Tis the Season!

I missed last weeks blog post because I've been a busy little bee. I recently received a commission to make a pair of dolls for the same lovely couple that I had previously made dolls for. I also have a magazine assignment that I was working on at the same time. I have to learn to manage my "free" time with my "work" time. I was able to do my assignments on time, but I didn't make any to keep my blog up to date.

Anyway, the call came in to make a pair of whimsical dolls of mom and dad, and include all the kids, too. From the information I received about the recipients, they seemed like pretty swell people. Silly, fun and lighthearted. So that's how I wanted to represent them in doll fashion. They are also Oregon Ducks fans, so I worked the team's colors into dad's Hawaiian shirt.

The four "kids" are represented by tiny Ducks, but I changed the appearance of each kid "Duck" based on personality cues I got from my client.

Rough draft sketch

Body part layout plan.

Mid-painting process shot.

Cut out and assembled.

Final version with everyone assembled and arranged on the background.

Duck detail.

Final. Complete with smudgy fingerprint (that was hopefully removed before delivery)
I found this great shadowbox at Craft Warehouse. I really like the
color of the stain on the wood. Originally, my fiance was planning
to make a shadowbox from scratch for this project, but we're still in
the planning and designing stages. He didn't want to give my client
a shadowbox that he wasn't proud of.

I have a couple of ideas floating around for some dolls as a personal project, but something I'd love to share with others. But first I have to finish another paying gig. A creative girl could totally get used to this! I love that I feel like I'm being a productive person, and although, I'm not raking in a ton of dough, it's enabling me to be able to purchase supplies, which continue to allow me to create!

These last handfull of doll projects have really motivated me to put myself out there for custom portrait dolls. I've always been a little hesitant to offer portrait-based dolls because I'm really finicky when it comes to portraits. I want the image I'm creating to look EXACTLY like the person it's supposed to be. But with cartoony style drawings, there's a little more leeway when it comes to resemblance. What do you think?

My morbid sense of humor

Morton Salt, just in case you live under a rock.

Part of my Sketchbook project (which is going to be very thin, because I was busy living life and school that I didn't get to do as many sketches in it as I'd like to have) is going to have some 3D elements in it. Like things you pull out or unfold. I'm going to use it to "bulk" up my book. I may not have it in time to make the tour, but at least it may get into the library, and I can say it's "done".

Original sketch

Anyway. If you know me, you know I'm a sick individual (at least if you talk to my mom). I can find humor in most situations.
The topic of my sketchbook is rain, basically. So why not a zombie Morton Salt girl?!

Process, and some of my hair.

I really like the 3D aspect, makes it interactive. You pull the poster out of the book, sort of like the Griffin and Sabine books, if you've ever read those.
So here's the process on the Morton Zombie girl.

Closed in all its bulky glory.

Opening...

The little rain girl doll is part of the book too,

I just have to figure out how to attach her.

Opening...

The lower right corner of the "poster"  is 

glued to the right page in the sketchbook.

While I'm not as pleased with the outcome, I have the original sketch. Why not make it bigger as a poster for myself?! YES! So that's what I'm going to do. Take what I don't like out of the final and fix it for me.

Saint Pork

started a sketch some months ago after I got my bacon tattoo. Yes I  have a bacon tattoo. Anyway, it got me pondering about the magical draw that bacon has on so many people (me included). The first thing that came to mind was the saintly pig. The pork could do no wrong. I wanted to celebrate the food that has so many people under its spell while still showcasing my sense of humor.

The next step is to start painting in gouache and add liquid gold leaf to the halo. I’ve worked with gold leaf in my patron saints portrait series, and I hope that I never have to use it again. Unless I can meet someone who knows how to use it much better than I do.

Work in Progress - Patron Saints

So the theme for my final project for my painting class is "Patron Saints of the Absurd". So I've decided to paint three self portraits as absurd patron saints, that *actually* exist. The first in the three-part series is the patron saint of cake-makers. Oh, yeah.
The other three in progress will be uploaded when I get to them, until then, I won't say exactly what they are :)

Gouache on Watercolor block.


The original sketch, the eye is not right yet and my nose is too long.


I fixed the eye and the nose is more realistic.... gooooo cake!The more I look at the most current version, the more I'm not liking my eye. I'll leave all of that for when I get closer to painting the face...

Here's the photo I used for reference... excuse the weakness of the cake. After a long night of shooting the poor thing for reference... it melted under the hot lights. It originally looked really good.




I like this photo, but alas, it didn't make the cut.