Wednesday, December 18, 2013

the Quintessential Quirky Compendium of Cats

Many moons ago I submitted this drawing for a Doodlers Anonymous coloring book open call.

It was initially accepted for "Coloring Book 2", but then all the cat related pieces got bumped for inclusion into an upcoming "special edition".

I am happy to report that the special edition is now available, and I have a plum spot - right in the center of the book!


http://doodlersanonymous.bigcartel.com/product/the-quintessential-quirky-compendium-of-cats-coloring-book
The Quintessential Quirky Compendium of Cats features cat themed art by 28 artists, and is now available for purchase at Doodlers Anonymous.

Monday, October 28, 2013

31 Days of Halloween (or so) : Day 28 - Cluck or Treat

A little Halloween drawing from last night.  Faber Castell Indian ink pens in one of my sketchbooks.

3 more days till Halloween!

Friday, October 25, 2013

31 Days of Halloween (minus a few) : Day 25 - Halloween Mandala

I actually have a piece of new Halloween themed art to post today!  A little Halloween mandala ... inspired by  Warren's doodle mandala over at "The Doodle Daily".  

6 more days till Halloween!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

31 Days of Halloween (sort of) : Day 22 - Skeleton Dreams

Spooky Halloween Fun Site
Many, many years ago ... I put together a little Halloween Fun site with games and puzzles and whatever little things struck my fancy.  Over the years I have had to relocate the site many times - so most of the inbound links have withered away, and the site is mostly buried in search engines and such. I still get visitors, but not as many as I used to.

ANYHOW ... here is a funny little Flash animation that I made for the Spooky Halloween Fun Site a long time ago (probably sometime in the 90's). 



Not quite a sketchbook doodle or journal drawing ... but this is still a piece of my original art.  So, I hope you enjoy it.

9 Days till Halloween!

Monday, October 21, 2013

31 Days of Halloween (or so) : Day 21 - One Line Wizard

My "31 Days of Halloween" hasn't gone as planned ... but I will continue to plod ahead and post Halloween artwork as I am able.

Here is another page in my Scribble Doodles! Halloween book. A wizard drawn with a single line.  I love a challenge! I also love to draw one-liners.

To see some of my previous one-liners, click here!

To see more of my completed pages in the Scribble Doodles! series of books - click the Scribble Doodles label below.




Saturday, October 19, 2013

31 Days of Halloween : Day 18 - Spooky House

Better late than never.  I doodled this house last night & then fell asleep before I had a chance to post it. ha-ha.  This month has been full of TRICKS ... I'm ready for some TREATS!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

31 Days of Halloween : Day 17 - Another Resurrection

Unbelievably, I lost my internet access again!  It seems that all of my cable wires and connectors were corroded and needed to be replaced ... I guess that happens in an old building.  I think all of the cable wires and hook-ups were untouched since the 80's when they were installed.  ha-ha!

Well, I am back from the dead, again!  A quick little ghostie was all I could manage ... perhaps better days and better art lie ahead.

Doodled with a mostly dried out Indian ink pen (nothing seems to be working for me, lately).

Monday, October 14, 2013

31 Days of Halloween : Day 14 - A Little Bitty Batty

Just a quick little bitty batty doodle tonight.  (Which is reflective of how I have been feeling - a little bitty batty!)  For fun, here is the inverted image:


Sunday, October 13, 2013

31 Days of Halloween : Day 13 - Little Beasties

Here are a couple of little beasties fresh from my sketchbook.  Drawn with an Indian ink pen, then scanned and colored digitally with Corel PhotoPaint 7.   Below is a look at them before I added the color and texture.
My scanner is a bit wonky since I installed it on the new computer.  I think I just need to tweak some settings ... but it sure is a pain to figure out how I had it all set before the crash.  I'm just thankful it is functioning at all.


Saturday, October 12, 2013

31 Days of Halloween : Day 12 - Back from the Dead

Here are a couple of old zombies to celebrate my return. (And also my excitement for the season premier of "the Walking Dead" this weekend.)
The zombies were drawn with Indian ink pens and colored with colored pencils.

Oh ... and here is a new "stylized pumpkins" doodle to celebrate the fact that I finally got my scanner working!  (It has been a very tough week.)  The pumpkins are just quick doodles done with Indian ink pens.
Hopefully, I'm done with all of the technical "TRICKS" that have befallen me! 
More Halloween "TREATS" are on the way!


