New Sketchbook + Studies

Well, this sketchbook isn't all THAT new.


I've had this Fabriano for at least the last six months, but I haven't paid much attention to it. I still have a few pages left to fill in my Fabriano from last year and have been slacking on my figure drawing attendance which is the bulk of what I put in these babies. But today my new one got a shiny new cover/binding! Hooray! Fabrianos typically have pretty flimsy covers, so I took some scrap board and fabric and gave it a little extra protection and style.


And in honor of the new look of the outside of the book, I thought I should probably display a bit of the inside. Here is a little watercolor of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Having the opportunity to paint this remarkable place was really a dream come true.

And here is a teeny-tiny color study I did this evening for my next Hawaiian goddess painting. I would have liked to spend a bit more time on her this weekend, but I have been busy with a few other projects. More on her to come, but until then, have a happy week!

Dance!

The first mermaids of the New Year. Actually, I think I started sketching her way back in August, but I haven't had a chance to finish painting her until today. I would love to do two more in this series of flamenco-ish sirens, so stay tuned for that. These three, along with my other original mermaid paintings will be coming with me to Wondercon in February if anyone is interested. The goal is to have at least 20-25 of these small originals with me at Wondercon, wo we will see how that goes.

And what the heck, I'll post 'em to IF this week. These watercolors are pretty tiny (about 5x6 inches), so I'd say she is quite contained. Contained, perhaps, but not tame. This one has got some fire in her for sure.

Action Shots!

Caught in the act! Back in late July or early August, David was a bit sneaky and took some pictures of me while I was working. Cheeky monkey. Anyway, the paintings I am seen working on are a series of five watercolors featuring a pink-tailed, anemone-headed mermaid. My goal was to have between 20 and 30 of these little paintings (all of different mermaids) ready for APE, but the Hawaiian Gods and goddesses ended up taking priority. I have still have my list of different themed mermaids that I will get around to sometime in the near future, but for now I will just post these. I realized that I had only posted two of the five when I finished them, so now here are the rest. I hope you enjoy them! And I promise, promise, promise to post new artwork soon.


Oh - I have also posted these in the Etsy shop for anyone interested! Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

"Multitasking"

This is the second piece I made for this year's Purrr-casso art auction to benefit the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society. It is ink, watercolor, and collage on Canson paper, and measures about 12"x 6".The auction was held last Sunday in Emeryville and was a great success! So many artists donated so many beautiful pieces - it was a really fantastic time. Thanks so much to all of the artists who donated and all of the people who came out to support the Humane Society!

I am still in the process of winding down after APE and last week's auction, but I hope to get some new artwork up in the next week or so. In the meantime, I just added the two mini-prints I had at APE ( "Shhhh" and "The Flower of Lanai") to my Etsy shop. I also added my mermaid Holiday cards sometime last week, so check them out! Thanks for stopping by, and have a happy Monday, everybody!

Singing, Sailing, and Swimming

I spent the weekend doing another five in the series, this bunch being a little different from the last. I've never worked with ink on a brush before, so I wanted to try it out and focus on line quality. These five are also slightly different from the last in that together they create a story. This mermaid is a siren ( are all mermaids supposed to be sirens?) and she lures a sailor into the sea and steals his hat. Hope you enjoy - Have a great week!

Return of the Mermaids

I've been very good and have not drawn mermaids in a very long time. We're talking months. I'm starting to work on a little project now, however, and it just could not be avoided any longer. So those of you who are angered by the sight of mermaids, I'm sorry. Actually, I think I have to let you know that you are just in the wrong place. Mermaids are (and will continue to be) a pretty regular occurrence 'round here.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy these watercolors. It was nice to pick up real paint again for a little bit. Shown are two of five paintings I was able to finish this weekend, and I plan to do more. If you like them a lot, there is a possibility that they will be available for purchase sometime in the not-too-distant future. I will post more details about that later. For now, have a lovely Monday!