Uncanny...My real 'Baby' vs. Baby for IF

Just had to add this picture...this is a picture of my baby now...he's 9 years old...yes...I know...he's hardly a baby, but as every mother knows...no matter how old I am or how high he towers over me...he'll always be my 'baby'!

I'll try to find a picture of him as an infant...but I thought there was a great resemblence to my Illustration Friday drawing...and I honestly haven't looked at these photos for months!

Just thought it was 'neat'!

I have some other great photos to post...we just had a nice walk in the park and we got lots of pictures of baby ducks and swans...so cute!!

Later...

Jane

'Baby' - Illustration Friday

The topic this week at Illustration Friday is 'Baby'.

Flooded with ideas because the majority of my work is for babies, toddlers and children I was overwhelmed and at first I didn't know what to choose for my drawing.

Then earlier today this image popped into my head...it was fun to draw and it ended up looking a lot like my youngest child when he was a baby...a sweet faced chubby baby boy!

I should find a picture of him when he was an infant to compare the similarities.

Some days I find myself yearning for those days...that sweet baby smell, the baby soft skin and the absolute unconditional love! I miss it!!

Then...I wake up and come back to reality!! I realize that although I loved taking care of my three babies I'm glad I'm past that stage...babies and toddlers are way too much work for these '40 something' bones!!

See you next time!
Jane

Worry - Illustration Friday

Okay...I really don't like this drawing, but I want to post something and this is all I could think of...

...I'm a mother and WORRY is my first, middle and last name. It defines me to the 'Nth' degree.

I worry constantly about everything...

...Am I doing the right thing for my children by working from home??? Maybe they are too spoiled with my attention and they won't have a sense of independence???

...Should I close the doors on my home business and go to work in the 'real' world??? Maybe I should show them what the majority of the world is doing???

...How will I get everything done on my daily list of things to do and still make sure they are happy???

...How will we pay for college??? It's not that far off!!

...How will I get to her softball game and his baseball game when they are both scheduled at the same time and the fields are 5 miles apart from each other???

...What about my 14 year old??? I am leaving him home alone for 3 hours a couple of nights a week so I can go to these ballgames...he has a girlfriend...do I trust that he is home alone??? Is he sneaking things behind my back???

...Then there's a science test on Friday...how will I find time to help my youngest son study for it???

...Math tests for all 3 kids this week!!! Will they be able to keep up their grades???

...My 12 year old daughter wants to wear make-up...all the other girls in her class wear it...why can't she???

...The shorts at the store are about 5 inches long--that's from the waist to the bottom of the shorts...I'm ready to fall over because I'm sure it covers NOTHING!!! And she shouts 'That's what everyone at school is wearing! You need to get into style, Mom!'

...and so on and so on and so on...

These few questions are only the tip of that ever present proverbial ice berg!!

I worry, worry, worry and I know by watching my mom and mother-in-law that the worry never ends. The day I found out I was pregnant with my first child--which was about 15 years ago--was the day the worrying started and it won't end until I'm 6 feet under or ashes in an urn at the mausoleum...

Such is the life of a mother!!

I'll be back later...I'm going to find a hole I can crawl into so I can figure out how I'm going to face the rest of my life!!

Jane

Drawing-A-Day...

There are loads of websites out there that encourage participation in daily drawings and daily paintings. However...as most Moms understand...I'm overwhelmed...DAILY...so the drawings just can't happen every day.

But I try! I make it a point to fit some time in at the end of each day and it seems that my daily drawing is becoming more of a habit. I look to my drawings as my chance for some quiet time. I sip my wine, I relax and draw whatever comes to mind. **I love it!!**

One site I found focused on trying to draw very simple things...items that you might not normally consider to be the subject of a drawing. So one day a few weeks ago I came up with this...



'What the heck is it?' you wonder. Well, I found a yummy sounding recipe and decided to make it one day...

Brownie Muffins from a neat-o website called Hungry Girl

First of all...they have the word 'Brownie' in the name so that was pretty much all the incentive I needed. Plus...the added benefit of it being an incredibly easy recipe...well...when it comes to cooking 'simple' is my mantra (I hate to cook)...so simple recipes are right up my alley.

They were very good and I'll be making them again.

But I also thought they looked interesting...I must have messed up somewhere along the way because the muffins weren't smooth on the tops...they were more rough and jagged...but I didn't care. They tasted good anyways! Since they looked out of the ordinary I decided to draw them.

And one extra benefit...I didn't tell my kids that they were a healthy recipe...I just told them they were Brownie Muffins and they loved them! They still don't know the truth!

I'll be back soon with more...

