Shannon Melville's Blog

A Night With Our Stars

2011-03-28T22:12:00.013+08:00

On the 10th March I attended my first A Night With Our Stars (ANWOS) run by the Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA). ANWOS is an annual event held at Westbooks in Victoria Park. I was invited to be one of 21 speakers (authors and / or illustrators) who had a book published in 2010. I spoke for 3 minutes on the first book I illustrated My Arms Your Legs, written by Kim Rackham. I was a little nervous at first being in front of 200 teachers, librarians, authors and illustrators but once I looked out to the crowd I saw a bunch of friendly familiar faces smiling and listening attentively. It was an honour to be asked to speak along with many other professional inspiring people including Frané Lessac, Mark Greenwood, Sally Murphy, Sally Morgan, Meg McKinlay, AJ Betts to name a few! I look forward to attending next year's event.

While on the subject of CBCA here is the flyer they recently commissioned me to illustrate and design for their upcoming Bookwiz on the 3rd July. It is a book based quiz in the style of the tv show Spicks and Specks. It was a fun job to work on :)

Choose Active Transport Book Launch

2011-03-28T21:40:00.007+08:00

In July 2010 I was asked to illustrate, design and typeset two books for Physical Activity Taskforce. One was a picture book Matilda's Morning Adventures and the other a teacher's resource book Choose Active Transport, the books will be used to encourage children to catch buses, walk or ride to school rather than traveling by car every day. I worked days, nights and weekends on these books for a solid 5 months! It was hard work but an honour to be selected to illustrate the books and work with some great people. I am happy with how they turned out.

I attended the launch on the 9th March at Department of Sport and Recreation, WA. Here you can see me with the flowery top on next to the author Kim Chute.
At least one copy was distributed in every WA primary school following the launch.

Resolutions-Illustration Friday topic

2011-01-03T22:52:00.004+08:00

Happy new year folks! hope it's off to a good start :) It has been several months since I have posted an Illustration Friday topic but what better time than at the start of a new year, plus it's a public holiday here today! I pondered for quite some time, brainstormed and also looked at a few people's illustrations for this topic. I liked how some people illustrated just one of their resolutions.

I do like to reflect on the previous year and plan how I can change in small steps and better myself, decide my focus for the new year. I know a lot of people don't like setting them e.g. my husband as they think they are a waste of time. I like to write a list of things I want to try and achieve in the new year. I don't always achieve all of them but I was suprised when changing diaries the other day that most of them I was able to cross off. The ones i didn't cross off I realised weren't that important and they won't be on my list this year!

As I was reflecting I felt somewhat frustrated though that after December we don't have a Blankember month in between the previous year and the start of the next one as we don't really get time to stop and contemplate before BAM the new year has started already!
I guess this piece is about having creativity and lots of ideas, skills and goals but not always knowing what is most important to start on first!

One of my creative goals this year was to write a list of things I personally want to illustrate / paint this year. I feel that this will keep me inspired as an artist. I often put clients and other's work before my own and don't really allow much time to work on personal projects that I enjoy.

Library Talk

2010-06-08T23:59:00.007+08:00

On Thursday 3rd June I presented my first library talk at Riverton Library to primary school aged children. I shared with them the process of illustrating my first chapter book 'My Arms Your Legs' written by Kim Rackham. I showed them changes I was asked to make and displayed image references, rough sketches and finished illustrations. I explained different jobs they could have as an illustrator and did a live drawing demonstration. Many questions were asked by both children, teenagers and parents! It was a positive experience overall and the library staff were very helpful. Thanks to my friend Sam Hughes a children's librarian and illustrator for giving me some presentation tips :)

Off to Market

2010-06-08T22:50:00.006+08:00

I know not a very original title for this post, but the first that came to mind!

I am bursting with creative energy at the moment! I was fortunate to be allocated stalls at both the next Perth Upmarket and Made on the Left Markets.

This will be my first Upmarket and I feel honoured to have been allocated a stall as there is often a waiting list for stall holders. The Winter Upmarket is being held on 27th June at Winthrop Hall, UWA, 10-4pm.

Made on the Left (MOTL) is being held at The Saint Hotel Innaloo on 17th and 18th July from 10-4pm. My stall Lemon Zest Design is 17th July. This will be my 2nd MOTL market. It was such a great atmosphere last year at the Hyde Park Hotel and should be even better at The Saint.

Above is some artwork I will be selling at my stalls. I am aiming to have a lot more original artwork this time but will also have prints to cater for different budgets. Things in progress on my art table include illustrations, paintings, key holders, painted frames, coasters etc.

