Little Adventure

Playing with the alphabet...

2011-11-09T14:21:00.000-08:00

The first of what I hope will be a complete alphabet in the future.

Not sure what I will do with them.

Precious Moments Alphabet for ABEO

2011-11-09T14:16:00.001-08:00

Not a huge Precious Moments fan myself...
but these turned out alright, I think. =)

Logo for Pampered Pets

2011-11-09T13:59:00.000-08:00

This is a simple logo for a friend of ours who is starting

a dog walking service in Port Orchard.

Christmas Items for ABEO

2011-11-09T13:26:00.000-08:00

Some art done for banners and wall decals...these are available
through Amazon - Abeo Designs. (The very bottom one is mine and is not available through Abeo)

Pet Society Halloween Outfit Competition 2011

2011-09-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

I will post more if I have time to do them. =)

a little bit of Halloween

2011-09-25T23:13:00.001-07:00

Revisiting an old friend

2011-09-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

Wall Flowers

2011-09-25T12:08:00.000-07:00

Princess Aurora

2011-09-17T13:42:00.001-07:00

Choo Choo!

2011-09-14T06:16:00.001-07:00

Quote poster for Abeo

2011-09-14T06:14:00.000-07:00

Dinosaur Wall Decals

2011-08-26T08:55:00.001-07:00

Growth Chart - Africa

2011-08-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

Growth Chart - Undersea

2011-08-26T08:41:00.001-07:00

Mouse House

2011-08-05T19:19:00.001-07:00

Another Growth Chart

2011-08-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

Dino Growth Chart

2011-07-27T07:48:00.001-07:00

Pteradactyl

2011-07-26T05:55:00.001-07:00

Brontosaurus

2011-07-26T05:54:00.001-07:00

Dimetrodon

2011-07-24T16:56:00.001-07:00

Triceratops

2011-07-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

T-Rex

2011-07-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

This one's for you Joe... feel better!

Growth Charts

2011-07-24T11:34:00.001-07:00

I'm in the process of designing a bunch of growth charts for Abeo Designs. Very fun project! I will post more as I finish them.

Playing with patterns...

2011-06-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to learn how to make patterns in Photoshop... so I found a good web tutorial on it at a website called Mel's Brushes, and this is what I've done so far.

Pretty Neat!

Little Savage Guy... complete

2011-06-03T11:13:00.001-07:00

Poopskates! (or "Crap... it's raining again")

2011-06-03T10:56:00.003-07:00

New Stuff

2011-05-29T10:51:00.001-07:00

Just having some fun with Photoshop... I could really get into this, it's fun!

The little guy below is a work in progress... got a ways to go with him.

Done!

2011-05-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

Almost finished...

2011-05-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

Aside from some adjustments here and there and the finishing up of the last two page spread, this is very close to done. It has be a major learning experience. And considering this is the first time I have ever used Photoshop for a project of this caliber, I think I did alright. =)

Thanks to Chris Heston at Timberworks Toys for giving me this opportunity and also to Neal and Noel for their help with learning the program. =)

Block City

- by Robert Louis Stevenson

What are you able to build with your blocks?

Castles and palaces, temples and docks.

Rain may keep raining and others my roam,

But I can be happy and building at home.

Let the sofa be mountains, The carpet a sea.

There I'll establish a city for me.

A kirk and a mill and a palace beside,

And a habour as well where my vessels my ride.

Great is the palace with pillar and wall,

A sort of a tower on top of it all.

And steps coming down in an orderly way,

To where my toy vessels lie safe in the bay.

This one is sailing and that one is moored.

Hark to the song of the sailors on board!

And see, on the steps of the palace, the kings,

Coming and going with presents and things!

Yet as I say it, I see it again,

The kirk and the palace, the ships and the men,

And as long as I live and where'er I may be,

I'll always remember my town by the sea.

