Illustration Friday- Pioneer

This is an illustration I did for an assignment back in college. I went to school in Missouri where there are many Amish settlements. The Amish way of life is similar to those of people who lived during the pioneer days. Their lifestyle is full of hard work, but also beauty.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone! This image is courtesy of a clip art I altered. Since Christmas is a time of sharing, I thought it would be alright. Happy Holidays!

Illustration Friday- Hatch

One of the reasons Santa checks things twice.

Illustration Friday- Music

I love Jazz and Blues.

Happy Halloween!

Have a fun holiday!!

Illustration Friday - Fast

So I know it's not that creative, but I've been looking for an excuse to post these characters for a while now. These two were printed on shirts and running numbers for the kids portion of the Des Moines Marathon last year.
Slow and steady wins the race. Or in my experience, slow and steady helps one to finish a race as long as a marathon! Too bad the hare thinks running fast is the way to go.

Illustration Friday- Frozen

When I was little, my parents, my brother and I would go backpacking in Colorado every year for two weeks. We camped all over north central Colorado and some of Wyoming. One year we traveled over Trail Ridge Road and saw a bighorn sheep standing on the side of the road in the freezing cold. Dad's first response to the sight was "It's frozen, it's dead!"

I have no idea what he was thinking. Obviously the ranger didn't take an animal that was frozen in the snow and put it out on the side of the road for all to see. We made fun of him the entire 13 hour drive home that year. Although I know this isn't a bighorn sheep, it still reminds me of that story. I bet if it was a deer standing on the side of the road, Dad wouldn't have been surprised. It was still funny though.

DeadWeird Grateful Dead Skeleton

So I have had a few friends ask about this design. One of my assignments for work was to draw a "Grateful Dead" style skeleton with a "Nightmare before Christmas" Jack face.
It is for a shirt design that is used in Deadwood, South Dakota. Here is the one they chose and the two design ideas I gave them.
This is the winner that was printed on the shirts.

The only difference on this one is the face. I think this one is meaner looking.

Illustration Friday- Flying

Fly like an eagle. Trying a slightly more abstract style.

Illustration Friday- Pattern

Although I think Dia de los Muertos is actually celebrated in early November, I still think this sort of fits the first day of October. Also, there are some interesting patterns in this design. This is a collaboration from a few designs that were used on t-shirts. I have to admit I was inspired by another artist when I created this.

Weddings Weddings Weddings

A lot of my friends and family are getting married this summer/fall. I've been helping some of them out with invitations and glasses...ext. It's times like these when my creative ability comes in handy! Anyhow, below are a few of the invitation ideas I made for my friend Emily's wedding. The one to the right was the chosen one. Phone numbers and addressed have been changed for protection. If anyone wants invitations for anything done, let me know and I'll give you a quote.
This one was a idea #1

Idea number 2

Illustration Friday- Strong

It's almost late again. But like always, just on time. I really didn't spend a whole lot of time on this week's drawing. This is something I quickly drew during my break this morning. Dancers are incredibly strong. I wish I had their stamina.

Illustration Friday- Tango

Almost didn't make this week! Better late than never I suppose. I'm revisiting an old character for this one. You can find Mr. Hummingbird again on December 2008.(see Illustration Friday Balloon,)
Thinking about making Mr. Hummingbird and his new girlfriend an occasional comic on my blog. Any suggestions for what I should call him?

Illustration Friday- Hollow

When I read this week's word "hollow", I started thinking about the Hollow Earth theory- the belief that Earth has a hollow interior where there is life. I don't really know where I learned that, just one of those useless information things that are only good for trivia games and shows. Either that, or I keep seeing Ice Age 3 ads everywhere. I think they fall into the "hollow earth" in that movie.

Anyhow, my space guy isn't really in the center of the Earth but he could be since nobody knows what that looks like. Also, happy 40th anniversary to the first walk on the moon this year!

Illustration Friday- Worn

I'm back to posting again! Here is a worn out cat. So tired. Sort of how I feel today. At least it's Friday and the weekend is just a few hours away.

