Painting Puppies

Kids Making Art on the iPad

2012-01-27T11:53:00.000-08:00

I came across this very COOL video about kids and making art on the iPad.

"Connecting the Dots" iPad Artwork Inspired by Peter Reynolds "The Dot"

Vector Flowers Painted

2012-01-21T15:02:00.000-08:00

I am taking part in Wet Canvas's Weekend event again.
This week a photo of flowers is included from the reference photos. I might do a few more images before the week is out.

This is a digital painting created in Corel Draw as a vector file. Then converted to a Riff file and painted in Corel Painter with the colored pencil brushes.
If you look close you can see the details of the pencil lines. I saved it as a jpeg and posted it in a reduced size for the blog.

The bottom image is the first stage as a vector version.
Using vectors is sort of like cutting out shapes and pasting them down piece by piece. At least that's how I think when I am putting them together.
Does anyone out there know of other vector creating software? A friend asked me this week and I could not answer the question.

Sketching with pencil

2012-01-14T22:58:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd sketch this character this weekend. From a reference photo on wet canvas for the all media event this week.
He looks like he needs a visit to the groomers for a good clip. But the face is almost human. It startled me as I drew it.
Black wax based pencil on Stonehenge.
I'm not happy with it. But I am posting it.
It is on a sheet 8 x 10.
Scanned and cropped in Corel Photo Paint.

Thanks to WC member oldrockchick for the reference photo.

Five Years of Painting Puppies

2012-01-12T22:59:00.000-08:00

On January 11, 2007, I started my Painting Puppies blog. At that time I had been drawing a lot of dog portraits. This is the reason for the title of course. I had no idea where it was going, but it has rumbled along with pictures from my camera and drawings and digital art as I tried out new things.
I am all over the place in topics, but I have ceased to be too concerned because I know I am what Barbara Sher calls a scanner type personality.
There are a lot of us out there it seems so it is a comfort to know I am not alone.
I probably have too many projects on the go and I hope to finish most of what I have begun. Hopefully I will finish most of it this year. Now there's a resolution for me to live up to.
Tonight I am having an imaginary toast to my little blog. Please join me. Champagne all around. And perhaps some cake from my friend Stacy Rowan at her blog Stop And Draw the Roses. She is near the east coast of the USA and I am on the far west coast of Canada. We have been friends online since 2000 when a few of us shared a digital board online. She began her Stop and Draw The Roses blog in the same week I started Painting Puppies blog.
Thanks Google for making it so easy to blog. Thank you blogging friends for taking time to visit my blog from time to time.

Illustration - Piggies from the picture book
Albert's Old Shoe's by Stephen Muir.

Illustrations by M.J. Muir

A Painted Canvas Impression

2011-12-27T20:06:00.000-08:00

I wanted to make some wall art for my grandson's bedroom. He is four years old and he likes chickens and cows and ducks and fish.

Since he is very young I was afraid of framing art under glass because he is active and I didn't want to use anything as breakable as glass. So I tried a little experiment.

I bought some small 8 x 10 canvases.
I printed out four of my designs from my color laser printer.
I glued each sheet to each canvas by brushing acrylic medium over the white canvas, pressing down the sheets into the medium.

When they were dry, I painted carefully over each laser printed images with acrylic medium. It is milky white when wet, but it dries crystal clear.
When it was completely dry, I painted another layer of acrylic medium. Then another.

I left them all to dry over night and in the morning I painted the sides with yellows or blues to give the impression of a true painting on a frame.
Daniel is very happy with his new bedroom art. I think it works quite nicely.

His favorite is the duck.
I took these photos just before I wrapped them in Christmas paper.

I know one can have photos applied to canvas but it is very expensive. This is a way to create the impression of the same thing for much less cost.

Christmas Week Thoughts

2011-12-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

My poetry workshop group has been posting some amazing follow up conversation via email and my head is spinning to keep up with all the inspired thought being posted by these amazing writers about their creative process.

Yesterday I received an email from a fellow illustrator regarding free software for building an APP on an iPad. Once can create an interactive story with it. The thing is, if you build one and you want to sell it, you will be charged $499 to have them publish it for you.
Maybe this is reasonable? I don't have the answer.

For information about this software you can find it here. It is called Demi Books. You need an iPad to use it plus the ability to create pdf files.

I find this very exciting. Of course I am also aware of a lot of controversy among librarians and supporters of children's literature regarding Kids and APPS. Some people are passionately against kids spending time with iPads.
But I have seen how my grandson takes to both books and the iPad and how delighted he can be with both.
His parents are amazing in how they oversee his activities day to day. Not too much TV or computer. Just quality time in all areas of play and day to day.

For a three to six year old I recommend Nosy Crow's APP Cinderella and also their interactive APP Three Little Pigs. If you have an iPad and if you have little ones in your life I recommend them. No. I am not trying to sell anything. I am simply interested in these wonderful new creations. I have no authority as any kind of expert. I just LOVE what Nosy Crow is doing. And I love my iPad.

Lists & Checking Off

2011-12-09T22:41:00.001-08:00

I've been spinning my wheels for ten days. Maybe it's the realization that Christmas is coming up very fast and I am not ready. If I actually write down all the lists I've made and all the things I have checked off over the past week I know I wouldn't feel quite so inadequate.

I hope you are having a lovely time out there wherever you are. I hope you are enjoying the festivities of the season with friends and family and those you work with.

Conversations With Cousin John

2011-11-16T22:58:00.001-08:00

What I am working on this week.
Outside the weather is windy and rainy in this city of Vancouver.
Snow is falling on the mountains.
Winter has arrived.
I recently began a conversation with a long lost cousin who happens to live in Ireland. I have not seen him for over fifty years! But now we are talking through the wonders of the internet and email. He is a lovely man and because of our communications a story inspired by his memories and my memories is coming together. I love to work on projects like this and I am hoping it will become something lovely. These sketches and digital characters are developing as I make myself keep going. It is quite a lonesome thing to work on things like this but my cousin is interested and this is what I need. Whatever it is...it has begun. Wish me luck please? Stepping off another cliff...developing a new little world of characters and backgrounds....and story.

Digital Circles and Lines Painting

2011-11-11T22:53:00.001-08:00

Playing with Corel Painter last night.

