Showing posts with label children's book illustration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children's book illustration. Show all posts
Saturday, February 28, 2015
My Feather Story
Come along with me on a little journey. Get cosy and quiet and listen in. Your heart has something to tell you.
One day tucked under our door, came this mysterious envelope.
In the library I was quietly perusing old books when.....
Early the next morning, I went to water my plant friends, and found these peculiar surprises peeking out among the leaves.
And the sky was a flutter....
The feathers were beckoning to me... leading me in...
Gentle friends appear at just the right moment to lead the way....
In a dark and quiet grove, they appeared to me and I was enveloped in their warm, sweet glow...
To see what becomes of my #MyFeatherStory and find out when the art prints and original paintings are released for sale, sign-up for my newsletter HERE.
One day tucked under our door, came this mysterious envelope.
In the library I was quietly perusing old books when.....
Gentle friends appear at just the right moment to lead the way....
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Month of Cats needs YOU!
where I paint a Cat a Day. This is where you can help and participate.
What I would love from you for inspiration:
A pic of your cat (jpg or link to pic), your cat's name, and (optional) a word or 2 about your cat's personality
AND/OR
A request for a cat personifying a favorite character or icon (Imagine a cat version of Neo from Matrix or the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.)
You can email me at nicole@ghostkitten.com
and perhaps you will see your kitty make an appearance in the Month of Cats.
and perhaps you will see your kitty make an appearance in the Month of Cats.
Sign up for a Month of Cats HERE
and receive a daily email for the month of October with a pic of the daily cat and a snippet of inspiration.
Almost everyday, Bingo would slip into those trees and go on his own adventures until we called him back inside at night. I was curious about his secret life so one day, I quietly followed him, staying far enough behind so that he could meander freely. He slipped like golden liquid though a lush green thicket and I slipped through behind him.
At the center of the thicket, everything opened up. The sunlight came pouring in and there was a perfectly flat boulder. Bingo hopped up and curled in the warm light. I scrambled up the rock and lay beside my cat. Bingo had found a place out of time, a hidden place where all was quiet and filled with sky light, and he had given that place to me.
My Cat Story:
From before I was born until I was 14, I had a ginger, gold, and white striped cat named Bingo. He was a giant tom cat with a fiercely independent attitude and yet a depth of love and mystery. I lived in the forest down a little country road where you could not see a single other house from my yard. There weren't many people around and I spent many hours wandering through those woods by myself.Almost everyday, Bingo would slip into those trees and go on his own adventures until we called him back inside at night. I was curious about his secret life so one day, I quietly followed him, staying far enough behind so that he could meander freely. He slipped like golden liquid though a lush green thicket and I slipped through behind him.
At the center of the thicket, everything opened up. The sunlight came pouring in and there was a perfectly flat boulder. Bingo hopped up and curled in the warm light. I scrambled up the rock and lay beside my cat. Bingo had found a place out of time, a hidden place where all was quiet and filled with sky light, and he had given that place to me.
These are some of the first cats that stated showing up during my daily paint doodle practice. They have whispered to me that their friends are are eager to join us here so a Month of Cats was created.
Why CATS?
This is what I have been asking myself. I even made this little word collage to delve into what cats mean to me.
A Myriad of Cats:
I have a Pinterest board called MEOW where I am collecting paintings, drawings, and illustrations of cats for inspiration. Come by and enjoy the furry magic.
Follow a #MonthofCats on my instagram, facebook, twitter and here on this blog.
and don't forget to email me pictures of your cat including your cat's name. Your kitty might just show up in a painting during my Month of Cats. (nicole@ghostkitten.com)
and don't forget to email me pictures of your cat including your cat's name. Your kitty might just show up in a painting during my Month of Cats. (nicole@ghostkitten.com)
Friday, August 22, 2014
My Imaginary Cats and Month of Cats to Come
I have really been delighting in these little fuzzy friends that keep visiting me through the portal of my watercolor brushes. I am doing a Month of Cats for October in celebration of Halloween where I paint one cute meow each day.
Follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to enjoy my #MonthofCats
and if you really LOVE CATS, you can sign-up here to receive a daily email with a pic of the daily cat painting and a little quote, poetry or story snippet for the month of October.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Magical Cats and Dreamers
There is something magical about taking a brush to a blank piece of paper with no concept of what will image and finding these lovely friends emerge from the intersection of serendipity and the subconscious.
