My Art Gives Me Vertigo

1920s doodles

2012-01-15T16:14:00.000-05:00

Random Doodles (contains nudity)

2012-01-15T09:43:00.002-05:00

A few random coloured pencil doodles to christen a new sketch book. No real deeper meanings here, I'm afraid. Just a bit of fun.

All In A Day's Work

2012-01-09T18:49:00.004-05:00

Someone asked me the other day just how much I draw over the course of a day. I realized that I had absolutely no idea. A lot, I supposed. So, I decided to take an average day (not one where I was working on a major project, or specifically going somewhere to draw) and scan every sketch I did over the course of that day. I may have lost a few scraps of paper, though I did my best to keep active track of all the places I was doodling.

It's still fairly early in the evening, but here's what I have for today:

...people should really stop leaving pens anywhere in my general vicinity.

Dracula sketches

2012-01-08T11:21:00.002-05:00

Dracula is one of my very favourite novels. Yet, somehow, I've never really done a serious drawing for it. Plenty of random doodles in the margins of notebooks, but no finished pieces. I've decided to do something about that. So, here are a few thumbnail sketches of ideas I'm considering. We'll see how it goes.

How Do You Do

2012-01-06T22:29:00.002-05:00

Yet another random page from my sketchbook:

Galina and the Wolf II

2012-01-06T16:12:00.002-05:00

Another quick sketch of Galina. I may not have explained who she was in the early drawing. Galina is a character in a story I'm working on, who sets out to ask a boon from the queen of Winter. Along the way she gets help from a shapeshifting grey wolf shamelessly stolen from Russian folklore.

...mostly, I just really like drawing that coat.

sneak peek: Adventures in Geekery

2012-01-06T15:27:00.003-05:00

It has been a long-standing joke between Victoria and myself that our antics would make an entertaining (if highly unbelievable) comic strip. This has never been an overly serious thought, but it recently occurred to me: well, why not? We've had enough bizarre conversations and unintentional adventures to keep me in ideas for a long time. If nothing else, it will keep me entertained.

So, here's a quick sneak peek at the character designs. More to come.

Fun Times with Welsh x3

2012-01-06T15:21:00.003-05:00

It has occurred to me that it's been a while since I've posted any of my random notes on the Welsh language. So, have a few silly vocabulary doodles.

Happy New Year

2012-01-06T14:58:00.001-05:00

Montol Festival (21 Dec)

2011-12-21T22:37:00.002-05:00

20 December

2011-12-20T23:17:00.002-05:00

19 December

2011-12-19T22:55:00.000-05:00

White Christmas Tree (belated 18 December)

2011-12-19T22:48:00.003-05:00

Sorry for not posting yesterday! Went on an adventure with the parents to procure an inexpensive Christmas tree. We managed to get one from a local farm stand, which looks lovely and is decorated in my mother's carefully arranged "traditional country" Christmas array.

The other half of the epic quest was for me - to track down a tacky white fake tree and multi-coloured lights to bedeck with vintage and colourful ornaments. It's great fun, and I now share it with you (courtesy of my laptop's camera):

17 December

2011-12-17T17:36:00.001-05:00

16 December

2011-12-16T22:38:00.001-05:00

15 December, or: Where's the snow??

2011-12-15T21:05:00.002-05:00

And now for something completely different

2011-12-15T21:00:00.002-05:00

Alright, not so different, actually. More silliness from my sketchbook.

14 December (Galina and the Wolf)

2011-12-15T00:46:00.003-05:00

So, I think I got a little over-ambitious with today's drawing. Definitely pleased with the end result, though.

The Feast of St. Lucia (13 Dec)

2011-12-13T23:17:00.003-05:00

Today is the Feast of St. Lucia. :-) Therefore, it is once again time to pull out Swedish traditions. Huzzah!

I see what you did there.

2011-12-13T23:13:00.002-05:00

I really will doodle on any scrap of paper left in my vague vicinity. It's potentially a terrible habit. So, random scribblings from today included two female!Captain America sketches, and a Marvel-verse lady Loki. I really have no idea why.