December Trees in Plaid

2011-11-08T23:02:00.000-08:00

Today's experiment with Corel Painter11. First I created a sort of Christmas Coloured Plaid design. then I used the eraser tool to remove space around the shapes.
It took a while but the end result is satisfying to me. The design is a little wonky but I like the cut out look of it.
I can't believe December is coming up so fast.

Halloween Scary Pumpkins

2011-10-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

I made these pumpkin guys last night while playing with the Art Rage APP on my Ipad yesterday. I sent them via email to my computer and converted the files from png to jpeg in CorelDraw.
I have a little Bamboo pen for Ipad which enables me to draw with a little more accuracy. I kind of like the teeth effect. And leaving out the noses had an interesting effect I think.
Do you have a pumpkin ready for carving at your house this week? Spooky time.

Portfolio Post

2011-10-20T00:15:00.000-07:00

An update of my portfolio was my special project for this week. I am posting the link on my Maplepancakes blog as well. Having two blogs is complicated some days. I may as well post it in two places after all the time I spent on it. If you have any inclination or interest in viewing it I thank you from my heart.
This one is not included but it brightens up this page today. The cat in the tulips is watercolor, pen and ink I made years ago before the PC existed.

More Doodles

2011-10-13T22:55:00.000-07:00

Doodles

2011-10-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

I forgot how much fun this Zfrank web software is to play with. Easy especially with a Tablet and a pen.
Magical and free to try. Procrastination can be fun. Updated version where you can save as png files.

Tango

2011-10-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

This is Tango, a sweet dog from next door. Tango was put down today because of illness and we are all very sad indeed.
I thought I would post this tonight.

Tango

With golden eyes
The always wagging tail
The shaggy coat
Soft
Gentle
Sweet nature
Always friendly
Maggie loved to touch noses with him

Tango was David's side by side companion
Always faithful walking along at his side,
Barking at strangers who might be a threat to David
He arrived as a puppy eleven years ago.
The years went by so fast.
We are missing him already.

False Creek Walking

2011-09-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at False Creek near Granville Island Vancouver. It was a lovely day.

Pushing on

2011-08-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

I am busy working on a little book for kids. The time flies by and I am lost in the drawing and remembering to breathe only when Maggie paws my knees to tell me she needs to go out for a pee.
I love working to a deadline and I sure hope I can actually finish this project on time. That is the goal. To stop being such a procrastinating perfectionist and to let it go forward page by page, even with imperfections all through the piece.
And believe me this is flawed. But hey, I am trying.
There are moments when I wake up and tell myself this project is really a bad idea. But that's the little voice I must turn off.
This process is sort of like running a marathon. All along the path I have moments when I think I can not or should not go on. But this time, I am making it to the finish line.
Meanwhile, these little images have nothing to do with my project. I created them with my Wacom Bamboo Pen for IPad and the Art Rage APP on my iPad and then I sent them to myself through email and now I am posting them here to perk up the blog tonight. If you are reading my blog, THANK YOU. Blogging keeps me making art and learning new things and it must be good for my brain. I hope.

Digital Sketch

2011-08-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

I thought I might try sketching using my new Wacom bamboo pen for iPad. Art Rage is the App.

From a Reference photo posted on Wet Canvas this week for the All Media event. Thanks to Stacey Deller who is hosting the week.

More iPad stuff

2011-08-01T23:06:00.000-07:00

Today, with the Art Rage APP for iPad, and my new little Wacom Bamboo Pen for iPad...an exploratory creative process exercise. I put it all together in smaller format to show you how the design evolved.

I created a base block canvas of colour using the oil paint brushes. Then I cut around the block of colour with the eraser tool exposing white. I called up the rough watercolour paper effect for the canvas.
I kept re-saving the base design so that I could change the background colours using the metallic paint tool.
I emailed the saved ipad PNG files to myself on my main PC computer where I could save to my hard drive and with CorelDraw I have arranged a little demo in a jpeg format. The original png files are about 2 meg each so of course by converting the jpeg files to smaller files it is easier to bring them into the blog, although as aa consequence, they are not quite as clear as the original files.

I am not sure if this is helpful to anyone out there. But for me my blog is a place to put these little experiments. I hope I am learning something new. I think I am.

Birthday Roses

2011-07-23T11:02:00.000-07:00

I celebrated a major birthday on Tuesday. A dear and generous friend gave me a beautiful boquet of pink roses. (My favourite colour when it comes to roses)

Yesterday I tried to take photos of them to capture their beauty. My 'girls', decided they wanted to be in the picture too.

More Walking the Dog Perks

2011-06-19T21:40:00.000-07:00

Life got a little complicated lately and my art making has taken a dip. Among a few things that have got me acting so badly is my new iPad (sure blame it on the iPad!) which has brought delight and a lot of time wasting into my schedule, plus I have been taking a lot of time to visit a friend in hospital and I had a health issue with an eye that made me cranky and tired for a few days util the medications cured it.
Today I thought I'd post some photos from a dog walk with Maggie last week. The one thing that has brightened the rainy spring is the beauty of the neighbourhood around me.

Dog Park Sunday Afternoon

2011-05-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

Today the sun shone. Yeay! I took Maggie to the Dog Park at Spanish Banks on English Bay. It was lovely.

I played with Photoshop to conceal identities of people who may not appreciate being in the photo. I used the posterize filter and adjusted the colour. Yellow is kind of weird but it works I think.
Why not?
The lower photo is more like the true colour of the landscape.

Maggie hasn't been at the water since last summer and she was a little spooked by the enthusiastic large dogs barking and splashing around in the water.
But all in all I think she had a great time just watching.
Me too.
I love Vancouver.

Spring is here in Vancouver after a long wait

2011-05-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

I feel guilty about not posting more often this past month. But last week I took my camera down to False Creek in Vancouver. I went down there to meet a friend for coffee. On the way back, on my walk, I took a few photos of the beautiful spring happenings in the area. I made a little photo show which now gives me something to post. Thanks for coming by dear friends.

Card Project

2011-04-15T15:25:00.000-07:00

The first image is a scan of the original watercolour. The second has been taken into Corel Painter. I added detailed line with the soft pencil crayon brush. I cleaned out the background with the eraser. I think I improved the design. What do you think?

