Winter Day Things

There's this:















And this:















And these, of course!:
















And this (thank goodness!):



















And these on my wall, waiting for approval:















And this on my drawing table, almost finished:















Dreaming of this:

More WIP. And February.

Another rough sketch from a work-in-progress.

I've been a drawing fool lately. My walls are covered with sketches for the middle grade novel project I've been working on... SO much fun it is! There's nothing more enjoyable than hunkering down in my little studio or in front of the fire with drawing board, pencil and paper, and getting to know new characters. Kind of makes me forget it's February. (Not that there's anything wrong with February. If only it wasn't so cold. If only I was motivated to wear something other than sweatpants when it's so cold!)

Meanwhile, I could really use more wall space.

Studio on a Snow Day

No school again yesterday, due to the snow and ice.

I worked on sketches for a new story dummy.















The cats, as usual, ate, slept, and looked cute. (So spoiled!)















And what would a snow day be without cookies?

Resolutions and Ice Storms

There are a lot of good New Year's resolutions in blogland this time of year. I enjoy reading them all. One I really found inspiring was Vivian's. Her word/theme for the year: resilient.

Within about 20 minutes of reading her post the power went out. We were in the middle of an ice storm.















Seeing that I had a map deadline I was slightly panicked. But I had her word in my head. Luckily I work in pen & ink and watercolor, so I didn't need electricity. I pulled my drawing board close to the nearest window and kept working by daylight. I was thankful for that word.















Later, as it grew dark, we lit candles and stoked up the woodstove. The only real annoyance to losing electricity around here is that we lose water, since we're on a well system with an electrical pump. But one thing I do enjoy is the peace that descends over the house. It always gets me thinking about the people who've lived here over the years. They lived longer without electricity than with, since the oldest part of the house was built almost 300 years ago. Talk about having to be resilient!



















And then the hubby and I had a good chuckle, imagining a conversation from colonial times that surely didn't take place:

"Caleb, go and harness up the horse now if you will, for I'm desirous of some Mexican take-out for supper."

"Of course, good Mother. Shall it be the Fajitas this evening, or the Vegetarian Burrito?"

Which reminded me to of my own word/theme for this year: laugh often!

Thinking Ahead

When I used to work in magazine publishing it was normal to plan months in advance. It gave one the sense of time passing quickly. Of course, the older I get, the faster it seems to be passing, too. So I might as well go with it and plan new illustration samples ahead of time.

I've got a whole stack of final art to work on!

Pre-Winter Sketch

I'm getting a bit ahead of myself with the seasons here. This is from that page of messy doodles I posted a few weeks ago... can you tell which one it is? I'm still trying to decide how to crop it-- a silhouetted edge? Or perhaps a cropped square would be more dynamic? We'll see...

There are more in the works, but maybe I'll do some ghosts and goblins first.

Today I'm going on a children's-book-related field trip-- will post more tomorrow!

The View from Yesterday Morning

Waking up to a fresh blanket of snow reminds me of a new page in my notebook. Or a new piece of watercolor paper. Or even a blank computer screen at the beginning of a new story. Full of so many possibilities...

How to Stay Warm

Not good:

Good (A couple of cords of seasoned wood, ready for the stove):

Really good (Twinings English Breakfast tea):
Really, really good (Handmade warm poncho/favorite Christmas gift):
The best (A room full of art and writing supplies):