"Block City" progress

2011-04-29T14:57:00.001-07:00

These are the first three, 2-page-spreads for Timberworks Toys book, "Block City" (poem by Robert Louis Stevenson).

Just blocking in large areas of color at this point... will come back in with details, depth, shading, etc. later.

Tests

2011-04-15T12:15:00.001-07:00

Some media and color tests for a project I'm working on for Timberworks Toys.

Kids playing with blocks

2011-03-30T10:19:00.001-07:00

This is for a project I am currently working on... very rough, just trying to get some poses down.

Forest Wizard

2011-03-14T09:56:00.000-07:00

I can take no credit for this one... my 84 year old mother made this guy. He's amazing! She's amazing!

She made another wizard for Neal as well, and will be making more... I will try to get photos of all of them and post them.

She also made 3 kings for each of us for Christmas, they are fantastic too, but I forgot to photograph mine and now they're packed away... I'll have to remember next Christmas time!

St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-10T07:30:00.001-08:00

Little Irish Dolls

2011-03-05T13:29:00.000-08:00

Some little people I painted and then added eyes/faces and touched up with Photoshop... The eyes in top image suit the dolls much better, in my humble opinion.

Banners, Banners, Banners....

2011-02-25T07:56:00.001-08:00

I think I've changed the banner on this blog at least 5 times in the last 24 hours.... just can't seem to settle on one I like.

Playing around with Photoshop

2011-02-24T11:02:00.001-08:00

I play around with Pet Society on Facebook, partly because it's kind of fun, but mostly because I'm really attracted to the simple, colorful graphics they use. So this morning I decided to try my hand at this stuff... Keep in mind that I am much better with an actual paintbrush than I am with my pen and tablet. These were not supposed to be beautiful, finished pieces of art... just rough little doddles in their style.

Jack in the Green

2011-02-16T10:47:00.001-08:00

A piece I have been working on for a bit. From conceptual sketch to finished piece.

Have you seen Jack-in-the-Green?

with his long tail hanging down.

He quietly sits under every tree,

in the folds of his velvet gown.

He drinks from the empty acorn cup

the dew that dawn sweetly bestows.

And taps his cane upon the ground

signals the snowdrops it's time to grow.

~ Jethro Tull ~ Songs from the Wood

Valentines

2011-02-14T09:58:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd post these for fun... I painted these years ago, touched them up this morning and added little messages. Have a great V Day everyone!

Wishing you all a very....

2011-02-14T09:28:00.000-08:00

Cloud City Coffee - Seattle

2011-02-02T09:04:00.001-08:00

I was given the opportunity to display some art at Cloud City Coffee in Seattle, for the month of February. I guess you could say this is my first offical showing. Yay! Special thanks to Patrick for hooking me up! Below are some of the pieces I have displayed there.

Quick update

2011-01-28T09:05:00.001-08:00

Below are some borders I did recently. When I get frustrated or discouraged or just feel uninspired I default to what I do best... patterns. Just something to keep my brush in the paint.

Next week I obtain the rights to a corner of "Cloudy City Coffee" in Seattle for a month. I have been given the opportunity to display and sell some work. This is nice, if for no other reason than "exposure". I am working on some things for this 'show' (if you can call it that) and will upload them as soon as they are finished and scanned.

Hoping for the best... =)

Difficult ....

2011-01-06T15:50:00.000-08:00

Spent quite a bit of time with this one today... it's a painting/cutout I did a while back that would not scan well no matter what I did... The original background is also yellow and the hue/value was just too close to the sun , so I removed the background with the help of Photoshop and replaced it. The result is better... but not quite what I want. I'll have to keep messing with it...
I'm finding out that yellow is an exceedingly difficult color to work with.

Little Adventure

2011-01-05T15:05:00.000-08:00

Below are a couple of the art pieces featured on my Little Adventure Etsy Site.

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to my son's girlfriend, Monica Sunberg (aka 'Monka'), for all her help with getting the site going and making it look so professional!

