Back on dry land...

I just returned from a wonderful, relaxing Caribbean cruise with my boyfriend John, where I didn't draw a thing the whole time!!! Here are some photos from our trip:

On the top deck...

On the island of Grenada....( we were on the big ship!)

Formal Night...

On the island of Bonaire...

And finally, 20 feet under the island of Aruba!!
This was daring for me, but once the first beautifully-colored fish floated past my face, I forgot to be scared.
Back to the drawing board soon!

Live from our cruise.....

Armature for Dec.Face-off contest

One of the deadlines for my Hillary sculpture is for an armature. Sculpey needs a skeleton to adhere to, as when it bakes it actually gets softer before hardening to its final consistency. A plain old metal household hanger suited my purpose. I also found a dollhouse chair and box which will become the Oval Office desk when I get done with it...
One of the judges mentioned that the angle of the final photo of my sculpture will be very important, since I want to emphasize her 'cankles' as well as a maniacal grin.

It will have to be titled "HIllary's Revenge" or "Why Hillary Aspires to the Oval Office" since who knows if she will actually make it there?

Grand Opening

Another chilly November day, another outdoor gig! This bank grand opening was quite comfortable, though, as I drew in a heated tent (along with a face painter, children's activities, popcorn and other goodies-- and a small band that included a steel drum!).
Matt and Stephanie, of PartyDelaware.com, ran the festivities, and here they are:

Matt kindly photgraphed me with some of my subjects: (thank you!)


Yes, this young dad requested that his tongue be drawn hanging out to show off his piercing...

Pencil study....

...of a character from an old Warner Brothers "Pepe Le Pew" cartoon. The WB cartoons were far and away my favorites as a child, and still are.
Actually, at the moment, I am working on some gift commissions that can't be posted due to their client's "surprise" factor, so little doodles like this will have to do for now. The Hillary sculpture project is also temporarily on the back burner.

Roughs for Dec. Face-off

These are my first, very rough sketches for the December NCN Face-off competition (caricature sculpture of political figure). It's a good thing these contests are bi-monthly, because this one will be time-consuming. I'm also totally out of my element, because caricature sculpture is something I've always wanted to attempt. So even with gigs, commissions and the impending holiday season, Hillary's gonna get sculpted!

These will be refined a bit more before I go to the next step...

A tinkered-with sketch...

...of my friend Hans (his blog is in my list!). In honor of his joining the NCN, here is my previous pencil sketch of him. I scanned it into Photoshop and added some background color and highlights to it.

Block party...

Well, you wouldn't think November would be a month for block parties, but there I was today, sitting in a suburban cul-de-sac, caricaturing away in the nippy air. Thank goodness for Under Armour, a brand of thermal clothing that really keeps you warm!

NCN Nov/Dec Face-off contest

Court Jones (www.courtjones.com) today announced on our NCN forum quite an ambitious project for the next Face-off contest. It's to caricature a political figure from any age or country, in three dimensions!
Since I had so recently done my own digital version of Hillary Clinton, I chose her as my victim. She has an animated face, as you can see from the references I have turned up so far.

The various deadlines in this challenge include rough sketches, a turnaround (front and profile), an armature, raw sculpture and finished sculpture. The judges are Celestia Ward (two-time 3D winner at our NCN conventions) and David O'Keefe, noted caricaturist-sculptor. Both are featured in my posts on the NCN convention in October. Court is also a judge, and kudos to him once again for putting this all together.
I went out and bought a pound of Super-Sculpey today!