Jennifer Tolman Illustration

Happy New Years!

2011-12-31T12:07:00.000-08:00

Hey all, it's been a while since I've posted. We are enjoying a new little guy around here :)
And seriously my children are the most amazing pieces of art I've ever created. He's honestly the cutest darn little thing you ever saw. I don't really have any artwork hung anywhere in my house because I have my kids faces plastered all over ;) - except for this piece done by Hala Swearingen that hangs in my hallway.
Here is a way to start off the new year for my artwork-
I did the cover for the January issue of the Friend magazine a couple months back.
It was such a fun illustration to do. I guess I say that a lot, but really this one was super groovy to work on.
I wanted the focus to be on the game at hand, and well when I play games I totally get into them. So of course the mom is totally going to win this one...

Have a happy fantastic New Years!

2011-09-29T21:02:00.001-07:00

Fall

2011-09-21T19:32:00.000-07:00

I have been anxious for Fall to come this year for one reason alone.....
#2!

So sorry for the lack of posts this summer, I've been artistically cooking another masterpiece. possibly a Halloween baby.....
I've got some more stuff I plan to post soon so stay tuned in.

2011-06-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

This was actually my first time illustrating a night time scene. I always seem to illustrate with upbeat happy colors, so this was definitely a fun little different piece for me to do.
I'm always excited for new challenges :)

Girl with the Beautiful Smile

2011-04-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

Ok so I am finally posting some of my art.
This one recently came out in the New Era magazine for March 2011.

BYUtv - Iris: James Christensen

2011-04-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

BYUtv - Iris: James Christensen

I watched this documentary type thing on James Christensen. Loved it, so insightful and loaded with inspiration. :) But I've always been a huge fan of his work. I get goosebumps when I learn about some of the symbolism he uses in his paintings.

I know I haven't posted in a while. I've been working on some ideas for my own fine art paintings as the oil paint is just screaming at me to come visit. I will try and post some work soon. :)

*Did you know that I originally did fine art until I was at college for a while and a professor introduced me to illustration? Heck, I didn't even know what the word illustration was honestly.
And although I LOVE both, fine art has always captured the deepest part of my soul.
Would you like to see some fine art produced by me?
What artists both fine art or illustrators inspire you?

The art of Tangled

2011-03-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

Got my book today, love all the sketches in this book. I love how much personality is shown in the movie and it plays out well in the sketches too. Definitely one of my goals lately is to try and add more expression. I don't remember what book I was reading but they said to dramatize an expression even more then in real life to make the mood come across through your pencil.

Definitely a book worth investing in.

I pledge to produce more art soon, I've had way to much fun designing and decorating my house lately. Time to get back into the groove :)

2011-01-31T13:50:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd post one of the illos I've been working on lately.

2011-01-12T16:41:00.001-08:00

Exhibit preview

2011-01-11T10:11:00.001-08:00

Well, the time has come and I am excited to announce the opening of
the Art and History museum Children's exhibit opening in SLC.

It was SO amazing to see the final product!
Really? Build a boat from a drawing? Now that's way rad :)

I think the coolest thing to see was all the buildings actually in 3d form from
my designs! So amazing~

If you are in the Utah area you guys should take your kids.
There is so much interactive fun. My little guy loved it!

One goal down, 3 serious ones to go... ;)

Christmas!

2011-01-05T11:18:00.000-08:00

Wow I haven't updated in a while. Probably because I
was having an AWESOME Christmas break!
I'm posting a sneak peak into my boys room and the Toy Story Mural
I had been working on off and on since we moved in our new place in Oct.
It looks almost complete... I'm still planning on adding Lightning Mcqueen
and the Army jeep in two of the driveways as well as some telephone poles that
will connect to the birds.
But he is all moved in now that the fumes are gone and I am in my new office! YAY!

My boy is a buzz freak. LOVES him to death.
This was his Christmas :)
(My husband waited in the awful black Friday lines to get him this
$12 buzz!) He loves it!

True to life...

