IF - layer - 2/18/2011

a page from my personal calendar, which i am trying to focus on drawing things in that have to do w/ life or w/ my interests. this is my entry for http://www.illustrationfriday.com/ for the 2/18 topic of "layer."

i really enjoy the challenge of illustration friday, where interested parties are typically sent a 1-word prompt and encouraged to illustrate it. the topic is completely open to interpretation. the completely different responses to these prompts just show how differently our minds work. i always try to throw out the first few ideas, figuring these will be something that everyone else will think of. i would like mine to be individual or at least not look like i was caught in a rut or mooching someone else's ideas! plus, i don't look at other postings until after mine is completed!

this week, i've been home w/ a lot of papers to grade, a couple days of flu bug, and a continual desire to work on my personal health and weight loss. these overwhelming ideas were bumping around in the creative stages w/ the prompt of "layers". plus, i LOVE to watch cooking shows, so i'm sure that's where the layer cake came from !

the idea here is that m-m-m-m, those lovely layer cakes could lead to extra layers on a woman's body, that would in turn lead to layered clothing to hide the layers of fat on the body. in my mind, they all seemed relatedl

this drawing was done w/ a green ink pen and takes up about 1/2 a day space in my personal calendar. maybe it will help me keep my mind on making better eating choices, avoiding those things that are not helping me, and the new little stamp can help me record my exercise routine.

red envelope exchange

i have joined in a couple of envelope exchanges for a yahoo group i am in, called calligraphy exchange. the idea is to hand letter your envelope and include a personal hand-written note -- both following the rules of the exchange.

this example of 2 that i did were for "red". the top example is a folded page from a magazine that was predominantly red, so i used silver sharpie for the lettering. the other envelope was folded from scrapbooking paper in a red/white design. i wanted the letters to look something like asian-style lettering, but it didn't quite work out the way i saw it in my head. first i lettered the stuff all out in dark red pen, which i was afraid would not be easily readable when it go to the post office. to make sure it was readable, i used a black pen to do some outlining of the letters. they are definitely more noticeable now, but i'm not sure i like them as much.

i've signed up for 2 more envelope exchanges coming up in this group, so i guess i'll start working on those ideas. i think i have it fairly nailed down on what i want to do, but will need some time to work on it to get it to where i want it to look.

feel free to make comments, suggestions, or throw ideas!!!

IF - sweater

this drawing was inspired by www.illustrationfriday.com on 2/11/11 with the word "sweater".

as soon as i heard the word, i knew that i was thinking of someone who was sweating instead of someone wearing a sweater. after all, once a woman reaches 40s, anything can be a hot, sweaty business!


i used this picture as a guide for the picture i drew. while it was based on a sumo wrestler, i'm not sure that my drawing doesn't look like an italian mafia dude.

regardless, i'm sure he's a sweaty person to be around and i definitely wouldn't want to be sharing space w/ him!

this was done w a brown fat prang colored pencil on 70# white sketchbook paper. A brief spray of fixative will keep the colored pencil from smearing more from wear and tear in the sketchbook.

IF - surrender

the topic posted on www.illustrationfriday.com on 1/28/11 was "surrender".

the first thing i thought of (after the stereotypical thoughts of white flags and gunpoint) was something to do w/ food, sneaking something that i/we couldn't or shouldn't have. so, my "surrender" was a bite out of a cupcake, like finally giving in a tasting it after looking at it sitting there.

this sketch is just done in ballpoint pen in my calendar. my calendar has become my motivation for doing something artwork each day. it's a motivation, addiction, determination right now. we'll see how long this lasts!