Getting the Word Out

The weather is finally beginning to break, my jasmine plants are sprouting forth new leaves, our pups have a little extra bounce in their step... as such, I couldn't resist cherry blossoms, rose bushes and parasols, as demonstrated in today's blog illustration. (But first, a closer look at our model's lovely face, framed in a straw cartwheel hat. I'm a stickler for delineating woven details...)


With the resurgence of springtime here in Dallas, The Singapore Slingers are putting on two Valentine-centric concerts - and naturally this brought forth my illustrative tendencies. I'm so pleased that Matt enjoys and nurtures my work, encouraging me to create posters and announcements for the orchestra - to say that this kind of work feeds my spirit is an understatement. (Another peek at those tasty cherry blossoms...)


The Slingers are currently in a stage of wonderful growth, following a recent article in the Dallas Morning News. More press equals more listeners, and the last couple of shows were sold out completely. This weekend (in the second listing on the above poster), they will be performing for the first time at the Kessler Theater, a restored, early 1930s movie house, complete with a beautiful dance floor - a rarity at Slingers shows. With the ongoing increase in shows and followers, you can bet that more related illustrations are on the way - as well, more costumes. For instance, a certain lemon yellow length of silk is calling my name, aching to be made into a circa 1927 tea dress, ideal for dancing... meantime, enjoy the featured poster, assured that more good things are on the way. (And finally, we'll finish with feet. My underlying fixation on ballet shoes is never far beneath the surface of just about everything I draw...)

New Year's Greetings, and a Special Commission...

First off, many Happy New Year greetings from Matt and I! Although this photo was taken last summer, I bumped into it this morning, and the sheer joy captured within serves as a proper representation for our benevolent wishes. It also does well as an advertisement for Percy Medicine, a true throwback to the cures of the early 1900s. They still exist, right over in Waco, Texas - we were in town to take part in our good friend Radio Dismuke's annual Record Collector's Party Broadcast (look up his online radio show at www.happymusicradio.com). And now, on to the commission...


Two of our dear friends, one a member of the Singapore Slingers, are the proud owners of two Dobermans, as well as a Maine Coon and Turkish Van. As we well understand, they hold their pets on the same level as parents do their own children - so it only made sense that a portrait was in order. Scott, the husband of the twosome, ordered it as a Christmas gift for his wife, Cassie - and a series of photographic and personality-descriptive emails ensued. Images of the dogs and cats, as well as point-by-point analysis of their characters, came along - something that I keenly appreciated, as an animal's personality is just as important as physical characteristics when working on a portrait.


Here are Breitling and Skylar. Breitling is actually one of the top champion Dobermans in the country, both in showing and agility. He is now retired, but ever the graceful creature. Skylar came from a rescue group, and is a truly loving girl. As I worked on the sketches, I came to see many physical similarities between Dobermans and Greyhounds - as I later learned, the breeds are very closely related.


This is Risha, the Turkish Van. Another champion, also retired from the show circuit - she sounds like a hell of a character, very much her own entity. I was unfamiliar with this breed, and understandably so - they are very rare, and have their own set of unique personality traits. Example? They often enjoy swimming...


This is Emily, the Maine Coon of the crowd. Scott tells me that she "lives on a level of existence all her own", and has a habit of picking tit-for-tat fights with Skylar, on a daily basis. Finally, I should add that the background, made of blue-shadowed ribbons, is a little tribute to the accomplishments of these animals. On top of the championships in the family, Breitling and Sklyar are both therapy dogs.


Finally, a photo of the framed piece, ready for Christmas morning. I was thrilled when Cassie told me how much she loves it - although I hadn't yet met the animals when I worked on the illustration, she let me know that I had caught them perfectly, in both appearance and nature. So pleased that it went so well.

And now, with the new year's arrival I'm working on several new animal-centric pieces, with aims toward new prints, as well as possible designs for other printed products. Keep an ear out for updates. And, again, Happy New Year - our best wishes for a wonderful 2011!

Sunday Snippets

As promised, here are a few close-ups of the "Night in the Orient" poster, showing some of the work in a much higher resolution. These are digital photos of the piece, so forgive any cloudiness/washiness of color. First off, let's have a look at our model from the waist up...

As is my habit, I've tipped her turban with metallic ink - a scanner-friendly method of capturing light, without clogging up the works via the tinsel I'm so fond of using (shown in the trapeze artist piece, in the last entry). I stuck with my trusty Prismacolors for her plumage, much as I did for that of her peacock friend...

Admittedly there are spots of ink in the tail, but largely the colored pencils are doing the work. Peacock feathers are a near-obsession for me - I love drawing them, and observing their incredible sense of fluidity and spectrum. I remember, years ago, a friend telling me that her family refused to allow them in her home - an old cultural bias, stating that they brought bad luck. I'm so grateful that my mother didn't believe in such hash, liberally distributing them throughout our home... particularly in the late 1970s. Her sense of style clearly influenced that of her daughter...
And finally, a little feature time for our feathered friend. His chest and tip of his tail have sadly been a touch washed thanks to the camera, but this will do. Granted, this poster reflects the all-encompassing attitude characteristic of the Oriental fox trot - that is, doing all that's possible to capture the cultures of the Middle East, as well as Asian countries. Thus the peacock, alongside a concubine and hookah. This type of music was a purely American invention, much like other pseudo-cultural crazes our country was so fond of getting wrapped up in during the early 20th century - I figured this was a suitable illustration to convey that sense of presumptuous exoticism, for lack of better term.