2010-12-01T11:52:00.000-08:00

Will Terry made a little video that made me laugh, only because it's too true!
I recall a couple encounters with this scenario as well ;)

Nephi

2010-11-08T14:06:00.000-08:00

So this is my final piece I just finished for the job I've been working on...
details to come later ;)

What to do with a background?

2010-10-07T13:25:00.000-07:00

So I had a situation where I had to make a simple illustration of these
band members. I finished them and was trying to think of some things I
could do with the background because I was not about to leave it plain.
There isn't any text that will be on it so it needed something....
Music is it's own kind of text right?

I added some simple line drawings of buildings that set the area.

Updates

2010-09-29T20:39:00.001-07:00

Finishing up a job I've been working on for quite some time.. here are a "few" of the results...

Below:
This will be a wall mural.... crazy huh?

Late night sketch

2010-09-20T23:43:00.000-07:00

Well I'm working late tonight again on my job. Here is ONE of the MANY rough-final sketches I have been doing. I realize this sketch is nowhere near perfection yet, and it's buggin me not to finish it tonight and make darker outlines on some of the foreground people. These have to be in full color pretty soon.... I sure hope my baby doesn't plan on getting up early tomorrow like he normally does. =)

I like to listen to Michael Buble' while working. Does anyone else besides me think he has the sexiest voice?
He just does.

I'm addicted to some of the old fashioned stuff.
I like the Carpenters as well.

Trees....

2010-09-09T17:48:00.000-07:00

Revisited-again

2010-09-01T21:04:00.000-07:00

Revisit #3

Revisit #2

uh.... I made the values a little better *i hope* but now that I'm looking at it I am thinking the camels need to be a little crisper. Also I'm not sure if that new foreground tree is working. Definitely balances a little better than the previous, but I'm not sure I like the tree itself... hmmmm....

Critiques wanted.....

2010-08-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a sneak peek into a big project I've been working on.... If you have any suggestions on improvements for the piece, let me know!

2010-06-30T15:14:00.000-07:00

I love this!

2010-06-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

"The more you trust and rely upon the spirit, the greater your capacity to create."
Dieter F. Utchdorf

2010-06-17T15:52:00.000-07:00

Just looked at the June Friend today, even though it's the middle of June already. :) This one is on page 11.
I should probably start keeping a record here of the things that are published?

2010-05-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

I should draw more animals... They are kind of fun after a while.

A quick doodle here and there...

2010-05-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

I'm busy, so I don't post much these days, but today I had to do some sketches to loosen up so I can work on my job. That's all, feel lucky to see these.

Fine Art

2010-04-26T14:32:00.001-07:00

Wow it's been a while. I've been kept busy with details of a busy life.... baby... jobs...graduation...getting ready to move soon....

But I have a painting I forgot to post a while back. It's a fine art painting I wanted to do
for myself. I started it well over a year ago, and have slowly worked on it.
It's something that relates personally to me, but I thought I share it. *The picture is kind of blurry, sorry.
I hope to produce more fine art in the future. We'll see how that goes.
For now, back to illustrating, chow!

-The Labor of Love-
"Time becomes consuming as she waits to bring forth life. Her labor of love demands much, but she is willing to pay the price."

Brave

2010-03-06T13:17:00.000-08:00

For Illustration Friday I was going to draw an Indian, however when I was sketching from some cool old photos, I was drawing this Roman dude and thought "Um... you've got to be pretty brave to wear that thing"........ (that or insane.)
Maybe I'll post an Indian later.

Sketches

2010-03-04T19:16:00.001-08:00

So while I'm not working on jobs because I am watching my very active one year old trying to chew on China brand crayons and other areas of mischief, I decided to pump out some sketches and loosen up.

Fish

2010-02-22T14:01:00.000-08:00

This was a quick study I did with watercolor brushes in photoshop for Illo Friday. I kind of wanted an acyrilic + watercolor look for this piece. And I'm trying to make it look as less digital as possible.

I started out with scanning my sketch in, and changing the hue of the pencil.