Illustration Friday- Cracked

First entry of the new blog! Followers of my last blog, sorry, I don't know how to switch you to this one so you're going to have to become a follower of this blog now!

I always wonder what bats do during earthquakes.
Here is the entry for Cracked

Lazy Lobster- Illustration Friday "Fleeting 1"

This is what I'd rather be doing on a Monday. Perhaps by an ocean beach somewhere on the North East coast? Too bad it's rainy and chilly here in the Midwest today. At least rain means Spring without any more snow. :)

This lobster is fleeting between daydream sleep and awake.

Illustration Friday- Talisman (Tally Man)

So when I first read this week's word, I thought it said "Tally Man". You know, like the Tally Man from the Banana Boat Song? Seemed like a pretty strange theme to me. But then I realized it was "Talisman" like the good luck charm. Even so, I thought my mistake was funny so I illustrated a drawing for Tally Man. If I get ambitious, I'll draw the real Talisman drawing. Here is a Tally Man carrying a backpack(probably full of bananas) from a banana tree at sunrise. Daylight come and me wan' go home...

If you want to hear the song, here is a link to the Beetlejuice movie version on Youtube- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4eoMxGDEJA

I'm Late, I'm Slacking and Way Behind

So I've been slacking a ton on Illustration Friday lately. The last few weeks have been sort of hectic! So I think some of the words I've missed are "Legendary, Poise, Intricate, Subtract and Breezy" I'm currently drawing one illustration that will combine them all. No word left behind!




Anyhow, I hurt my eye this morning while attempting to do makeup when I was really tired. (Not recommended by the way) Here is a quick cartoon graphic about it. That eyeliner and mascara is a real killer!

Mingo shirts

Shirt #1 skyline

Shirt #2 sport look

I've started doing some more freelance lately with the apparel work I do. Here are some shirt designs for the little town of Mingo. These are for their Mingo Days celebration.

*1st. Day of Spring*

Today is the first day of Spring! Finally. Winter is over, bring on warmth! Here is a quick floral design to celebrate this day.

st. patrick's day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
a day late but I think most people are probably still feeling the spirit of the holiday as they force themselves to work...

Illustration Friday- Instinct

When I heard this week's word was "Instinct" I immediately thought of how buffalo instinctively charge when they sense danger. Here is a shirt design for the Black Hills. One of these days I'll upload some more non-digital illustrations. I just spend a lot of time on a computer at work so digital it is!

Illustration Friday- Celebrate Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Illustration Friday- Time

This week's word is "Time" for Illustration Friday. I really like this topic a lot. I may have to do a few drawings for it. Here is one simple silhouette idea of how over time things change.
This topic reminds me of "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein. I read that book all the time as a kid. It is all about time and change. So this is my take on "The Giving Tree" when during the middle of the boy's life, where the tree is giving shade for the boy and his spouse.
Oh, by the way, I still have to upload those illustrations from my trips. So much to do and so little time!

Illustration Friday- Climbing

Mountain goats are expert climbers.

Since I'm going to be leaving again tomorrow for my second/final trip this winter, I'll wait and put up the travel illustrations when I get back next week. I really hate to wait, because one of the drawings is of me climbing the hundreds of stairs there are in Paris. Would have been perfect for this week! Oh well, so much to do and so little time. So this quick illustration will have to do. I'll be in Washington for a few days to see another friend. I don't think there will be any mountain goats where I'm going but there will be plenty of mountains!

Illustration Friday- Pale

The pale blue lobster stood out above all the rest.

I'm back from a most amazing trip overseas! I definitely need to travel more. I'm running way behind on Illustration Friday though. The past two weeks just didn't leave much room for posting time. But now I'll catch up! Be sure to watch for travel illustrations that will be up soon. For now though, here are some lobsters I designed for a children's t-shirt. These shirts are pretty popular in Maine. I didn't post the actual shirt design with the namedrop, but this is the illustration that is on them. I thought the lobster fit this week's posting.