My New Children's Book, "Dibble the Dragon," Now on Amazon

 

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In my spare time I finally wrote and illustrated this little children's book that I conceived many years ago. My friend Kathy Garvey urged me to get it going, and she helped me with the icky technical stuff, so all my thanks to Kathy, one of the most generous people I know.

Carmen

Mermaids, 36x22 Pen and Ink Drawing on Nautical Map

This map is different from the nautical charts to which I've added sea creatures (see my posts on July 25th and August 27th), but I think it works. I especially like the colors. Click on it to see more detail.

Three of us Pieces of Eight painters will be taking the Elio Camacho workshop again on Amelia Island. That is always an adventure in colorful painting and also an adventure in shrimp. The area is known for the very best shrimp, and it is hard to resist eating it every day. It's just like the scene in Forest Gump where Bubba is describing all the different ways of cooking shrimp. So many shrimp...so little time.

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Murals, Past and Future

I am painting murals in a new bookstore, Paradise Found, opening November 1st on Anna Maria Island off Bradenton, Florida. In these photos I am revisiting past murals I did for the children's room in a previous bookstore.

I think I need to use some of these again, especially Winnie and Tigger, below.

I love doing these characters. Oh, and I forgot to mention that Paradise Found will have exotic plants for sale also. Books and plants--two of my favorite things!

Carmen

Mermaids and Sea Serpent, 14x11 Graphite and Watercolor on Nautical Chart

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This started as a graphite drawing on a nautical chart, like my last mermaid. My process is: I study the chart from a distance until I see something in it. In this case I saw the sea serpent first, and lo and behold, there was a stingray right in front of him. Then I noticed the possibility of mermaids toward the top. 

The sea creatures are actually made up of bodies of water, and I ignore that the chart is upside down; the aspect is determined by what the sea creatures dictate. After I did the drawing I thought I'd try some color, so I used watercolor. This is so different from my usual work, and I'm really enjoying creating these little fantasies.

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Mermaid, 11x17 Black and White Drawing on Navigational Chart

I was inspired by artist Jean Thomas for this one, after seeing her drawing of a face in a navigational chart. She gave me a chart and I put it far from me and looked at it until I saw a mermaid. Most of the drawing followed the lines of the map, but I added some flourishes for the tail. Very therapeutic and fun. I think maps of all kinds are just naturally beautiful.

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The Little Bridge, 5x7 Pen and Ink Drawing

$30, Click to Purchase

Every time I draw one of these cottages it takes me back to my childhood, reading Grimm Fairy Tales. Those were my favorites The ones that were really grim were the ones by Hans Christian Anderson. They used to scare me to death. He was Stephen King for children. One title I still remember: The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf. Terrifying.

The brothers Grimm had some scary ones too, but fortunately my book had such winners as Cinderella and Rapunzel. There's nothing wrong with a happy ending.

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Zennacle, 8x10 Pen and Ink Drawing, Black and White Fantasy Art

$35, Click to Purchase

I am  becoming obsessed with tree designs. When I paint in oils I have to see the finished painting in my mind before I start. When I do zentangle drawings I just let the pen take me where it may. I may decide to draw a tree or a bird, but after the initial outline the whole creation is about patterns and values. It just gradually grows until I am satisfied with the result. I highly recommend it as a meditative exercise with sometimes surprising results.

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Fairy Cottage, 8x10 Pen and Ink Drawing, Zentangle-Inspired

$35, Click to Purchase

When I am making up my own little fantasy world like this it is almost as good as reading fairy tales as a child. I start with a simple drawing, then let the patterns take me where they want to go. I try to use different values to add interest and form. 

I put my drawing in a double mat, which really gives it a nice finished look. It is ready to frame now.

Madame X, 5x7 Pen and Ink Drawing on Paper

$35, click to purchase

The attitude of this haughty bird reminds me of the original Madame X, the masterpiece painted by John Singer Sargent. It's like she's saying, "Here I am; yeah, these are funky shoes. So what?"

No. 6 on my list of things that make me grind my teeth and want to scream:

Negative political ads, especially the ones with the low-pitched, sarcastic, gossipy-sounding voice that sounds like they are sharing a nasty little secret about the opponent.

Coiffure, 5x7 Pen and Ink Drawing

$39, Click to Purchase 

Sometimes my hair looks like this when I get up in the morning, but not as interesting. When I drew this Zentangle I was thinking about the "Draw Me" girl--remember her? She was the ticket to correspondence art school.

This morning on the news they postulated a theory that profiles are usually drawn like this because the left side of the face is the more attractive side. My theory is that a right-handed person draws it nose-to-left, and a left-handed person draws it nose-to-right. Applies to horse drawings too. That's just my theory.

Today was the first day of the Qiang Huang workshop in Melbourne. We have a very enthusiastic class! Qiang already posted his first painting to his blog--click on the link here to check it out.