I then googled Photoshop Watercolor brushes and uploaded some that I thought looked fun. I went through several to see the results. This blue streak is just a brush stroke already created.
I added a few more here and there, changing the opacity of some to create a "watercolor" look. (Try and think of real media when trying to get the same results on a computer)

This one had a Watercolor texture already added into it which made it feel more "real"

Then, I goodled "nagel series watercolor brushes" and downloaded those to paint the fishes.
If you want to make it even less digital, google some "water color papers" and click "images" and see what you can find.

Experiment:
Pick one you like, and drag and drop it onto your picture. Make sure it's the top layer, then change it to "Overlay" or "Soft Light" and change the opacity down to make just enough texture show, but not letting it overcome your image.

Late night sketching

2010-02-15T23:42:00.001-08:00

Ever stay up until 1 am to sketch for fun?

Can you guess which child is mine?
Hint: The one treated like "Royalty" =)

Guess what I bought?

2010-02-15T12:39:00.000-08:00

So I dropped by Seagull book the other day because I hadn't been there in a million years. And I saw one of my favorite illustrations by Hala Wittwer for sale. It's a 20x30" and the list price was $149.99 and they had it 60% off down to $59.98. I don't recall ever buying a piece of art in my life! And so I did it!

It's supposed to be for my little guy's bedroom (which doesn't exist at the moment because it's being used as a storage room) but it sits in my front room where I can view it and say to myself "I thoroughly enjoyed splurging my budget on this piece."
Hala was actually one of my teachers in school, and I absolutely loved her classes. I especially related to her style. My style use to be a lot more tight and realistic. However while I was in school I worked my wrist to death that I "picked up" the carpel tunnel syndrome, which Hala herself deals with. So in order to keep my hand from falling off it's wrist, my work consists of 99% digital, with a BIG wacom which helps my strokes to be wider rather than the small monotonous little hand strokes.

Isn't this a Work of Ark?? *har *har =)

Lately I've been doing some more fine art here and there because I get those little cravings that explode deep down in my soul that I can't help................... I'm an addict to art.
If I couldn't draw with my hand, I'd be drawing with my feet!!!!!!! ( I've seen it done!)

Children's art

2010-02-06T13:11:00.001-08:00

Here's a look into part of a project I completed recently.
This project was really fun for me. I got to repeat the same character a lot and it got me sooo excited. I really want to Illustrate a children's book. I know I will someday. I just don't know when. But I WILL! *positive energy is running through my blood right now.

Speaking of children's books, have any of you seen or read the book "Pingo" Illustrated by Brandon dorman?

It is my son's all time favorite book. He loves it. He could look at it all day (But then I'd have to sit with him to make sure he kept it in perfect condition). In fact he gets so excited to turn the pages, he ripped one! I about cried! ok, I didn't actually cry (honest).... but I have this thing with children's books. They're like treasures. I've got a collection going, and well Pingo was one of my favs. too.

Anyways enough of my sobbing, go check it out!

Bountiful Illustrators Show

2010-01-19T14:23:00.000-08:00

A shout out to anybody who lives in Utah- I have a piece of mine in the Bountiful "Illustrators Utah" show. Running January 15-February 16th. There are so many great pieces I'm sure you'll enjoy, so what are you waiting for? Go take a look!

Located at 745 South Main Street in Bountiful, Utah.

Gallery Hours:

Tuesday-Friday 10 am-6 pm
Saturday: 2 pm-5 pm

Closed Sundays, Mondays, holidays and between exhibits.

Fresh Sketches off the Press...

2010-01-11T09:53:00.000-08:00

I was drawing with a pen, so I have a bunch of "randoms" behind the main images.

Plus, have you ever opened your blinds only to see a creepy little snow man sitting next to your window. Yea, that was my experience this afternoon.

I also have some Artist Resolutions to make this year. *Because I NEED to.

Send postcards to publishers. Um, can you believe I haven't done that yet and it's been like a billion years since I've been out of school? Ok more like 2.5-3. But whatever.
Enter my artwork into... uh... places? I don't know where yet. The point I'm getting at is I'm going to be less "chicken-ish" this year. (And I pray the years to come :) )

I don't understand my deep rooted connection to my artwork, that makes me so nervous to show anyone "professional" for fear of being rejected. How is it that it's like oneself being rejected? Clueless. There you go, I've laid it all down and made myself vulnerable. The End.

New Moon Rage

2009-11-20T21:55:00.001-08:00

Ok, I decided to get in on the fun. I love the Avalanche blog, and the topic this week was none other than Twilight, and they are having way too much fun making fun of it.

I personally, haven't seen the new film New Moon, but the first one was absolutely ridiculous in my opinion. I did read the books, and loved the books though, except for the last one.

But I have to admit, the characters are just too easy to make fun of. ... And I tried to think of some ideas, but just ended up with a portrait and some blood on it.... yuck.

Practice...

2009-11-20T14:33:00.000-08:00

I Feel like I've been doing so much children's art that I haven't been taking enough time to practice some realistic art. Digital painting is a nice alternative when I can only do small parts at a time since I've got to be a mom too.

Unbalanced

2009-11-13T20:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I was drawing a Dog yesterday, and when the new IF topic came up, I thought of the above image (with a dog) However didn't feel the need to even put it in. So, you can just imagine the dog below being the source of all the trouble :)

It's a Hair thing....

2009-11-09T20:56:00.000-08:00

I had way too much fun with this.... Especially her ---> hair

blur

2009-11-06T15:24:00.000-08:00

Yea, I found and colored a coloring page today for Illo Friday through google search. Thought I'd give it a try for fun. I didn't actually have the greatest time doing it since I've got a lot going on right now, so it ended up being really sloppy, and nothing like the quality I hoped for.

Eh.. maybe I'll try coloring another page some other time. If you want to give it a try yourself, leave a link so we can see!

Random Sketches..

2009-11-04T14:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

From a Skinny witch

A Grumpy Frankenstein

And a One eyed "Cycloptapus"...

Latest project...

2009-10-29T22:55:00.000-07:00

Just to let you know I'm alive, here's one of my recent projects...

Magnify...

2009-08-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

Interesting when your little how much bigger everything seems to be...

Website is up!

2009-08-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

It's about time I got this darn thing up. I still have a few click I need to work out and a little more I was going to add to it with sketches, but at least I have a portfolio online. Feel free to check it out... now... or later when it's complete.

Idle...

2009-07-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

I remember some teachers I looked to them as some of my idles.... (Generally they were my art teachers..... ;))

More illo's

2009-06-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

Well, if you got the new Friend magazine for July, you'll see some more of my illustrations. This one was for a story called " The invisible Visitor".

I wasn't too thrilled to see it, since the quality of my work wasn't that awesome- however I'm ok with it because I know why the quality wasn't superb:

A. I was working on it until 3 am in the morning then my water broke.... Had baby...
B. Finished it about 1 week after having a C-section.... and a new crying baby who demanded a lot of my attention.... Won't do that again if I've got a close due date.....

Another Job...

2009-06-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a sample of what I send for the publisher to choose from: (minus the copyright symbol and the close up faces..)
I don't know if I'm crazy or just plain psycho for taking on another job with a new baby... eh, oh well... I love it!

Qustions

2009-05-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

I was asked to answer some questions for a student doing a report on occupations, and she chose to do it on Illustration. Thanks Kaylee for the questions! Here are some of the questions...

Do you do your drawings at home? Does it work well while raising a family?

I do work from home. I have my own room that I use as an art studio.
It's kind of tricky being a mom and trying to work at the same time. (I think I do more of the mom thing right now). But balancing both is something you just have to work at, and since I love art so much, I have a desire to balance both.

What media do you personally use? What media and/or style do most illustrators usually use?

