Hello To President Obama from Sunny Sarasota!

Today President Obama blew into town on Airforce One. Here's a picture I snapped of his plane as it flew over my front yard :)

For My Bear :)

Pen & Ink on Board + Digital
This is for you my bear! I suddenly got inspired to create this tonight, so, here it is! A quick cute digital watercolor piece. I am also working on another version of this in actual watercolors :)

A few different ideas for business cards and stationary.
I'm still playing around with different designs, so expect a few more shortly!

Bacteria-Snails Sticker Design

Left: Small Sticker Sheet
Right: Bacteria Character Designs

Beaver-Slug Design

Beaver-Slug/Snail? design for wrapping paper, gift bags, stationary, folders, etc.

Halloween Sticker Design

Halloween Sticker Design featuring cute kids, pumpkins, demon creatures and a maple leaf alien!

Cupcake Sticker Designs

Cupcakes & Sweets

Different Styles of Cupcake
*Be sure to check out the Dino Sprinkles!

Baby Card Designs

Fresh Coat of Paint on a Productive Summer

Well, So Far this has been an interesting summer! School got out just shy of a month ago, my husband and I moved back into town, and I just got a bunch of basically brand new Holbein Duo Aqua Oil Paints! Somebody was selling these for about $100, and it was just to good of a deal to pass up. Basically, I now have almost every color in this line. My helpful Art assistant is pictured in the back of the photo making sure none of the paint gets lost :) He will sit for hours on the back of my chair in the studio watching me paint or work on the computer.... it usually works out pretty well until he decides to help out. I can tell you from experience that oil paint is VERY DIFFICULT to remove from cat hair!

I love these paints because they are like really thick water colors (in my opinion). As the name implies, this brand/variety of paint is water-soluble. I can get a light watercolor effect with them if I want to, or go really thick and textural similar to traditional oil. They are also a great alternative for people who are allergic or sensitive to traditional oil paints.

The main solvent I use with the Holbein Duo's is water (which is non-toxic!). Sometimes a use a bit of Holbein Duo Linseed oil to juice up to paint, but very rarely. It took me about 3 months to get used to this medium a while back, but it was well worth the effort learning this medium. Water Soluble oils feel different than traditional ones. They are more smooth and less gummy, or thick. If you are wanting to try your hand at oils, I highly suggest this particular brand. They're great!



In other news, I found this unique item at Goodwill a while back. It's an old handmade Mushroom House bank from Germany. I'm not sure when exactly it was made, but I thought is was really cool. So, here it is now, taking up space in my Art Studio. I sometimes get inspiration from the oddest things.

~*Manda*~

Alien Dog Walker

Alien Dog Walker
Micron Pen + Digital

Yeti Campfire

Yetis Roasting Marshmallows!

Title: Yeti Campfire
Micron Pen + Digital

I think I will do more drawings of these little dudes....

Dinosaur Hugs!

Click Image for Larger View

Text Message Acronym: DHU
Translation: Dinosaur Hugs

This cute little guy is frightened and just does not know what to do now that two GIANT dinosaurs have come out of his cell phone to give him hugs!

Medium: Ink and Digital

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Title: St. Patty's Day Worm
Medium: Ink + Digital

If I had my own personal leprechaun, this is what he would look like....

If you Can Successfully Catch this Sly Invertebrate, He Will Reward You With Three and a Half Wishes!

Bunnies, Bunnies, Everywhere!

Click Image for Larger View

Medium: Ink + Digital

Editorial Assignment to sell a product without showing it. I chose to illustrate an ad for birth control pills. The result: One really cramped hand and about 100 million baby bunnies!

Annual Gnome-Town Goldfish Race!

As promised, here is a larger version of the gnome piece
I posted last week.
Click on the picture to make it bigger.
Comments and Critiques Welcomed & Appreciated!

Lava-Surfing Snowman

Fire & Ice Assignment
Thrill Seeking Lava-Surfing Snowman with Penguin Friends!
Unfortunately come of the Penguins just didn't make it....

Micron Pen & Digital

Below is the line-work if anyone is interested. In the finished piece I removed the shark because it was to distracting. Click for a larger version!!!!