home from the woods...

.. and on our way to the city.
it's been a busy, jam packed week.
matt & i just got home from a short trip to westmoreland virginia where we made these delicious bald eagle marshmallows (that were dipped in white chocolate, rolled in coconut, and stuck on an oreo cookie. yum.)



and painted these rocks & shells found on one of our walks. that big blue one i'm going to turn into a whale by drawing on it with a handy dandy pen/marker that works on crazy surfaces!



we are heading up to NY tomorrow for the nuts & bolts conference hosted by 3x3 magazine. it should be pretty excellent because 
1. it's being held at the society of illustrators
2. we are going on a studio tour
3. we get to meet amazing illustrators working in the industry doing what they love day in and day out
4. well, do i need any more reasons? it's going to be a fantastic experience.


also this weekend is the drawgasmic show in st. louis where (former classmates/current illustrators) matt, amanda, joe & myself have pieces on display/for sale!! i wish i could attend, i'm sure the show will be spectacular.

start to finish

here's a peek into my goings about a drawing like this! this is actually my second version so things are a bit tidier :) I light boxed all of the fishy sea creatures from the first version (with a few tweaks!) and inked them. then i start on the bubble/barnacle background



i tend not to work in just one spot for fear of overworking the area. i tend to jump around and let the shape form itself. if you look closely in these in progress shots.. you can still see some pencil lines!

 


pencil lines gone! few details added to some fish! now onto color!







and voila! the finished piece.
the original size is 11x8.5 and i think i may be using this piece for my drawgasmic (aka massive art show/coffee table book of 1,000 artists, illustrators, designers) submission. i believe there's still room to sign up so go on, check it out!