When I illustrate I usually draw my pictures on paper, scan them in and paint it on the computer using Adobe Photoshop and a waccom pen. It's easier for me to do it digitally, then I don't have to clean up any paint messes.
It's really up to each illustrator and what their preferences are to different medias. Usually it's Acrylic, Oil paint, Digital or Watercolor.

How did you get this job and what education is helpful or required?

In school I learned about illustrating and all the things that go with it. When you try to get a job as an illustrator you will send a portfolio of about 12-15 pieces. Every piece needs to look like the same style so that when the publisher hires you, they will know exactly what style they are getting. Art school involving illustration classes is the best education for this area of art.

March Friend Magazine...

2009-03-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

You can check out this months issue of the "Friend" mag at your local Deseret book- This is the first cover I've done for them, it was pretty exciting!

Friend Magazine Friend Magazine Friend Magazine

My greatest masterpiece!

2009-03-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

Well, obviously I haven't posted in a LONG time... It's because I finished creating my greatest masterpiece at the end of January... and well, this piece of art needs constant tending too. But he's definately the funnest piece to enjoy! I hope to get back in the swing of things soon... I don't know how soon that will be though... so, chow for now :)

Update:

2008-12-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

Here's a recent piece of mine that came out in the Friend Magazine for one of the articles. Enjoy!

Christmas Elf

2008-12-09T11:04:00.000-08:00

This is what I almost feel like- Trying to get presents in order. In fact I'm actually "building" several of my presents this year. That's a secret I'll have to share after Christmas...

Thanksgiving!

2008-12-05T21:59:00.000-08:00

Well this is kind of a quick little illo I did for a blog header. I thought since I hadn't posted anything in a while, I would post a "random"- therefore, here ya go.
Ignore the text, I'm sure not a graphic designer and definitely SHOULD have tried to take a graphic design class when i was in school. Sigh*

pocahontas pocahontas pocahontas pocahontas pocahontas pocahontas

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T13:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some cute children s books for Halloween. I want to buy them all! I love the illustrations too! My future children will definitely have instilled in them a LOVE for books. I see us attending the library every week!

Cake Decor

2008-10-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

Here's that illustration I said I would post that came from the sketch a while back. Chow~

Animals

2008-10-06T15:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I decided to draw some animals since I NEVER DO! *bad- How do I expect to do children's illustration without having any drawn animals to view? Well so here they are. I think I'm going to start making this a regular practice.

Girlzzzz.....

2008-09-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

The many faces of girlz...

Website in the update making....

2008-09-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

This is just a sketch I recently made for my bio on my website. I'm sort of in the midst of updating my site with some of my new stuff. Enjoy!

clique

2008-09-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

©Friend Magazine

Well maybe at first glance this could seem like a "clique" that's forming. But alas only the redhead is inviting them to a party.

Today's quick sketch...

2008-08-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

Little Angry Indian.

Sketching...

2008-08-18T14:49:00.000-07:00

Well I know I have been a horrible blogger lately, but here is a sketch that I'm recently working on for a project. I'll post the final color when it's finished. In the meantime I'm just enjoying listening to Abba and drawing. Catch ya later!

Doodles

2008-05-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

Little Pinky

2008-05-24T15:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't posted in a while, I've been wasting my time lately, any suggestions to getting a butt in gear?

Angelina Jolie

2008-04-19T19:41:00.000-07:00

experimenting...

2008-04-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

©Jennifer Tolman

Here's a little "big" bird for you to enjoy. I was having fun experimenting with textures.
By the way, I have no idea what the medallion says... That might be bad...