This is an extremely busy month for me. This weekend I am also going to Rottnest with SCBWI WA Branch for the annual Rottnest Retreat :) Last year we all had a ball! See Frane Lessac's blog post here. There will be activities, pot luck dinners, wine, portfolio critiques and manuscript assessments, games, bike rides, mini golf to name a few.

When I get back I will be full steam ahead I also have 8 samples to prepare for my Canning Arts Group Art Fun Kids School Holiday Program. Theme these July holidays is Myths and Legends. My classes will involve Jabberwockies, Unicorns, Dragons, Fairies, Elves, Aliens, Enchanted Trees and Fantasy Worlds!!!!! It's always fun inspiring the kids to create and seeing what their wonderful imaginations come up with!

Wednesday mornings I am still taking an art class for people with disabilities at Lifeplan in Vic Park. It is nice to go to a non stressful environment every week and create with carers and clients who appreciate me being there.

Illustration Friday Topic - Dip

2010-04-06T21:49:00.004+08:00

Zac loved the sour tingly feeling on his tongue from Tangy Sherbet dip :)

This is one of my quicker IF posts. Usually I want to add lots of colour and detail and want it to look perfect. I am okay with this not being coloured i think it speaks for itself in black and white. I also didn't um and ah about this topic it was the first thought that came to my mind a sherbet dip!

Lemon Zest Design is on Facebook

2010-04-01T19:42:00.001+08:00

Lemon Zest Design my illustration / graphic design company is on Facebook add me here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lemon-Zest-Design/190537554223?ref=ts

Expired - Illustration Friday topic

2010-03-26T09:30:00.005+08:00

The balloon ducked, twisted, twirled, dodged and dived whilst it's air expired and no one could catch him!

It has been several months since I have posted an IF topic, but I felt inspired this week to have a break from my other jobs. Hopefully I will jump back on the bandwagon again and contribute more frequently. It is always good to challenge myself to illustrate new subjects.

Technically this piece is a little rough, some of the ink smudged as it was not properly dry so have done a few quick digital touch ups, but I like the concept.

Cow Parade Margaret River

2010-02-01T18:26:00.013+08:00

Books Moo-ve Me

For 3 days in January in 42 C heat a bunch of illustrators from SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) worked in Frané Lessac's lovely studio in Fremantle painting a fibreglass cow. We had a ball sketching, painting, telling stories, patting the friendly pooches, coming up with 'cow' puns and sharing lovely gourmet lunches in Frané 's air conditioned house :)

It was fabulous working with other inspiring talented illustrators such as Karen Blair, Wendy Binks, James Foley, Samantha Hughes, Frané Lessac, Matt Ottley and Briony Stewart.

Our cow along with 76 other cows is now traveling down south for Cow Parade in Busselton on 21st February. They will be cows of leisure residing in wineries, galleries, restaurants, shopping centres, boutiques, businesses, parks and lighthouses from March - June 2010.

We were very grateful to be allocated a cow and given the opportunity to take part in this international art exhibit.

'While CowParade has been held in over 50 cities around the world including ‘udderly’ fabulous destinations such as Paris, Tokyo, London and New York, each event is unique. The cow sculptures do not change from event to event, but local artists are challenged by the works of previous CowParade artists and inspired by their own cultural contexts and personal vision of what a cow should look like'.
Reference: http://www.margaretriver.com/pages/cowparade-2010/

The cows will be auctioned off on the 10th of July 2010, proceeds going to various charities.

Pet portraits

2010-01-19T14:06:00.007+08:00

These are some recent pet portraits I have done for clients between November and January.

Usually I work with pastels and coloured pencils but the first two dogs Georgie and Steffi were acrylic painting commissions. I can be emailed at lemonzestdesign AT gmail DOT com if you would like to make an enquiry.

Made on the Left display

2009-11-16T13:02:00.007+08:00

I had my first art / craft stall on Saturday 14th November. I really enjoyed the experience. The actual day was fine and it was nice meeting customers and selling work, however, planning for it was a lot of hard work. First of all you have to make everything (the fun bit :) ), but you also have to shop around for the best printing prices, order cello bags, envelopes, stickers, business cards, design signs, price lists, flyers and information sheets. Then there is deciding how you are going to display your work. Fortunately i had some friends who run a newsagency so they lent me their card stands. There is also deciding how to price your work. I could list a lot more but won't. I think the efforts are worth it when you get to show your work to the public. It's quite exciting making sales and hearing feedback about your work :) Now I better get back to my book illustrations due this Friday!

Book illustrations

2009-11-12T20:32:00.006+08:00

I am over the moon to be working on my first chapter book for Blake Education publishers. It will part of the Sparklers series, aimed at ages 7+. I received this job 4 weeks ago and i now have 1 week to get the illustrations finished. I am enjoying the process and putting my skills into good use. The editor and art director are great to work with. I have just attached a few roughs for now, will show more when the book is published next January.