Thanks a Million, Monka!

Tumbler Inserts

2011-01-05T14:10:00.001-08:00

These are some inserts I have been working on for coffee tumblers (for Do-It-Yourself tumblers made by a "certain coffee company" here in Seattle). These will be available on my Little Adventure Etsy Site soon.

photo above courtesy of Monica Sunberg (my partner in crime)

Last but not least... Alphabet #4 (unfinished)

2010-11-21T07:58:00.000-08:00

Alphabet #3 (unfinished)

2010-11-21T07:55:00.000-08:00

Alphabet #2 (unfinished)

2010-11-17T11:53:00.001-08:00

Alphabet #1... finished!

2010-11-16T16:55:00.001-08:00

One finished piece...

2010-11-12T09:17:00.001-08:00

Alphabet #1 (unfinished)

2010-11-11T13:54:00.000-08:00

Messing with elements

2010-11-11T11:29:00.001-08:00

These will most likely be touched up, embellished and given a background... and hopefullt sold as small prints. I was shooting for a Mary Blair-ish style... so far I like the results.

ARGH!

2010-11-11T11:22:00.000-08:00

... scurvy scum ...

More elements

2010-11-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

Elements

2010-11-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

These are some elements I have spend the last couple days scanning in. I'll be using some of them in future projects. There are more I am still working on getting scanned in.

Banners for Etsy

2010-11-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on getting an Etsy site up and running. Here are some banner options I have come up with... any input would be helpful.

My etsy site can be found at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleAdventure

Painting finished last spring...

2010-09-15T06:58:00.001-07:00

This is a rather large painting I did last spring and gave to my son Neal as a graduation present. The sides are patterned and a portion of the leaves were painted with metalic paint. Thank you Monica for taking the photo!

The Reassembly

2010-09-08T09:30:00.001-07:00

Hmmm...where to go from here? Fireworks seem so typical =/

Peach Tree

2010-09-06T19:48:00.001-07:00

This is another cut and paste project which I have actually framed. This is one of my bigger paintings - 11x17

Castle

2010-09-06T19:40:00.001-07:00

A painting I did a couple months ago that I cut into pieces today... I will post the reassembly when I can get it scanned.

Messing with a tree in PS

2010-09-02T11:40:00.001-07:00

Tiki

2010-09-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

More cutting and pasting.

Little Tree

2010-09-02T11:30:00.001-07:00

I've been having some fun with cuting and pasting...

Sun....

2010-09-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

This painting unfortunately doesn't scan well no matter what I do. It is much better in person.

More Bookmarks....

2009-07-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

IF - Art Unfolding

2009-06-17T08:08:00.000-07:00

Some simple pieces using the elements I posted about earlier.

Letting art just unfold from within...

...is a joyous experience.

When art just happens....

2009-06-17T07:56:00.000-07:00

Recently, I have been experimenting with painting and cutting out little elements to play with...

These are some of the results of those experiments.

I'm not sure where this will lead, but they are fun in the making.
And, isn't that the point, after all?

Some newer stuff

2009-06-17T07:46:00.001-07:00

Bookmarks!

2009-06-10T14:36:00.000-07:00

Playing catch up ... it's been a while since I posted, but I have been painting!

Anyway, I have been very intimidated by the thought of composing and completeing ANYTHING for a long time. So, one morning I was listening to Adya and playing around and picked up a strip of watercolor paper I had cut off of something else and just threw some color on it. Then I grabbed a Sharpie and added some bold lines and little designs and it became a bookmark! I had discovered something that was small, something I could handle. I started cutting strips of paper and painting and making bookmarks right and left. Most of the early ones I don't have anymore... friends and family liked them enough to snatch them up. But here are some of the ones I still have and am still working on.

Here is the process... in case you're interested. 1) Watercolor (ink) 2) Bold lines 3) Detail
Her are some I'm still working on...

And, here are some finished ones...

