if: Swarm

This week at The Weekly Creature we witnessed a rare sighting...a swarm of deer bunnies flew right above us. These mythical creatures are said to feed on random thoughts, delusion, and ill will, leaving in their wake a clear blue sky. I hope they are heading your way!

if: Sweater

This week at Illustration Friday the topic is "Sweater". So here it is our own Weekly Creature fashion show! It is a strict policy at The Weekly Creature that all sweaters must have ears and must be made of very soft material. Stay warm!

if: Reverse

Here is my interpretation of Reverse for Illustration Friday. It may not seem obvious, but I was thinking of reversing gender roles, so I drew a girl playing with a toy car and a tool box. I used to see this all the time when I taught preschool. Girls with trucks, boys dressed in princess costumes and I loved it. Everyone was totally authentic and still untouched by the pressure of gender roles. So here is a tribute to all those three year-olds who are still free!

if: Surrender

This week's topic for Illustration Friday is Surrender, something I actually think about quite often. It is so easy to go about my day wanting something different. It would be so much easier to surrender...

if: Deja-vu

Illustration Friday really challenged me this week with the topic Deja-vu. I had to think of how to illustrate a feeling that is by nature vague. I think for me deja-vu has to do with behavior patterns, and the feelings of familiarity that they bring. I did some reading about Deja-vu and I learned that people with epilepsy sometimes get a strong sense of Deja-vu right before a seizure.

I wonder if this bunny knows that he is in a maze? So often we wonder around in circles without noticing...

Enjoy!

IF: Resolutions

I don't make new year resolutions. I have a hard time sticking to my plans within one day, so I try to be present with what is actually happening in the moment.

But I really wanted to play Illustration Friday, so I thought of this baby deciding that 2011 will be the year when he/she finally reaches the door handle and goes out.

Maybe in some profound way this will also be true for me...

Happy New Year!

Good Night, 2010

Good night, 2010. It's been great getting to know you. Thank you for everything.

No, I won't...

I'm so happy with this painting. It is really a departure from what I normally do. I drew the girl on my sketch book one morning when, as you can imagine, I was feeling a lot of resistance to what was happening. I found the wood a few days later and decided to paint on it. I applied and removed several layers of paint from the background until it started to look transparent. It was really fun.

Oh...

This poor little creature looked really hard for the most beautiful flowers to take to his friend. On his way there, he came across this giant flower. I wonder what he'll do...

Red

Red is quickly becoming one of my favorite colors. This little girl started as a pencil sketch, but I couldn't stay away from the paint. The brown ground is a mix of brown acrylic and red watercolor. It was really smooth to paint with and I like that you can see some red in all that brown. I also used ink to outline the drawing and for the details.