Made on the Left, Saturday 14th Nov Hyde Park hotel, 10-4pm

2009-11-12T20:02:00.008+08:00

2 days to go to my first art stall! I'm pretty excited about showcasing my work in this way. I love markets and have been thinking about having a stall for a couple of years now. What motivated me was a fellow illustrator Ali J suggesting I give it a go as it will give me a goal to work towards. For the past couple of months I have been staying up past 1am most weekend nights working on my wares. I will be selling hand made and digitally printed greeting cards, limited edition giclee prints, Christmas decorations and hair clips.

My stall will be on the Saturday, 14th November, 10-4pm. If you love art and craft come along and start your Christmas shopping :)

Germs

2009-10-08T12:25:00.003+08:00

"Ewww, injection boy germs!", this is my memory of germs from school. I grew up in the 80s, so i also had a lot of fun incorporating items from that era. e.g. Adidas sneakers (I had a white pair with blue zig zag stripes), Reebok pumps, roll down socks, massive headbands, Pop Swatches, crimped hair. It was fun reminiscing!

I haven't done an Illustration Friday topic for a while but couldn't get this one out of my head so had to get it down on paper.

I have been doing a variety of things lately: making hundreds of hand made cards using chopped up bits of old artwork (I knew there was a reason i hadn't thrown them away!). I am applying to have my own art / craft stall at a market. First time I have tried this. I have been working on a couple of logos, graphics jobs, and you can see my latest editorial illustration below. I have also decided to give community art teaching a go. The activities I have instructed include wire and bead fairies, rubber band stamps and enchanted fairy / elf illustrations. It is good to get out of the house and into the community (can get a bit quiet working as a freelancer).

20 Questions - artwork for Illustrator's Australia 9x5 exhibition

2009-10-08T10:55:00.002+08:00

I created this for Illustrator's Australia 9x5 exhibition. The theme had to be based on '20'.

As stated on the IA website:

"To continue the celebrations of our 20th Anniversary, the 14th annual 9 x 5 exhibition and auction is brought to you by the Number Twenty. - and will take place @Space 39, 39 Little Collins Street Melbourne on October 9".

If you live in Melbourne and can get there have a look.

Latest editorial illustration published

2009-10-08T10:45:00.006+08:00

Always like seeing my editorial illustrations published! These were for Child magazine's. They have one in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra. These were a lot of fun, they were made using clay, hand painted, then photographed. I deep etched (cut out) in Photoshop and the background shapes and drop shadows were done on the computer too. I am glad I have both traditional and digital skills.

New studies of children

2009-09-07T15:45:00.004+08:00

Some studies of children in different poses

Impatience - Illustration Friday topic

2009-08-10T17:26:00.003+08:00

Dorothy was getting impatient with Nina, she wouldn't stop talking or asking questions. I haven't submitted to Illustration Friday for a while. We moved house 4 weeks ago so have been preoccupied with unpacking. Looking at my picture now I probably should have added some question marks too since the duckling is asking questions, oh well you get the gist of it. I decided to leave most of my pencil marks in the sketch just for extra texture and interest. Usually I make everything look so clean.

Hollow - Illustration Friday topic

2009-07-23T13:48:00.002+08:00

I created this illustration a couple of weeks ago, but have moved house and only just got my scanner connected again.

When I was about 8 I went to some after school art classes and we had to draw our own tree house, I really enjoyed it maybe that is why I have remembered it 22 years later!

Editorial illustration published! :)

2009-07-02T15:02:00.006+08:00

This is my latest Editorial illustration published. Had a lot of fun creating this one. Medium: Clay and mixed media. The skirt is a girls hair lacky :)

Illustration Friday - Drifting

2009-06-23T00:31:00.006+08:00

Sophie and Claudia's pool pony race got out of hand and they soon realised they were drifting out to sea! This was inspired by one of my old 80s pool party photos I saw the other day. Did you ever have pool ponies? So much fun

Craving - Illustration Friday Topic

2009-06-11T12:40:00.005+08:00

My doggies Banjo and Jaya crave icecream! so do I in fact :) they get a couple of teaspoons every now and then if they ask nicely :)

It is nice to have some time to submit for Illustration Friday, It has been ages. I will try and submit more regularly from now on.

The past couple of months have been very busy with graphic design, illustration and fine art work. I also submitted for the ASA (Australian Society of Authors) picture book illustration mentorship and thestylefile.com which i haven't found out about yet.

Next step is to send out promos to publishers.

I would also like to try submitting some designs to greeting card companies.

