Crimson Chameleon

When my students ask me what my favorite color is, I tell them, "I'm an artist, so I love all of the colors!" I'm like this here chameleon that I painted today. He can't pick a favorite color either, but I guess we were both in a red mood this morning. The background is silver paint with black swirls on top. I always like my art to shine or sparkle! (I almost glued red rhinestones to this guy, but he looked too "bedazzled.")

Quick Winter Getaway to Florida

A couple of weeks ago, my mom and I went to visit my sister in Florida. It turns out there wasn't much sun in Orlando, so my sister drove us down south to find some Miami heat. I drew this lifeguard stand while siting on the beach in my bikini. That's the life! Now, I'm back in Virginia and there's snow on the ground. *sigh* The perspective is way off on this drawing, but it was the bright, tropical colors that I wanted to record anyway. :)

The Fearless Honey Badger

One of the soccer teams that I play for is called the Honey Badgers. What a great name! The ladies on my soccer teams inspire me with their courage and crack me up with their jokes. I'm definitely looking forward to Spring soccer! Here's a logo that I drew for the team. It may not ever get used on anything, but I had fun drawing it!

A Bounty of Babies

Several posts back, I blogged about drawing bugs all over a baby shower gift bag for a friend who thinks bugs are creepy. That was just the beginning of my friends turning into baby making machines! It's so nice of them to have children so that I don't have to! (Don't get me wrong, I love kids.... I'd just rather raise a cat). Here are a few of the drawings I've done lately for baby greeting cards:

Art Ain't Always Easy

Sometimes, my students get upset when they don't think that their artworks are successful. I have to remind them that art is a skill that requires practice, like dancing or sports. You're not always going to get it right on the first try! I want them to know that all artists struggle to be satisfied with their art. And that very often, art can be hard work. For example, my friend Sophie asked me to make a logo for her gardening business. She asked for a simple image of basil. Here's what I eventually came up with:

But here's an abbreviated look at the process involved with creating the design:

I've Been a Bad Blogger!

Well, it's New Year's Eve and I'm finally writing another blog entry. I regret the fact that I didn't blog about all of the places I've been since April (Austin, San Antonio, New Orleans, North Carolina, Montana, Canada, Seattle, Portland, Boston, Maine). I wish I had posted all of the little art projects that I made here and there (logos, advent calendars, greeting cards, canvases, sketchbooks). OOOPS. One of my New Year's resolution will definitely be to write more frequently. I'm currently on Winter Break from teaching. The time off has allowed me to draw, paint, read, and visit with friends and family. Awesome!! I've been working on a scrapbook documenting my trip to Costa Rica with my boyfriend in 2012. It was a sweet little adventure and making the book lets me experience the fun all over again. Awww.... Here's a spread that I just finished (click to enlarge):

Luis: A Blast from my Teaching Past

I officially began teaching Art in 2002. One of my students from those first few years is now a senior in high school and he recently contacted me to invite me to his art show. It's crazy to think that these kids grow up, and even crazier to think that a few of them might remember their elementary school Art teacher. I was so honored that Luis reached out to me. I remembered him as an enthusiastic, talented boy with a big imagination. It made me happy to see that he is still upbeat and very creative. It's awesome that art plays such an important role in his life, and I hope it continues to do so. Here's a picture of the two of us at the show and a picture of some of his artwork: