Nose to the grindstone, ouch.

I've been at this computer for hours. My website has been brought back from the bowels of hell by my friend, Kelly. What's in a name? Kelly- never met one I didn't like. Although there was that one, Kelli....

Anyway, more new art. I took little lonely Justin and put him on the black top on the first day of school. Each kid is based on one of my daughter's classmates.

The dog was a tiny scribbly sketch in my sketchbook. I colored it up in PS. More to come, more to do....and the cruise is next Sunday. I need every Pina Colada next week to chill out.


Go check out the website. It's not the final version, but it's the best I could do on the first try.

http://kellylight.com/

Worth a shot..

I'm moving forward, the potty training book is up in the air now. The next goal is Feb 8-9-10th in NYC. The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is having their winter conference. I joined the group a few months back in the hopes of making connections and learning more about the world of children's book publishing. I have yet had the time to go to any activity. So, why not dive in head first into the deep end of the talent pool with a portfolio presentation? Uhg. Why do I do these things to myself? I am pumping out some new art. It is becoming clearer to me what I lack in my portfolio, and I am hoping to fill in those holes. More kids. More animals. More interaction between characters, more narrative. I'm working on it. First one is here. It's a vignette, ... I'm working on other illo's with full backgrounds. this was inspired by my friend's daughter, Claire and their Dalmatian Sally. The dog is really a character and the little girl, very funny. So, inspiration all around me. If only time came as freely.

Quote of the day!

If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all.
Anna Quindlen


Now, coming across that quote today.... little freaky.

If it feels too good to be true..

... then it probably is.





Hmmmm.... Feedback on art: Not ethnic enough. Not African American or Asian enough. So I am forced to exaggerate stereotypes- which I HATE! You can see I have altered the art. I still tried to be subtle. AND the kicker; My art has been compared to Precious Moments.




And Casper;




Which I don't mind as much as the Precious moments comment. PRECIOUS @#$%^ MOMENTS? I'm pretty sure this is an "Art Directing by Commitee" problem., You know what they say about opinions being like a**holes....

I know I'm no master draftswoman.. but I know what I know, and I know cartoons. I think I will now be tempted to break into to nearest hallmark Store and go medieval on the Precious Moments section. I will mutilate all of the chachkes.

Now what? I take back my Woo Hoo.

2008 Starts with a BOOK!

Altho, not the Holy Grail "Picture Book"; I am going to be a published Illustrator finally! Yea! These are chapter head illustrations for a potty training book due out later this year from Amacom Books. My college roommate, Sara Au is co-author and did me a SOLID!- Did I just write that?
Truly, in an act of great friendship, she suggested (pressured the hell out of) her editor to look at some sketches of mine. I never thought it would go thru, knowing my luck...and it did! Wooo Hooooo! Another post where I can write Woooo Hooo!
Good start to the new year!

Happy Holidays

When we decided to give up (after several frustrating years) trying to have a second child; we told ourselves a kid, a cat- we're good. But watching Maggie play all alone in the backyard was a tad heartbreaking. So, we got a puppy. A Golden Retriever is the prince of all dogs- so damn beautiful, you can't stay mad at them. Now, he's been with us 9 mos. He is completely the second child. He keeps me company all day, drives me crazy wih his whining and chewing and spazzes out at the most inconvenient moments. I'm totally in love. And so is Maggie. And I think my husband is the biggest mush of all. Look at the family resemblance! Where does her hair stop and his start?
The cat has been ill. We have all turned into nursemaids- pushing tiny pieces of tuna down his throat and coaxing him to drink. He's bouncing back. He's old and cranky - but we love him too.
This Holiday season I am happy to have my crazy menagarie. I hope in your holiday "Stressmas" you pause and revel in the chaos that is life. It's all good.

Happy Holidays too all- see you in the New Year. Kelly

Today's memory sketch

This was a little girl coming out of school at dismissal yesterday. Man, what a hat and glove set. Big fleece polka dots. It is exciting to see the first snow flakes of the season.

Oh, and I got a B+ in my class. It's the best non-A I've ever gotten.

I Won! I Won! I WON!

I won the T shirt, water bottle and tote bag design contest for my upcoming cruise with the BARENAKED LADIES! WOOOO HOOOOO! I won, I won, I won! I never win anything! AND I WON!!!! Woo HOOOOOOOOOOO!

Schoolism and Stephen Silver and the quest for character

The class is over this week. It was a great experience. I felt both at home doing the character design work and at moments completely out of my element. It was fun, challenging, inspiring and humbling. The talent pool is sooo deep out there. My classmates were great. The work they did pushed me to do better. This, I can honestly and whole heartedly say, was a rewarding experience and will change how I approach art for the rest of my drawing days.

I came to the conclusion that after 37 years, I was taking my talent for granted. I believed I could switch it on and off when I needed or wanted to. Now, after these nine weeks, I see that to continue doing good work and to hopefully do better and better work, one must draw everyday. It's that mysterious "zone" that athletes talk about but for artists. No pain, no gain- but with a pencil. It can be really hard to stay in that zone when you've got PB&J sandwiches to make and soccer and swimming to run to and homework and housework and husband and oh yeah, freelance....

BUT- I can say, being in that Zone feels like home, and I want to stay.

I will miss hearing Stephen Silver's almost british accent every week. The way he so enthusiastically begins his sentences and pronounces, " W-Ow" and "Fan-tastic!" or "good Job!". Even "failure" sounded good from him. Schoolism is a brilliant concept. I wish them and Stephen Silver much continued success.

I hope my final character design of Fat Joe gets me one more star this week. Or at least a "W-ow" or "fan-tastic" and maybe a "good job".

IF "Zoo"

IF "Zoo" this week! I know I've done the tiger here before... the invite was for my daughter's 6 1/2 birthday party. It was a a safari party..we had some real, and really stinky animals in my TV room. It was fun!

Hope you all have enough tums

I never want to eat turkey again. Here's this week's homework which was to sketch from life in a sketchbook daily then do a sketch from memory. It's a mom I see everyday at Mag's school. She seems to be perpetually annoyed at her son's happiness.

Been under the weather..

I've been sick for a few weeks with what I guess was the flu. My homework suffered a bit. But I'll put up the stuff I've done.

Assignment 5 homework

Sinus infection this week. I feel I haven't produced my regular level of homework..but such is life. Inking is TOUGH! No wonder there are inkers extraordinaire in the world of comic books. It is a very specific skill. Oy.

Homework #4

This was a great exercise. Back to the fundamentals in structure. I, as I think a lot of cartoonists do, tend to cheat on these details. So... I am definitely going to keep doing this. Especially noses which I found I had difficulty with. It's has just been a great mental switch to think about this as a discipline and not as an automatic thing I do when I want to. You get out of it what you put in to it. No more laziness if I want to succeed in doing cartoon Illustration as a career.

No one said it was gonna be easy...

This is the first part of assignment #3 from the Stephen Silver Class. First draw from reference. Then, put away your drawing and reference and use basic shapes to caricature the man in the bowler hat. This was frustrating and fun. I have trouble getting loose. I was trying to be perfect but the looser I got, the better the drawings so, I am going to start doing this a lot.

A Latte full of life

Another afternoon of joe and drawing joy.

IF "Extremes"

Illustraton Friday - "Extremes"

I went to my college reunion up at Syracuse this past weekend. There were 8 people out of 3,000 + from the class of 1992. BUT the class of 1957 was there in all of their geriatric glory. It was a wild weekend.. walker racing, Triple E cup bikini competitions...
I actually saw a very old guy stumble out of a frat. Ah, Glory days.

Anyway, Rutgers- the dome- all of the alumni were sat next to the Rutgers' section..good times. We got our orange ass whupped.

My husband and I met the first day of freshman orientation, 1988. It was great to stand on the fourth floor of the dorm we're we had our first kiss. I shall always be indebted to the big orange school on the hill, he's worth more than the 80,000 in tuition!

Just before the Buzzer...

11:48- due by 12. Can't get the G** Damn second file up! I'm a computer looser. If something goes wrong I'm lost.
I drew a lot, and didn't put it all up. I can't figure out how everyone gets multiple pages of sketches up on the site. If you are in the class and reading this-HELP!

Final idea below:

WHO: TV host of daytime show. A Guru of homemaking (a-la martha Stewart)

WHERE: NYC, US

WHEN: Now

PERSONALITY: Type "A" control freak

APPEARANCE: Perfect, cleanly upper class suburban

AGE: Forty-something

MANNERISMS: Prim, Proper, Perfect

ATTITUDE: Superior, demanding

PHYSICAL DETAILS: Blonde, cardigan sweater-khaki wearing, sensible shoe chic, pearls

STORY: Her show gets canceled ...in a fury she goes on a decoupage binge and inhales too many glue fumes and turns her into a glue gun toting monster. The monster is insane about decorating & crafting and goes on destructively beautiful rampages and wants to take revenge on the TV execs who cancelled her show. They will be "Glue Gunned"!!


This is what I went with- cause I COULD NOT decide, so I just did something. I still like my first drawings a lot of the 1950's idea but it was too "Nutty Professor"- with Jerry Lewis not Eddie Murphy. Off to bed.

Homework

I am finding this "Thinking in silhouettes" very challenging. I am off to my college reunion. Will have to draw while traveling. Hope I get this assignment done.

Acorns are falling on my head.

It is hard in life to avoid all of the nuts. Last night a particularly big one hit me when I wasn't expecting it. I was up with a headache til 2 am.

Nana

Another idea...I'd better choose. Nana as Jeckyll. Nice jewish Grandma,living in Boca in a retirement community. Drinks some tainted ensure...and transforms into NANAMONSTER! The terror of Florida. Her massive breasts knock over large objects and she emits tremendous guilt. - disclaimer: I love my husband's Nana.

Token Halloween image

Seth Hippen, major talent... http://flippinhippenstudios.blogspot.com/ created a great sexy witch. Long ago, I drew this. I think it was 1995. I was a huge Archie Comic nut as a girl. So, it was fun working on that license. Dan DeCarlo, the longest running artist for that series was fantastic. I still think of him when I draw womens' legs, shoes, curves, lips. He's worth checking out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_DeCarlo

PS- the broom was originally BETWEEN her legs- my bosses idea.... nasty. pps: This was done in marker- back in the day when we rode our brachiasaurus to work. PPPS...how the hell is she staying on that broom? She must have shelf butt.

Homework

Next assignment. To interpret Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. Either literally or go nuts. It can be in the future,past,current time..I'm just doing mental spew right now.. I love the 1950's, so I had the thought of the nerdy girl who dreams of being glamorous. Much gratitude to Liz Taylor and Sophia Lauren... sorry for the scribble scrabble...must spew some more ideas...

Tuesday Doodles

Memory sketches. First Our Lady of the spray on tan from Starbucks. Second...Purple Lady from Pumpkin picking this weekend. She really had purple hair and all purple on...she was unsure if the picnic bench would hold her... It makes me wonder, what leads someone to do this? It certaily gets one noticed..but it is odd. One thing for sure, you could always spot her in the corn maze!

zoo day doodles again

Went to the Bronx Zoo yesterday, drew some ....