Each day, I spend some time painting in this way as a meditation and a way to unwind and play. I often post images of these spontaneous paintings to my instagram. Follow me there to watch these explorations unfold.
Today I have added these 3 paintings to my etsy shop. There have also been lots of kittens and cats full of mischief and dreams popping up so stay tuned for more of those as well.
Monday, March 10, 2014
My Love Affair with Paper: Paper Love Blog Hop
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| Paper Shadowbox of a Hookah-Smoking Caterpillar by me |
When I was 5 years old, an unassuming stack of colored paper forever put me under the spell of making things. I sat at my grade-school desk nonchalantly cutting some pieces of construction paper into long stripes. I always loved craft projects and this one started like all the rest, with a content and quiet feeling of focus.
I glued the ends of the paper stripes onto a white board creating little paper arches. The arches were all different heights and steepness. Some ribboned along like a Sunday drive and others were insane roller-coaster hills. The paper strips meandered over and under each other in pinks, lemon yellows, minty greens, and robin's egg blue.
Suddenly, this tangle of paper arches transformed into an entire world unto itself. I could feel the momentum as I traveled down the colored hills. I could see curves of pink soaring overhead fracturing in the sunlight. I could feel the wind of my imaginary world dancing on my skin, ruffling my hair. Thrilling. Complete. My very first taste of the alchemy of art. There was no turning back.
It was as if I was looking through a telescope and I finally found the perfect focus where this ordinary paper sculpture became a portal into my imagination - into a place entirely new and wondrous to me. I would return to this making again and again, to travel deep inside myself to meet uncanny characters and transverse the endless kaleidoscope of the internal landscape.
I fell in love – a long and lasting love and paper was always my faithful traveling companion. Reliable and constant. It was there in the beginning as the blank page – my wild-card ticket to unseen places. And it was there in the end, transformed into something I could not envision until it emerged out of the mystery and invited me inside.
It was as if I was looking through a telescope and I finally found the perfect focus where this ordinary paper sculpture became a portal into my imagination - into a place entirely new and wondrous to me. I would return to this making again and again, to travel deep inside myself to meet uncanny characters and transverse the endless kaleidoscope of the internal landscape.
I fell in love – a long and lasting love and paper was always my faithful traveling companion. Reliable and constant. It was there in the beginning as the blank page – my wild-card ticket to unseen places. And it was there in the end, transformed into something I could not envision until it emerged out of the mystery and invited me inside.
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| Cheshire cat Paper Shadow box by me |
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| Down the Rabbit Hole Paper Shadow Box by me |
If you love paper as much as I do, come by and follow my PAPER MAGIC Pinterest Board. Here is a delightful taste of what you will find there. These are paper sculptures by Su Blackwell who I adore. The books coming alive with their stories. How lovely!
The PaperLove Blog Hop is a celebration of all things paper! Follow the links to discover more bloggers who love paper and use it to inspire and delight. And if you want to explore a whole world of paper, and stretch your paper passion further with a host of creative projects, why not join the innovative new online course PaperLove (starts March 31). Led by book artist Rachel Hazell, PaperLove is a five week creative adventure for paperlovers. Find out more here.
Participant list
Majo Bautista / Tona Bell / Louise Best / Cathy Bluteau / Jennifer Bomgardner / Giova Brusa / Lindsay Buck / Beka Buckley / Joanna Caskie / Jonathan Chapman (Mr Yen) / Halle Cisco / Sarah Clare / Cathryn Clarge / Dawn Clarkson / Rhiannon Connelly / Jenny D'Fuego / Molly Dhiman / Ian Dudley / Ayisatu Emore / Akmal Farid / Monika Forsberg / Claire Fritz-Domeney / Louise Gale / Chrissy Gaskell / Julie Hamilton / Emma Hawman / Rachel Hazell / Holly Helgeson / Claudine Hellmuth / Kim Henkel / Sarah Hoffman / Joanne Hus / Paula Joerling / Beth Kempton / Julie Kirk / Eos Koch / Katie LaClair / Kristy Lankford / Michelle Manolov / Doreen Marts / Rosie Martinez-Dekker / Tori Mears / Maria Mederios / Lise Meijer / Debbie Miller / MaryJane Mitchell / Suzy Naidoo / Grace Noel / Hannah Nunn / Camilla Olsson / Jo Packham / Rachelle Panagarry / Monette Pangan / Melanie Paul / Nicole Piar / Jen Pitta / Liz Plummer / Julie Reed / Michelle Reynolds / Lisa Rivas / Angee Robertson / Natalie Ryan / Aisling Ryan / Elisabet Sapena / Kyrrha Sevco / Jamie Sprague / Elizabeth Steele / Terri Stephens / Juniper Stokes / Mary Tanana / Maike Thoma / Linda Tieu / Gabrielle Treanor / Tammy Tutterow / Deborah Velasquez / Jordan Vinograd Kim / Cat Whipple / Brooke Witt / Katie Wood / Amelia Woodbridge
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Children's Book Illustration: The Language of Birds
So as some of you may know I have been taking the amazing Make Art that Sells Course with Lilla Rogers. This weeks focus was on children's book illustration which has always been dear to my heart since I love reading and I love stories told in words and pictures. Some of my favorite art of all time are actually illustrations.