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

31 Days of Halloween : Interrupted

Whoopsie!  Due to the death of my computer, and only low-tech access online ... I have been unable to post blog updates.  This is the first time I have been able to get into blogger.com without my old browser crashing.

I should have everything worked out by the end of the week and will play catch up with lots of Halloween related art!

Sunday, October 6, 2013

31 Days of Halloween : Day 6 - Scribble Doodles part 2

I finished the page in my Scribble Doodles Halloween book by punching leaves from printed papers and embellishing with a touch of gold veining (courtesy of my new metallic gold Sharpie).

So far, so good in my attempt to post a piece of Halloween art or a Halloween doodle every day during the month of October.  6 days down and 25 more to go!

Saturday, October 5, 2013

31 Days of Halloween : Day 5 - Scribble Doodles

I finished coloring this page in my Scribble Doodles Halloween book.  I plan to cut/punch leaves out of book pages and printed papers to collage onto the trees.  I will post the finished page soon.  The book page is 8-1/2" x 11".

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Scribble Doodles! books can also occasionally be found in the clearance section or bargain book bin at Barnes&Nobles stores.

If you want to see more of my completed pages from the Scribble Doodles series of books, just click the Scribble Doodles link in the labels below

Friday, October 4, 2013

31 Days of Halloween : Day 4 - Doodle Bat

Doodled bat on a 4" x 6" postcard.   I used a black sharpie and Faber Castell PITT pens. 

I'm trying to add a piece of Halloween art each day during the month of October.  So far, so good.


Thursday, October 3, 2013

31 Days of Halloween : Day 3 - Skull Doodle

Fresh from the sketchpad ... this skull doodle was drawn and colored with Faber Castell PITT pens.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

31 Days of Halloween: Day 1 - Halloween Zine

I am going to try to post a Halloween doodle -or- piece of Halloween themed art each day this month.  

I just finished a Halloween mini zine.  It is a little 12 page zine - 2-3/4" x 4-1/4" with black and white pages.  I printed the covers on colored scrapbook papers - some covers have dots and some have plaids.  Just a little silly story with hand drawn illustrations.

Since I am trading 7 copies, I have been busy doodling all 7 envelopes to add a little pizazz.

If you have a Halloween themed zine & would like to trade, just leave me a comment.  I printed several copies.

I  also made the little Halloween faux postage stamps from an image that I drew on an ATC a few years ago.

So ... It's not that I haven't been making art, I'm just slow to get it posted here.  We'll see how the next 30 days go.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Guess What Time It Is ...

It's time for Dragon Con in Atlanta!

Here's my little dragon doodle to mark the occasion.  Dragon drawn with Indian ink pens and some colored pencil, then pasted onto a printed paper background.

*Dragon Con doesn't have too much to do with with dragons actually ... it is the largest pop culture convention anywhere focusing on sci-fi & horror (books, tv, film), comics, gaming, and music.  Oodles of events - celebrity panels and meet & greets, tons of contests and games, music and art, costumes, costumes, & more costumes, and there is a heck of a parade on Saturday! 

This time of year is always fun around town, you never know what you might see or who you might run into.


Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Junk Journal

This is the junk journal I made for a swap in one of my art groups.  I spent about 3 months pulling it all together and really had a lot of fun with it.

The front cover evolved as I worked.  The title banner was cut from a "Trader Joe's" mailer and customized with rubber stamping.  The bluebird is a cross stitch piece from one of my original patterns.  I made the little face in the bottom corner from a recycled piece of an aluminum can that I embossed.  Also included are printed paper, lace, paperclip, ribbon flowers, paper flowers, buttons, a puffy sticker, clipping from junk mail and machine stitching.

The back cover is rather plain, but includes printed paper with a piece of a mesh orange bag and colorful binder clips.  I also added an embroidered fish pin to the binding.

Attached to the binding coils are tons of ribbons,

 lace, and handmade charms. 

 I have posted more info about the charms on my hobby site here: http://www.hobbyloco.com/charms.html

 You can see from the top view that I made the book really thick and chunky.  It is full of all types of papers, pockets, tags, postcards, and random bits of this and that. 

I used the largest binding coil I had on hand & it wasn't thick enough, so I created a unique binding, which I call a "flip-flop" binding.  There are 2 bound edges, one on each side of the book.  When you get to the center of the book - you flip-flop it over and start from the other side.  The two parts are joined by a center panel that is attached to both binding coils.

