It's been a while since my last post. Too long in all honesty, and certainly longer than I would have preferred, but sometimes life hands you lemons... Not sure how but I may have made apple juice rather than lemonade.
In any case, my friends and family are probably all pleased to hear that I am trying to take more time to do the art that I accrued so much college debt to learn. Cue the groaning on my behalf.
Most recently I was able to make an illustration for my brother-in-law's book, "Darksome Thorn", or for the wiki related to such.

This is Morkin

You can find more about the amazing book here: www.darksomethorn.com

Can't wait till the next update on artistic endeavors.

Recently I was able to illustrate a children's book titled 'Zack the Half-Brained Yellow Bird. Sandi Eyman, the author, was ecstatic when she saw the various images that I was able to create for her book.

This first illustration was for the cover, and was the only one in color.

A close up of the paint cans for right before the appendix.

Seining a river, or filtering it with a really big net. I had a lot of fun looking up what that was.

This illustration was the junk pile that they recycled from to make their projects.

This was the protagonist and his friends in the office after a failed attempt to fight.

This was the antagonist.

This was their project, recycled materials turned into wind-chimes.

The front view of Zack and his cohorts.

This was Zack with his voodoo doll wind-chime.

The completed voodoo dolls before mounting.

Another wind-chime featured in the story.

The awards that they received for their project in the science fair.

Bookbinding

During my senior show year, I had further opportunity to pursue art in the forms of hand-bound books. Some of the ones depicted below have been sold, but they were all fun to make. It should also be noted that these were intended to be journals, so all of the pages are blanks.

 This first one is a Gothic style leather bound book. This particular one is sold, but I have made a few since as well, and the recipients have all been pleased with their respective purchases.

 This is an interesting style of book as it is completely made of cloth. The pages are made of muslin, which is the same fabric used for embroidery. The cloth is usable as a writing surface with pencil, or the right kind of ink pen. Still available for purchase.

 This is a caterpillar stitch on a coptic stitch bound book. Still available for purchase.

And finally we have a wood bound book with celtic knots burned into the cover. This one has been sold.

Welcome and Watercolors

Welcome one and all to The Bookshelf, a little nook where art of various forms is created and presented in portfolio form. So lets get started with my most recent creations...

 These were all done as part of a senior level watercolor class.

 The area around the school was a beautiful place to practice, particularly in the fall.

 The changing foliage was beautiful, and fun to capture.

 Experimenting with still life and vibrant colors.

 Encouragement from peers and professor to try a more limited pallet to gain a greater mastery led to this painting.

It might have worked.