Splashing Around Finding My Way

2011-04-05T22:49:00.000-07:00

I treated myself to a new iPad three weeks ago and I think I have been having too much fun playing with it. Among several other 'apps' I downloaded Garage Band and I have to confess it is too much fun.
I also downloaded a song writing 'app' which I am finding is quite useful for finding words to rhyme.
I spent some time with my grandson and we created and recorded a silly but happy song about pirates and dinosaurs and I think it might be a good idea for a picture book. Now I have the lines down and it is up to me to take it further I suppose.
But, I am getting a little depressed because I haven't been making images. So...
I thought I would join Wet Canvas today and I know this doesn't quite work but still it was fun to work on. The reference is much more realistic of course and my character is more like a book illustration but what the heck.

Design Play

2011-03-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

What can I say? I feel as if this is some kind of poetry making. Only it is with colour and imagination with a few old vector animals from CorelDraw thrown in over a Painting 11 exploration of line and colour.

Prayers For Japan

2011-03-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

I am certain there are thousands of people in the world who have taken Japan to their hearts over the past week. Prayer and candle light services are being held around the globe. Today, I hopped the bus downtown to Vancouver's Christ Church Cathedral to attend a special Prayers For Japan service held at four in the afternoon.
The church was filled.
The service was in Japanese and English.
Drummers drummed the procession into the space.
Representatives from the Japanese community spoke and read psalms and led prayers and meditations.

At the front where the altar usually stands was placed an arrangement of cherry blossoms decorated with coloured paper cranes. I took these photos of this beautiful centre piece that brought everyone into a space of quiet and thoughtful meditation in spite of the tears and sadness. The blurred photo image was an accident but I think it is a more accurate depiction of the light and colour. And I think the blurring of the cranes creates a feeling of the presence of angels. It was beautiful even in the midst of such sadness. Light in the darkness.

Inspiration and Courage

2011-03-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

I just came across the posts of a woman living in Sendai, in the area of earthquake and sunami devastation in Japan. Reading her posts over the past few days regarding her thoughts and reactions to what is happening around her through the courage and caring of the Japanese people in the midst of so much loss and suffering, I think I am reading the words of a saint.
Anne Thomas is her name. If you are looking for inspiration or courage or hope...check out her posts.

Water Scene With Fish

2011-03-18T23:49:00.000-07:00

I think it needs a little boat or perhaps a pirate ship.

This started out as a sort of background idea in Painter using the pastels brushes and blend brushes.

When I reversed the image to a negative I was surprised to see the strong colour. It seemed much richer than the blues and greens I had been using.

Then I took the coloured pencil tool and gave it some texture and line.

I saw that I had a little sea but it was too empty. So I added some fish to the image repeating the same fish from a vector design I made last spring. I think it needs something more. But there is time to add or take away.

This has been a rather meditative and calming exercise. Almost like a prayer.

Memories

2011-03-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

This week of tragedy and sadness is a hard one to get through lightly. I feel guilty just being safe on the west coast of Canada at the moment. I thought I would pull my thoughts away from the terrible things unfolding in the news at least for a little while and try to get back to making art.
I have been gathering up old photographs from my family history with the idea of adding them to a memoir I keep in a drawer. If I don't do something now it may be too late to ever record this for my grandsons in case they are ever curious about their ancestors. I spent four summers writing and revising my writing. In the beginning I had thought of it as a novel but it turned out to be pretty much about what happened to me and my little sister Lee.
As I pulled this drawing together I realized how I was showing the innocence of my sister and I. We all look so together. And of course, like so many familes, we were not quite together at all.

What Is Really Important?

2011-03-11T16:20:00.000-08:00

We woke up this morning with the terrible news of the devastating earthquake in Japan. So many people died today and the sadness and trauma that will hit families in the days ahead is so hard to imagine. I am sure we have these people in our hearts today.

I have just bought an iPad because the new one is coming out this week and the old models went on sale at a price I thought might be manageable. So for two days I have been playing with my new toy and pretty well oblivious to things I should have been doing like vacuuming and laundry. And yesterday I discovered that Garage Band has been released as part of the new Ipad2 but it is also for the iPad 1. So I immediately bought it through itunes and downloaded it into my iPad. Last night I spent two hours playing with it and finding so much delight in learning what it can do. This morning I woke up so excited about getting back to it. I jumped out of bed, turned the coffee pot on, prepared the dog for her morning walk, and turned on the radio. !!

Hearing of the earthquake in Japan threw me into a sober mood as it must have for so many others. I called my daughter-in-law Shannon who was in Japan last September for eighteen days with her son. They had the news on just like most of us in Vancouver and I suppose around the world. Everyone is concerned for the people of Japan today.

Life is so fragile and fleeting and today's news brings me down to earth. My joy with the little tablet is somewhat subdued and I keep watching the news as scenes of devastation come across the TV news channels.

I have watched the activities of my friend in Christ Church New Zealand as the community there recovers from their recent earthquake. They are so brave and hard working. All these tragedies keep reminding me that we are all connected. At the moment I am feeling numb and I am not sure where I am going with writing this down.

But I had to express my feelings of concern. May God comfort this world today filled with so much sadness and grief and loss.

IF Layers

2011-02-22T22:02:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday's word this week is layers.

This was fun and made me realize how much I love to play.

Winter Birds

2011-02-11T20:22:00.001-08:00

Wet Canvas Media Event has some lovely reference photos to work from this week. While I love to work from my imagination, sometimes I need a boost and when I saw these birds in a photo I jumped on board. I used Corel Painter11 and Corel Draw. In order to document the process and made a little video of how it progressed this afternoon.

Two Strong Hearts

2011-02-08T11:21:00.000-08:00

Last week, Susan, my beautiful daughter-in-law had a mild heart attack at the age of 46. She is a marathon runner, a vegetarian, and always mindful of healthy eating and lifestyle. She has a three year old son.
Fortunately, she is out of hospital and back at home and getting back to normal routine now. We have been so worried.
It seems she has a genetic condition and stress caused arteries to go into severe spasm which caused the heart to suffer loss of blood flow.

She had been very ill with flu and perhaps that had something to do with it. Do they have answers? I don't know.