My portraits of little kids have been pretty popular lately. Here is another one I worked on recently

Talisman - Illustration Friday topic

2009-04-03T22:14:00.008+08:00

Talisman: an object that is thought to have magic powers and bring good luck. I did these illustrations end of 2006 for a mock up book for a children's story i had. I thought they were quite relevant to this weeks topic. Created using inks, bleach, pencils and some digital techniques in Corel Painter (stardust on rainbow and also the glow tool (one of my favs!)). I have a bit too much work on at the moment to find the time to create original illustrations for weekly topics. Not that I am complaining as I work freelance so I am grateful for the work.

Editorial illustration published! :)

2009-04-02T09:06:00.008+08:00

I illustrated this piece for an article entitled 'Vegetarianism For Beginners'. I was asked to use my clay technique again. I have shown my original rough, was going to use a cow on the front but they preferred fruit and vegies. Still looks pretty effective I think. I would really like to do a short Photography course so that i can learn how to photograph my artwork professionally.

Books Alive competition

2009-03-31T10:23:00.006+08:00

Books Alive cover competition. I don't enter many competitions, but i thought why not give this one a go! I decided to create the letters out of the clay technique i have used which has proven popular in the past. I once won a Subiaco Craft Fair poster competition using this technique. I also have been asked to do a couple of editorial illustrations using clay which has been fun :) I didn't win the competition, but I thought I would put it up anyway.

Life Drawing

2009-03-31T10:16:00.005+08:00

I went to Life Drawing last night in the first time in about 6 months! Haven't ever put any of my Life Drawings online before so thought i would share them. Will try to keep going back now I have started. Always good to keep practising those observational skills. My dogs were also good models under my desk :)

Legendary _ Illustration Friday topic

2009-03-17T00:41:00.004+09:00

Mother Teresa was pretty legendary in my eyes, the way she devoted her life to help the poor and sick.

Intricate-Illustration Friday topic

2009-03-06T21:47:00.014+09:00

Intricate - Illustration Friday topic.

These illustrations were done for a TAFE (college) assignment a couple of years ago, but i have never put them on my blog. I thought they fitted in this week with all of their intricate details!

Thorny Devil is an Australian lizard, found in the Western and Central deserts of Australia, they range between 15-20cm in length.

Breezy - Illustration Friday topic

2009-03-05T22:58:00.004+09:00

I got this done just in time for the latest Illustration Friday topic 'Breezy'. I drew this tonight at a Cat Empire concert in Fremantle, well actually when their support act Paprika Balkanicus, a group from the Balkans were playing! Was a great concert, lots of fun dancing, clapping and singing :)

My dogs Jaya and Banjo love the breeze in their face like most dogs do in the car. Jaya is the one smiling on the back right. Sometimes she also rests her nose on the top of the window, and she looks like a little piggy! :)

Just a quick one tonight as I have so much work to do at the moment, which I am very grateful for. Working on a combination of illustration (fairy designs and a painted clay editorial illustration) and graphic design jobs (logos, posters, business cards etc.). My to do list whiteboard is choc-a-block full, but can't complain about that being self-employed. It is so nice when you get to wipe a finished one off the list though! :)

Celebrate - Illustration Friday Topic

2009-02-17T17:07:00.004+09:00

Celebrate - Illustration Friday topic.

Thought I would play around with some clay again :) also bought some coloured foam, corrugated card and other materials the other day. This little green friendly monster was just an offcut shape that occurred by chance, I quite liked it so thought I would include him in my celebration piece.

Time - Illustration Friday

2009-02-13T12:49:00.004+09:00

Time - Illustration Friday topic. So many things could be illustrated for this topic.

Time can be good to help organise and plan our lives and at other times it can be bad.

In a way time can be our friend or our enemy.

I have illustrated a race track, on the left you see people / numbers / creatures enjoying life and the time they have been given to enjoy special events in life such as having a child, getting married, playing with your dog at the park, winning a trophy or a race (I know these are a few of the many things one can celebrate in life). I thought about how important the measurement of time is to olympic athletes.

Then on the other side of the track you see people trying to run back in time away from death and disaster. As you will probably know last Saturday the 7th February in country Victoria, Australia we had our worst ever bushfire disaster. Currently the death toll stands at 181, authorities say that figure could soon rise to 200 or even 300. Apparently up to 1,000,000 wildlife could have been killed too.

It is unbelievably sad and devastating the destruction these fires caused. A lot of innocent, good people lost their lives and they had no chance to react. What's even sadder is that some of these fires were deliberately lit. We hope that if arsonists are to blame that they will be caught quickly and we hope and pray that the victims wounds, nightmares and lives will heal.

If you are in Australia you probably have heard that Coles is donating all profits from groceries bought today.

