being in the eye of the beholder. This is a watercolor I did for a portfolio piece for children's books.I really love creating characters.

Stripes and Polka Dots

Well the topic for Illustration Friday is Stripes. I just got samples of some of the product that I licensed and was planning on putting photos here. Since the are striped and polka dotted I thought I would do it for the topic as well. Here are the dogs and cats in stripes and polka dots. They are in stores for Christmas. I love getting samples.

Illustration Friday Topic-Scary

This is an image of a scary pirate from a story I wrote. It's done in watercolors on board. It's fun to come up with characters.

Samples of 3-Ds

I just got the samples for the characters I did. I think they came out really cute. I have some other items I still need to photograph, but thought I'd go ahead and share these.

Illustration Friday Topic-Fuel

Who needs to fire up the barbie when you have your own fuel? This is an oils on gessoed board.
Just for fun.

Illustration Friday Topic-Scattered

This is a watercolor I did of my nieces Hannah and Mara as they played among the scattered leaves.

Illustration Friday Topic- Hibernate

This is one of the Two Can Art images I did with my son Noah. It's one of my favorites. This guy is looking for a nice warm place to curl up into on a cold winter twilight.

Illustration Friday Topic-Ferocious

This is a jaguar painting I did a while back. It is in watercolor. I really love the look of big cats, but wouldn't want to run into one in the wild. Where we live there are mountain lions that make appearances. I haven't seen one myself although I have seen bobcats.This images seemed to fit the topic. They are beautiful creatures and I respect their wildness.

Art Hanging at the Silver Spur in Soquel.

I just finished hanging art up at the Silver Spur, a local eatery in Soquel. If you are in the area be sure to stop by. They have a great menu and it is a wonderful place to hang art. My work will be up for 2 months there. I also did a little section of Two Can Art prints. The prints came out really great. I did these on canvas. Hope you can go and enjoy the food and the work. Here's a preview of what's hanging.

Illustration Friday Topic-Mysterious

It's always interesting to see the things that people save as mementos to remind them of an event that was important to them. To the outsider it may have no value at all and the mysterious importance of the item would be lost to them. I think it's nice to pass along the stories that go with these saved mysterious items to the generations that follow.
This image is in oils on board and was done for a story with those thoughts in mind.

Illustration Friday Topic-Influence

I love to do paintings where the influence of light is dramatic. I love the outcome of natural light and how it works with shapes. This is a watercolor I did of one of our cats sunning herself.

Illustration Friday Topic-Imperfect

This is an image of a fairy tale gone wrong.Not exactly what a boy would expect when picking up a frog to examine. To him an imperfect encounter.

Illustration Friday Topic-Obsession

I think most people have a soft spot for incredibly delicious chocolate. I got a real love of it after biking through Holland and Germany years ago. There were some incredibly good chocolates there. It was great that I was biking. I could eat it and then ride it off. The great thing about doing this painting is that I got to eat the reference! It's oils on canvas.

Illustration Friday Topic-Gesture

This is an image I did for a story that I wrote. The muse for the characters was my grandmother and her sisters. When they would get together, they would laugh and tell stories about things they remembered as children. It was always fun to listen in. I loved painting this and had a lot of fun making the shapes in the clouds and hair. ( a little self indulgent) This was the first image that came to mind for the topic,gesture as they did as much talking with their hands as the did verbally.

Illustration Friday Topic- Stay

I did this image for the International Humane Society. These are creatures we want to STAY on this earth.

The Humane Society brings attention of their plight to light. The image was made into cards. It is done in oils on board.

Illustration Friday Topic- Remedy

I had several ideas for remedy, but thought I'd limit it to these two images. I think going to the beach on a warm summer day can be a remedy for anything that ails you, and if that doesn't work a nice cold pink cocktail!
These are both images from the Two Can Art collection. (see post below)

Two Can Art E-Commerce Blog

I am excited to announce the Two Can Art e-commerce blog. The blog has several images that can be made into giclee prints on demand. They will be printed on high end art paper and signed. These are all images that I did with my son Noah's painted textures. Noah is autistic and loves to paint. After he finishes his paintings I scan them into my computer, then I fuse them with design. It is really interesting to do work where I am limited to only using those textures. It has been really fun and I think that the fact that the images are just those textures gives the collection a really cohesive look. My licensing agent is representing Two Can Art as well as my individual work. Noah continues to do lots of painting, so I am sure we will be adding to these images. I am really thrilled that this is something that we share and love to do.

