It’s been a while since I posted a doodle– this one started as a pencil sketch, then I played with it some more in Photoshop, using painted textures I’ve scanned, along with text from an antique children’s science book. I thought it turned out to look a bit like a valentine, if valentines were crawling with imaginary organisms.
2015 is the year of the sheep according to Chinese astrology– most say it doesn’t start until the Chinese lunar new year (the 19th) but others insist it begins today, on the solar new year. Happy new year whenever & however you choose to celebrate!
Maybe it’s because this is also the time of year when W-4s start turning up in the mailbox (when you’re a freelancer there’s a frightening amount of paperwork to keep up with), but when I started sketching out a sheep in honor of the coming new year, it decided to grow up to be an old-school accountant. (That ledger paper is actually how I kept my business records for way too many years. I am so very grateful to my brother Dev who finally enlightened me in the wonderful ways of Quicken!)
The figures on these particular papers, however, are years of the sheep past, present & future. And you may notice that the fat stacks of 100’s are also strangely sheep-centric (& in no way representative of my own cash flow, alas)!
The background text was scanned from an antique 8th-grade textbook, Iroquois Arithmetics.
Prints of this image are available in my Etsy shop. {Original SOLD}
What could be better at the end of a long hard week in the lab than a nice refreshing craft beer? And hey, if you’re a zymologist, you can call it research!
Why a goat (aside from those elegant horns that conveniently help form the “Z”, that is)? Goats have a long association with beer– specifically bock beer– thanks to a regional German accent.
Quoth Wikipedia: The style known now as bock was a dark, malty, lightly hopped ale first brewed in the 14th century by German brewers in the Hanseatic town of Einbeck. The style from Einbeck was later adopted by Munich brewers in the 17th century and adapted to the new lager style of brewing. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced “Einbeck” as “ein Bock” (“a billy goat”), and thus the beer became known as “bock”. To this day, as a visual pun, a goat often appears on bock labels.
That’s all the excuse I need. :-)
Meanwhile, back at the lab– Curious Art Lab, that is– I’ve brewed up some prints of this image for you!
Gardening is one of my favorite activities, but inevitably there comes a time each year when I start to feel like this. It seems one minute I’m blithely puttering along, & the next, absolutely gobsmacked by the rampant growth of our North Carolina Summers. No matter how I try, I can’t keep up, so I just do what I can & hope for the best. Even a ramshackle, overgrown garden is better than no garden!
I read quite a lot of gardening books, but I don’t recall coming across this word before. The moment I saw it on Anu’s list I knew just what to paint! And “S” is such a wonderful letter– it’s graceful & decorative even in its simplest form, & very amenable to play & elaboration, whether calligraphic or illustrative.
If you’d like to see this painting & its print offshoots growing in their Etsy habitat, I welcome you to a garden tour! {Original SOLD}
Illustrating words for Anu Garg’s brilliant site A.Word.A.Day is a dream gig for me. I’d been a devoted fan for many years before I began this project, & he always chooses such wonderfully evocative words for me to tackle!
If you’ve been around for the last few years of AWAD art, you probably know that I wouldn’t dream of doing a week’s worth of illustrations without including at least one cat. The word “oneiric” instantly made me think of a sleepy white kitty floating blissfully in the clouds, accompanied by some favorite… friends, shall we say? It’s a peaceable kingdom in the sky! Round & round & round they go, conveniently assuming the shape of a letter “O.”
And of course they have drifted into my Etsy shop… come say hello! {Original SOLD}
My name is Leah & I’m a coffee addict. Maybe it’s too many tight deadlines, maybe it’s just weakness of character, but I sure do love the stuff. It’s probably bad for my anxiety & sleep issues… okay, definitely bad… but still, so delicious & uniquely fortifying! Around this time of year I follow the traditional coffee advent calendar: one cup on the first of the month, two on the second…
To add to its charms, coffee is conducive to conviviality. And it may be more than the caffeine that does the trick. Check out this intriguing study.
I was introduced to the “kaffee klatsch” in college, where there were regular gatherings in various departments for conversation & coffee (the coffee was abysmal but the conversations great). The word always made me think of “kitsch,” which no doubt influenced this image.
It was quite a challenge getting the “K” shape in there. I finally made it happen, more or less, with the four arms (or should I say wings?) connecting in the center.
For extra kitschy goodness, there’s a little snippet of lyrics from The Music Man hidden in there. Can you find it?
You are invited to join the party at my Etsy shop!
Oh, you thought I was talking about the relentless march of the holiday retail machine? Nope, that’s last week’s news. Now it’s time to brace yourself for this year’s mighty, unstoppable A.Word.A.Day illustration series!
Today’s word is “juggernaut,” “a massive relentless force, person, institution, etc. that crushes everything in its path.”
Though the word’s origins lie in Hindu tradition, my thoughts went immediately to Godzilla, then back to earlier rampaging Asian monsters. A gigantic golden dragon could certainly destroy a city, while forming a fairly convincing curiotype letter “J”!
This painting & prints thereof are now available while they last* in my Etsy shop. So I guess now we’re back to the holiday retail theme. ;-) *Original art SOLD… wow, that was fast!
More A.Word.A.Day art to come! Tomorrow some kitschy cluckers clutching coffee. Can you guess the word?
Do you suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder? I do, & at this time of year, though I love the colorful turning leaves & the crisp weather, I always begin to feel anxious & guarded, knowing the gray days & long nights are coming.
This painting was inspired by a song that perfectly evokes that feeling, “Rake” by Optiganally Yours. (I’ve just added archival prints to my Etsy shop.)
I love the wildly twisted Arabesque shapes & subtle muted colors of dead leaves, even though they make me sad. The text in the background comes from a vintage Russian algebra book. Not sure why this seemed right for the subject, but it did!
By the way, I’ve experimented with several methods to help stave off the SAD. The most effective seems to be a daily walk outdoors, no matter the weather, no matter how short. If I miss a day or two the gloom comes rolling in.
This painting has been an adventure in itself. I’d originally created the design around a wonderful quotation, but alas, I was unable to get permission from the writer’s estate, & that took the wind out of my sails for a while. Then it occurred to me that I could make up my own message, so I was back in action! It isn’t as perfect as the original, but it gets the point across.
Just as things were finally rolling again, I had to put the project on hold for quite some time to finish a massive rush job. Such is the freelance life. But I’ve been able to get back to it at last & I think it’s almost finished! Though I’m considering offering personalized messages in the bottom scroll area where I previously had the author’s name & now have “Enjoy the journey!” Anybody have any ideas?
Coming down the home stretch on Scary– these guys are hanging out in the letter R, & at least one of them is sounding it out: “RRRRRRRRRR!” (The better to scare you with!)
This section of the painting is only about 2.25″ x 2″ (5.715cm x 5.08cm)– but just because these critters are small doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous.