If you would like to / can donate there are many charities accepting donations.

Click here if you would like to donate to the Red Cross

Click here if you would like to donate to Wildlife Victoria

Fortunately there are a lot of firefighters, defence force, volunteers and every day citizens doing an amazing job. Here is a nice story of a koala that was rescued.

and another nice story of an 18 year old boy who rescued his sister and 8 children on a tractor.

My website is finally finished!!!! Yay!

2009-02-10T01:38:00.004+09:00

My illustration website is finally finished! it's a miracle! You wouldn't believe how unbelievably happy, relieved and satisfied I am to finally have this online! I designed the website myself in Dreamweaver with the 'old school' tables (but it seemed the most simplest and straightforward way to me!), but realized that it wasn't viewing properly in various internet browsers. So my husband read up some forums and learnt how to re-build my site with CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). Glad I have a technical person in the house :) The image gallery is now very easy to upload my illustrations, delete them and also add captions.

Editorial illustration published! :)

2009-02-09T22:21:00.004+09:00

Yay I got one of my illustrations published in Melbourne and Sydney Child magazine. I illustrated the story out of clay :) similarly to my blog banner, it was fun! hopefully i can do some more illustrations like this in the future. Note the red cover is not mine I just put it up to show which magazine issue my illo was published in.

'Flaw' Illustration Friday topic

2009-02-09T00:48:00.004+09:00

'Flaw' Illustration Friday topic. "There were no flaws in Molly's marvellous cupcakes!"

This was the topic for 2 Fridays ago. Just finished the colouring tonight. I drew the illustration with an ink nib, then scanned it and coloured it in Corel Painter. Those cupcakes were very time consuming! I used some of Kim's Velvet cupcakes and displays as a reference :)

Caitlin's portrait

2009-01-22T17:35:00.006+09:00

I drew this portrait for one of my best friend Mary's birthday today. I am happy with how it turned out, i think it is one of the best portraits i have done so far. I had to make sure it was top quality otherwise i would have heard an earful from my friend! :) She loved it. I worked off about 6 different photos to produce the final piece. The pose on one photo was right, but then the lighting and skin tone wasn't, so looked at another photo for that. Looked at another photo for the details in the eyes and mouth. The garden was inspired by a beautiful garden down the end of my street. I used pastel pencils and sticks, quite into pastels lately. Only really have been using them for a bit over a year after I did a pastel workshop at the Fremantle Arts Centre.

pale - Illustration Friday topic

2009-01-22T00:09:00.004+09:00

Nellie didn't care about getting a suntan, she preferred to stay pale and protect her skin from the sun.

My Illustration website is online!!!!

2009-01-18T00:36:00.006+09:00

Yay! Finally my illustration website is online, I designed it myself aswell. I still have to put the image galleries up which are the most important really but i still have to learn a bit about php scripts before I get my artwork on line. If anyone has any tips on this I would be grateful to hear from you. I am not a web programmer but I know a little bit about web design. Here's the link to my site so far: http://www.shannonmelville.com.au I have uploaded some of the little illustrations I drew for the page titles

One of my favourite places in the world - Buley Rock hole and Florence Falls, Litchfield Park

2009-01-16T15:15:00.003+09:00

I go to Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia about once a year. I always love to visit Florence Falls and Buley Rockhole, I love to swim in the fresh clear water (you can even drink it if you like) and go under the waterfalls and there are no crocs! Top photo shows myself and my husband treading water pretty hard to stay in the photo and not get drifted down stream with the current!

Contained - Illustration Friday topic

2009-01-16T14:51:00.004+09:00

I am currently on holiday in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. We saw this huge grasshopper about 15cm long, probably the biggest one I have ever seen, it was nibbling on a plant. Next to it you could see it's carapace (shell which it used to be contained in) . I drew this picture from a small viewing screen on my camera, so it is not totally detailed. I took a photo of the drawing, not the best camera, so played around with it in Photoshop. The edited version is up the top.

Resolve - Illustration Friday topic

2009-01-08T23:19:00.004+09:00

Resolve: In the new year we often resolve to do many things. I decided to try out my new dual tip brush markers whilst doing a semi illustrated brainstorm of the things one might base new year's goals on. So many different parts of life you could work on. I wrote a few of my goals down in my diary today; one of them is to get my illustration website up and running hopefully in next month. I really want it ready so that when i send work samples to publishers they will have a nice website to look at too :)

I decided to use some realistic insects I painted recently on top of my brainstorm, I think it works quite well, I changed the hue and faded it back in Photoshop too.

Hopefully I can keep up with the IF topics again, had so much work on lately I neglected my weekly topic, now I don't have an excuse!

