Where's the snow?

It seems like this year we haven't gotten as much snow as last year (knock on wood). In fact I think it's supposed to get up in the 50s this weekend! The one thing I love about snow are the shapes. Having grown up in Florida, I still love to look at snowflakes really close up.

Anyways, snow was clearly the inspiration for these patterns. I kept meaning to create more patterns for the set, but instead I just focused on two patterns and practiced putting them in to different color ways. Last year, I did this doodle with chalk so I just adapted the shapes a little.

Not to turn all 3-year-old girl on you, but I also have a deep love for the movie Frozen. I KNOW! The Frozen craze has been going on way to long, but I really love the colors and interiors... so I picked out the colors from some of the screenshots :) I will not apologize for my nerdiness!

Anyways, probably back to block printing this weekend, but I wanted to share these since I was working on them this month! One more...

Oh Winter, Why?!

Just when I'm getting excited about Spring, which was feeling imminent, the fickle weather decides I need about six more inches of snow to temper my expectations.

Pretty much the only remedy is some new art supplies and a weather-related doodle. While out picking up snowed-in groceries yesterday, I also popped by AC Moore and got some white charcoal pencils. And since it was snowing today… I drew some snow.

I think we all recall my love of weather-related art when I've been stuck in the house all day. Then I stood outside in the freezing cold and took some pics of it… and a picture of this tree in our backyard:

Actually, this is from the last (the one before the last? the one before that??) snow storm. We've had enough that I've completely lost track. Dear Florida friends, take pity!

V-V-Vroooooom

Today I was promised 70 degrees... its was a lie. I mean, I can't complain too much because it was up in the 50s but I had really been hoping for some warmth. It felt like this.

Anyways, the rainy/misty morning did give me an opportunity to do some doodling. Instead of Sharpies I used my Staedler skinnies. They bleed a little less and give a nice sharp line. My name is Liz and I'm a fan and a marker/pen addict.

It's Raining It's Pouring

Something about being stuck inside for days really gets my fingers itching to doodle. Last week's Hurricane Sandy was no different. On a semi-related note, our new neighborhood is almost directly adjacent to an A.C. Moore craft store. Dangerous for obvious reasons. I recently maaay have purchased an 18x24" drawing pad.

Of course this created the perfect storm for some weather-related art.

In addition to my big new pad of paper, I also broke out some crayons from a 120 Big Box I've been saving for oh, like, five years. #crayolaconfessions. Here are some progress shots.

5.5x8.5" mini version completed during a particularly long teleconference. 

Pencil sketch. Kind of hard to see. Bailey was very annoyed because I was ignoring her.

Outlined in gray marker. Complete with cozy socks. Gives you some perspective about how big it is. My wrist was definitely aching after I finished each layer. Of course this is not my first weather related art. Let's not forget my Snowpocalypse 2010 bubble wrap painting...

What did you do during the hurricane? Any out-of-control art projects?

Illustration Friday: Bundled Up

It's Illustration Friday! (Well, Saturday actually). This week's word was 'hibernation' which is appropriate, because as you know I'm super depressed that summer is over. On top of that it's been a gross, cold rainy day so I'm ready to bundle up and not leave the house for a few months.

We spent today actually walking in the cold rain to head down to Crafty Bastards in D.C. It was fun to see all the interesting crafts, etc. 

We saw Jay McCarroll from season one of Project Runway which was pretty awesome, especially since it was Kevin who pointed him out. We also ran into Jessica from the Declaration of You and I commiserated that today would have been a PERFECT day for her new rain boots.

Hot Like the Weather

No shocker for anyone here in the D.C. area but it was ridiculously hot today. And that's saying something because I grew up in Florida where most summer days are pretty blazing. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time inside so I made some new patterns.

What do you think about the colors? I picked them with Adobe Kuler. Also, I drew the original flower shape with pen and paper before scanning. I think I'm learning that that's just easier for me than drawing straight onto the tablet.

Flowers have really been inspiring me lately so I've been doing a lot of flowers Snarky Beagle-style (since I honestly couldn't draw a flower that looked real to save my life). Have a great weekend everyone. Stay cool!

The Obvious Weather Report

Hello Newspaper Industry! I am your BFF. I am one of fewer and fewer Gen Y-ers who subscribe to the real, print version of the Washington Post. Yes! I get it delivered to my front door every day. I rejoice over coupons and in-depth features about the community I live in. I revel in big photos and hard-hitting headlines.

But today, on the front of the metro page where the weather report was, where I was expecting to see... something more like SPRING... I saw this: COLD RAIN COLD RAIN COLD RAIN COLD RAIN.

Whatever happened to March coming in like a lion and out like a lamb?!? That's a thing right?!? So I photocopied, expanded, colored, doodled and wrote my obvious weather report. "Citizens of Washington, D.C. I thiiiiiink it's going to rain." Boo.