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.