Rambunctious - Illustration Friday topic

2008-12-19T23:59:00.004+09:00

Rambunctious! what a word! I definitely had to look up the meaning this week! Well I had weddings on my mind as i went to one last weekend, but it wasn't quite as rambunctious as this! It was at an aquarium, very nice venue.

I have been pretty busy lately, but good busy, I have over 140 illustrations to get working on for school workbooks, so today i have cheerfully being working on fruits and vegies, next week I will move onto insects and so on. It feels like a dream to be getting this sort of work and I am so grateful. I bought myself some gouache today which I am enjoying using. It is nice having a break from the computer sometimes.

Balloon-Illusration Friday topic

2008-12-01T00:18:00.003+09:00

This is the 1st time I have ever used an older illustration for Illustration Friday, but this fits the theme so why not? This was an original design done earlier this year for a baby clothes company I was doing freelance work for. Lovely people to work for but the industry is very different than what I had expected. Not doing this work anymore (out of my own choice) and for my own artistic integrity!

Tagged by Katie

2008-11-25T09:18:00.002+09:00

I've been tagged by Katie

I have to come up with 7 interesting or random facts about myself and then tag 7 people to do the same.

1. I hope to illustrate children's books through publishing houses one day, but I want it to happen now!

2. I like stomping on crunchy leaves

3. One of the reasons I work from home is so I can pat and cuddle my 2 dogs more often

4. I am vegetarian and recently bought some awesome cookbooks by Valerie Ferguson

5. I found out last week I am allergic to dust, dust mites and cockroaches

6. Creating art makes me happy (it's like my soul is singing) and I can lose sense of time

7. I don't kill spiders (I put them in a jar and take them outside), I do kill mosquitos

Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post the rules

2. Post 7 random facts about yourself

3. Tag 7 friends at the end of your post and link to them

4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

I am tagging:

Opinion-Illustration Friday topic

2008-11-24T22:13:00.005+09:00

'Opinion', I wasn't really looking forward to illustrating this topic because it seemed quite hard to portray my beliefs and ideas about something in a picture. I have to be honest and say I don't share my opinions that often because I am not a very argumentative person. One of my strong opinions though is that those who are cruel to animals or those who take pleasure in seeing animals get hurt should receive the same sentence as if they were hurting or killing a person. I don't see how there should be any difference, lock them up for life I say! It is just beyond my comprehension how anyone could bring harm upon an animal that often shows so much love, affection, gratitude and unconditional love. There is probably not much point in explaining my obvious feelings about these people.

Zoo photo references

2008-11-18T00:01:00.005+09:00

These are photos I took at the zoo a few Thursdays ago. I got a new camera so I had to try it out on the animals :) I did some sketching aswell, but haven't scanned / photographed any of them yet. I was pleased to take about 600 photos they will be great for drawing references :) Don't you just love this little turtle? I thought he / she was so cute and I can't wait to sketch it.

Pretend-Illustration Friday topic

2008-11-17T23:51:00.003+09:00

Pretend, just a simple sketch this week. Sometimes I feel a bit of pressure that I have to create a masterpiece every week, but I know that's not what Illustration Friday is about anyway. It's meant to be fun and an opportunity to practice your skills more and be challenged with different topics. Plus I have to get going on designing / uploading art onto my illustration website :)

Wise - Illustration Friday topic

2008-11-17T22:38:00.006+09:00

Wise: my illustration for the topic a couple of weeks ago. I know owls were the obvious choice for this topic, but to be honest even before the topic was posted I had been collecting owl photo references to draw from. I am thinking about having this on my illustration business card. I had a bit of a business enlightenment a few weeks ago after going to a web design seminar. I am going to create an illustration website separate from my graphic design / illustration one. I found that publishers only want to see illustrations on their own, not graphics work too. I have registered my new website domain name (just using my name but I have found that is what most illustrators do), so I have to get cracking on it!

I've had a lot of graphic design work lately which is great but I want to be illustrating more. I am also really inspired to start up an etsy shop one day and actually try selling some of my work. There have been some awesome Arts / Crafts markets lately in Perth including Made on the Left in Mt Lawley and there will also be Bazaar and Perth Upmarket coming up in December. One day i would like to try having a stall. So many ideas, sometimes i don't know what to start on first! If anyone has any suggestions on my owl at all, with colouring or anything feel free to comment :)

Vacant-Illustration Friday topic

2008-11-05T23:28:00.003+09:00

My interpretation of this week's Illustration Friday topic. This is my Red-tan Australian Kelpie Banjo. Sometimes I think he is a few kangaroos loose in the top paddock! E.g. a little loopy and not all there, so therefore vacant! I enjoyed using simple fine liners for this sketch.