Fablehaven

2008-04-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

Well I just finished reading Fablehaven 1 and 2. I suprizingly L-O-V-E-D these books. I thought they'd be silly kids books, no way am I thinking that now. In fact I might have to BUY the third just to read it as soon as possible (the others were library owned, and I'm number 77 on the waiting list for the third. Also each person can keep it for a month. ). It also made me try to imagine what certain creatures would look like exactly and how I'd create them with my art. Very mind engaging I thought. I'm going to have to check out Brandon's Candy shop wars now.
I decided to read Fablehaven because of a conference recently, and Brandon was there telling us about how his creative mind works and a little about the stories and it caught my curiosity. Now I'm hooked. And.......... the Art-work is especially great, I'm a huge fan Brandon! (the other Brandon)

And some tragic news for me. I have a little device such as the one above, where all my precious things are stored..... portfolio pdf pieces, (my WEDDING pictures), photo references for my art, and all other photographs of my entire family life! And guess what? It crashed.... but the worst part... (this is the kicker) I didn't store any of those things anywhere else. (Now kids, you can learn a lesson from this!)
Now I'm going to need to contact the company and see if I can reclaim my LIFE> literally.
So... if you feel so inclined.. you can pray for my hard drive~!

Old Abe

2008-04-12T20:24:00.001-07:00

Well, when I was supposed to be "working" not funning around, I was looking at Ryan Woods work and I thought... hmm it'd be fun to try something based on his style. And so I decided to do a portrait of Old Abe (And another thing you might notice, I tried to incorporate the flag in the background) ............... And... I spent this whole evening start to finish..... and did not get any of my other work done!

And below is the picture I looked off. He's got a great face! ;)(you'll need to click it for a bigger view)

Fairy....

2008-04-02T23:19:00.000-07:00

This one is supposed to be a fairy with a little spunk and personality, sorry if she comes of as provocative, that wasn't my intent!

Sketches...

2008-03-31T21:20:00.001-07:00

%100 percent all sketched, sitting in church

Writers and Illustrators Conference

2008-03-22T14:43:00.001-07:00

This weekend I went to a writers and illustrators conferece. It was a lot of fun and I brought a lot of good information home with me. I also met up with my friend Ashley from college and had the opportunity to meet some other artists that I have only know through their blogs. Pretty fun stuff.

Below is a photo of David Small who is an illustrator and his wife who is a writer.

Down below:
Ashley Smith, Guy Francis and I

Below:
Top Row: Me, Julie Crews, Shawna JC Tenney, Manelle Oliphant, Sherry Meidell,
bottom row to the right is David Wilson

Little girl with the heavy purse finished...

2008-03-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

Well I am in the process of fixing up some of my illustrations. Here is one of them. Finished and complete, the little girl with the heavy purse.

Little Lamb

2008-03-05T15:21:00.001-08:00

Mary had a little lamb. Mary had a little lamb. Mary had a little lamb.

I've been TAGGED!

2008-02-23T13:15:00.001-08:00

Well I've been tagged,
Here are 5 random things about me::

1. I've never been stung by a bee.

2. My favorite band of all time is "The Carpenters". You wouldn't believe it, but I have every single song memorized by heart that they've ever created:: true!

3. I love ALL types of food, I don't think I could ever pick a favorite.. But eating healthy is something I like to try and do in depth (in the sketch, it's not a soda you're looking at it's a smoothie) :) .

4. Daschunds are my favorite dogs. We have the cutest pup named "Cocoa" and she doesn't yap hardly ever!

5. I am a blog freak! I love changing my blog, I love looking at blogs, I love messin with HTML on my blog.... I just like to blog ok.

More Sketches from Idaho!

2008-02-01T10:04:00.001-08:00

These were way fun to do. I did them while I was up in Idaho this last weekend. My aunt is the top left picture, she is in her mid 50's and still looks like she's 27. Anyways I just think she's gorgeous.

Cute old lady

2008-01-24T12:49:00.000-08:00

Yet, another random sketch in church.

New Year's Resolution

2008-01-12T13:56:00.001-08:00

It's never to late too make one. Even if i'm 12 day late from New Years.
My boss told me something that I thought was a great idea. Instead of writing the things that you want to DO and KEEP this year, make a list of things you want to STOP doing. For me as an artist....
Here' goes...