Last year my 24 year old niece died. She had been complaining of chest pain after a busy day of teaching aerobics classes followed by a walk on the beach with her three dogs and then trying to save a dog that had been hit by a car. That night she had chest pain which she considered to be indigestion. She and her mom decided not to go to emergency about it. After all, Liz was an aerobics instructor, a lifestyle coach, and fit as anyone could be. In the morning she was gone forever. And life for her family will never be the same.

Thank goodness my son called 911 for Sue last week and thank goodness they got to emergency on time.

Life can change forever in a few seconds.
Take care of your hearts dear friends and never take chest pain lightly.

The amarylis design is something I made myself do once I got back home and I knew Sue was back at home with her son and out of danger. The flower is from a photo reference on Wet Canvas / All Media Events this week. It was a calming activity for my over active brain worry and a celebration of our beautiful Susan.

IF / Mama Chicken

2011-01-14T15:32:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday this week has caught me prepared with a chicken.

My grandson likes chickens and I've been thinking about doing a few farm animals for his walls.

We have sunshine in Vancouver today. It seems to have cheered people up. early mornings lately have been so grey and gloomy. I hope this little chicken has a cheerful aspect about her with her brood. It makes me hopeful for spring's sunlight and new life.

The bottom design is what the vector image looks like before it went into painter. I am not sure which one works best. What do you think?

IF / Deja-vu Chickens

2011-01-10T19:29:00.000-08:00

This week's Illustration Friday topic is Deja-vu.
This is my effort to catch the meaning with my chickens.

I think you can see the larger size if you click the white hand.

New Beginnings

2011-01-01T23:28:00.000-08:00

I had a mild flu this week so I vegged out a bit all cozied up on the couch with my dog Maggie and my cat Babette snuggled up with me. I have taken advantage of a month of free NetFlix and watched at no expense season one of the series Damages. And with no advertising and episodes running back to back it has been a wild ride of intrigue and mystery. It is a geat show!
Now I am feeling much better so I am back to blogging. I hope to make it here more often this year and I hope to accomplish more. I have many good intentions and I hope I measure up to the challenge.
I picked up one of my favourite inspirational books this morning. Blogging For Bliss by Tara Frey is a lovely book and whenever I get a little down or sad or feeling guilty about making or not making art I find it gives me new perspective every time.
I know a few retired friends who have taken up golf because they always feel as if they can improve and get better and play a better game if they just keep at it.
And I think makiing art in any form is kind of the same as playing a game.
I feel that if I just keep on creating I can get better. At least I know I am learning so much by blogging art and thoughts here.
Blogging keeps me sane. That is why I blog.
I love to hear the thoughts of others about why they blog so please feel free to comment.

Noel

2010-12-21T18:54:00.000-08:00

Best Wishes to
Everyone for a
Happy Holiday!

Greetings

2010-12-18T22:17:00.000-08:00

IF Phenomenon

2010-12-13T23:54:00.000-08:00

I think this design fits the IF word for this week. If three wise men following a star looking for a baby in a stable is still news perhaps this can be considered to be a phenomenon.

It is also Christmas card design time.
This is one I have been working on.
The beginnings of these fellows are posted on my other blog, maplepancakes.
My eyes are going into fuzz mode.
Mailed off some cards today. More tomorrow if I get these sorted and into cards.

Chicken Wedding on a Pet blog

2010-12-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

Looks like my blogged video Chicken Wedding is mentioned on a popular Pet Website and I think this is rather neat! The website looks like an interesting place to find unusual holiday gift ideas for pets. And thank you to CathyB for making Chicken wedding sort of famous for an hour or so.

I attended a workshop yesterday sposored by our BC CWILL group. (BC Canadian Writers and Illustrators)
It was presented by a dynamic speaker Ivan Coyote, who is passionate about talking to high school students about compassion for the outsiders, the kids who don't fit in. Those who are targeted by bullies, like special needs kids, gays, kids with problems at home etc. Compassion is not easy to teach but I think she has the magic touch.
Her brother died much too young due to bullying and since his death, she is passionate about preventing similar tragedies among young people. I was very impressed with her skill at story telling. She had many tips for those planning to give poetry readings or present stories to large audiences and small. I am so glad I attended the workshop. Good stuff! Good for the brain to keep on learning I think.

Rabbit Asks A Question

2010-11-20T00:29:00.000-08:00

It is snowing tonight in Vancouver. It is just past midnight and I can hear people outside on the street below having fun playing in the white stuff. I just finished this little illustration.

Chicken Wedding

2010-11-09T20:52:00.000-08:00

I decided to try Corel Video Studio Pro X3 this week and I LOVE it because it is so much easier to use than Adobe Premiere Elements. This is my first experiment. The Illustration Friday challenges of the past weeks set me on a path of silliness and I ended up creating a chicken wedding series. So I decided to put it all together this way. I may take it down very soon, but today I am putting it here just for fun.

IF - Spent

2010-11-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

Two guests at the wedding, Marge Cornseed and Edward Egglestone spent the entire evening

dancing. It was after three when they found themselves quite spent so they retired to the loft.

Illustration Friday - Racing

2010-10-27T23:11:00.000-07:00

They desperately hoped no one saw them racing across the wide meadow under the white moon. If they could make it over the bridge and aross the corn field to the town hall barn without being discovered they knew they would be free. They did not realize the town hall barn would be filled with expected and unexpected guests celebrating a Halloween wedding which was to include a festive reception and banquet of pumkin seed pies and roasted corn.

Illustration Friday - Spooky

2010-10-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

Fred and his friends walked down a spooky road under an orange moon toward the haunted house where the Halloween wedding was to take place. For good luck they had created matching masks which they knew would disguise their identity. The last thing they wanted was to be discovered since not one of them had received an ivitation.

IF / Transportation

2010-10-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

Old witch Morgue dropped the cell phone and pulled the carriage out of the haunted garage. She harnessed up her old horse Dredge and ordered the cats into the back seat. There was little time but she was determined to make it to the wedding before the champagne toasts. She had a special toast of her own. One they would never forget!

