Gidday Mate!

I have decided that this is going to become my Art Journal and show off the art I achieve every day or so. As many of you know, I am addicted to Trading Cards. I make a lot - indeed, I've recently just made card #2000 in just over 3 years (I think, I've kinda lost count). I draw animals, monsters, people, cakes, cottages, anything I'm challenged to draw, more or less (and I'm about to start on tropical flowers). So lets see what I ahve to show off today!

At present I am working on a number of swaps over at the awesome sites ATCs for All (www.atcsforall.com) and the juried site (yet they let me in) Illustrated ATCs (www.illustratedatcs.com).

At Illustrated ATCs I am engaged in a Secret Santa Swap for Summer (although it's winter for ame). In this I have to make two small ornaments for two people and a larger gift box with a few more goodies for another person.

I've made the two smaller ones and I really want to show them off, but I've been told I'm not allowed to yet, cos teh Deadline ain't until the 30th June and I don't want to spoil the surprise!

So sorry about that.

On the other paw, I am also in a Pick a Theme swap. Now, Picka themes are when you sign up and join a group with 4 other members, and each member selects a theme that they want to collect cards of. The other people in that group make them cards based around this theme. It's a great idea and can really get you out of your comfort zone.

Yesterday I finished off a trio of cards for this swap, and I'm allowed to show them off.


Firstly, we have "Miss Medusa" for the theme "Medusas". She is based on a photo of a lovely looking lady I found via a google search for "woman dreadlocks". Whilst her expression and pose is similar to the reference, the actual woman looked nothing like this!

Oh my gods - she's looking straight at you! Better get that mirror up right away.

We also have "Ear Candy". The theme for this was "Anatomical Endearments" which as you may have guessed, means close-ups of pretty body parts. I wanted to do something a little quirky-weird, and thus looked up idioms using the word "Ear". "Ear Candy" was the best I could illustrate.







This is a portrait of a Gothic Unicorn. Now, the lass I was drawing this for had put up her themes as "Gothic Portraits OR Unicorns" and I learned later that she had put the "unicorns" there specifically for me - because she thought I preferred drawing animals to people. Which is generally true. HOWEVER, what she didn't realise is that I find standard unicorns pretty boring so I was initially going to do a gothic portrait. But as goth is far too trendy-popular now with teenage girls (I blame that vampire nonsense) and Victoria Francis is the In Thing in poster art, I couldn't quite bring myself to draw that either. So... I took all her themes. If you google "Gothic Unicorn" you will see that there is a very fine sculpture realised by Windstone by that name. It is absolutely gorgeous and was my inspiration for this piece, along with a choker I found in a goth clothing site.

Anyhow, I hope you have enjoyed yesterdays post-humous. If you stay tuned you will see todays examples - a "Rainbow Phoenix" and the "Rabbit in the Moon".

Also to come later - a whimsical house and a haunted house, plus a set of vultures and whimsical instruments. Plus some Hawaiian themed art.

I hope you have enjoyed my art.