Artwork Over the Past Few Months

Left: A drawing I did from photo (right) from the WetCanvas site. He has such an interesting face, it was fun to do!

Trying to fit in art time in my studio has been a tough thing this year. I bought a coffee shop the first of the year after a stressful legal battle with the previous owner/partner and a mismanaged franchise. The result has been a fresh new atmosphere, both physically (new decor) and emotionally (a fun and relaxed atmosphere for me and my employees).

The downside has been the vast number of hours required to start and run a small business, made even more challenging by the current economy. I do find times to do some art, they are just not always in my studio. I often take my journal to the shop and find a little time over the slower periods of the day to draw.

(Above)This is a face I drew out of my head.

I used watercolor pencils and watercolor brush pen.

This piece was inspired by the story of "The Princess and the Pea" when I took part in the '08 Summer production of "Once Upon a
Mattress". The princess arrived from the swamp and climbed the castle wall in her haste to meet the Prince! She turned out a little sexy here... don't know that that was what I was going for.... lol!

This is a little sketch I did of a local boy, James, who lost his battle with cancer. I got the photo from the blog his mother keeps.

I was waiting for my daughter, Peggy, at a theatre rehearsal one day with nothing but my journal and an ink pen. No one around and no photo references, so I began this little folk-art piece out of my head, using cross-hatching pen strokes for shading...something I've not done before.