A Call for Your Childhood Imaginary Animal Friends

I have a new illustration project idea and I need your help! I'm going to assume that I'm not the only kid who invented an entirely new animal species who was my best friend, who ran alongside the car on long road trips or snuck into the classroom when I was bored.  My imaginary animal was the fastest animal on the planet, which is why I was the only person who could see it, and it looked like a hybrid of a cat, a squirrel, and a lemur.  I want to write poems about and illustrate other people's imaginary animal friends from their childhood and blog about it, and if it turns out to be an awesome project I might even try to make it a book someday.  So send me a message at caitlinrose.caitlinrose@gmail.com with your imaginary animal friend stories!  You could even send a picture or a description of yourself as a child, and I can incorporate you into the illustration. :)

Here's a pencil draft of a sloth with braids I started this week:

IF: Round

Round Clown

Sketchbook--Green

Pet Portraits

I love drawing animals, and I want to draw yours!  To hire me to create a personalized portrait of your pet, please contact me at caitlinrose.caitlinrose@gmail.com.

8x10" pen and ink portrait of Clancy and his pal Rosie the truck

5x7" ink and colored pencil portrait of Cleo

Pricing is dependent on the size and complexity (such as number of pets featured) of the desired portrait, so please don't hesitate to ask!  

Illustration Friday: Silent

My initial idea for this week's Illustration Friday topic "silent" was two children, friends or sisters, angry at one another but neither wanting to be the first to say "sorry."  As I was sketching this idea, my roommate's cat Cleo was laying at the base of my bed with her back to me.  Looking for a distraction, as I often am, I called her name, and Cleo ignored me.  I called it again, a bit louder, and snapped my fingers to catch her attention. Her ears rotated towards me, but she stubbornly refused to turn to acknowledge me.   I had to prod her with my fingers to garner her attention (yes, I am as stubborn as she is and she was going to pay attention to me, dammit) and voila!  I knew what to draw.

The Top (Illustration Friday "Stripes")

Here's this week's submission for Illustration Friday topic, "Stripes."  I've always been drawn to the layers, or bands, in rocks and mountainsides.  They hint at so much history, each stripe representing an era, a distinct moment in the lifespan of the earth.

Illustration Friday: Scary

Upcoming Show!

It's confirmed: I have a show at Ukazoo Books in Towson, MD.  Ukazoo is an absolutely WONDERFUL used books store, and I'm thrilled to be able to show my art there.  Artwork goes up on Friday, November 4th, and will be up for the next two months.

Sketchbook page:

Illustration Friday: Scattered

 

Staff Meeting Doodles

Illustration Friday: Hibernate

This illustration was a bit of an experiment, media-wise.
I originally planned to draw "hibernate" with a bike spending the winter in the basement while a child played outside with a sled.  But as I drew I opted more for an entire basement full of hibernating relics from our pasts (and a kitty, of course). I would redo this drawing with more time, but experiments are good.

Ferocious

I've been working on a series of elderly women, and decided this week's Illustration Friday theme would be fitting for these ladies.  "Ferocious" might not be the first word that comes to mind when you think of elderly women, but as a young woman who will one day be elderly, I would like to think that I will be strong, empowered, and, hell yes, ferocious.  Like her. Or them. Or her. 

Sketchbook--Braids

Illustration Friday: Boundaries

Mysterious

Illustration Friday submission: "Mysterious."
Sometimes you can't help but look when curiosity calls, but kitty knows what can happen to curious cats.  Watercolor, ink.  7" x 10.5"

Sketchbook--Toilets and One-Legged Dreams

Sketchbook page--At Least We're Sad Together

In the Land of Pretend

Cold

Joker Bird

Inner Space

Baba Yaga House: Thunder and Writing

These are illustrations I did for a book of children's poems entitled, Baba Yaga House: Thunder and Writing, by Polonius Ficklebottom, published 2010. The book is available for sale here at Amazon.com.

"The House on Chicken Feet"

"In the Kitchen of Good and Evil"

"The Queen"

 

"The Ballad of Sir Travis the Knight"

Sketchbook Pages

Artists on the Verge tonight

Tonight I'm selling prints of my work and Father's Day cards at this event:
http://www.studiofourfivezero.com/studiofourfivezero/Welcome.html

If you're in the York, PA area and you're looking for something totally rad to do, come check it out!

A Happy Gatsby album available for download

Corey Gatsby aka A Happy Gatsby's new album "You Come Alive with Shut Eyes and the Dreams of Dull Rainbows" is available to download for free at this site*:

http://lostandiciclegoodbye.com/

*Edit: You can now hear the album at Happy Gatsby's bandcamp site here:
http://ahappygatsby.bandcamp.com/

His music is really beautiful and calming and somewhat nostalgic in a sense. I drew some artwork for the album, which is below, and I played a little flute and sang a few vocals on the recording.  When you get a chance go download his music; his sounds are perfect for quiet, rainy, and contemplative evenings.

The Sea Fox

6.5"x12" Watercolor, ink, pencil, crayon, acrylic paint. marker

Greetings!

I deleted my old illustration blog. This is the new one. Let's hope this one doesn't give me millions of spam comments.
Anywho, my most recent "finished" drawing is some album artwork for my friend Travis. The band name is Idwa, and you can hear some samples here: http://soundcloud.com/idwamusic. Once the album is released I will make a post with full details.

8x8", Ink, graphite, and watercolor. 2011

Aaaand, purely for fun I decided to modify a thrift store copy of Winslow Homer's "The Country School" after watching a few episodes of Bob Ross's Joy of Painting. I added my own happy little clouds.