Jane

'Wide' - llustration Friday

This week the topic at Illustration Friday is 'WIDE'.

I had a hard time coming up with ideas, but after some thought I remembered my own little frog design. I get orders for name plaques and growth charts with a frog theme...a lot...it's a popular choice for both boys and girls.

I like painting these frogs so much though I'm not sure whay...I'm certainly not a big fan of frogs. I think the pleasure for me comes from the colors that I use as well as the setting...some tall grasses, cat tails, dragonflies and a frog with a big 'wide' grin, licking his chops and eyeing today's dinner.

Sometimes when I'm painting the scene I'm reminded of my childhood days. I used to walk on a path nearby our house with my sister and some of our neighborhood friends. We'd head down to the nearby dam and on the way we'd see cat tails growing along the side of the path and lots of little creatures...frogs, birds, bugs of every kind and sometimes even snakes! Yikes!

Whatever the reason for my fascination...the bottom line...it's fun to create this design and I never tire of painting it.

So here we go...my illustration for wide...a Wide Mouth Frog.

Enjoy!

Jane

More Drawings...

I just love doing these...at first I was a nut case about it and I was drawing constantly. Then I got burnt out and bored with it. I started drawing again a couple of weeks ago and have decided to 'just do it' even when I don't want to. I need to find a hobby since my first hobby turned into my career...I hope I can keep this promise to myself...drawing really helps keep my sanity in check...

...but don't ask my family about that...they'd probably disagree!!

I paint fairies all the time on name plaque orders for little girls but this is the first one I've drawn...



And I love to paint and/or draw the moon...I don't know what it is...the moon intrigues me. It has two sides...at times it's kind of like 'earth's little sidekick'...sweet and dependable lighting the night...yet other times it can be eerie and mysterious...this drawing (as with most of my so called 'moon-work') shows the sweet side...



Lots more on the way...until then,

Jane

Electricity - Illustration Friday

Lots of things come to mind for the topic this week at 'Illustration Friday'...

...but the thought that resonates the most for me is 'Where would we be without electricity?'

I know my life would be incredibly and unbelievably different because my dad was an electrician along with his father and brother. His trade provided a nice life for our family in more ways than I could count.

But I also think of how much we depend on electricity in today's world.

We have thunderstorms in our neck of the woods often throughout the spring and summer months and many times we lose power. About 5 years ago we had a terrible storm and lost power for about 3 days. Talk about tough! I was a basket case at first worrying about how we would we get by??? But somehow we managed. We had no lights at night, no computers, no TV, our only source of news was a small battery operated radio, we had to throw out most of the food in our refrigerator and freezer...and on and on...

But on the positive side we enjoyed this 'un-electrified' time with our children. With no TV, computers or any other distractions we didn't have much else to do but spend time together. The kids were younger then and afraid in the complete and utter darkness at night so we let them sleep in the living room. We sat out there with them in the candlelight and, until they fell asleep, we all talked and laughed about so many different things. When I look back on those days I remember the stress and worry, but even more so I remember how peaceful everything was. I can honestly say that if we lost electricity again I'd do my best to look at it as a vacation and and I'd try to enjoy the ride...quiet time like that doesn't come along very often!

Until next time...
Jane

'Seed' - Illustration Friday

The topic we are to illustrate today for Illustration Friday is 'SEED'.

The first thought that ran through my head when I saw today's topic was planting seeds and how I need to get to work on this job out in my yard. I decided that I always put too much pressure on myself to get everything done at home so I just decided to take some time and think on it.

I ran my morning errands and when I came home I couldn't let go of this thought...sowing the seeds of love. Maybe that's because that's what I feel like I do every day. I work hard taking care of everyone else and rarely take time for myself...isn't that what most mom's do??? But to me...it's all worth it in the end. I feel like I have love all around me...my husband, my kids, all of my extended family, my friends, my customers...I am completely blessed!

I haven't participated in Illustration Friday for a couple of years...and even when I did it was only a couple of times. I guess my excuse for not participating is two-fold...I've been so busy fulfilling orders that I didn't have the time to work on my other art skills. That and the overwhelming and completely obvious fact that my work can't even come close to being as good as any of the other illustrators...the intimidation factor runs deep with me. But I'll face my fears and forge ahead anyways...that's how I started my business and all these years later I'm able to support my family doing what I love to do. So who knows where my illustration skills will lead me.

And now that the economy is in such bad shape and my orders--though still coming in--are slowing I've decided that I have to take the time to just doodle and have fun.

So here we go...in a bit I'll post other drawings I've made over the past few months.

Until then...
Jane