Repair - Illustration Friday topic

2008-10-31T20:12:00.004+09:00

A bit last minute but I have been working on this little by little over the past few days. This is probably the latest thing I got repaired my blue carebear from the early 198os! I had it since I was 5 and then my puppy Banjo decides he will take it as his own toy! was quite upsetting but fortunately we found the heart nose and the cloud tummy outside and my mum sewed it back up for me :) Bless her

Sugary - Illustration Friday topic

2008-10-22T01:46:00.007+08:00

'Sugary' an Illustration Friday topic from a few weeks ago that i missed out on. I hand drew the word, scanned it in, then searched for lolly imagery and placed them within the letters. 2 more to catch up on now 'Island' and 'Clique' and then i will be up to date.

Late - Illustration Friday topic

2008-10-21T23:53:00.005+08:00

'Henry's bed was so comfy and cosy and he was having such happy dreams that he slept through his alarm and was late for school'.

When hearing this week's topic i thought of the obvious: running late for an appointment /meeting, staying up late, someone dying etc. None of these ideas inspired me so I decided to do a brainstorm and came up with a reason for being late. I am very happy with how this one turned out this week, I really love the 70s wallpaper and the whole piece makes me feel happy :)

Strings - Illustration Friday Topic

2008-10-17T00:19:00.005+08:00

Just in time this week for Strings. I haven't drawn many instruments before so this gave me a good opportunity. I didn't do any preliminary sketches for this, I used ink and a nib and drew straight on paper, I then scanned the drawings in and manipulated the images in Illustrator (the first 2) and then Photoshop. I found these lovely wood grains on the morguefile.com a free photo site, comes in handy! :) I could have done many more variations of these and I may do some more later. I was originally thinking of overlapping all of the instruments but for now just wanted to show them in full.

Packed - Illustration Friday topic

2008-09-30T22:20:00.003+08:00

It is a great feeling to be submitting an Illustration Friday topic again :) I have had a few weeks break, went on holidays to Melbourne and then Clare Valley for a wedding. I was thinking of ideas for topics just didn't have time to get them done. So now it is catch up time, I hope to get all of the topics done that I missed. Below is 'Clutter' which was the topic about 4 weeks ago, I saw a collection of rusty tractor parts, wheels and poles on the vineyard we were staying at, so I had to take a photo of this lovely rustic clutter and illustrate it!

Memories - Illustration Friday Topic

2008-09-01T13:14:00.005+08:00

So many different memories could have been illustrated but I decided to sketch some memories of my grandparents. I was going to do a collage of 3 of my granparents that have passed away but that would have been too much. So this one if of my Grandma and the memories that I have of her. Probably the main one is how she used to grab my nose as a kid and then put her thumb in between her fingers and say "got your nose!"

Routine - Illustration Friday topic

2008-08-28T14:47:00.003+08:00

Just a quick sketch this week. When I first thought of the word routine I was thinking of diaries, calendars, to do lists, timetables things that help you have a routine. I also thought of Mums with babies and the routines they have to go through, but not being a mum myself I wouldn't know what to illustrate. Then I thought of routines that dogs have. Dogs are often creatures of habit. Every morning my red tan kelpie Banjo waits for me at my feet while I am eating a banana, he always gets the end bit! I know a bit strange that a dog would eat fruit but he likes anything apples, pears, nuts! So this is a morning scene of me in my PJs with my messy bed hair and my doggie! It is just from my imagination so some proportions are not exactly right, I think I look more like a kid, I am not that short! but I like the concept :)

I have an editorial illustration to get onto, I have to do it with clay like on my blog banner, so I am keen to get going on that :)

Have a nice weekend everyone.

Detach - Illustration Friday topic

2008-08-18T00:08:00.004+08:00

I got my illustration done a bit earlier this week :) I wanted to do something more simple this week. A piece of the puzzle is detached from the rest of the puzzle. I enjoy working on brown paper, I think it is because it is a mid tone, therefore you can just add shading and highlights. I sometimes use it at Life Drawing classes too I find it less daunting than plain white. I should photograph some of my model sketches one day and put them on my blog.

Sail - Illustration Friday topic

2008-08-15T19:28:00.007+08:00

I really wanted to illustrate a scene of children sailing their boats for this topic. Suprisingly it was quite hard to find photo references on the net. I eventually found one on this site the photo was taken from a lake in New York.

Lily Butterfly painting

2008-08-12T15:41:00.005+08:00

I just finished this painting for my aunty yesterday. It features Singapore lilies.

Poof! Illustration Friday Topic

2008-08-04T23:48:00.005+08:00

Zelda had always wanted to fly like a bird, so she visited the Magic Bliss machine and her wish came true, well for the day anyway, she liked to snuggle back into her cosy shell at night.

