IF: Return

Summer is a mere two months away, and I am anxious for its return!

The end of the school year is always a bit exciting (energies are HIGH), but it's also more than a bit packed with all that still remains to be completed. I'm planning two field trips and my end of year exhibit (for all 600 students!), plus evaluations are coming up, and, of course, the FCAT (Florida's two weeks of standardized testing). And now MAPP testing, as well...the students will be given a standardized test in the Enrichment subjects. I've never had to "teach to a test" (and I refuse to do so now), so this whole idea of testing my young artists on content (especially when I only see them once every five school days, if that) is a bit stressful. And so visions of lazy days filled with reading and painting are my fuel right now.

This illustration is how I imagine myself for the larger part Summer 2012. Apparently, I was thinking the same thing around this time last year, as I painted this last May. The girl in the painting is not me at all, by the way. She just kind of appeared in the midst of the flowers, and she did seem to kind of belong there, so I allowed her to stay. I apologize yet again for pulling a painting out of the archives. (See above for my excuse...)

So let's go, Summer. I'll be right here waiting, Kindle and paintbrush in hand.

IF: Swamp

My dad in the swamp. Behind him is the camp house he
built. This was in April 2009 when the river was really high.
Usually we can walk around beneath the house.

I grew up in the swamp. Literally. I was raised on the banks of the Altamaha River in south Georgia, and my bedroom as a teenager overlooked the swamp and sloughs that edge and merge with the river. I truly love the swamp. And so my first thought when I saw this week's theme was that I'd do a tribute to home. But nothing came. I've even written a story about the swamp based on boat trips with my dad that I hope to eventually work into a dummy that I can submit. Still, nothing came.

Then I started thinking about the Everglades and my current home. I live in Fort Lauderdale, and for those who are unfamiliar with the history Florida's development, south Florida was literally built ON TOP of the Everglades. The land was drained and cities and roads erected, which is the direction I finally decided to take with this week's challenge.

I did this quick watercolor sketch this evening, and while I don't love everything about it (it seems dull and lacking in contrast), it was fun to break out the watercolors for myself and not in preparation for class. (Keep reading for an explanation of the drawing.)

Had to take a photo, so there's a bit of a shadow. Too late to scan. Can't wake the SO. :)

Certainly I didn't include anywhere near enough cars to represent the ridiculous amount of traffic on the roads down here (and all of these drivers appear to be staying in their own lanes), but if you've ever been to Ft. Lauderdale you might recognize a few of the buildings in they skyline (plus the Allure of the Seas, and enormous cruise ship that was just launched at Port Everglades last fall...or was it the fall before? I can't remember.)

Beneath the criss-crossing highways (there are plenty of those in reality) are a couple of Everglades residents. Sadly, this is not far from reality either. While the swamp itself is the western border of Broward County and about 20/25 minutes from downtown (so not really beneath the highways), wildlife does find its way into traffic and the city. My boyfriend and I rescued an anhinga a few weeks ago. It was stunned and wobbling across six lanes of traffic. We pulled into a parking lot, and Anthony stopped three lanes of east-bound traffic to corral the bird off the highway to a gas station where we gently secured it in a rug we had in the trunk of the car (you don't want that beak anywhere near you or your face) and took it to a wildlife rescue downtown. The price of progress I suppose. And tourism.

Oh my, sorry to get so serious. I'll stop rambling on for now. Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are all having a terrific week. :) 

IF: Shades (and other spooky things)

Busy week, so I'm pulling out another drawing from the past for this week's Illustration Friday topic, Shades. Actually, I think it's rather fitting. I did this for a friend a while back. He writes horror fiction and we both share a love of the macabre, so this tribute to classic horror was well-received. His favorite genre authors, actors, and characters populate the graveyard while a Nosferatu-esque vamp and other creatures (including three characters from one of the stories he's written) approach him as he writes. 

This was a value study for me, as well, and I had fun playing with the light and shadows. I definitely got a few of them wrong, but I must say that, regardless, I really love the value contrast throughout the piece. It was a lot of fun to do. Mixture of watercolor and ink.

IF: YIELD

I've viewed a lot of IF submissions this week, and I've been surprised (and a bit comforted) by how many folks noted that this week's topic, Yield, was a tough one for them. It was for me, as well. I think this is because the word "yield" has very concrete meanings for me, so it was a bit more difficult to try to break out of the road sign and garden references (though I did see some extremely creative and well-done illustrations along these themes!).

So here's what I was thinking when I drew this bright bird (and I know...it's quite a stretch): Just how bizarre/colorful/odd would a bird have to be to yield Easter eggs? (Assuming, of course, that Peter Cottontail didn't have to color them all prior to delivery.)

Easter is one of my favorite times of year, so I've got colored eggs on the brain. Anyhow, I'm not crazy about the final outcome, primarily because it feels like the bird's colors are overworked. I like to leave more white when I use watercolors. But overall, I suppose he's not so bad for Day 4 of Spring Break AND the dreaded FLU (darn those adorable children). (So we could also say that 2 days of fever and chills followed by 2 days of pressure headache and congestion yields drawings of strange birds.)

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Spring! :)

IF: Intention

As an art teacher, I spend most of my time planning, prepping materials, and creating demos for my students and not so much time on my own work. For me, each demo is created with equal parts intention and experimentation, especially if I'm coming up with a new project. The background of this drawing is my demo for 3rd grade artists, who have begun creating Thiebaud-inspired glue resist/soft pastel drawings. When I finished, my ice cream cones seemed to be dancing, so it made sense to me to add a quick cartoon of myself dancing right along with them. (Also, I just couldn't resist playing a bit with the liquid watercolors I just got in.) I am very grateful for the work I do.

IF: Capable

I missed last week's IF topic due to an insanely busy work week. Grading, planning, painting with EVERY class...delightful, but exhausting. (The grading wasn't delightful.) Sometimes I feel a bit like these acrobatic chickens of mine. Let's hope I'm as capable as they are.

The Warren hen is a unique breed capable of daring feats of balance and agility.

IF: Popularity

This is my first post for Illustration Friday's weekly challenge, and since I'm jumping in late in the week, I'm turning to a not-new-but-not-too-old illustration for this week's "Popularity" theme.
This drawing reminds me of my sister, who has always been quite the hit with critters large and small.

"Some days she would spend entire afternoons conversing with the fishes..."