After months of working with pen, ink and water colour, I decided that it was time to switch things up and break out a few tubes of acrylic paint! Painting in this way allows me to play with colour and texture, which I love. I enjoy seeing what kind of layers, patches and lines emerge, especially if it leaves room for a few happy accidents.
It has come to my attention that old people are very enjoyable to draw. Beards! Suspendors! Pants that are just a touch too short! What more do you need? I guess those hipsters were on to something…
I don’t know about you, but I’d like to hang out with these ladies.
Be warned: you may see more fashionable old people on this blog.
One of my favourite poems is W.H. Auden’s “As I Walked Out One Evening.” I discovered it about four years ago, and I still think it’s absolutely beautiful. I decided to base an illustration around it, knowing that I would only be able to work with a few of the images mentioned in the poem. And yes, I took a very literal approach– When Auden says “the years shall run like rabbits” I drew (drum roll…) running rabbits! I wasn’t able to fit all of the verses on one page, so I settled for the first six. However, you can read the poem in its entirety here. It’s gorgeous! Though, the verses that follow get progressively darker and more wistful. . .
I actually kind of like that the finished illustration has a child-like, storybook feel, because I think the words would still be compelling for children, even if they don’t quite understand the various layers of meaning happening in the poem.
I realize that I’ve said the word poem many times already. So why stop now? Poem poem poem!
Seriously, yay for poems. They really are great sources of inspiration.
Why are scarves so much fun to draw? Theses swirly-whirly pieces of fabric appear in many of my illustrations, whether I mean to include them or not!
Here are some scarf twins for you today.
I had winter jackets on the brain when I drew this little lady below. Not exactly a finished piece by any means, but I thought I’d post it anyways. Happy New Years!
This little illustration was Inspired by my love for all things coffee! And mugs, I really like mugs.
So. For about a year now, it’s been trendy to say things like…”I want ALL the food” or “I want ALL the sleep”. The first time I heard variations of this expression, I was confused and annoyed. People were saying things like, “I want ALL the shopping….” How do people get all the shopping or ALL the food? Well. They can’t get it all. But they want it. And they want it bad!
Anyhoo… ”I want ALL the cheese” makes sense to me. A lot of sense. As it turns out, these “I want all the something” phrases make for some fun illustration ideas.
More are on the way!
