The Floral Alphabet: A is for Anemone

I have a slight obsession with flowers. Not florals, mind you; I am not of the feminine romantic nature to have my apartment filled with total girlish details. I just like the colors, their contrast with leaves, stems, etc. Plants of all kinds. If I could, I would have an overflowing botanical backyard that would look like something like the Secret Garden. So when I have the chance, I draw them. It’s my way of prolonging the blooms. I had been working on this study of some anemone blooms I had when one of my favorite blogs, Design Sponge, began a weekly flower post. Coincidentally, their first post was on Anemone.

The plan is to follow along with their guide and draw my way through the floral alphabet. Up next – Brassica.

Ocean’s depths

While I’ve never lived on the ocean, I think it would be perfect. I always need water nearby. During college, it was Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga (sorry C-land, when you’re advised not to go in the water, not even the sight has a soothing effect). And now, the crash of waves on Lake Michigan suffice. I can be sitting on a pier or even on the bus racing by, and the daily change of color, breeze, and sights bring a calm. A major difference here though is that the creatures are just not as crazy as the ones I remember finding on the beaches of a coast.

A good friend from NJ took a series of aquatic shots and I just loved her jellyfish. I always said I wanted to turn her photos into drawings, and finally I’ve begun!

Nessie

This is a start at the first poster I’ve completed for my Mythical Creature Series. Eventually a whole host of characters will grace walls- mermaids, griffins, unicorns etc. They’ll work as stand alones, or as a set. Done fully in Illustrator.

The chicken or the egg?

It’s been a busy time this past month, but I’ve managed to continue working on some personal pieces. In the illustration section, a couple updates and I should have some more illustrations as well as poster designs in the next few days. I’ve been sketching a lot more so we’ll see where that all takes me.

This sunshine is busy

You know the song, but have you ever realized how sad it really is? Let’s put it this way, the last stanza is -

“In all my dreams, dear, you seem to leave me
When I awake my poor heart pains.
So when you come back and make me happy
I’ll forgive you dear, I’ll take all the blame.”

And yet it’s a song sung to children.

Anyway, I’m attempting to post more often. I’ve been working on a large textbook project for a number of weeks (months even) now and while I wanted to share share some of what’s been occupying so much of my time, BUT I can’t until it’s published. So bear with me. I continually learn amazing things I can do in Illustrator. It’s been a treat/challenge to work on such a large volume of drawings ranging from the Periodic table to cell organelles and basics of DNA. Also interesting, using just one spot color and it’s tints. Someday, you will see the end result. Though with 200+ drawings, only my doting mother will want to see them all.

Instead, I will show off some paper cuttings I’ve started. Check out “Everything Else” to see some other pieces. I am hoping to put together about a dozen more in the next few days to sell on Etsy.