Illustration Friday / Word for the week - Transportation

Halloween Piggies

2010-10-08T23:40:00.000-07:00

I went on a short walk today and discovered the new Michael's store was open in my neighbourhood. I went into the huge space filled with supplies for crafts and art and I found myself feeling like a kid in a candy shop. I came home trying to figure out just why that place makes me feel so excited. And I think perhaps the feeling is simply that one of anticipation of creating or making something new with one's own hands. I realize I have everything at my finger tips at home to make something. And so tonight I put this silly piggie Halloween card together and since the Banjo Pigs blog is having a Halloween challenge I just might enter it. Maybe not. I have time to decide. Meanwhile here it is in all it's pigginess.

IF - Beneath

2010-10-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

Bear had a habit of falling out of trees. His mom would stand beneath the branches waiting to catch him with her strong arms.

Acrobat / IF

2010-09-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

I have posted this one before but I made a few changes and I'm posting it for this week's Illustration Friday. This week's word is Acrobat.

Horse and Buggy Near Central Park

2010-09-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

I have been following the Virtual Paintout blog. This month Manhattan Island is the chosen area for subjects to paint. Using Google Street View for reference images many artists are taking part in this challenge.
It is really fun to cruise the streets with Google Street View. I stumbled onto horses and buggies in and around Central Park and I started sketching some of my favourites. I sketched out this horse and buggy with a 2B pencil in my sketch pad. I found this particular buggy situated at the area of Central Park near Fifth Avenue. At first try, I painted a watercolour but I am not happy with it. So I scanned my pencil sketch into Corel Painter 11 and with the oils brushes I painted it digitally.

Since digital art is not allowed on the Virtual paintout blog my sketch will not qualify as a painting. So I thought I would post this on my blog anyway. I am thinking I might try it with acrylics later. Painter seems to be a way to perhaps try things out before committing to real paint? It might be worth trying. But for now I need to post something to keep me from feeling as if I am not doing anything. It might be awful and rather off, especially with the wonky wheels...but at least it is something.

One More Turtle Painting

2010-08-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

I have been playing around with this turtle watercolour. I scanned the painting, took it into Corel Photo-Paint, cut it out, and pasted it into a vector image done in CorelDRAW. I think it works. A combination of a real watercolour and a vector digital.

Turtle On Hot Days

2010-08-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

The heat is getting to me this week. I will be so glad when things cool down. staying cool and keeping my cat and dog comfortable is about all I could manage today. I have kept us cool with the help of five fans plus a feeble small one room air conditioner. I painted this turtle in watercolour today. The reference photo was posted on the Wet Canvas weekly media event thread on Friday. I took some liberties with it and added feet and a tail to this creature.
This is watercolour on cold press 90 lb paper.

Thanks to Valri for posting her photographon the All Media Event board at Wet Canvas

IF - artificial

2010-08-01T11:01:00.000-07:00

I think it might be every pageant angel's dream to have artificial angel wings that really work.

For Illustration Friday July 30, 2010

IF - Double

2010-07-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

We've been having a string of sunny hot days in Vancouver. Everything is dry and fire warnings about smoking and campfires are prevalent. I realize most folks love the heat but I turn into a slug. Many people head for the beach on days like this. With this in mind, I managed to spend a little time this morning putting together something for this week's Illustration Friday word ...Double.

IF Breakfast

2010-07-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

Breakfast.

Illustration Friday July 20, 2010

IF Satellite

2010-06-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

The Illustration Friday challenge this week is the word satellite.

IF Paisley

2010-06-23T22:48:00.000-07:00

I don't know much about paisley which is this week's challenge on Illustration Friday. My thoughts have been for the lost wildlife in the gulf and these creatures appeared on the page.
Maybe these are paisley creatures from another planet?

IF / Trail

2010-06-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

Here is my take on this weeks IF word Trail.

Martha was upset about the missing cherry pie and the mystery of the lost keys. She knew she needed to stop and think about what this might mean. Walking always helped her think and sort things out so she decided to take the Maple Tree Trail down to the park with her dog Shadow.
As she closed the gate to the yard, something caused the bushes to shake ever so slightly. Shadow turned his head toward the sound. He whined and barked a warning. But Martha assumed the dog was simply protesting taking a walk in a direction he hated. She pulled on the leash and forced him to head down the trail. She hadn't noticed the trail of spit out cooked red cherries leading into the woods.

IF Slither

2010-05-30T17:33:00.000-07:00

This week's Illustration Friday challenge is the word slither.
I got carried away with silliness today.
from the sketchbook through to different digital applications. Painter and Corel Draw vectors. I will add more vector slithers tomorrow. Any thoughts? Do you know these characters? Do any pop up in your life?

Two Cats

2010-05-18T22:22:00.000-07:00

This cat has been a challenge. It has been waiting for me to redo it for months. I finally sat down and did it over again. I wanted to make it better and this was a mistake. Here are the first and the second attempts and I am realizing the first one is the more successful. I am thinking it is time to hand it over.
I hope they are happy with this.
In the second I tried to make the cat appear whiter with less lines on the legs. However, by removing those lines I turned the legs into rather strange looking appendages with no shape or substance. The reason I did it over again was because the client was disturbed by the leg lines in the first sketch. They explained that the cat has white legs so there should be no shadow or hair lines. But now after trying to follow their wishes I think those shadow lines and hair lines have to be there in order to give shape and the feeling of solid legs.
I guess I will offer them both sketches. They can decide which one to frame. And if they don't like either then I guess I will try it again. But I think I will take my own camera and take my own new photos of this lovely cat. The original photo reference was small and badly lit and taken with a flash.
And I am beginning to think I did a reasonable good job of it.
This was done with coloured pencil crayon on Stonehenge paper.
11 x 10 inches

Sun Flowers and Others

2010-05-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

More Wet Canvas references from another blogger Bunny this week. I have posted my version of the ducks on my other blog and flowers on this one. I am realizing that by getting back to art and keeping busy with beautiful images the sadness goes on yet it is easier to get through it. It feels to me as if the colour of the earth is turning back on after many grey days.
These are for Elizabeth.

Eight Sad Days

2010-04-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

Eight days ago I received a phone call from my brother. He told me that his 24 year old daughter had died suddenly and unexpectedly. So each day since then has been like walking in a dream world over a fast creek on slippery rocks.
Life is so precious. We must love and cherish everyone in our lives. Cherish each day upon this beautiful earth.