12 Dec (belated)

2011-12-13T23:11:00.001-05:00

I'm afraid that yesterday I had no access to an internet connection, and therefore did not upload a drawing for my advent calendar. To make up for it, have two sketches from yesterday!

11 December

2011-12-11T21:07:00.002-05:00

We interrupt this broadcast...

2011-12-11T19:49:00.002-05:00

And now back to our regularly scheduled holiday images.

10 December

2011-12-10T23:55:00.002-05:00

Whew! Just made it. We didn't have internet for most of the day, and I didn't think I would upload this before midnight. Enjoy!

9 Dec

2011-12-09T23:26:00.003-05:00

I'm afraid that I did not have as much time for drawing today as I might have hoped. I'll have something good for tomorrow to make up for it. For now, have a sketch of Bob Cratchit and Tim:

Baby, It's Cold Outside (8 Dec.)

2011-12-08T18:12:00.003-05:00

I enjoy this song far too much. Well, the Dean Martin version anyway. The end result was that it inspired today's drawing. I'm rather pleased with it, actually.

7 December

2011-12-07T22:59:00.002-05:00

Arbitrary Sketch-Dump

2011-12-06T22:08:00.004-05:00

So, as a brief break from my daily holiday/winter-themed advent calendar, here are some other random sketches and doodles:

the cover of my current sketchbook

the back cover of said sketchbook

Proof that I will will doodle almost anywhere... all I require is a ballpoint pen and a scrap of paper.

...invisible biplane? ladder? railing?

Aaaand.... woading. Fun times.

6 December

2011-12-06T21:35:00.003-05:00

Afraid that today's addition to the advent calendar is a rather quickly-doodled sketch, done specifically with the lovely Victoria in mind. She adores Little Women. At some point, I'll likely make a finished piece based on this idea, if not exactly this sketch.

5 Dec - Sinterklaas Day

2011-12-05T21:03:00.001-05:00

4 December

2011-12-04T21:39:00.002-05:00

So, I was going to do a serious drawing today. Then we ended up going to see the new Muppet movie. All I have to say is:

Advent, Day 3

2011-12-03T21:39:00.002-05:00

Advent, Day 2

2011-12-02T18:29:00.003-05:00

As promised, an advent drawing!

Fashion

2011-12-02T03:03:00.003-05:00

So, I'm afraid that December rather snuck up on me, and I dropped the ball on the first day of my Advent calendar.

In the meantime, I come bearing some fun things I've been working on. These are fashion drawings for a contest over at Mod Cloth. With any luck, one of these might wind up in production as a physical article of clothing. Fingers crossed!

And, we'll be back to our regularly scheduled Advent drawings by tonight! <3

Aaaaand, we're back!

2011-12-02T03:01:00.001-05:00

Peace Beneath the City sketches

2011-10-07T00:28:00.003-04:00

For the Song Title prompt at Illustration Squared, I'm working on a drawing called "Peace Beneath the City". Here are my basic sketches:

Here's the basic thumbnail for my piece. The composition is a bit different from what I normally would do, but I quite like tall, skinny images. I think it will be interesting to try my hand at one. It seemed to fit what I wanted to do.

A bit of a close-up sketch of what's going on in the bottom of the picture. It obviously needs some tweaking, but it's a start.

Stay tuned for the finished piece!

Illustration Squared sketches, part II

2011-10-07T00:19:00.003-04:00

Here are some of my more detailed sketches/ideas for the Song Title prompt over at Illustration Squared. These are the ideas that didn't get picked as for my finished piece, but I might still do something with them in the future. I'm not sure yet.

"If I Could Bring You Back"

"Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car"

"The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows"

"Sudden Death in Carolina"

Illustration Square sketches

2011-10-07T00:13:00.003-04:00

Remember Illustration Squared? Well, after a brief hiatus, Victoria and I revived it! We had a great deal of fun coming up with a long list of ideas to work for it as well. Several pages in my notebook worth of ideas, to be exact. They should be great fun, and we're looking forward to working on them.

