Saturday 12 July 2014

"Lydia"




Sometimes developing a character can be difficult...

It's one thing to draw kids and let the drawing tell a bit of of a story...







 ... you can capture bits and pieces of a personality and express emotion 
but sometimes you just feel like something may be missing...

Then, one day you meet a kid like "Lydia" - an instant character!
Her imagination is already so animated that all the hard work is done for you! 
You just have to be smart enough to scrawl it down on paper before she runs off 
on some other crazy adventure of her own making!!

And you just know that this character is meant to be in a book!

 
 ♥ Cath-

Saturday 5 July 2014

In Love With July

I love the month of July!
My little sister has a birthday in July, 
the kids get out of school for summer break (in Canada), 
Our country celebrates its birthday at the beginning of the month - so there are always fireworks!!
AND
July is the month my husband and I celebrate our wedding anniversary!!!

I love it! 
A whole month of celebrations!!

And this year it's EXTRA SPECIAL!!
This year we are celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary!!
Woo-hooo!!!!

So needless to say, I've had my favourite guy on my mind 
whenever I have sat down for some down-time doodling!

My first doodle began on an envelope - as you can see toward the middle of the design:


The next was more intentional, I used some art quality paper 
and again snatched up my favourite Staedtler Fineliner pens...

"Happy Thoughts"
(pen on cold-pressed paper, 7" x 9.5")

I loved how it turned out, and that inspired me toward beginning another one the next day...
I wanted to created something of a companion piece or a series to celebrate our anniversary
so I thought I would start with a word that describes us...

I thought about words like "LOVE", "HAPPY", and "JOY"
but when I really thought about it the word that describes us best is "TOGETHER"

We decided to spend our lives TOGETHER.
We have been TOGETHER for twenty years 
(22 years if you count the years we dated!)
TOGETHER we built our marriage on God and His principles.
TOGETHER we endured the heartache of losing a baby mid-pregnancy.
TOGETHER, four years later we welcomed another baby.
We prayed TOGETHER and clung to God TOGETHER when our new baby 
had to undergo open-heart surgery 14 days after she was born.
We praised God TOGETHER when we were blessed with taking our darling girl home!
Three years later we welcomed another little girl into our family!
 TOGETHER we are raising our children to love God and pray to Him and read His Word.
We mourned TOGETHER when we each in turn, lost a beloved parent.
TOGETHER we have been through A LOT! 
But we are determined to be TOGETHER come what may
Because being TOGETHER is the BEST WAY!!

  "Together"
(pen on cold-pressed paper, 9.5" x 7")

Well, I had no idea how many design ideas were still waiting to be doodled onto paper!
The next day I had to begin another!

 "Heart of Hearts"
(pen on cold-pressed paper, 9.5" x 7")

I really like the 'swirling'  effect in the centre of this design - this one was very calming to work on...
The end result just makes me smile!

Today, yet another idea popped into my head and I grabbed up my art paper and pens
 and started working it out... some hours later (I get into an art zone and I lose track of time!)
I completed this design:


"Sweet Dreams"
(pen on cold-pressed paper, 7" x 9.5")


July is a month all our own to celebrate special occasions and watch fireworks...
It's a month filled to the brim with fun and activity and especially LOVE!

"Is there any felicity in the world superior to this?"

Nope, I don't think so!

Cath-

Wednesday 2 July 2014

Lookin' Back - Waaay Back!!

Waaay back, way, waaay back in my portfolio...

...to when I was only 6 years old... 
...I drew this extraordinary and fully labelled 
drawing of a bird and my Mom saved it for me! 
 ...and on the flipside of that red and yellow bird 
were some of my first drawings of mice and bunnies!!

 ...Jump ahead 10 years to high school... 
Experimenting with watercolour and graphite 
- my art teacher didn't like the results!

 ...My first attempt at full-fledged watercolor...

 ...Then I got into music... 
The late 80's/early 90's 'hair band music


 And I really loved the movie 'Dances With Wolves'



...Then I met the wonderful guy who I would 
eventually marry and I started drawing couples...




 Yep, that was twenty years ago... 
Work, marriage, two kids and three moves later, I'm finding new styles, new techniques, new interests... 
But it is fun to look back to see where I've been...

A portfolio that allows me to time-travel 
- that always inspires felicity!!

💜 Cath-