Adorable Waggy Maggie

2010-04-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd post the photo of my Maggie with last week's hair cut. Wherever we go she wins friends with her enthusiastic happiness wiggling her body and wagging her white tail. Almost everyone likes Maggie. She is quite the princess and I think she is aware of it.
A week later she is still looking like this. The bow is still intact. She hasn't tried to eat it.

Illustration Friday / Linked

2010-04-14T22:58:00.000-07:00

Illustration Friday April 9 - LINKED is the word.

Who would have believed that a single blob of purple goop linked Edward to the crime scene along with five other town characters who had purchased ice cream cones from Blaney’s Delicacies & Cream shop just before three o’clock that afternoon.
The question now was who had kidnapped the gnome from Blaney’s garden?
Constable Blonk rounded up the five suspects for intense interrogation and questioning.
All claimed innocence.
When it was Edward’s turn, Blonk cleverly suggested they take a break. He offered Edward a choice of ice cream cones.
“Vanilla or blueberry?”
Edward cracked.
“Blueberry!”
“Gotcha” said Blonk.
With melting blueberry ice cream dripping from his cone, Edward confessed.
Later they found Gnome laid out on a comfy arm chair in front of Edward’s flat screen TV watching The Adventures of Canadian Country Gnomes in English Country Gardens. He was munching on corn chips with salsa and sour cream.

Shortly after being rescued and returned home, Gnome ran away. He was never seen again.
Edward was released after a time in prison. After the incident he only kidnapped flamingoes.

My Waggie Maggie

2010-04-11T20:41:00.000-07:00

This morning I took my pup Maggie to the park. This is a photo I took of her dressed in her camel hair coat and harness. She was refusing to walk back home because she wanted to stay at the park to play with Charlie. She has a lot of attitude and I think it's a Shih Tzuh thing or maybe I am just a failing dog owner who can't control her dog.

I couldn't resist sketching this. She is looking like an ewok or a muppet with her black hair around her eyes and her beautiful eyelashes. She is getting a haircut tomorrow. Without her little coat she is a ball of long hair fluff which picks up every bit of tree bits or mud or sharp thorny things. Her little coat protects at least a part of her.
Here's my sketch in stages. I used Painter11 with the pastel mode.

At Play Without Brushes Again

2010-04-06T19:48:00.000-07:00

On Easter Day I was invited to a family dinner at my daughter-in-law’s mother's home.
The day was grey, damp and chilly, but Marianne’s garden was filled with tulips and daffodils in their prime. It was late afternoon with no sunshine and the tulips were closing up for the day. I grabbed my camera and took photos in spite of the light.
Then Marianne asked me to take a look at her favourite and most beautiful blossom of the garden. Of course I took some pictures of these beautiful Camelias! The variety is called Bob Hope.

Today I played with the flower in vector format in CorelDRAW.

I thought I’d post this in steps again. It might be fun for someone interested in trying to work with vector shapes.

I had no idea what I was going to do with this and I stopped a few times thinking what the heck am I doing. But I kept on going with it.

I created a border of this image with different coloured box backgrounds and turned them into a frame to get this.

This jpeg isn't as crisp as the actual vector file but it is a reasonable size for posting here. I think it looks kind of cool? It seems I am a greeting card kind of artist.

CorelDRAW X4.

HAPPY EASTER!

2010-04-04T11:43:00.000-07:00

I want to wish everyone who comes by my blogs a very Happy Easter.

FYI-Bunny was created using Corel Painter11 with the pastels mode using my Wacom Bamboo Fun Tablet and little blue pen. Original reference photo of the most adorable Angora bunny ever was posted by Wendy who goes by the name Sundiver on Wet Canvas this week in the All Media Events Section.
I made a demo slide show of the Bunny Sketch as it progressed and I posted it on my other blog in case anyone wants to check it out. Working with Painter is completely different from working with CorelDRAW vectors.

In the meantime I wish you all a good and happy day with family and loved ones.
Best Regards,
Mary Jane

Rhododendruns

2010-03-26T11:11:00.000-07:00

The more I explore vector drawings the more I want to make more. It is like taking coloured papers and cutting out shapes and placing one on top of another.

I woke in the night with the idea that these flowers could be rather pretty as paper cut out three dimensional pieces. Rather like greeting cards I suppose. Certainly not fine art. More like craft. Paper craft. Maybe I will try this out.

Maggie is back to her normal puppy mischievious self today. She is a handful yet I laugh about fifty times a day as I find her into some new attempt to taste or eat something she shouldn't. She has decided she is a cat and has taken to copying the cat behaviours of looking out the window and hanging out on the back of the couch.

She has taken to eating spring blossoms that have fallen from the trees. I realize that this is her first spring and she is loving every minute of it.

2010-03-22T22:53:00.000-07:00

The daffodils have been in full blossom this past week and I have been experimenting with digital designs of daffodils today. I was inspired by neighbourhood gardens as I took my little dog walking.
Maggie has just been spayed and is not suppose to jump or get excited for a few more days. Her enthusiasm for life is coming back much to my relief. For a few days she seemed to have lost her puppy joy.
She comes to me for hugs every so often now. I think she is getting accustomed to my sitting at the keyboard all day long.

Digital Iris Designs

2010-03-14T23:30:00.000-07:00

Helen of Wet Canvas offered fifteen photo references this weekend in the All Media Art Event of this week.
Helen's website is here.

I love irises and when I saw the photo I knew I had to do something with it.

Once I had the design down in vector format I was able to manipulate the flowers, add flowers and leaves, change angles add backgrounds etc. The extra challenge was to try a Van Gogh version.
The best way I could think of was to use a similar colour scheme as vector format does not allow for brush work effects. Once I managed to figure out a Van Gogh style colour scheme I took it into Corel Photo-Paint and adjusted the image by using the sratchboard effect. This changed it into something resembling a fabric piece and a surprise to me!

This was a lot of fun. But what the heck does one do with this stuff?

I love any feed back from anyone passing by.

Brave - Illustration Friday

2010-03-06T20:55:00.000-08:00

Brave is the word this week for Illustration Friday.