The current prompt is to take the title of a song and use it as the title for a drawing. The image really should not have much to do with the song, just the title. To aid this, we had fun coming up with lists of strange song titles that don't even overly reflect the songs themselves. Mostly, this meant indie songs we liked in high school.

So, here are some of the initial sketches and thumbnails I had done for the project:

Random excerpts

2011-10-06T23:50:00.003-04:00

More random pages from my sketchbook!

I was experimenting a bit with skin-tone here. I think that it came a bit too red, but there are some things I quite liked about this. The bent arm, for instance, pleases me no end. I will definitely take a few of the things I did here into other paintings.

Some fun with facial expressions! Nothing deeper going on here, really - just a bit of playing around.

I have extreme love for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. I also tend to draw while I watch movies or tv. End result is that my sketchbooks and notebooks are filled with half-finished things of this nature.

Both of these were great fun to draw. That's really all I have to say about that.

It was recently brought to my attention that I don't draw gentlemen half as often as I draw ladies. I've been making an active effort to remedy that.

Because everyone enjoys the Old West! Really, I love westerns. Cowboy hats are oddly difficult to draw, though. Might be time to drag one out and draw from life because the curve of the brim is bizarre.

Pantalone! He has a very large nose. Yup.

More randomness will ensue later. Stay tuned!

colonial doodles

2011-10-06T23:16:00.002-04:00

So, over the summer I went to Redcoats and Rebels (at Old Sturbridge Village) with a couple of friends. It was great fun! Anyway, here are a few of the doodles that trip yielded:

Business Cards!

2011-08-08T07:53:00.001-04:00

My business cards came in a few days ago. Thought I'd share what they look like:

Common Ground Country Fair

2011-08-04T12:35:00.002-04:00

So, here is my submission to MOFGA for the 2012 Common Ground Country Fair poster. Also, the first scan with my new scanner. Pretty good, if I do say so! It's certainly nice to have one that works.

Anyway, fingers crossed!

Odds 'n' Ends

2011-07-19T20:01:00.005-04:00

I know that I've been promising to post some finished pieces, but I'm afraid that my scanner is very much gasping its last. It has served me well for going on six years now, and it's tired. So, sadly, you won't be seeing larger, finished art until I've replaced it. Hopefully that will be within the week. Fingers crossed - I've got to figure out what the best one I can afford is. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, here are a few more things from my sketchbook:

Victoria and I decided we were each going to do drawings of our favourite American Girl characters as adults. Here's my initial drawing of Felicity in her early twenties. I have to admit, I am really pleased with how this came out. I will scan it again (read: better) when I've replaced my scanner, but I wanted to share this now.

A slightly closer look.

La Fée Verte! I really have no idea what inspired me to do this, but it was fun.

There's a Welsh kids' song called "Gwenni aeth i ffair Pwllheli" (Gwenny Went to the Pwllheli Fair) which is great fun. It's about a little girl who keeps getting in a rather lot of trouble, despite having very good intentions. I think it would make a fun series of illustrations. So, here are the initial couple of doodles. We'll see how it goes from here.

Café Hopping and People Watching

2011-07-19T19:55:00.002-04:00

I do a lot of drawing when I'm at coffee shops - sketches of the people around me and wherever I'm sitting. So, here are some of the more recent café drawings in my book. They're great fun to do.

Sitting outside the café/bookstore in Damariscotta.

Just some doodles of people in Damariscotta, Camden and Augusta. The moral of this story might be that I drink way too much tea and coffee.

Digital Identity Ideas.

2011-07-19T18:56:00.002-04:00

I've been working on some new ideas for business cards and mailers. Thought I'd share some of the small things from my sketchbook. None of these are overly complete at the moment, but here you have them.

O-Bla-Di, O-Bla-Da

2011-07-19T18:50:00.003-04:00

More fun times from my sketchbook. Woohoo.

Playing around with acrylla gouache, because it's fun.

A few sketches I've been playing around with. I much prefer the pen version.

