I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough with the laundry.  It never ever seems to end!!!  A good friend of mine hires someone to come to her home and clean her family’s laundry.  I’m so jealous.   

I can’t ever seem to finish because I can’t finish in one day.  There is too much!    Call me anytime and ask what I’m doing….and I’ll answer, LAUNDRY!   I need 4 washers and 4 dryers so I can do lots of loads at one time.   While I’m thinking about it, I could use 4 dishwashers too!

This is my  laundry room.   HELP!

I could not think of anything interesting for the word “Sour.”   I automatically think of lemons and limes.   I didn’t feel inspired with this word.  Usually something pops in my head but this time, nothing.  I was sick of thinking about it so I decided to use this sketch in my sketchbook of a sour old lady.   I fear it may be my future.

I love this twice a week challenge.  I decided to use India ink, Sumi ink, and a small nib to create this Monday’s illustration. The small color spots I colored in with Pantone markers.  I copied my rough sketch on to a clean piece of vellum paper.  I like the smoothness of the paper but it isn’t very conducive to washes.  I didn’t care, this was Artday Monday.  I was free to play.

Once I copied the illustration and cleaned up the lines, I started to ink.   My nib was old and it didn’t hold the ink very well so the lines are thicker then I wanted.    I inked the flea first to make sure I didn’t accidentally cover him with any of the hair lines. 

 Finally, everything is inked and I’m ready to start with the Sumi ink washes.

I tried to vary the color of the wash by adding water.  This will dilute the pigment and allow me to create lighter and darker washes. I didn’t have much control over the ink on this paper so I decided to NOT control it. 

This image was scanned while the other images were taken with a digital camera.   I didn’t want allot of color and I wanted to draw the eye to the Bloody Mary so I left all monotone except the drink and the celery.

I call this illustration  ”Hair of the Dog”

I should be working on my manuscripts.  I have two that need my attention.   They are on my list of things to do.  I really should work on them, really.  The problem is, I’m enjoying doing the crazy illustrations.  

I think this is what I needed.  A chance to doodle and not be caught up in the final art.   Leaving things just a bit undone.   No pressure = FUN!  And  I’m having fun.    I’m drawing the first thing that comes into my head.  It feels like art therapy.   The theme for this Illustration Friday is Fierce. Although a great theme,   I kept hearing the winner of Project Runway Christian Siriano say, “It’s Fierce.” After I shook the phrase out of my mind, I came up with what I thought was the most fierce thing of all, a mother protecting her child.   

 So, I’ve started Illustration Friday and I love it..but, once I was done with     that weeks theme, I was ready to do another and was pretty sad to wait.     I did some perusing on the internet and found…

ARTDAY MONDAY..HURAY!!  

This weeks them was Home Town.

I grew up in El Paso. The western most tip of Texas. We boarder Mexico, and New Mexico. The theme hometown sparks so many memories and I wasn’t sure which one I would do. There was Asarco…a tall smokestack that loomed over our elementary school playground. It was part of a copper smeltering plant and filled the air will pollution that smelled of sulfur. Or I could have done the Rio Grande. This river looks harmless and shallow but often proves deadly to those who want to cross. A simple river that divides one country from another. Instead of these very interesting icons of El Paso, I chose a symbol that brought back good memories and one place that I must go to every time I return home. Chico’s Tacos! I love this place.

I can’t be the only whiney baby out there who goes through long…..LONG …Super duper long periods of time where I’m afraid to draw.   I don’t know why this happens.  Feelings of mediocrity and depression.   I find  things that I “have” to do before I can sit down to illustrate, address a manuscript, paint or basically do anything to advance my career.  It’s self sabotage.  

 This fear hurdle creeps up on me and then suddenly, I have to do the laundry..or redo the closets.   I find myself baking allot as well.   I can always legitimize why I’m not working.  I mean, I’m baking wonderful deserts because I love my kids and I want them to feel loved with homemade baked goods fresh from the oven.  

Ahhh good times right?   Well, I feel it’s time to kick myself in the pants.   Logically I know what I’m doing …so I have to work through it and force myself to sit in my art-room and do something other then play online dominoes.  I’ve decided to start Illustration Friday.   

This weeks topic came in the e-mail as it always does.  I usually look at the topic, think about what I  would do.  Feel satisfied with it and then do nothing about it.  That’s it!   Nothing ever happens.   But not this time.  This weeks topic is Hoard.    I usually try to not be so obvious, but  baby steps.  I didn’t want to stress over it.   Here is my rough sketch for hoard.  I will post the illustrations progress.  

I’ve messed around with it some more.

I’ve decided to keep my illustration Friday’s sketchy and free.   I want to keep lines, mistakes, and pencil marks.   I never turn in anything loose but I’ve always liked loose drawings.   This is now my exercise.   I’ve had to load the image with a digital camera.   My scanner no longer is compatible with my computer now that I’ve upgraded to Tiger.    I’ve also misplaced every single brush except one old crummy one.   I tried to paint watercolor, but it didn’t work in places with the fixative.   Where the watercolor wouldn’t adhere, I used markers.  Somethings worked, many things didn’t.  There are so many areas II would like to fix,  but I didn’t let it bother me and I moved forward.  It was a very freeing and relaxing exercise. 