Bighorn

2010-03-03T11:30:00.000-08:00

I want to thank Gary Keimig for making this possible by posting a challenge to anyone interested in using his wonderful bighorn photo as a reference in his post last week. Check out Gary's websites for his wonderful photographs and paintings of the landscapes of his travels and his home territory.

For my attempts at the challenge I used real pastels and pencil crayons on two different kinds of paper.
The first is on Strathmore grey scale paper for pastel. I like the effect of the grey showing through. Pencil crayon is not as successful as pastels on this paper. That make sense of course?

The second is a pastel and pencil on Canson Classic Cream paper 11 1/2 X 10 inches. I used more pencil crayon in the details on this one. The pencil goes down smoother on the surface of this paper. Do check out Gary Keimig's blogs. And thanks again Gary! Your photograph of this animal is beautiful indeed.

IF - Propagate

2010-02-22T22:44:00.000-08:00

The word this week for Illustration Friday is
propagate.
With images of of rabbits in my head I put my pencil to paper but this goose mysteriously turned up from one of my old sketch books and it began to propagate itself all over the place.

To explain how I got to this point.
1. I scanned two small pen and ink sketches into CorelDRAW.

2. I traced them and grouped them and duplicated them and placed them into rows.

3. I played around with colours until I decided to stay with this idea.

4. Added text.

5. Placed a box behind.

6. Saved in CorellDRAW and then converted it to the web as a small jpeg for this page.

More ot the cat. This time in pencil crayon

2010-02-09T09:57:00.000-08:00

Here is the same cat almost finished in real life on 11 X 14 sheet of Stonehenge paper with Prismacolour pencils.

I must say it is satisfying to see the emerging sketch and to feel the paper under my hand. I enjoy those things we do along the way like keeping the pencils sharp with an exacto knife and brushing off of little bits of eraser as I get rid of graphite base lines. It is a pleasant change from working digital and a comfort to know I can still do this without a computer.
It still needs work but I thought I'd post it. I am working from a small not great photo.
I think it is an improvement over the painter image in the previous post.
I still LOVE Painter11 though.

Marymargaret's Cat in Painter11

2010-02-04T19:31:00.000-08:00

Working from a photo I rendered this cat with Painter11 on Tuesday night. I used the pastels format and my Wacom Bamboo tablet and pen.

I am going to re-do this with real coloured pencils this week on real paper. I feel guilty about this cat portrait because I promised it so long ago to my friend and I have procrastinated.
Maybe this is something I am promising to do here so that I will actually DO IT!

When it is done, I will take a photo of the work and post the results here.

IF - Focused

2010-01-31T12:34:00.000-08:00

Millie put on her new green dress and added her new beads with matching earings to the outfit. She was as ready as she would ever be to apply for the position of secretary to the principal of Barnaby High School. Mr. Herperby wouldn't be aware of her terrible reputation for a bad temper and her habit of bullying certain types of individuals who rubbed her the wrong way. At least he would have no way of knowing unless someone told on her. But who was there left to tell? She had managed to get rid of just about everyone by this time. The town asylum was full of those poor souls now confined in straight jackets or padded cells.

But Mr. Herperby, being an accomplished human resources manager of 200 teachers and 2000 students, noticed something peculiar about Millie's eyes. What was it? Could he put a finger on it?

The word for Illustration Friday this week is FOCUSED. And this is my interpretation. Comments are so welcome!

IF - Clumsy

2010-01-27T18:44:00.000-08:00

Clem and Clara Clumsy had high hopes for fame and glory in a successful skating career. Their first competition ended in disaster when Clara tripped in the middle of a rather clumsy triple lutz. Clem made a clumsy attempt to catch her and fell trying to break her fall. Now they are both on crutches for six weeks. The setback is making them consider other options such as film stardom or maybe singing in musicals on the New York stage. They are having trouble making up their minds.

IF - Wilderness

2010-01-20T21:09:00.000-08:00

Day five of flu and I started feeling better this afternoon so I made up this design for Illustration Friday. This past week the word is Wilderness. And the BC coast is perfect for a wilderness background so here is my take on WILDERNESS before it's too late to post.

Roses and Flu

2010-01-20T10:37:00.000-08:00

I have had flu for the last few days. It isn't to bad, but just enough to slow me down and make my eyes too tired to focus for long periods. I had two separate flu shots in December and I am surprised about this. But then there are many flu strains around and I guess this is one of them.
On the weekend, in spite of feeling awful and to get my mind off myself I took part in another Wet Canvas All Media Event. Here's another vector creation in CorelDRAW.
I am thinking the red ones look more like tulips. Hmmm.
I suppose it could be a get well card to myself and others with flu.
I must not complain.
The people of Haiti deserve our concern.

Crocus In Snow

2010-01-14T08:16:00.000-08:00

This vector piece was more of a challenge and I'm not sure it is working but I thought I'd post it anyway. I have a photo of this subject from a few winters ago when the crocus burst through snow in my daughter-in-law's garden. With all the rain we've been having this image brightened up the day as I worked on it.

Illustration Friday Jan.8/ Confined

2010-01-09T10:14:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday This week's word - CONFINED

Even though the little pot was small, the flowers reached up to the sun in fine display in an effort to overcome the confinement of their roots. And even if no one saw their beauty it was enough.

Parrot And Wolf

2010-01-04T17:01:00.000-08:00

A parrot (At least I think I think it is a parrot) from a photo reference provided on WetCanvas weekly all media events. I had a lot of fun with this.

And then there is the wolf that didn't turn out so well but I'll post it anyway. He looks like a mask with a funny mouth. Thanks to Jean who goes under the name of - Just Chaos for the reference photos on Wet Canvas this week.

Two Vintage Ladies and Peaches.

2009-12-30T21:59:00.000-08:00

This week I took part in the weekly Wet Canvas All Media Event. I thank ELIZABETH of wetcanvas for the reference photos.
These ladies are the result of my continuing exploration of creating vector art in CorelDRAW with my wacom bamboo fun tablet. It is really a bunch of shapes drawn as a line and then coloured and placed over top of layers like a collage.

Angel and Shepherd and Sheep

2009-12-03T19:45:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a Happy and Blessed Christmas.

If you have time, please enjoy this youtube music.