I am a shameless Neil Gaiman fangirl. :-) I admit this freely. So, from time to time his characters show up in my sketchbook. I'm thinking of doing some more finished drawings based on Good Omens. Anyone like the idea?

Random-y random-y random

2011-07-19T18:41:00.003-04:00

Some more doodles from my sketchbook:

Groovin' to the tunes.

I doodle a lot of eighteenth & nineteenth century women on basically every scrap of paper left in my general vicinity. This probably says something about me, but I'm not too worried.

Fun times with drapery. :-)

A sketch that will actually be expanded into a finished piece. I want to try my hand at a book cover - this would be for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard.

Yup. I blame my tendency to doodle frames from movies and television on Shanth Enjeti. This makes sense, I promise. Points to anyone who guesses what movie these are from.

I'm not dead yet!

2011-06-17T20:08:00.002-04:00

Just to prove I'm not dead, here's a quick photo of some of the things I'm working on:

Stay tuned for more images! I'm going to sit down with some of my work and a scanner soon.

character is as character does

2011-04-07T11:53:00.004-04:00

This is just a post of a bunch of random characters scattered through my sketch book. Most of them are not really attached to anything in particular at the moment, but I may find use for them yet.

...and another brief nod to a composition I enjoyed. This time from a tv show rather than a painting.

Anyway, that's all for now!

vita brevis, ars longa

2011-04-07T11:46:00.002-04:00

More from my sketch book! Would it surprise anyone to know that I've gone through quite a number of these in the past few months? I'm lucky that they sell them in packs of three...

I have rediscovered my love of lettering. It's just such fun, and it can look so lovely done well... hence, much practice is required! The phrase "vita brevis, ars longa" means "life is brief, art is long-lived". And, some doodles to accompany it!

A brief foray into heraldry, for a character I'm working on named Roger of Eldercomb. I've since decided that this coat of arms is not the one I'll be using, but it was fun to make.

This, honestly, is just the back of my current sketchbook. Since I've basically just been using the same red sketchbook over and over and over again, my way of telling them apart is to doodle and collage on them.

More Sneak Peeks...

2011-04-07T11:34:00.003-04:00

So, a peek into a few more of the things I'm working on at the moment, thanks to my trusty sketchbook:

I'm playing with the idea of making an illuminated page of the Code of Chivalry (based on the ideals set forth in the Song of Roland) for a friend. These are a few of the motifs I am contemplating using.

More fun with decorative borders and such - this time Celtic rather than Ottonian. I enjoy drawing Celtic knots, even if they can be a bit frustrating. Oh, and a brief nod to Edmund Blair Leighton because I love him. :-)

Another project idea that has me quite excited - doing a full, illuminated layout of Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott. I'm going to track down nice vellum and gold leaf (rather than the gold gouache I've been using) and really take my time on it. Plus, full page illustrations for each section of the poem. This should take me a while, but it will be a labour of love! Keep your eyes peeled for more of this. I'm still working on what I want the compositions for the illustrations to be, and the style of the lettering and such.

Also, some quick thumbnail sketches for an illustration based on the idea of the "Sorceror's Apprentice". So, we'll see how that goes. At the moment, I'm leaning most towards the second of the three sketches.

Te i'ch croesawu i'r ty!

2011-04-07T11:31:00.002-04:00

This was my tea advert for Illustration Squared. Paned Gymreig does actually exist (it's what I was drinking at the time), and I decided to make mine based on Victorian advertising posters.

And, we're off!

2011-03-18T13:15:00.002-04:00

Head on over to the grand opening (as it were) of Illustration Squared!

Victoria and I are kicking off our weekly illustrations with tea adverts - come take a peek and let us know what you think.

Have a lovely day!

-Meghan

Illustration Squared Tea Adverts

2011-03-15T14:35:00.002-04:00

The lovely Miss Victoria Belisle and myself have started a new collaborative blog: Illustration Squared!