I embellished several pages in the book, here are just a few:
I stitched a piece of clear vinyl to the inside cover to create a pocket, in which I placed an Atlanta postcard and a couple of handmade tags.
The pocket on the left side was made from a colorful ad in a magazine.  I stuck a couple of metallic puffy stickers on it for fun.  The cityscape on the bottom right was cut with a Cricut machine. 
I love this colorful hummingbird page!  It has a printed image with ink and painted detailing, stamping, ribbons, a plastic charm, and of course - feathers.
On the left side you can see I simply added a wax paper "glassine" envelope with pieces of washi tape.  I filled the envelope with little collage images from my stash and sealed it with a little puffy heart sticker.
The bluebird page is cut from a piece of junk mail (yes, junk mail).  The apple pie page was lots of fun!  I used printed scrapbook paper over a cardboard backing to start.  I cut the pie from a recycled greeting card (it has a touch of glitter sparkle). I punched the apple inchies from an applesauce package, and added a touch of glitter. The center inchie reads "Keep calm and have some pie."  This was punched from a catalog.  I made the little apple tag from another image I had and tied it to the page with red fibers. I cut the half circle on top from a piece of red metallic paper, and finished off the page by machine stitching a red zig zag around the border.

I think that is enough for now!  It gives you a taste of the book.  I will be posting some of the pages that have needlework embellishments on my other blog: http://chaosatlanta.blogspot.com/ 









Sunday, July 21, 2013

Junk Journal Swap

Received this fabulous junk journal from my swap partner. It is covered with ribbons and charms!
It is about 2 inches thick.  The pages are made from all types of papers, cards and bags.  It is chock full of pockets, tags, and hidden surprises.
Really something special!

I have been working for the past 3 months on a junk journal to send out to my swap partner in return.  It will be sent out this week, and I will start posting pictures after my swap partner receives it.  I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.


Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Doodlers Anonymous Showcase #19

My entry in Doodlers Anonymous Showcase Challenge #19 - Self-Portrait.  Drawn with Faber-Castell Indian ink pens and colored pencil.  Voting is open until Wednesday, July 3rd.  Looks like there are well over 100 entries!  Good luck everyone!

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Secrets to Happiness

A little zine I made for a swap in one of my art groups: "Secrets to Happiness".  Wouldn't you like to know?  Well, you'll have to trade me for it. 

Seriously.  I made a few extra copies, so if you would like to trade a mini zine with me, just let me know.  This one is a one-sheet 8 page mini zine, laser printed in color.

I have a few of my other zines available for trade as well, so I don't mind swapping a small zine bundle.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Book of Monsters

Awhile back I purchased a 10" x 10" spiral bound photo album in the bargain bin at a local bookstore. 

It has monsters and robots all over the glossy covers.  It is about an inch thick and filled with black pages.

I decided to make it a book of monsters and fill the pages with all types of creepy, whimsical, kooky and odd creatures.  I plan to add pop-ups and fold outs, pockets and tags to make it fun.

Here is the first monster!  Drawn with Indian ink pens and other markers, with a touch of green glitter glue on his face, arms and legs.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

In Like a Lion

Just a little lion collage in my moleskine notebook (page 99).

Printed papers, book, magazine and mail clippings, punches, and a bit of Indian ink pen.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Valentines!

Woven construction paper heart with punches.  Detailed with Indian ink pens and white acrylic paint.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Page O' Doodles

A page of colorful doodles from my sketchbook.   Doodled with Staedtler Triplus Fineliners.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

S is for ...

snake : I haven't doodled much lately, so I opened one of my doodle inspiration books to a random page & it said to open a magazine to a random page (odd coincidence) and draw something related to a word or picture on that page. 

Anyhow ... the letter "S" was featured on a greeting card, which led to my snake on a post-it.

S is also for snowflake, which I may be seeing tonight.  The temperature was 53 when I woke up this morning & now is 38!  Rain, rain, rain for days ... & maybe a bit of snow tonight.

Also recently finished are pages in another "Paper Bag Book" for the swap/round robin I am playing in:

For this "circus" themed paper bag book, I completed pages of mixed media with printed images, scraps and punches of colored paper, stamping, some hand stitching, a little pen work, a cotton candy charm, pink felt (cotton candy), and lots of glitter glue (too bad you can't see the sparkle in the photos).  I also tied colorful fibers and some shrinky dink elephant charms to the book.