As an aside, another peacock memory has been stirred. My father, who was a deeply accomplished classical tenor, had a true knack for mimicking peacocks. If I had a dollar for every time he got those birds going during our Cincinnati Zoo visits, I'd be rolling in dough...

A Night in the Orient

How could I have forgotten this latest illustration? I meant to post this in my last entry - the advertisement poster for the recent, aforementioned "Night in the Orient" concert. Everything but the photograph and banner font was hand-illustrated - with luck, I will post close-ups in the next entry. For now, enjoy this peacock-focused flight of fancy!

A Sheik, His Sheba, Several Skulls... and an Aerialist!

So, after a rather longish absence, I've returned with the final version of the earlier post - my trapeze artist, part of a local opening in September. The last entry showed the "bones" of the matter - here she is in finished form. As is my standard practice, I used Prismacolor pencils with pen and ink - there are also details of tinsel and metallic ink. A close up of her face:

She was a delight to work on - the colors are joyous, and the subject matter consistently brings a smile to my face. Happily, I'm currently at work on several other illustration projects - to be posted here, naturally!

And now, I present the Sheik and his Sheba...


Matt's orchestra, the Singapore Slingers, held a truly landmark concert on November 19th: "A Night in the Orient" - an evening devoted to the Orient-inspired popular music of the 1910s and 1920s. We both knew that he needed a suitable sheik's robe for the event - and rather than rent one, I felt it would be much wiser to make him one. After much searching through the racks at local fabric shops, fate arrived in the form of a Moroccan festival in a neighboring town. We snapped up beautiful woven blankets, an embroidered shirt and leather slippers - and I got to work. Thanks to an older (and relatively accurate) costume pattern, I made his robe, and fudged my way through his head scarf and zarouelles (draped pants). I couldn't have been more thrilled with the results, to be honest - and luckily, I was able to dress accordingly myself, in a ragtime-era costume I'd made two years ago. Here's another photo of Matt in action, during the show...


On other sewing fronts, I bumped into a fabulous remnant of material - just in time for Dia de los Muertos:


I had just enough to put together a 1950s reprint pattern - a circle-skirted, sleeveless dress with bias-tape shoulder bows. It's an ingenious design, and I get complimented every time I wear it. Here it is on the form, to give an idea of length and drape. If you look to the right, you can see the adorable doll I made about 12 years ago, during my time in New York City. He's based off of my illustrations, and has been a well-dressed traveling companion ever since. Someday I'll devote a blog entry or two to his creation - it was a remarkable experience.

So there you have it, at long last - the blog has been updated! Stay tuned for further news, no matter how soon or how late... I'm bound to stop by. And thanks for your patience - as I manage to become better organized with each passing project, things will pick up again on the posting front. Best wishes - and happy holiday preparations to all!

Practically Naked!

I'm very excited about my latest project, something of a surprise that's come up within the last week or so. A circus-themed gallery show will be opening in Dallas on September 18th at the Fallout Lounge, and I've been invited to participate. As a bona fide junkie for all things circus history, I couldn't turn down such an exciting offer - and so, I currently sit at my desk, working on two new pieces. The first is a trapeze artist, and I'm so eager in my sketching that I've decided to give her a bit of premature exposure - consider it a tease before the final piece is unveiled.


I almost never share sketches - with anyone - I honestly feel nearly naked in doing so. As such, this is a rare treat. Expect photos of the final pieces, but for now relish in this little gal's graphite goodness. I figured it'd be fun to share the bare bones of an illustration, after all this time.

Life Savers, Each and Every One

In keeping with my last entry, I wanted to post a photograph of my latest poster - aimed at the greyhound community, but more so, toward honoring fosters. Across the country, many retired greyhounds spend time with caretakers trained to help them transition from their prior lives (as racing animals) to their future, as family pets and companions. These caretakers, "fosters", are invaluable in the adoption community - they ensure the successful adjustment of these wonderful dogs, helping them to understand aspects of life such as house rules, climbing stairs, avoiding glass doors - many of these things are completely alien to greyhounds just off the track. Fosters give them the gift of a future... a new life.

This poster is one that I'd been wanting to work up for some time - I appreciated the idea of fosters truly being "life savers", and as such, I pursued a nautical theme. The life ring itself was a given - what I hadn't planned on was the metallic lettering, and wooden scroll. But the more I thought of the incredible carvings I'd seen in maritime museums along the east coast, the less I could resist incorporating that element. The gold lettering falls into that vein as well - the 16th-century galleons featured vast amounts of skillfully-applied gold leaf. In short, this was a great deal of fun to create. Some detail photos - the last of which was taken up close, and at an angle, to show the textures of the pencil and inks.





I hope to have this poster run into a series of prints very soon - along with my other work now on Etsy, I think it could do a lot of good in raising further funds for the Greyhound Adoption League of Texas, as well as other groups down the line.



And if you're wondering, the two dogs are Desiree, my late fawn girl, and Martin, a very special brindle boy from the Fort Worth seizure, mentioned in the last post. Their fosters, Lynne and Holly, are both wonderful people, tireless in their efforts to help animals adjust to a happy future. This one goes out to both of them.