Due to a busy work schedule, I had one day to complete this art mission: Illustrate a spread or a cover for a Russian folk tale called the Language of Birds. While reading it, a few images captured my imagination. One of Ivan sleeping in the little boat that his distrustful parents pushed out to see and the other of Ivan climbing a tree to protect a baby bird from thunderstorm. I decided to go with the second image because it embodied a sweet compassion, a connection to nature and literally a light of goodness in the darkness of the storm. I wanted my illustration to capture this essential kindness and the peace that comes with helping other as well as a sense of magic that all fairy tales have.
I started looking for inspiration from my favorite vintage illustrators such as Kay Nielsen, Edmund Dulac, and the russian illustrator, Ivan Bilibin. I also wanted light and color to play a part in creating the mood and meaning.
Next, I created a quick thumbnail sketch. Usually, I would make a bunch of these but since time was of the essence, I just took the leap with my first one.
Then, I made a line drawing on watercolor paper. This part was somehow the most nerve-racking - facing the blank page and knowing I didn't have time for too much trial and error.
Time for the fun to begin - Painting the watercolor. I love this part because it is always experimental and somehow emotionally soothing. Watching the paint bleed into the water is mesmerizing like watching the waves or a fire. I painted all the foreground elements first and then painted in the stormy sky. I knew I wanted the sky dark and the trees glowing with an inner light, so I painted in that order so the dark colors wouldn't bleed into the light areas.
Time for the final touches in photoshop. I scanned this in and added rain and some little details. I also scanned in some hand-written type to finish it off. Hopefully, you can see a little of the magic that I tried to distill. I would like to visit that forest soon.
Due to a busy work schedule, I had one day to complete this art mission: Illustrate a spread or a cover for a Russian folk tale called the Language of Birds. While reading it, a few images captured my imagination. One of Ivan sleeping in the little boat that his distrustful parents pushed out to see and the other of Ivan climbing a tree to protect a baby bird from thunderstorm. I decided to go with the second image because it embodied a sweet compassion, a connection to nature and literally a light of goodness in the darkness of the storm. I wanted my illustration to capture this essential kindness and the peace that comes with helping other as well as a sense of magic that all fairy tales have.
I started looking for inspiration from my favorite vintage illustrators such as Kay Nielsen, Edmund Dulac, and the russian illustrator, Ivan Bilibin. I also wanted light and color to play a part in creating the mood and meaning.
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| My Inspiration Board: Notice how light plays a crucial role |
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| Down and Dirty Ideas and Layout |
Next, I created a quick thumbnail sketch. Usually, I would make a bunch of these but since time was of the essence, I just took the leap with my first one.
Then, I made a line drawing on watercolor paper. This part was somehow the most nerve-racking - facing the blank page and knowing I didn't have time for too much trial and error.
 |
| Pencil Drawing to create the composition before I paint |
Time for the fun to begin - Painting the watercolor. I love this part because it is always experimental and somehow emotionally soothing. Watching the paint bleed into the water is mesmerizing like watching the waves or a fire. I painted all the foreground elements first and then painted in the stormy sky. I knew I wanted the sky dark and the trees glowing with an inner light, so I painted in that order so the dark colors wouldn't bleed into the light areas.
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| Watercolor Painting: Light, Color Palette, and textures |
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| Ivan showing kindness to a baby bird stuck in a rain storm. |
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