Clay is FUN :)

2008-07-31T00:08:00.001+08:00

Howdy all, as you can see I have been having fun with air-dry clay, paint and beads :) I have been making my new banner / blog title over the past couple of weeks when I have had a spare moment. I wanted to make it a bit more exciting than what I had before, which was a quick job. I really enjoyed working with some clay again, getting all my nice sharp clay tools out that I bought about 7 months ago, and have only just used them now! It is past midnight here, but I had to put this up before I go to bed, it is my birthday today :), so a good reason to put a new post up. I know the photography is pretty average, but I will try taking some photos again in daylight and see if they are better. Plus I am getting a better desk lamp later today :) Yay!

Illustration Friday - Canned

2008-07-27T22:08:00.000+08:00

For this week's topic I felt liked doing a pattern with the recycle symbol and a photo of the top of some cans. This was done in Adobe Illustrator.

Enough

2008-07-21T16:55:00.000+08:00

Delilah had more than enough party treats on her plate!

I did this with my new Derwent Inktense pencils my friend Iliana gave me, thanks Iliana :) This illustration makes me smile :D

Kids and Babies

2008-07-21T10:06:00.001+08:00

I haven't drawn many babies or kids before, so I thought I would give it a go. Thanks to my friends who allowed me to draw their gorgeous children :)

Foggy

2008-07-14T00:23:00.001+08:00

I felt like illustrating a landscape this week. The one with the windmill is an Australian landscape and the one above is drawn from a photo I got on a free photo site : http://www. morguefile.com

Sour Warheads

2008-07-10T00:09:00.000+08:00

Remember sucking on a sour warhead? Well this is what this is based on! I didn't have a lot of time to do this one, so i didn't do any preliminary sketches, going to be tired at work tomorrow now :( but I had to get this done and I can always drink coffee! I was also trialling out some new pastel pencils. I would like to draw some of these expressions in more detail. I am excited because I got some face expression and body gesture books in the mail today :) I think they will be a great reference tool.

More Christmas Card doggies

2008-07-07T14:39:00.000+08:00

The grayscale dogs above were all illustrated for some fundraising Christmas cards in 2007, I used Corel Painter and my Wacom tablet. The above coloured one was illustrated for a family member whose dog passed away last year :( I used some lovely vibrant Rembrandt pastels for it. It was very relaxing drawing this outside in the summery weather :)

Fierce

2008-07-03T22:29:00.000+08:00

The first thing that came to mind when thinking of the word 'Fierce' was ferocious creatures, baring their teeth/fangs. Rather than illustrating such a literal interpretation I decided to think of other ways one could be fierce. My illustration is based on the fierceness of competitive athletes. I have been doing a fair bit of swimming lately so maybe water sports were on my mind. I used to play a bit of water polo when i was younger too.

Hoard

2008-06-25T23:49:00.000+08:00

Hoard: It wasn't long before I came up with my idea for this week's topic. Fortunately my hoarding skills have come into good use! the items i have illustrated in this still life/collage are all hoarded items! I have a drawyer in my study with some of the things I have collected over the years. Some items have been in there for 15 years or more without being thrown out! I think hoarding is part of being an artist, you never know when you may need certain items or materials. Even today whilst walking my dogs I saw at least 4 items I felt like taking home although I resisted, however I had to pick up a lovely Chinese bookmark with canoes on a river! I was aiming to be a bit looser with my technique in this illustration, I did no preliminary pencil sketches or roughs, just straight onto the paper.

Punchline

2008-06-16T23:53:00.000+08:00

I found the IF topic this week to be a tricky one. Today I resorted to looking up some punchlines on the net. It's probably one you have all heard before "6 was scared because 7 8 9". Anyway I thought it was a good one to illustrate :) don't usually go with the violent themes, but this is an exception! I am really loving using waterproof ink to do the outlines, I then fill in with Ecoline ink for the coloured areas.

2008-06-12T15:25:00.001+08:00

Here's another doggy I did last year for some fundraising Christmas cards

Kobi and Asher

2008-06-12T14:25:00.001+08:00

This is a illustration I did for a friend whose family dog recently passed away (the golden one called Kobi). RIP Kobi.

Forgotten

2008-06-11T08:17:00.001+08:00

My first submission for Illustration Friday :)

2008-06-06T13:48:00.000+08:00

Welcome, I have finally got around to creating my own blog!!! Yay :)

My plan is to try and use this for displaying illustrations and maybe photos.

I intend to also showcase a illustration on here for the weekly Illustration Friday topic. Have many ideas stored up so looking forward to getting them out there. Shannon :)