1:: Although blogging is great fun, I think my husband would enjoy more dinner meals rather than new backrounds and colors. I will stop spending so much time messing around with html on my blog.
2:: I will stop being negative about my art. I think it's easy for all artists to get into modes sometimes,( thinking that their art isn't good enough). There are so many amazing artists, I think the ones who make it out there actually have a positive outlook. I will stop comparing my art to others, and enjoy my own style.
3:: I will stop procrastinating and will work my little buns this year to get out of working a regular job and getting into Illustrating enough to support my little family while the husband is in school.
4:: I will stop leaving my things on the floors, on the desk and on the kitchen table..... KEEP OUT and OFF: Paints and boards and brushes belong in the office area only.
ok, this is one of my really bad habits. I might fail this one within the hour.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed their thoughts and comments on my blog! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Ron Paul

2008-01-05T16:57:00.001-08:00

Well it seems like the thing to do right now is political figures. So.. I did one.

Quick sketches for fun

2007-12-30T22:58:00.001-08:00

Bruce Willis with an enormous cranium.
And Ms. Ashley Tisdale from that fanatical tween show "High School Musical". (Nope never seen it, never will)

Snow Queen

2007-12-28T11:46:00.000-08:00

Well I saw the theme for "Avalanche" and thought it sounded like a fun topic. Here is the result. There's really no story at all behind this image but it was sure fun to do on my new monitor!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-27T16:37:00.000-08:00

Yay, Thanks Em! My sister in-law knows my love for children's books and got me "The spider and the fly" for Christmas.

This doesn't really look like a Christmas sketch, however she's got some kind of holiday decor on the top of her hat there. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! I sure did. My husband and I ate lots of food and had a great time with our families. Hanging out with family is the best part. Oh we did also get some great gifts from the fam. Thanks everyone!

Tangerine

2007-12-07T17:06:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted in a long time since I've been incredibly busy illustrating, so here's a quick practice painting I did today, it also happened to go with Illustration Friday's theme "Little things". I had gone to the market and saw this little tangerine still connected to the "sticks" and I thought it rocked. I would've put it in my fine-art blog except for the fact that I did this digitally in Photoshop, so you'll just have to enjoy it here!

Too bad I didn't find this link before I did this illustration. But here's a great link you'll want to check out from William Whitaker, Click Here.

Sketches2...

2007-11-05T22:58:00.001-08:00

Sketching in church probably isn't the best habit...

Sketches...

2007-10-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

Posting another piece...

2007-10-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

Well I decided to post another piece since I haven't got anything new (yet). I actually bought some Masonite today to start a new piece. I am so excited to start painting again. It's really been a while since I've held a paintbrush. All of my stuff has been digital, which can be fun but just not the same.

goldilocks and the three bears, goldilocks and the three bears, goldilocks and the three bears, goldilocks and the three bears, goldilocks and the three bears, goldilocks and the three bears, goldilocks and the three bears, goldilocks and the three bears, goldilocks and the three bears

Aspens

2007-10-06T11:26:00.001-07:00

I was going through some old stuff of mine, tucked away and found this old watercolor I had done at a girls camp. It was kind of fun to see the art I created then and compare it to the present art I create. Enjoy!

Wedding

2007-09-19T11:42:00.001-07:00

Not my usual style, but it was fun to do anyways.

Almost done!

2007-09-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited that I'm almost done! The finished product will have some fun little extras, you'll just have to wait and see. Like I said in a post a while ago, i'm not a "designer" and will never claim to be one, so there isn't any cool borders or fonts, but as far as the layout and design of this piece goes, what do you think? Someone had mentioned more books scattered on the floor and also to add more animals (I haven't gotten to that), I only added the two books, I didn't want it to seem too cluttered, but I'm open to everyones ideas. I also got rid of the huge book pile, it just didn't look too great I thought.

Rasputin

2007-09-06T11:46:00.001-07:00

I was looking at Drawergeeks and thought the topic would be a fun challenge. Here's what I came up with.

the black empress

2007-08-20T18:51:00.001-07:00

here's a quick painting I did recently, I pulled an old sketch out that I did a while ago and decided to paint it in photoshop, and well here's the result.

