Fairies

It would have to be Peter Pan that got me dreaming of fairies, mostly wishing I could be one. Just think of the endless possibilities one could create with fairies. In my mind most fairies are fickle and malicious, but flatter one enough and they might do a kind deed. There are all kinds of fairy drawings and paintings out there, so I figured I'd add to them. Might as well, right?

Both of these drawings are done in color pencil. Very little touch up was done in Photoshop beyond brightening up. The first one I drew the background separate from the fairy. I drew her body and wings then layered them over the background in Photoshop. I change my mind often enough that I didn't want her added in permanently.

The second drawing is what happens when you pick the raspberries too early. :)

I hope I've inspired you, or at least you've enjoyed looking. 

Princess and fairy

I need your help. Lately I've been working more with colored pencils, trying to improve in the medium. Once I've finished with the drawing I take a picture with my camera then enter it into Photoshop. From there I blend, brighten and play around with different effects to see if I can come up with something spectacular. Problem is, as with most of my artwork, I'm very judgement about my own work. I need outsider's opinions. BUT I need someone honest.
So, if you have a good artist eye and can tell me what I can improve on, I'd love the help.

In the artwork below I drew the background separate from the girl then put them together in Photoshop.

This drawing below I did a little differently. I drew the fairy with color pencil but the background was all done in Photoshop.

Please leave a comment below and let me know your opinions. I'd love to improve!

The Rendezvous Experience

This last week my family and I attended the Fort Bridger Mountain Man Rendezvous up in the prairies of southwest Wyoming. If you've never attended you should look into stopping by next Labor Day weekend to see what it's all about.
Rendezvous across the country are much the same. People dress up in period clothing (from the late 1700's to the mid 1800's), sleep in tipis (or teepee, depending on how you want to spell it), and hold shooting contests, buy and trade goods and have a merry ol' time. You might wonder what kind of goods they sell, well, anything you'd find during the nineteenth century. Nothing modern. The rules are strict and clearly stated. No plastic. Only items found during the time period.
Because of the strict policy it makes for a historical environment. It smells, looks and feels old.
Authentic.
Nearly every canvas covered shop you enter will hold the scents of metals, leathers, wool and wax. And it's not just a few shops you'll see. Trader's Row is what they call the dirt road that circles around next to the fort and you can meander all day to look over everything the shop owners have to offer and you'll still miss something.
Along with the shops and black powder shooting, hatchet throwing, and arrow shooting contests there are old homes to tour and of course the museum and fort itself. Several times a day over the weekend they have representatives from different Native American tribes show us a thing or two about their heritage by dancing in their traditional costumes. It's a sight worth seeing.

The only downfall of this trip was my camera didn't work as I needed it to. I had planned on taking loads of pictures to share with you all. My camera only worked for an hour before it decided it didn't like me anymore. Here are a few of my pictures worth showing . . .

As you can see we are all dressed up in period clothing. My daughters are wearing the wool cloaks I had made for them. I've spent all summer making an entire wardrobe for my family and because my camera pooped out on me I don't get to show you the rest of our costumes.

Here's my two little ones watching their Uncle made a leather pouch for my son. I wish I could have snapped a shot of his handy work.

Nothing would be right about this until someone wielded a pitchfork.

Stop on by soon and I'll have a drawing posted of a laughing horse I drew.

Native American Dancer

Tah dah! It's done!
Last year I attended the Fort Bridger Mountain Man Rendezvous and had a fabulous time taking pictures and enjoying the festivities. For fifteen years I would mention and or beg to attend this rendezvous and my husband would always answer, "Why would I want to go camp with a bunch of people wearing loincloths."

Well, there are men with loincloths, but it's a whole lot more than people dressing up.

This awesome colored pencil drawing is one of the Native American dancers that entertains and give us a gift of their ancestors. It's one of my favorite pictures I took and I knew I needed to draw him. So I did. :)
All summer long I've been preparing to return to the rendezvous by sewing my family an entire wardrobe and drawing work that I hope to sell. When all is done I'll post more pictures.

My First Dragon

Yes, I know some of you might think that I've broken the rules to dragondom by drawing this picture. It might not look the same as all dragons, but this is what I imagine they might look like in my own world of dragons.

Gwenevier

Meet Gwenevier.

This little lady morphed from one thing to another as I drew her. Honestly I had no idea what she was when I began. In the beginning I planned to make her a fairy, then she changed to be an angel, then a water nymph. When all said and done I made her to be a star.
So I happily introduce Gwenevier the star.
I drew her in colored pencil then plopped her into photoshop to help blend the pencil marks in the background and make her glow a bit. She needed to shine. I drew her for the sole purpose of creating business cards that had my own artwork displayed on it. I think it turned out splendidly, don't you?

In memory of Miss Karen.

You will be missed by many.

Colored Pencils

 

This is a self portrait.  This is my first attempt at colored pencils since high school.  I think I 'll do colored pencils more often!

This is my girls, I combined two different pictures to draw this.

I have more colored pencils, but I'm going to hopefully publish them into a book so I can't share them now.   When my book is published I will let you know :)