still catching up

I have more art to post still, but this was for IF: entangled (never got posted until now... ) I just laugh at how Alice got herself entangled in that silly unbirthday tea party with the crazy mad hatter!

this is a close up scan before it was finished... I didn't get to scan it before I gave it away to my sweet friend for Christmas

IF: "crunchy" & WaWe: "Let it Snow"

Henry trekked up the hill in the crunchy snow to meet his friends. With the first snow of the winter season came the tradition of sledging, snow-duck-angels, and new memories to be made...

Double dipping this week for IF/WaWe. I tried adjusting the color in PS but the accent/shadow areas are just very light from the scan... not like the original. Oh well. Lot's of new art to post... just have to find the time to do it amidst packing/moving. Oy!

the birthday prince

In 2 months my son will turn 2. He's definitely not a baby anymore... he looks like a little boy. My little prince :)

WaWe character

On chilly evenings Samantha would find herself in another world when she snuggled up with an old leatherbound book filled with whimsical stories of far away lands...

This was really more of a rough draft to play with the colors and ideas. I rushed it a bit and so it's definitely not where I want it to be, but I'm really amazed at how looking at the image after it's scanned helps me see what I want to change and adjust.

WaWe & sneak previews!

WaWe (Watercolor Wednesdays) is a blog I am just starting to contribute to. Similar to IF with weekly topics... I'm a bit behind in the month, but the start of November was "Wild THing" and I've only just sat down to scan this watercolor into my computer, even though it was finished on the 7th!

http://watercolorwednesdays.blogspot.com/2009/11/wild-thing_5753.html

Working on some preliminary sketches for some illos I have brewing in my mind... delightful ideas! They're not very clear scans, but previews don't need to be in my book :)

I have a few thoughts on her name, but not sharing yet...

...the picture to follow...

And for something different... the birthday prince :)

Will be back soon with more WaWe and hopefully an IF post!

mommy & me art

E. (22 months old) & I spent the morning yesterday coloring and making art. Here's what we created:

"Campfire" mixed media: crayons, oil pastels & watercolor

"Goldfish" mixed media: crayons, oil pastels & watercolor

"Two roosters and a hen" mixed media: crayons & watercolor

"Oh Christmas tree" mixed media: crayons & watercolor

That's all for now... more soon, including IF and WaWe!!! (finally!)

Special breakfast day!

A tradition in our home is that Saturday is always special breakfast day, which consists of a yummy spread of homemade banana pancakes with fruit, maple syrup and butter and freshmade juice. And it's really not that difficult!

If you can't tell, I love Trader Joe's!

Ingredients:
1/2 C. Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 C. All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon (I'm very generous in my measurement of cinnamon)
1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract (same here)
1 Egg
1 C. Milk (after mixing the ingredients you may need at least 1/2 C. more depending on the consistency of the batter)
1 Banana

Step 1: Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.

Step 2: Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl or measuring cup.

Step 3: Mash banana within skin. Peel and place in bowl with dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix well. *note* after mixing the ingredients you may need at least 1/2 C. more milk depending on the consistency of the batter.

Step 4: Set burners at medium-low heat. This may vary depending on gas/electric and how sensitive your burners are. Be careful to not set the heat too high - the pancakes will cook to quickly and burn.

Step 5: Using a ladel, pour the batter onto your preheated non-stick griddle or frying pan.

Step 6: When pancakes begin to bubble, flip them over to cook the other side. They should appear golden in color...

The final result:

I make medium size pancakes and this recipe yields between 10-14 of them. You can easily make more by just doubling the ingredients. If your batter is too runny, add more flour. If too think, add more milk.

Between keeping up with projects and every day life (and a little boy who likes to sit on my lap when I paint) I have no art to post this week.... sigh. Last week the topic for IF was "frozen". This week the topic is "fast". We'll see...