Digital Cupcakes and Landscape

2009-12-01T00:03:00.000-08:00

I decided to give Wet Canvas a try today. They have many threads going all the time but the one I like is the All Media Art Events, a weekend event, when someone posts 15 reference photos for artists around the world to work from. There is a wonderful community of people who take part.
So this week I tried my digital approach to cupcakes and a landscape.

Canada Geese and Other Characters

2009-11-20T13:53:00.000-08:00

The rain and the high winds we have been experiencing in Vancouver this past month has caused me to feel a little out of sorts along with just about everyone I talk to. When I sit down and work at designs I begin to feel so much better. This is my addiction and perhaps it is not such a bad one.

Christmas Card Ideas with Winds and Rainstorms

2009-11-13T10:02:00.000-08:00

The wind and heavy rain this morning woke me up at around six a.m. I got out of bed and gave thanks to God for not having to go out into the storm to a job that took all of my energy for so many years. I do not have to do that anymore. I am FREE! I am retired. These days I am so busy with exploring and learning I don't feel as if everything has stopped. I feel as if it is time for something new to begin while not being quite sure what that is.
Last night I tried out my new scanner with an old rough little sketch, took the scan into painter and painted with the watercolour brushes.
I may as well start playing with some ideas for my favourite time of the year while wondering just where I want to go with drawing and illustration.
Today on the agenda: a walk over to the book store to for a copy of Blogging For Bliss by Tara Frey and hoping to get myself on a new fresh track.
In my head: a new idea for a children's picture book inspired by Daniel and his love for the environment is humming away in my brain.

Portrait of Granny

2009-11-08T20:37:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I attended a writer's workshop and found myself wondering if I had any right to be in the midst of a group of very dedicated children's writers. But it was interesting and productive and the workshop was well managed and things flowed quickly.

This morning I was having breakfast and as I looked around my studio walls an idea came to me for a picture book. I think I will dedicate this next week toward building it on paper.
Today I played with Painter11 again. With a really bad old photo of my grandmother as a reference I painted this portrait with digital oils.
My Granny died in 1962 at the age of 87. She was a sweet lady who took on the responsibility of my two year old brother, my eleven year old sister and me when our mother died suddenly. Granny never said much but she worked in her kitchen all day long making cakes and pies and jams and jellies and preserves. It's funny the things one thinks about when drawing for hours.

Two Halloween Witches

2009-10-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

A couple of witches painted with Painter11 last night. I used the oil painting brushes. I posted another witch one on maplepancakes blog to fit Illustration Friday's word of the week FAST.
It seems our Halloween is going to be soggy this year.

Digital Owl

2009-10-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

It is getting close to Halloween and the spooky time of the year.
I had to draw this owl yesterday. I like this Painter11 program so much.
Maybe I should get a life?
Or better yet maybe I will try a for a witch and a few cats.

New Digital Sketch Fun

2009-10-19T20:01:00.000-07:00

I found a new toy. What fun this is! Go to sketch.odopod.com and give it a try.

A Cow Stands In Grass Waiting

2009-10-17T16:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I took part in the wet canvas weekend WDE event. One of the reference photos was of a cow and I could not resist trying out my painter program again.
I am posting the first drawing and the last. I also made up a new video of the steps. Why am I doing this? I suppose it is because I am so thrilled at the possibilities of actually drawing freehand with a tablet and the results are so sastisfying. Up until lately I have avoided drawing on the computer because it has felt like drawing with a brick. But now the cheapest tablet and the wonderful Painter11 software are a perfect match. And I am thinking about getting a higher end tablet eventually. Maybe I'll win a lottery or something?

Max In Painter11

2009-10-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

This is little Max, one of the neighbourhood dogs. Max is interested in all the ladies.
I used pastels and oils in Corel Painter11. I captured the steps along the way and made a little slide show but I have no idea how to post it so I won't try.
This is one of two paintings I completed yesterday with Painter. I posted the other, a duck on my maplepancakes blog.
My own little dog is on new meds that are making her tired and low today. I am worried. But I hope she pulls through this latest challenge.

Indie in Digital Oils

2009-10-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

I went back and reworked this. I adjusted the eye and added the background.
This one was a challenge but I am glad I gave it a try.

A Sketch of Indie

2009-10-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

Indie is a sweet rather mishapen dog. His shoulders don't line up because of a benign tumour that doesn't bother him. He is much loved. I tried to sketch him from a very bad photo reference with bad lighting. The blacks are a challenge. This needs another try because his eyes aren't the same size.
But I thought I'd post it anyway.
I may fix this problem and re-post.

I tried this with Corel Painter pastels, moved over to painter oil pastels which seemed creamy and pleasant to work with.

Charlie, A Smiling dog

2009-09-24T22:42:00.000-07:00

Charlie is another dog I wanted to draw. Again I was working with the Wacom Bamboo Fun Tablet and the chalks and pastels of Corel Painter Elements.
Incidentally, the Corel Painter Elements software comes with the Wacom as part of the package.

I saved steps as I worked so I could post it here to show the process. As you can see at one point I erased the body of Charlie and then I put it back in. I have reduced everything in size for the web post.
If there is anyone out there I'd love to get a comment or two.

Another Version of Digital Dog Drawing

2009-09-22T16:36:00.000-07:00

Today I went back to little Poppie and with painter elements came up with this sketch which is an improvement I think. Working from a photo held in my hand and drawing directly onto my new small Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet, Poppie came to life on screen. This is so much fun and my hands are clean with no chalks or pastels. Amazing technology. Thank you Corel Painter! I feel as if am so blessed to be retired in this time of technology.

Two Dog Portraits with Painter

2009-09-21T23:54:00.000-07:00

These dogs are familiar friends in the neighbourhood. I have attempted to sketch them with the conte and pastels of Corel Painter. The poodle is Lily a family dog, and the other dog is Poppie, a dog much loved by her owners.
Tomorrow I think I will try Charlie and Jack and Max, Tamara's park buddies. This is certainly different from working with real pastels, yet I am enjoying using the Wacom tablet this way. I have a lot to learn but I am being won over to this digital way of drawing.

Digital Art Again

2009-09-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

I've been playing with painter again. This time I have manipulated a digital photograph of my darling grandson.

Oh my goodness. What to do next!