Some people have an obsession with...

dressing up their dogs. 

 

We haven't purchased clothes for our dog..she's shorthaired and mostly an indoor dog, so we don't really have a need to. I must say, it was difficult for me to see a tiny little dog fully dressed in raincoat, puffy booties and rain hat having the darnedest time trying to walk. I'm sure I'll offend some people but this was the first thing that came to my mind for this week's prompt and I had to get it out..sorry to all of you out there who love dressing your dogs..I'm sure they're not as overdone as these little guys..

ha ha - the little chihuahua is actually kinda cute though, eh? : ) Thanks for visiting everyone!

Alisa Coburn at InkCaravan.com

Each day, my littlest one gets the mail for us. We have a mailbox on the lane outside of our front yard and we drive by to get the mail in the late afternoon. I suppose I am an old-fashioned girl but each day, I hope for a bit of "happy" mail amongst the pile of ads and solicitations.

Yesterday, lo and behold, my daughter said, "mom, there's a package for you." and I immediately smiled. Oh my, AIRMAIL from Australia, signed by my lovely friend Alisa Coburn! Yipppeeeeee!!!

If you remember a long, long time ago, there was an international art exchange and I had sent a few pieces of art to people in different countries, and asked Alisa if she would want to participate. At the time, it didn't work into the schedule, but one day a few months ago, Alisa mentioned she'd be sending a parcel..OH BOY!

And here is what was found in a lovely tissue-wrapped, red&white string tied package:

 

(click image to make larger)

A gorgeous, gorgeous hand painted, multi-media art piece inspired by a "April Rain Song" by Langston Hughes...this piece is something that I will treasure! Alisa's palette and subject matter, line work, and composition are beautiful..thank you for a one-of-a-kind piece, Alisa!

And, dear me, I shrieked when I saw this in the package too - it was one of my most favorite pieces of Alisa's - two of her hand printed (gocco) cards of her sweet napping fox. You must visit Alisa's site for her details of her process here and here. And the beginnings of her inspiration here. Oh, I was charmed by this fox when I first saw it!

 

And this is the front of Alisa's sweet business card. Her characters and illustrations range from fresh and storybook sweet, to thoughtful and poetic linework. 

I'm so amazed at this gorgeous little package of gems..thank you, Alisa, for sharing your work with all of us and for adding beautiful pieces to my art collection here in California. 

Please visit Alisa at: inkcaravan.com

A perennial favorite growing up!

"....The hills are alive, with The Sound of Music!"

Can you hear the music now? I LOVE this movie.

Each year, my family and I would watch this movie as a family..and over the years, it's become even more of a favorite of mine. There are so many "gems" of scenes and the songs are still wonderful after all of these years. Watching Maria, the Captain, and seeing the sights and hearing the sounds with my children take me to a different time and place. I'm happy that my kids enjoy it as much as I do. : )

~

A few years ago, my daughter and I traveled with her Suzuki Violin group to "spread peace through music" and toured Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and Germany. In Salzburg, Austria, where the The Sound of Music was filmed, we stayed in a wonderful bed and breakfast and rode the cable car up to Mt. Untersberg. - the view was spectacular. The director of the group did a "Maria-esque" twirl once she arrived at the top of the mountain..it was such a great day!

 

The Violin group also played in front of the famous gazebo in the gardens at Hellbrun Palace - what a once-in-a-lifetime event!  The palace as well as the gardens are a must-see if you are ever in Austria.

I feel very fortunate to have visited these countries and to have experienced the food, the music, the sights and the history with my daughter. One of the highlights for me was to watch her play a medley of Sound of Music songs in front of the gazebo for passers-by to enjoy. There weren't many people in the gardens that day, but quickly a crowd formed and we were so touched by the people who applauded for our kids (there were 28 performers and all of us proud parents watching). I will never forget the smiles of two elder women arm in arm who watched. They were curious and one lady asked me where we were from and they smiled and were very pleased to see such a large group of violinists - something that does not happen often in the gardens.

What good memories! If you ever get a chance, you must visit Salzburg!

A look, a gesture..

 

Have you ever stolen a glimpse.....and got caught? 

I remember those good ole days in school..but I was wayyy to shy to ever do anything about it. A stretch for "gesture", I realize! : ) Hope you all have a wonderful week ahead! ~ Shirley

Copycat! Bee's been ripped off...

Dear blog buddies - today, my friend Bee (Belinda Strong) let us (the gals at WeLovetoIllustrate.com) know that her design of "Mister Fox" is being blatantly ripped off. Here is her beautiful design:Bee's Mister Fox, 

and here is the ripoff:

Who knows how much this person has sold at her store!...

Bee is contacting the copycat and would like to let everyone know that this is something not to tolerate. She also is posting at Gemma Correll's Facebook page Designers-and-Illustrators-Against-Plagiarism.

I wanted to post about this because this just is not going to be tolerated or sat down for..we are hoping to just bring this to light and hope these efforts will stop copycats from stealing...thanks for visiting and do let us know if you've had this same problem, and any suggestions on how to remedy it..,
Shirley

Two Illustration Fridays - Remedy and Midsummer Night

A little act of kindness makes for a nice remedy!

 and here's my belated Midsummer Night piece..

This is a digitally enhanced watercolor...I added the little fireflies and made the shadows darker in the final piece as I realized that how could the fairy be reading at nighttime? There was too much "light" in the watercolor, so I had to add some "night" to it. I have a lot to work on regarding shadow and light..but just wanted to share this work-in-progress. Thanks for visiting and I will pop by soon to all of you! Shirley

Happy July! The Circus is in town...

Over at our group blog, www.welovetoillustrate.com, the Circus is in full swing! The ladies did a lovely job and we're all a bit excited about being a "Blog of Note" (thanks Blogger!) recently. Here's my contribution..hope you like little "Elbert the Amazing" (my littlest named him : )).

 

By coincidence, I recently completed a commission for a wonderful client (thank you, Sharonel!)..and it so happened that this piece had a circus theme as well! Here is the watercolor before I had added some handlettering digitally to the final piece. I hope the piece was well-received and worked well for her festive occasion!

~

I recently had a great quick visit to Washington D.C....I rented a car, had one full day to my own and discovered many new places on my visit: the Newseum, the Library of Congress, the National Gallery of Art (ok, I swooned when I saw Italian Master Drawings!), and visited Georgetown, Foggy Bottom, walked from the Capitol Bldg, visited the WWII Memorial, Vietnam, and Korean Memorials, and enjoyed a thunderstorm at the Lincoln Memorial. It was a really wonderful day. I'm so very proud of my eldest who completed a week-long Jr. National Young Leadership Conference all week and I was SO very happy to have her back in my arms again! Here's a quick sketch at the WWII memorial..

~

I was hoping to get to the lastest Illustration Friday prompt (Midsummer Night), but alas, it's already Friday, and a new word has come..I may still consider painting my sketch and show here on the blog when I have it ready. Hope everyone is healthy and well and I want to thank all of you for your very kind visits..it's always so encouraging to read each comment and visit all of you. Wishing you a lovely weekend ahead...any grand escapes or holidays you'll be taking? I like to live vicariously you know. : )