   I can’t wait for next Friday.

To celebrate the start of my body falling apart, I decided to go on an adventure…while I still could. When I was a little girl, I saw a story in National Geographic about an ancient Inca city in the clouds.  I remember focusing on the images that went along with the text.   The pictures showed a great city made of stone.  Stone steps, paths, walls and windows.   Each rock expertly cut to fit with the next.   The place is Matchu Picchu.  I desperatly wanted to see this place but I didn’t want to take a bus like many tourists.  I wanted to come upon it like the inca’s people did so long ago.  Instead of throwing a party to celebrate my 40th birthday, I decided to hike the Royal Inca trail.

 This was the first day.  It was misleading!!   We casually strolled along the trial which meandered along the countryside.  We hiked for about 5 hours this day.  

The second day was about 5 hours as well, BUT it was all up the mountain.  Due to the high altitude, my heart felt like it would beat straight out of my chest.    My body hurt but my mind and soul soared.  I’ve never seen such beauty. 

Day one and day two were just warm ups.   I had no idea what was instore for me on the third day.   Clilmbing mountains were hard on my heart and lungs, but going back down killed my knees.  On the third day we asended to the top of dead womans pass (about 14,000 ft) then decended only  to asend again… then to decend…I felt like a achey yo yo.  We did this all day of day three for 10 1/2  hours.   I honestly did not think I was capable of such things.  I amazed myself.

My legs started to revolt.  My muscles hurt like never before.  On the forth and final day we still had about 5 hours till we reached the sun gate.   The sun gate is a stone gateway.  Once you walk through it, you can see Matchu Picchu for the first time.   After such a long trek, the site brought tears to my weary eyes. 

The switchback scar is how the busses get up to Matchu Picchu.  

I have had an idea in my head for these many years, since I was a child really, as to how amazing this hike would be.   Usually when you create an ideal about how something’s going to be, you’re pretty much dooming yourself for disssapointment.   This trip, walk, treasure hunt, pilgramage, trek and adventure proved to be more powerful then ideals.   There are no words, there are no pictures that can convey the power of the trail and the beauty of matchu Picchu.   I took paper, watercolors, pencils and ink pens with me on the trip thinking I would sit and draw what I saw.  I drew nothing.  I couldn’t wrap my mind around such an amazing place.  It still hasn’t sunk in.   I am in compleat awe.  

The only thing that made this trip better, was experiancing it with my best friend and husband Glenn.

Our line up included Agent Erin Murphy (So funny and wonderful.  I got to know her and fell in love with her personality!), Deborah Wayshak who is the executive editor at Candlewick Press.  ( I could kick myself for not hunting her down and getting to know her better.  My loss indeed!!!)  We also had Alvina Ling, editor from Little Brown.  ( She also seemed to elude me.  Perhaps they’ve heard the talk and kept a nice distance. Smart smart people!!)  Christina Tugeau was our art agent.  (She IS cute as a button and such a delight!  She offered great insight to each artists work.  It is much appreciated.) Peter Jacobi spoke at our conference and was wonderful.   He is a visiting professor from Indiana University’s School of Journalism.  We also had the inspiring Naomi Pasemann who worked for 44 years as a  public school teacher and counselor.  Her speech was so powerful, funny and motivating.  She was absolutely amazing.

Here’s an image of our local illustrators/authors intensely listening to one of our speakers.

We included many formats for our illustrators to get their work seen.   Before each conference, I put together a little welcome basket/bag for our conference faculty.   Items are from local establishments that are ment to promote our wonderful city.   One thing that’s included are blank notecards.    The illustratos who attended the conference were encouraged to place their image on a notecard.   This was a great way to promote our talented illustrators.   

Here is what the stack looked like before they went into the editors/agents/professor/teacher’s bag.

Here is the slew of talented illustrators cards.  Not all of the illustrations had arrived yet. 

Another way we promoted our illustrators was to have an auction.    We tend to do something like this every year at our conference.    Any participating illustrator or author must use the same item. This year we used a wood birdhouse.   What’s fun about it is how different they all turn out to be.   For some of us (me), it gets kind of competitive.  This year I was blown away by what showed up. 

And last we have the portfolio contest.   The winner  was Clint Young.  He won a $75.00 gift certificate to Jerry’s Artarama. Second place was Patrice Barton.  She won a $50.00 gift certificate, and third place went to Janee Trasler who won a $25.00 gift certificate.   Three AMAZING talents.   

                                                                   Patrice, Janee, and Clint

It was a long but fruitful day.   After the conference, we all headed down to Threadgills for some good southern food.    Ahhh, the end.