Every Friday we will each post an illustrative response to a prompt. This is our first week, and we're starting with advertisement posters for tea. I thought I'd post my initial sketches below, and invite everyone to check out Illustration Squared as we get it under way!

Welsh Pronunciation

2011-03-15T14:25:00.002-04:00

So, the following project began recently when I decided to start learning to speak Welsh. I quite enjoy learning languages, and it occurred to me that an interesting study aid would be to make comics utilizing the phrases, grammar and vocabulary I learn as I go. It would help me get used to using them in context, and would be a fun excuse for drawing.

And thus it was decided: I would make foreign language study comics for myself! Since I will be posting them here, I will also include vocabulary lists and translations. But, I thought that the best way to start would be with basic pronunciation.

So, here we are, starting with Welsh (Cymraeg):

That's all for now. I will start posting the actual comics soon, so stay tuned! They'll be rather short on plot at first as they're really meant to be educational aids. We'll see how they progress, though - I've a fair bit planned!

Also, I've promised my mother I'll help her learn French, so you may be seeing some French comics and worksheets from me as well.

Sketches!

2011-03-15T14:16:00.002-04:00

I come bearing more excerpts from recent sketchbooks!

First off, a few Regency-era folks:

I rather like this one, actually. I might incorporate him into a finished piece, but I haven't decided yet.

A cat related accident involving a paintbrush managed to splatter this page (with surprisingly minimal damage), but I've decided it works. We'll just say that this is a drawing of Stephen Maturin, and you likely don't want to know what he's got on his waistcoat! ;-)

A sneak peek at a sketch for some upcoming illustrations based on various plays. This, shockingly, is shaping up to be the end of Hamlet.

Fencing is... surprisingly difficult to draw. So, clearly, it requires practice. I'll be doing a lot more sketching of fencing poses before I tackle putting it into an actual piece, but it's proving to be a great deal of fun to explore!

Americana Box

2011-02-14T01:25:00.003-05:00

My mom keeps all of her addresses in a box of notecards rather than a book, which is actually much easier to edit and add to as necessary. However, she decided earlier that she wanted the box to be a bit more attractive looking. So, as a surprise, I painted it for her in a folk art-y style. This was fun - I might do some more folk art soon.

Here is the top of it. ^

And, the front of it. ^

Bookmarks

2011-02-01T12:16:00.002-05:00

Recently, I doodled a few bookmarks for friends and family. They're just ballpoint pen on oaktag, but I enjoyed making them. Besides, I can't speak for anyone else, but I always seem to be in need of a bookmark! Where do they all go?

Anyway, some bookmarks:

National Handwriting Day

2011-01-23T10:52:00.002-05:00

First Post of 2011!

2011-01-07T16:45:00.002-05:00

So, just dropping off a few sketches for today, as a bit of a sneak peek at things to come!

First off, the sketch for the new banner for this blog:

And, the sketch for my first submission to a Montserrat show as an alumna! I find this to be rather exciting, particularly since the theme for this year's Illustration Theme Show is The Wild West! Definitely one of my favourite topics, and rather appropriately timed: I already had plans to revamp all of my old "Bonnie Brown" drawings, and maybe actually turn her story into a comic. So, this gave me the impetus to actually get a move on with that project.

So, enough rambling, here's the sketch:

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T01:53:00.002-05:00

Happy Christmas, all!

Advent Calendar, Day 24

2010-12-24T02:47:00.003-05:00

Advent Calendar, Day 23

2010-12-23T01:31:00.002-05:00

Advent Calendar, Day 22

2010-12-22T00:10:00.002-05:00

Advent Calendar, Day 21

2010-12-21T00:09:00.003-05:00

Advent Calendar, Day 20

2010-12-20T01:23:00.003-05:00

I got on a bit of a roll doodling on the front of my sketchbook. The end result was kind of fun, and it is today's advent drawing. Less than a week remaining!

Advent Calendar, Day 19

2010-12-19T00:03:00.002-05:00

Shopping: by far the most stressful activity associated with the holiday season. Some folks quite enjoy it, though.

