Molly Little

This is one of the many designs that I've created for the Miss Altus and Miss Altus Teen Scholarship Pageants over the last 14 years. I create these illustrations as a thank you for all of the hard work that the men and women of these organizations do for the young women who pass through their system. If it weren't for those people, 17 years ago, I don't know where I would be today.

This illustration was created for Molly Little, the 2015 Miss Altus Outstanding Teen. I will be posting a few more of my favorites designs soon.

A New Avatar

Just finished up a new avatar for a friend who is developing a series indie games for Android. I'm going to be working with him on some of his upcoming projects and am looking forward to learning more about game design!

The Best Kind of Projects

I really love creating illustrations for young people. They really get excited and that makes the effort extra special. Dominic just celebrated his 12th birthday with an custom illustration that encompasses his interests in television shows, video games, science and music. His mother approached me about the project a couple of months ago and I was very happy to be a part of it.

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Morrigan Rebuilt

A few years ago I lost this file during a hard drive failure. This weekend I rebuilt her. I've never been able to show details because all I had left was a low resolution .jpg file. Now that she is back in her original Illustrator format I am going to continue on with the series that I have in mind. Enjoy!

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Joyful Expectation

An illustration celebrating the near arrival of Ashely and Gary's first born child, Katherine. The couple received a beautiful, hand quilted blanket from a friend that was incorporated into the background.

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Fish Sweaters

A friend of mine sent me a photo of his catch from ice fishing. So, of course, I put sweaters on them. Nice toasty fish.

Fleur-De-Lis Acadamy of Ballet

This is the logo that I've created for the Fleur-De-Lis Academy of Ballet that was recently funded through Kickstarter. I've been working with a dear friend, Ariadne Conner, who fell in love with ballet as a young child. 

That love took her on a journey of learning the craft from schools including the Houston Ballet Academy, Chamberlain Ballet in Plano, Texas, The Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Miami City Ballet School, School of American Ballet in New York City, The School of Ballet in Chicago, and two years as a trainee at the Richmond Ballet.

After joining the faculty of the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts she noticed the need for a pre-professional ballet training in Kentucky and was inspired to create a new studio.

Knowing how passionate Ariadne was about ballet, I was eager to assist in any way that I could. Together we created a mark that combines the Fleur-De-Lis (the seal of Louisville, Kentucky) and the form of a ballerina. Some see the dancer first, while others see the Fleur-De-Lis, and then after a double take the other form reveals itself. 

If you want to know more about Ariadne's vision, check out her Kickstarter page!

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!