(I don't sign them till they are finished and I'm happy with them)

That's it for now... I have more to show you in another post. =)

Namaste!

IF - Legendary

2009-03-13T13:31:00.001-07:00

Salmon

Orca

According to Northwest Native Indian legend, the salmon were actually people with superhuman abilities and eternal lives.

Some legends claim that the first killer whale was previously a supernatural white wolf that entered the sea and transformed into a whale. Mother Earth painted markings on the side of the killer whale as a reminder that it used to be a member of the wolf family.

IF - Intricate

2009-03-10T10:02:00.001-07:00

Spooky Old Tree

2009-03-02T11:36:00.000-08:00

IF - Breezy

2009-03-02T11:29:00.001-08:00

Same basic idea, two different approaches for Illustraion Friday's "Breezy".

Summer Sun

2009-02-26T08:06:00.001-08:00

No apology

2009-02-24T10:25:00.000-08:00

I've been painting almost every morning now for over 3 weeks... woohoo! It doesn't sound like much, but for me it's a big step. Just putting a paint brush to paper can be amazingly difficult at times. Some mornings it's a blast.

I seem to want to make apologies for all of my art work. Like there is some BIG goal. "Gosh, I'm sorry...the letters are crooked, there's not enough color, there's too much color, there's not enough interest, there's no focal point, I'm not as good as this person or that person"... ARGH!!.

Anyway, I'm damned tired of apologizing. And, who am I apologizing to anyway? Myself... my damned ego? Can I paint just to enjoy painting? Mmm... Maybe. Someday. Hell, I'm painting and posting, aren't I? Putting my soul on the line for the whole world to see? Yes... Ramblings of a crazy woman. =)

Here are a few of my morning creations... rip them to shreds if you wish... you'll get NO apologies today.

IF - Instinct

2009-02-24T10:10:00.000-08:00

Just an illustration of one of my favorite quotes for Illustration Friday.

IF - Celebrate

2009-02-17T07:46:00.000-08:00

Haven't posted anything for Illustration Friday in a long while. I have recently started painting daily again. It's been a very long time. I don't really have a direction at the moment, I'm trying not to put constraints on myself... so I've been just playing with words. Here' one for you, IF. =)

What I've been up to...

2009-02-09T12:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been thinking about painting for a good year now, with no actual action. Last Tuesday morning I just picked up a paint brush, grabbed some ink and started playing... and amazingly, I enjoyed it!

The results of those play sessions I'll post later. Today I am posting the results of some fun I had this week end. I have these wonderful inks, Dr. P.H. Martin's Bombay Inks, but I have a tough time remembering what the different colors are by the labels on the bottle. So, this weekend I sat down and made little cards with all the colors and their names. Some differences are very subtle, so this will help me in the future.

The cards are goofy and poorly aligned, but that wasn't the point. They actually turned out really fun to look at. Hopefully they will inspire me.

I'll hole bunch them and put them all together on a binder ring for future reference.

Island

2008-09-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

Baby

2008-05-30T06:24:00.000-07:00

April 19, 2007

2007-04-19T06:50:00.000-07:00

IF - 80's

2007-01-14T06:49:00.000-08:00

I can take no credit for this one. My daughter Erica did this picture for my mom for her 80th birthday party. When Neal, my oldest, was a little guy, he couldn't pronounce Grandma, and so called her "Dammer". The name stuck and now everyone in the family calls her Dammer, even the adults. Click on the picture for a better look.

As for the actual 1980's, I'm at a complete loss. I was knee deep in diapers and formula for a good part of it, and don't really remember much else about it.

Peace

2006-12-27T06:04:00.000-08:00

This is a painting I did for my mom for Christmas. Nothing to get terribly excited about but it was the first thing I have done in a long time. I have been lazy. =)

Peace to you all during these crazy holidays.

