Art and Illumination

I‘m ramping things up to finish my mini art book, for the 2012 Sketchbook Project. I was all ready to lay out the map insert when I realized that I over measured by an inch on the main page. Given the cats had slept on the template a few nights already and left a love crease in it, I was already prepared to lay it out again. Can’t wait to share that soon!

Today, however, I am developing one of the two characters for a different feature section of the book that are guarding the spheres. One is depicted atlas style, under the weight of the sphere, the second will be perched above a globe on the adjacent page.

I chose a satyr like female creature. The horns are styled after Welsh black ram horns, but inverted. Hopefully I will have time to go back and tweak the contraposta some more. Combining skeletal structures in mythical creatures is challenging in and of itself. Somehow, I always seem to do it with contorted positions that require subtle foreshortening. A little tension in the pose creates interest and suggests a larger story in motion, so I hope.

Sketches:

Almost a year ago I received a package from an artist friend, Tara L. Chang in Seattle, WA. It was full of wonderful handmade treats and copies of some of her artwork on printed postcards. Tara and I share a few common interests: Art, Gardening, and CHOCOLATE.

Naturally  all these things were apparent in the package she sent. I loved her garden and handmade treats, artwork, and the delicious chocolates. The Lavendar Bath Soother  was used while I was recovering from an icky flu, which made it even more of a treat!

This package was from the “Pay It Forward” offering she had shared on her own blog Silver Apples of the Moon.  So in staying true to the spirit of things I decided to do a similar offering the following winter.

The snow is here, the downtown is twinkling with festive lights, and my children have a running lists of holiday treats to bake. It’s officially winter. Winter is cold, can be gloomy and dark, and just begs for sweet surprises.

What I love most about the Pay It Forward concept is that it spreads a little more joy and light into the world. There simply is no better time of year to celebrate the power of kindness and hope. All the various religions out there are celebrating light which perfectly embodies these.

I am sending out to the first person who responds in the comments section an original 5″x5″ Holiday themed painting and some additional handmade goodness, and then to the next two people some prints and handmade goodness as well.

The Paying It Forward rules:

• The first three people who leave a comment on this post shall join this PIF exchange.
• The only thing you have to do in return is to pay it forward on your own website or blog.
• Handmade isn’t always instant gratification; so kindly give up to a year for completion. ( Luckily I already know what I am     going to send so it won’t take me the whole year!)

In addition to Tara L. Chang’s blog you can see more of her wonderful work on her website TLC Illustration.- THANKS AGAIN TARA!