Illustration Friday Topic- Launch

This is an image I did for a children's book I wrote. I have the dummy all done for it. I am thinking about doing an e-book. It was fun coming up with the friendly aliens.

Illustration Friday Topic- Swept

There's something wonderful about being swept up in a moment of joy. I think dogs are wonderful at this. This is a painting in oils on masonite. I did it just for the joy of it.

Illustration Friday Topic- Asleep

I did this image after reading a book about American Indians and dream interpretations. I liked the idea of having the warm tones of the boy against the cool tones of the night and illustrating his dream in those night tones. The image is oils on board.

Illustration Friday Topic- Soaked

I thought this image seemed to fit the topic soaked. It was just a fun thing that I did a while back. I was playing around with characters and wanted to do something sort of funny. I did some t-shirts that said welcome to the food chain.

Illustration Friday Topic- Safari

I did this painting recently. It's oils on masonite. Love the big cats.

Illustration Friday Topic- Lesson

One of the first lessons as a kid that you learn is to share. This image is from Amanda and Max, Friends. (my e-book) I'm not sure if the lesson is learned here since the sharing is inadvertent.

Launch of Two Can Art

I am very happy to announce the launch of Two Can Art. This is a collaboration between myself and my son, Noah who is autistic. Noah has always loved to paint. He really enjoys the incredibly tactile experience that it gives him, and creates wonderful textures using brush, fingers, sponges and even bubbles. I have always thought they were wonderful and that it would be great to fuse his textures with design. I have been scanning his paintings into my computer and have a large group to work from. We now have a whole line of images that are entirely his textures and my design. My licensing agent, JMS Art Licensing,llc has just put the collection up on her website and she will also be showing the work at Surtex in New York in May. Here is her website link. http://www.jmsartlicensing.com/two_can_art/
The images are bright and fun. They cover a range of themes from beach and animals to florals and holiday. When I show Noah the finished designs I get wide smiles back.

Illustration Friday Topic- Duet

This is an image that was actually a commission. It is oils on canvas. It is only the 2nd realistic horse painting I have done and I amazed at how beautiful these creatures are.

Illustration Friday Topic- Toy

This is an image that I did with a story in mind. Imagine exploring your town on the back of your stuffed purple elephant (with wings) toy.

NEW E-BOOK IS OUT! animals MUST BE is now available.

I am really excited to announce that my new e-book animals MUST BE is now available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. This has been in the works for a while, and was a (rather long) labor of love. I enjoy painting animals, and this book is full of them. A special thanks goes to my wonderful writing critique group.
What's really great about the Amazon and Barnes and Noble sites is that they have apps, so that the book can be put on other devices as well as Kindle and Nook. The apps make it possible to put them on pcs, phones, droid devices and i-pads.This whole technical adventure has been interesting. I am now delving into the world of marketing. I am a cave (studio) dwelling creature, so this is a new thing for me. I am always open to creative ideas regarding this and welcome any input. It is a challenge, but it's also great to learn new things.

Illustration Friday Topic- Cultivate

I love the variety and colors of tulips. They are my favorite flower and are such a wonderful beginning to the season of
beginnings, Spring. They are also really great to paint.

Flag Samples Came

I just got my spring flag and mailbox cover samples. Now it feels like Spring!

Illustration Friday Topic- Danger

This is a painting of a young elephant seal. One of the writers in my critique group wrote a great story about this adorable creature and I was inspired. One of the grave dangers for them are sharks. There is a place in California, Ana Nuevo where you can go and see these extraordinary creatures. It is incredible.Here's a link to the park. http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1115

Amanda and Max, Friends Blog Article

There is a really great article about my e-book, Amanda and Max, Friends on the Kate Harper Design Blog.
http://kateharperblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-to-publish-childrens-e-book-one.html

illustration Friday Topic-Swarm 2

After seeing my bees posted I was informed that I probably had something better to fit the topic. It was suggested that I post the koi fish painting I have. It is truly a swarm. This is an oil painting on Masonite. I love the brilliant color and textures of these fish. It was an exercise for me regarding how water works and light and how things look under water.

Illustration Friday Topic-Swarm

Okay, technically this isn't exactly a swarm, but they are bees and bees do swarm. I think if these bees did, it would only be to give you honey.