Daily scribbles

2006-09-07T06:59:00.000-07:00

#41 Daily Art

2006-08-22T06:42:00.000-07:00

This was inspired by sculptor Steve Jensen , who's art I was fortunate enough to experience first hand this last weekend. Just a quick little painting, done in Art Rage 2.

#40 Daily art

2006-08-16T05:55:00.000-07:00

#39 Daily sketches - Child vs. Demon

2006-08-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

What makes a sketch or piece of art "unworthy" to post? Who decides?

My Inner Demon decides.

I, typical of most artists I think, am unbelievably hard on myself. Ridiculously hard at times. If I can't come up with something "I" think is good, I simply won't post it. My art represents me...

Demon: "If you put up a crappy piece, what will they think? Will they stop visiting your blog? Who really looks at your stuff anyway, Anne?"

This demon likes to ridicule me.

Demon: "Oh man...you're not going to post that are you? *thundering laugh*

In the meantime, my Inner Child has retreated to a closet to play with lincoln logs, legos and video games. Anywhere is good, as long as she doesn't have to listen to the demon laugh.

This morning, the child came out of the closet and said... "To Hell with the Demon...send him back where he belongs! Are you going to let him decide for you??"

And so I drew, and I am posting what I drew. And it doesn't matter what they think or if they like it.

It is what it is.

Me & Erica

2006-08-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

It was a bit slow at work this morning, so Erica (my 17 year old daughter working with me part time for the summer) handed me a sheet of paper, folded into eight parts with captions in each part. Then said "Draw a picture for each one....we're competing." "We're what??" "Just draw the pictures, Mom."

Here are the results. I won't tell you whose is whose...it's more fun that way. Anyone who knows us well will know right away. Click for a closer look, if you are so inclined.

Leave us your comments please! We'd love to know what you think. =)

#38 Daily Art

2006-08-10T06:31:00.000-07:00

#37 Daily Art

2006-08-09T06:27:00.000-07:00

a sketchbook page full of scribbles

#36 Daily Sketches

2006-08-08T06:47:00.000-07:00

#35 Daily Art

2006-08-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

#34 Daily art

2006-08-04T06:15:00.000-07:00

Some scanned pages of my recent sketchbook. (I'm really trying to get better at drawing men.)

A small tribute to Eyvind Earle 1916-2000

2006-08-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

Some people are born to paint. This man was one of those people. Eyvind Earle. His work has inspired me in so many ways. And, I would have to say, he is my favorite artist of all time. His art is just magical to me.

I have this book (I think it actually belongs to my sister, Megg...but, I have it right now...shhh), The Art of Animation ~ Copyright 1958. It is completely beat to death and smells old and musty, just like a good old book should. It was published around the time Sleeping Beauty was released, so it has a lot of illustrations from the movie, some I have never seen anywhere else. I'm not going to go into what I know about the man, or his more recent work. But, with the help of my handy-dandy scanner...I will share some of this wonderful book with you tonight. You can click on the images for a better view, as I'm sure you know. =)

From Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox

From Lady & the Tramp

Conceptual art for Sleeping Beauty

Backgrounds and animation stills

Visit Gallery 21 for more of Mr. Earle's art.

#33 Daily Art

2006-08-03T09:31:00.000-07:00

#32 Daily Art

2006-08-02T06:23:00.000-07:00

#31 Daily Art

2006-08-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

Playing with Art Rage 2 this morning. Her face is crocked and all but, oh well. It was more an exercise in technique and style. This is not finished, just the rough in of color.

I am more inclined to do vignette type illustrations, so I'm trying to get passed that by forcing myself to color everything in. Not as easy as it sounds. =)

#30 Daily sketch

2006-07-31T06:47:00.000-07:00

Just playing with some stylizations for faces this morning.

#29 Daily art

2006-07-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

#27 Daily Art

2006-07-29T17:39:00.000-07:00

Secret Harbor. A town I created for a series of children's stories I was thinking of writing a while back.