It seems I get called to jury duty way too often for the average citizen, but each time I do, I do my best to roll with it. I bring a sketchbook, chat with fellow jurors and roam the halls of the old courthouse. I love all the vintage oak doors with their brass knobs and all the department names lettered in gold on frosted glass. Seems the corridors there go on for miles…
new gouache palette...
I’ve been sick now for what feels like forever and a day. I am not good at resting but in this case, I am forced to. I saw a really cool paint palette on YouTube the other day. I couldn’t get it out of my head. I remembered this really cool cigar tin my friend had gifted me. She put some watercolor pans in it, but I never got around to filling them, This morning I sat in my studio and went for it.
I started by pulling all the paint colors I wanted for this petite tray. I mixed a few custom colors too. I then took wood glue and placed all the pans into the tin, incorporating a fun little arrangement not typically found in artist palettes. I then filled the pans and added two little strips of foam to the sides of the palette. My thinking with that was that gouache tends to dry out and crack. I’m going to try spraying these down with water when I’m done painting to keep it humid inside. Will report back if this works!
snow day...
It was really coming down when I awoke the other day. The news was showing that just about every school was closed in our area. My car was already buried and outside the window the snow seemed to be blowing in every direction. It was gorgeous and this time it was not the powdery kind, but heavy snow, which clung to every branch and surface. I made a teeny tiny snowman on my windowsill–with capers for eyes and a slither of carrot for a nose. I spent the day working on gathering more files for my agent but around 2 pm I allowed myself time to just paint. not illustration. not anything representational. just free creating. Bliss.
winter walks in NYC...
All the architectural details really stand out when the sky is foggy and gray–unless the buildings are so tall that they vanish into the sky. These are some recent snaps of the city. Midtown and UES.
the original art show at SOI...
It’s an annual tradition-usually in late fall, to attend the Society of Illustrators Original Art show in NYC. It’s always so fun to see the illustration art on the walls and then look at them in the actual picture books, which are displayed in the gallery. My friends and I are often surprised to see the mediums used on the art. Sometimes it is digital (Procreate) and other times what we think might be digital could also turn out to be acrylic. There was a lot more collage in the show this year. That was my fave.