Advent Calendar, Day 18

2010-12-18T02:28:00.003-05:00

Reading Dickens' A Christmas Carol is one of the traditions of the season! The quote at the top is the very beginning of the book.

Advent Calendar, Day 17

2010-12-17T11:53:00.004-05:00

Advent Calendar, Day 16

2010-12-16T00:16:00.001-05:00

Pleasantly ironic timing on that. Huzzah for snow!

Advent Calendar, Day 15

2010-12-14T23:58:00.002-05:00

Advent Calendar, Day 14

2010-12-14T01:54:00.003-05:00

This drawing is actually a Christmas card for a friend of mine (a huge Dickens fan). I'm a little sad to be parting with it! But, I've a good scan, and I decided to make it today's Advent drawing. So, not bad.

Advent Calendar, Day 13

2010-12-13T02:44:00.003-05:00

It is very dramatically windy and wet here (in a way that rather deserves the introduction "it was a dark and stormy night), so I suggest tea or cocoa and cuddling under the covers.

And, I must say, I would much prefer snow in December than rain.

Advent Calendar, Day 12

2010-12-12T00:29:00.003-05:00

In honour of the Feast of St. Lucia (although, it has just occurred to me that I am a day early with this). It is a holiday to celebrate not only St. Lucia, who was a martyr, but also the triumph of dark over light - and therefore a light in the darkness of winter. The Scandinavian cultures in particular have some very lovely traditions, and the above is based on that.

Advent Calendar, Day 11

2010-12-11T00:09:00.003-05:00

I ran a bit behind on drawing - so, today's is a little rushed and a lot silly. Fun, though, and I hope you enjoy it. Anyway, by request, a garland-wrapped TARDIS (with bonus 10th Doctor!):

(Doctor Who belongs to the BBC)

Tomorrow's should be a bit more special - I've something nice planned. Enjoy your day!

Advent Calendar, Day 10

2010-12-10T00:00:00.002-05:00

Advent Calendar, Day 9

2010-12-09T00:11:00.002-05:00

Advent Calendar, Day 8

2010-12-08T00:00:00.003-05:00

So, I was trying to figure out why I couldn't get a lot of the light blue tones (the sky, the shadows in the snow...) to show up in my scan of this, and then I realized that rather than using a coloured pencil, I inadvertently used a non-photo blue pencil. Whoops. Lesson learned: look more closely at what I'm using to draw! But, here is the advent countdown drawing anyway. Sorry!

Advent Calendar, Day 7

2010-12-07T00:03:00.002-05:00

At the risk of sounding insanely cliché, I have to say that I completely adore Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. Last year's Royal Ballet production of it was on television (huzzah!), and it put me in a drawing sort of mood. So, Clara and the nutcracker!

Advent Calendar, Day 6

2010-12-06T00:02:00.002-05:00

Advent Calendar, Day 5

2010-12-05T00:00:00.003-05:00

Also, remember making paper snow flakes as kids? Then you need to go to this website: http://snowdays.popularfront.com/

Enjoy!

Advent Calendar, Day 4

2010-12-04T00:00:00.002-05:00

Advent Calendar, Day 3

2010-12-03T00:13:00.002-05:00

Advent Calendar, Day 2

2010-12-02T00:01:00.001-05:00

Advent Calendar, Day 1

2010-12-01T00:23:00.000-05:00

I rarely use coloured pencils, but I enjoyed this. Anyway, I hope everyone's Christmas/holiday season is off to a good (and hopefully stress-free) start!

Coming Soon

2010-11-23T22:42:00.000-05:00

Things to look forward to:

For the month of December, this blog is going to be an advent calendar. Every day through Christmas, a fun winter-themed drawing!

Also, plenty more from my sketchbook and off my drawing board.

See you soon!

armed with over confidence and a screwdriver

2010-11-21T01:24:00.000-05:00

So, I was re-watching some of Doctor Who earlier, and it resulted in some doodles in my sketch book. Thought I'd share because I had fun with them.

