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.

Illustration Friday Topic-layers

I've been busy working on a new book, so I thought I'd pull this image out of the archives.One of the first things I think of with the word layers is onions. I did this painting after buying these beautiful onions at the farmers market. It's oils on canvas. I just loved the colors in these and enjoyed painting and eating them!

Amanda and Max Friends is an E-book

Amanda and Max Friends is now an e-book for young children. It is about an orange tabby cat and a wee dachshund pup exploring what it is to be a friend. I am really excited about this. I have been reading about all the changes that are happening in the book industry and this seemed like the right thing for me to do. The book is priced at $2.99 so that it will be inexpensive for parents to put on their reading devices for kids. I think this would be great if you are traveling with a young child instead of bringing a ton of books along.I am also starting a blog that will be in the voice of Amanda and Max with hopefully fun things for kids. I plan on putting coloring pages up. The first thing I did was an interview. The address for the new blog is http://amandaandmax.blogspot.com/. I will keep you all posted on how this venture is going.

Illustration Friday Topic-reverse

Hey, does this thing go in reverse? Just playing around with creating a character in watercolor.

Illustration Friday Topic-chicken

The chicken dances alone at this ho down. Does that mean he's doing the chicken dance? I did this image a while ago just for fun.

Illustration Friday Topic-Resolutions

My resolution is to eat at least 1 vegetable a day. Does tomato sauce on pizza count? This image is oils on canvas. I was interested in doing something with a strong light source and a mix of the warms and cools in colors that work together.

Illustration Friday Topic-Winter

I did this image a while ago. A bit of a whimsical take on winter and all the little creatures that inhabit the landscape. Our winter is a bit different. We are getting rain. Winter means green. I did however live in the white stuff for quite a few years. I like looking at pictures of it. Happy Holidays to all.

Illustration Friday Topic-Mail

I did this illustration a while ago as part of a story idea I was putting together. It is done in oils on illustration board. I think it fits the Illustration topic, mail. I had fun creating the characters.

Illustration Friday Topic-Phenomenon

I thought considering the time of year that this image would be a good choice to represent the topic phenomenon. This was a really fun piece to paint. I love painting both animals and Santa so it seemed like a good combo at the time. Hey, they are both at the North Pole so why not?

Illustration Friday Topic-Prehistoric

I thought it might be fun to think of those toy dinosaurs coming to life. Image having a 5" T Rex as your birthday gift after the paper has been torn off.

Illustration Friday Topic-Savour

During the holidays there are all kinds of wonderful treats to savour. Anything chocolate fits the category in my mind.

Santa Flags and Mailbox Cover

I received my samples for flags and a mailbox cover with my Santa Image on it. I figured it is okay to go ahead and put them up. The stores have had Christmas things out for months now. (and it's fun decorating for the holiday.) Almost done with all my shopping and will be shipping things out across the country soon.

Illustration Friday Topic-Burning

This image seems appropriate for the Illustration Friday topic, Burning. This is on gessoed board in oils and was really fun to paint.