For my Grandparents

Last year, my Grandma, one of the most important people in my life, passed away.  A few months later, my Grandpa was admitted to a VA home because of his battle with Alzheimer's. During all of this, my Mom asked me to design the headstone that would mark their final resting place.

To be really honest, this was a difficult request. I didn't know why I felt conflicted at the time, other than we were losing two very wonderful people, and I felt pretty terrible about it. It was and is a tremendous honor, and I am very thankful that my Mom asked me to do it. I'm even more thankful that she was patient with me. Now that I am finished I have a better understanding of why I felt as I did. Hindsight is 20/20.

(click images for larger view)

Grandma
Her favorite bird was the hummingbird

Dogwood her favorite flower

 

 

Grandpa

He loved the outdoors

I can picture him fishing under this tree 

When I reflect on my Grandparents and these final illustrations, the key word that jumps out at me is the word "final". These are the final drawings that I will create for them and it really effected me more than I knew.

Ever since I was very young girl my Grandpa would draw headhunters for me. They were and are crazy special to me! It was the only thing he drew and I have headhunters tucked away in sketchbooks, and probably other places I've forgotten to surprise me when I least expect it. And I am not the only one. My Mom and my Aunt have them as well. Probably other people as well.

After I graduated from college, and became a professional, I drew headhunters for him and turned them into pins that he would wear on his hat. And he still wears them sometimes, even if he's forgotten where they came from and who I am. :)

Grandma loved receiving drawings, illustrations and designs from me, and I am lucky enough to have some of her art supplies and a few of her rough sketches. She would tell me how proud she was of me because I was one of the few people she knew that was doing what they said they would do as a child. That is a pretty amazing statement to have tucked away when I need the motivation. <3

I also had fun drawing caricatures of my Grandparents and creating paper cut out illustrations of my family. After she passed I inherited back the paper illustrations of my Grandma and Grandpa and have them protected until I can figure out where to hang them.

I know that this doesn't have to be the last thing that I do for them, but it does feel that it is the most important thing that I can do for them now. Nothing that I create will ever feel perfect enough, but they never saw my imperfections, and I love them for that.

Thanks, Mom, for giving me this honor.

Unikitty Fan Art

I was totally unprepared for how much I would love The Lego Movie. After seeing it this past Friday, I had to create some fan art of one of my favorite characters. Unikitty! Everything is Awesome!

Masquerade on Parade

It is that time of year again when I create the illustration for the Miss Altus Scholarship Pageant. This is their 44th year of helping young women realize their potential and this is the design I created to go with the theme "Masquerade on Parade".

Enjoy!

Creative Word #6: Shalala (Color)

Shalala completed. It has been a while since the black and white version.

Click the image for a larger view.  

Studying and Practicing

I'm spending a lot of time studying other illustrators and their processes and taking some awesome online courses. This friendly little witch is the result of taking a Skillshare class created by Matt Kaufenberg.

See the progress here.

There are things that I like about this first attempt and many things I see to improve upon. Here is to never resting and always learning, learning, learning!

Jessica

This is an illustration of one of my best friends, Jessica,
who is really more like a sister to me.

Creative Word #6: Shalala (Black and White)

The Shala singing his "La", in black and white. Let the color fun times begin!

Creative Word #6: Shalala

This illustration was inspired by the word "Shalala", submitted by Richelle. A Shalala is a magical story that is sung by a tribe of bears called the Shala that live inside majestic cloud kingdoms in the sky. Each song creates tiny clouds that carry bear cubs off to far corners of a distant world where new kingdoms are formed and new stories are told.

My last creative word illustration was last October and that is hard to believe! Where has the time gone? Life has been very busy and I am finally finding some time to spend drawing on personal projects again. :)

Just to recap, the creative word project is fueled by words submitted to me by you. I take each word and make up a simple story/description and illustration starting with a sketch and finishing with a completed full color image. So just leave a word in the comments below and I will add it to my list! Thanks!

The Gandys' New House

In 2012, two of my close friends purchased their first house. Here is the illustration that I created for them to commemorate that occasion. If you look closely you will see their two cats watching from the window. <3

Full Illustration 

Close up of the couple

Kitties! <3

Creative Word #5: Daboobadju Finished

Daboobadju

Jaime's word is finished!

Richelle's word, Shalala, is next.

Creative Word #5: Daboobadju (Black and White)

Daboobadju, black and white line work completed in Illustrator. 

Now it is time to focus on color.

Creative Word #5: Daboobadju

Jaime's word, Daboobadju, is the name of a magical totem that is a statue by day and a living creature by night. Legend has it that Daboobadju visits villages throughout the night softly beating his drum to chase evil spirits away.

Creative Word #4: Noxmunk Finished

Noxmunk

Ashley's word is finished!

Jaime's word, Boobadju, is next.

Creative Word #4: Noxmunk

The Noxmunk is a mysterious critter that is thought to be a distant relative of the chipmunk, chinchilla and skunk. (In make believe land anything is possible!) They are considered to be very lucky and are extremely soft. Also, Noxmunks do not stink, they just have a very long fluffy tail that closely resembles the tail of a skunk. When it is chilly outside they wrap themselves up in their tails to keep warm. How adorable!

Noxmunk is Ashley's word. I've included the initial thumbnail sketch in the top left to show the development from idea to the final rough drawing. The next step is to finalize this little critter in Adobe Illustrator. Stay tuned. ^_^

I used to call these drawings "silly word doodles"... but they have been so many things and not all of them have been silly. So I am changing the word "silly" to "creative". I'm also changing "doodles" to "illustrations" since they start with a doodle and finish with a completed illustration.

Creative Word #3: The Crombler (Finished)

Another Silly Word exercise finished. In case it hasn't been stated enough, do NOT eat this dessert. It's gone bad. Very bad. On to Silly Word #4: Noxmunk!