Anyway, Ninth Doctor:

Tenth Doctor:

And, of course, Eleventh Doctor:

(Doctor Who belongs to the BBC, the actors to themselves. I just like to draw)

Sorry for the delay in posting!

2010-11-17T17:04:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T16:05:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween!

I Live!

2010-10-26T14:12:00.000-04:00

I am terrible at updating this blog. My new resolution is to do so more frequently! And, since it is made decidedly before the new year, I have a bit of time to work on it.

Anyway, my lack of regularity in updating has left me with rather a backlog of sketches and drawings to scan and sort. In the meantime, here's what I am currently working on:

Remember the sketch of this, from a month or so back at OSV? I rather liked it, and have decided to redraw it as a finished piece. A bit left to do finishing the linework, and then on to the watercolours!

I've a few other things in the works. I promise, I will post them soon!

Still Life

2010-09-29T13:35:00.001-04:00

I thought I might share a recent watercolour still life from my sketchbook. It wasn't set up to be a still life, it's just what was on the table, and I rather like it:

...huzzah for tea!

Happy Autumn

2010-09-16T11:39:00.001-04:00

So, it's been a while since I've painted using this method, and I had forgotten just how much I enjoyed it. You'll likely be seeing more of this in the future. For now, however, just a little piece to celebrate my favourite season coming in!

Happy Autumn, all!

More Sketches

2010-08-31T16:36:00.001-04:00

So, I went to the Sturbridge area recently, which means that I once again come bearing some of my sketches from around Old Sturbridge Village.

It was a fairly rainy day while I was there, so the girls in the Freeman farm were working on their knitting and reading aloud from Northanger Abbey in the parlour:

I also have a few sketches from the pottery shop:

A few random sketches...

2010-08-31T16:25:00.001-04:00

I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I would share some of the things that have been idling in my sketchbook.

First, a few doodles done in a café, of the other folks about:

And some random scribblings, including a character I am considering making a comic strip about, and (oddly) John Constantine:

This came about while I was listening to "Silver Dagger", which is a folk song. The first verse is "O, don't sing love songs - you'll wake my mother. She's sleeping here, right by my side, and in her hand a silver dagger. She says that I can't be your bride." I'm thinking of maybe making a finished piece of this.

And, Daleks. Why? Because I watch too much Doctor Who. Whoops.

...I promise that I will photograph and post some finished images soon.

character sketches

2010-08-06T20:34:00.001-04:00

A few quick sketches of a new character: Brendan Burke, 95th Rifles. I'm thinking that I will do a few pieces with him soon. He could be fun to work with.

Storytime

2010-08-06T16:35:00.000-04:00

And, the finish of the piece I posted before:

Today's Work in Progress

2010-08-04T15:59:00.001-04:00

Well, as the post title suggests, this is what I've been working on today. I'll have it finished either by or during tomorrow, so that's not too bad. I've got to say, though, children are always smaller than I expect them to be - even in proportion to each other. My current plan: to do sketches of my cousin's daughter next time I see her for reference. I am definitely not above using my family and friends to suit my own ends, haha.

Anyway, more Colonial-era children:

Two More to Share :-)

2010-08-03T23:08:00.000-04:00

So here are just a couple more of the things I've been working on lately. Both started as just a bit of doodling, but I liked them enough to add watercolour, and they took on something of a life of their own.

A few sketches of Colonial-era children. I think you will see more of these in the future - likely even with settings!

There is no explanation for this, save that I felt like drawing it. Hopefully it was worth the time spent!

Website!

2010-07-20T15:06:00.001-04:00

Well, I now have a website! It is a bit of a work in progress, but for now it is at least something. Feel free to check it out: Meghan Hawkes Illustration

Collages

2010-07-19T13:02:00.000-04:00

A while ago (potentially about six months at this point), I had posted a few sets of collages based on old photographs. The show for them never ended up happening, due to a variety of reasons, but it is still an interesting project to go back to from time to time. Recently, I found picked up a few more old photographs in a local antique shop, so there will probably be more of these in the future.

In the meantime, here are three more: