Category: Illustrations

Thoughts

Starry Night, in Procreate. Working with a limited color palette

Is everyone excited about the first day of fall tomorrow? Does it still feel like summer to anyone else? It’s 85 degrees Fahrenheit today, which feels more July than September for Pennsylvania.

Side note: I never remember how to spell Fahrenheit. I always just sound it out and let spell check handle it for me. Also a sticky spelling word: Souvenir. I keep wanting to add extra “e”s to the end of it. Does anyone else have words their brains just can’t seem to wrap around?

I’ve just returned from a vacation in Maine, and I had such a wonderful time! We went to Bar Harbor and explored Acadia National Park. Hiking is a lot of fun. And even though it turns out I am allergic to lobster, there’s a lot of other great things about Bar Harbor besides lobster. Like ice cream! and a bookstore! And beautiful views! and lots of hiking with big rocks! If you like hiking and ice cream (and lobster) I hope you’ll get a chance to go there someday.

Sunrise in Bar Harbor

Rhinocerunderpants

rhinocerunderpants

Have you made any resolutions for the new year? I usually have mixed feelings about making resolutions. But then the new year begins, and I get really excited about possibilities! This year, I have two resolutions: to take care of my health (especially after being sick since November-definitely getting a flu shot in 2019) , and to have more fun making art. 🙂 LIKE RHINO IN UNDERPANTS!


Happy Birthday!!!

Good evening, everyone! I have some great news! My birthday is coming up this week! YAY!!!!! Because it’s so last minute, I will not be accepting presents, but rather request you give yourself the gift of something nice just for you. Maybe it’s reading a book and enjoying a hot cup of cocoa, maybe it’s an evening of binge-watching your favorite show, or maybe it’s going out and splurging for that travel mug you’ve been eyeing.

I had an AMAZING week last week hanging out with my two nephews, who are 15 and 8 years old. They are funny, clever, and really nice. I really love them both and am so proud they are my family.

The only downside to my time with them is that as soon as I recovered from my own cold, I got my nephew’s cold, and it turned into bronchitis. YUCK. I went to the doctor today and got some awesome medicine and hopefully will be a lot better for my birthday. But until then, OFF TO BED!

img_0652

Monster Month

Hello again! I’m so happy to see you! How has your month been going? I hope it’s been really wonderful since we’ve last been here.

I took on a new position at the library. You are now reading the blog of the Youth Services Clerk. So now I get to handle programming from infants to teens, and every week there are three STORY TIMES. I love Story Time, and I LOVE the families that come and spend a bit of their morning with us. I learn loads from the children, like how to jump up and down and shout “I LOVE THE COLOR BLUE!!”

Of course, it’s not all roses. There are temper tantrums, boogery noses, and once, someone even threw up. Note to self: this story time program makes kids barf; please revise for next year.

Are you following me on Instagram yet? No? WELL, WHY NOT? Just in case you aren’t, here are some monsters you may have missed.

 

 

 

Monster-Sized Feelings

Hello and Happy Thursday to you. Well, that is, if you are reading this on a Thursday. You might be reading this on a different day of the week, in which case, happy Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday to you.

There are SO many things I want to tell you about, and SO much that has happened since I last wrote to you. But this is only one blog post, and you probably only have a few minutes before your next meeting, or appointment, or until the light turns green. Note: please do not die reading this blog post while driving. Thank you very much.

This was a difficult summer and full of emotions. But there were some really wonderful things about it too. I went to Highlights with my friend Jeff and we met some AMAZING people there who were so nice. I really can’t recommend going to a Highlights Foundation event enough. I really left with purpose and joy in my heart, and being able to keep up with those awesome people on Instagram and twitter has been so lovely. Art was fun again and continues to be fun.

I met some monster friends this week who had some monster-sized emotions. I am having SO much fun with these guys. I am posting regularly on Instagram, so please follow me there for more monster fun!

 

 

 

 

 

Thar be Monsters here

 

I’m working on a story idea, and I met some monsters along the way. These monsters didn’t work for the story, but I really liked them, and invited them to come back for another story.  And if not, hopefully they’ll stop by for tea and cake at least.

Some updates regarding this site and social media:

I quit Facebook this summer. The last straw for me was discovering some of their policies that protected users who engaged in racist and aggressive behaviors towards other users. I still like you very much, I just don’t like facebook. Leaving was a good choice for me, and I thank you for your understanding and compassion.

I’ll be utilizing this blog more often to communicate events, announcements and sharing my process with you. This is a great time to communicate your preferences to how often you would like to read new posts 🙂

 

 

 

 

The Raccoon

If you are friends with me on Facebook, you’ll have seen this raccoon for a while now. He keeps popping up and while I wouldn’t let a REAL raccoon in my home, this one is pretty cool.

I was going to the bathroom in the middle of the night and the door was closed. I thought “What if there was a RACCOON in the bathroom?” and that is how I drew thisSurprise Guest

and then I thought “What if he decided to STAY?”

Stealing a pillow

 

Raiding the Fridge8E8C6EFA-ADFF-48D2-9608-483133368AE0

But then I thought, I bet we could find some resolution. And maybe this could be his home.I love you, pillow

Inside my head

 

 

sadness-monsterSometimes I don’t feel very happy, and the world seems dark and empty. Winter seems to cover everything in the same cloudy color, and I can’t see the sun.

friendship

Then someone comes along and reminds me I’m loved. In this case, it’s usually another person, since most of my family is allergic to cats, but I felt like it was appropriate. 🙂 With love and friendship, a little more of springtime and sunshine come into my world.

watching

Sometimes I think we’re all watching and waiting…hoping it will be okay. Maybe feeling a bit under scrutiny ourselves.

ball

But then we remember that there is still room for brightness, fun, and color in our lives, like a beagle stampede chasing a tennis ball. There is much joy in watching a dog run full speed with his tongue lolled out.