In progress

2007-08-13T15:54:00.001-07:00

Here it is being painted right now. I decided to go with the color study most everyone liked, it's actually been fun doing a redhead. Thanks guys for your input!

quick color studies

2007-08-10T13:12:00.001-07:00

I think it's called laziness, these were done in seconds because I kind of don't like this part of the process . I usually like to just get a general idea of the color rather that make it extremely nice like most people do, but if you have an opinion let me know what you favorite color study is. :)

more of the sketch

2007-08-10T11:37:00.001-07:00

This is more of the sketch. Sorry the only scanning device I have is a really nice digital cam. I know I need to get a scanner, but for the time being... ahem..
After I did the sketch I realized it seemed too balanced on both sides so i decided i'll move the pile of books behind the little girls instead of the rabbits. What do you think? any suggestions?

Website work

2007-08-08T16:57:00.001-07:00

This is just a quick little sketch idea for my website I am working on. I'm having a problem with programs right now but I'm hoping to figure things out so I can get going on it.

2007-08-07T13:14:00.001-07:00

a little eye training...

2007-08-06T13:08:00.001-07:00

Well for the past half month I've been incredibly busy. I've had my wisdom teeth taken out, Babysat kids with my husband for a week, worked for a magic company-painting their props and such, Drawing caricatures for Fiesta Days and working on this little drawing the last few days. I've been given the assignment to capture this classic drawing (that I haven't checked to see who did it) on my own piece of bristol paper exactly as if I were a copy machine. It's still in progress, the hardest part of this for me right now is the eclipse at the top which just isn't wanting to cooperate with me! I've still got all that shading to do on the hand and pretty much everywhere else. I am also excited to announce that I will be redesigning my website! yay finally! I've been too busy to do it ever since the day I put it up. Only having one day to design is not enough, especially for me since I'm not a designer and will never claim to be a designer, but so I will be working on illustrations for it pretty soon. I'll announce when it's up, until then.. adios!
P.s I also found another school friends website and blog, his name is Joe and his website is www.porpitude.com check it out, he's got some great stuff!

Jack and the Beanstalk

2007-07-16T11:25:00.001-07:00

jack and the beanstalk, jack and the beanstalk, jack and the beanstalk, jack and the beanstalk, jack and the beanstalk, jack and the beanstalk, jack and the beanstalk, jack and the beanstalk, jack and the beanstalk, jack and the beanstalk, jack and the beanstalk, jack and the beanstalk

In progress Camouflage...

2007-06-27T13:24:00.001-07:00

This picture is still in progress, hopefully i'll have time today to finish it. This is what I thought of for Illustration Friday this week. (Hopefully it explains without words)

Rejection

2007-06-16T10:27:00.001-07:00

Here's my quick sketch for Illustration Friday this week.
School playgrounds are full of rejection.

New York!

2007-06-14T10:51:00.001-07:00

This past week I was in New York on a "art trip". It was a blast! My fellow colleague's and I went to visit some publishers, art reps, well known illustrators and a whole bunch of other sites you can only see in the big apple. We went to publishers such as Harper Collins, Tor, Penguin, First Second, and Illustrators Brett Helquist and Brad Holland, we went to the Met, Museum of Natural History, the Broadway play Les Miz. (AMAZING!)

Starting from left: (very back) David Theriault; Lucas Steadman (second row) Ashley Smith; Walter Reed; Josh Stewart (next row curving) Brittany Whited; Me; Robyn Huffaker; Holly Larson; Tricia Marshal (front four kneeling) Becca Scholes; Tyler Davis; Wade Huntsman; Jessica Hymas.

visited Brad Holland, and got a sneak peek at some of the things he's working on...

And his rad studio.

Puss and boots

2007-05-17T21:06:00.001-07:00

All critiques are welcome so if you have any feedback let me know!

Hansel and Gretel

2007-05-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

Hansel and Gretel find themselves lost in the woods where they discover a candy house. But- little do they know, this neighbor is a witch!

Once again your critiques are welcome!