Where have you been? (in your best Mrs. Weasley voice)

I had an online art friend  ask if I was okay since I have not been "around" lately, so I thought I would show what I have been doing lately. Well, besides working and going for a couple of weeks to Illinois I have been trying to get my ebook finished. Since I only get 2 partial days to work on it or any art now, it is taking a while, but I am really seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I don't want to give too much away so I took some screen shots of the (109) pages in Open Office.

I haven't done ANY other artwork besides the book because I have this habit of not starting a new project when I have one going. It works well for still-lifes and portraits but a book is a big job and takes a long time to finish so it does hurt a bit to not be doing any still-lifes. I am trying to finish the book by March because I will be doing a demonstration locally for the Monadnock Art Association and it would be great to have it there to show people.

Anyway enjoy the thumbnails! & if you want to see more of me don't forget to visit me and my sister  at my http://www.mealpod.blogspot.com/

Art Present Ideas for Middle School & High School:

Art Present Ideas for Middle School & High School:

1. Tie-Dye kit - a good one!  http://www.dickblick.com/products/jacquard-tie-dye-kit/
2. Adorable Manga book that starts at the beginning http://www.amazon.com/Manga-Beginner-Chibis-Everything-Super-Cute/dp/0823014886/ref=sr_1_26?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323007888&sr=1-26
3. I love Lee Hammond's clean style and she starts with drawing tutorials as well as shading in this BIG drawing book http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Hammonds-Big-Book-Drawing/dp/1581804733/ref=pd_sim_b_7
4. Can't learn to shade well without some good graphite pencils http://www.dickblick.com/products/derwent-graphic-pencils/
5. Late middle school I think they are old enough to take care of a good set of colored pencils (maybe they need an electric pencil sharpener too then) http://www.dickblick.com/products/derwent-coloursoft-pencils/
6. Block Printing Kit for high school kids. This kit has everything but a good book so I included one next  http://www.dickblick.com/products/speedball-deluxe-block-printing-kit/
7. & a block printing book http://www.amazon.com/Block-Printing-Techniques-Linoleum-Wood/dp/081170601X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323008271&sr=1-2

Gifts for kids

Somebody asked me what art supplies would I suggest for a Christmas present for kids, so I thought I would share my ideas with you.

Kids 7-10 Christmas Gift Idea

1. This is a simple and fun cartooning drawing step by step book. http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-101-Animals-Green/dp/1842297406/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322957315&sr=1-2
2. a more advanced book while still being age appropriate I like the looks of this one. It takes kids to the next level – thinking in 3-d. http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-3-D-Mark-Kistler/dp/0684833727/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322950293&sr=1-2
3. Pencils... really you just need #2 pencils, a pencil sharpener and a good white eraser... but these pencils are WAY fun for anybody. You put the lead in and then use the special sharpener to sin and sharpen it really sharp. Its easy to use but feels professional. :-)the “lead holder” http://www.dickblick.com/products/alvin-pro-matic-lead-holder/the sharpener http://www.dickblick.com/products/alvin-rotary-lead-pointer/the lead in HB (#2) http://www.dickblick.com/products/koh-i-noor-duette-lead-refills/
4. Watercolor pencils. You shade with them and then take a brush with water and activate the pencil to make them bright and watercolor-y.http://www.dickblick.com/products/derwent-watercolor-pencils/
5. & then if you have watercolor pencils you need watercolor paper http://www.dickblick.com/products/winsor-and-newton-cotman-watercolor-pads/
6. & a watercolor brush... this one is cool because you ut the water in the handle! http://www.dickblick.com/products/aqua-flow-brush-set/

I'll put more lists together for young kids,  middle school,  and high school - watch for them!

New Venture With My Sister

I recently started a new website with my sister called www.Mealpod.us. It is a recipe site that focuses on planning meals ahead and freezing them in individual portion sized packets. My husband and I have been cooking like this for years now: creating big batches of food once or twice a week and not cooking the rest of the week. The thing that makes it different is portioning it out to the individual portions. My sister has been doing something similar; cooking on Saturdays for the whole week and packing them for lunch and dinner and keeping them in the fridge. It just made sense to join forces, resources and recipes and start a website to keep us motivated for making new recipes and keep up with our healthy nutrition.

My sister lost 100 pounds over 5 years and is dedicated to keeping it off and preplanning her meals has really helped. I have lost almost 40 pounds from my highest weight and have kept it off for three years (with some minor ups and downs).

Anyway - it is not artwork but I did get to do all the design for the new website complete with its own infographic. I used all free programs or sites to do do everything:

• Google Sites for hosting and template design
• The free program Inkscape for making the logos and Infographic
• The free graphic program Picnik for editing photos
• Google Documents for holding the pdf recipes
• Open Office for documents

& I know there are more that will come to mind. I highly recommend Inkscape if you can't afford Illustrator - it was really easy to get the hang of in a weekend.

So, please stop by the website and give it a look. If you are interested in nutrition, cooking, etc maybe you will want to join our blog, follow us on twitter, like us on Facebook,  or submit a recipe! We don't have a lot of recipes yet (we just started) but we are adding 2-4 recipes or more a week.

I promise to get back to posting my art soon. I have a really good idea for a  self portrait I would like to do and am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel on my digital portrait book!  For now you will have to settle for my great (haha) logo above and taking a peak at my first ever Inkscape infographic here.

p.s. you don;t want to know how long it took me to make that cute little peapod logo....

A Very Merry Christmas 2011 Greeting Card from Zazzle.com

A Very Merry Christmas 2011 Greeting Card from Zazzle.com

To celebrate the holiday season I am offering a Christmas card at cost (no profit for me)  from Zazzle.com (click above). It is notecard sized and depicts a vintage planter holding holly and some red leaves. The original done in all Coloursoft pencils will be on sale soon in my Etsy shop. 

EDIT: Zazzle is having a sale of 1/2 priced cards! Use the coupon code: CARDNPOSTAGE

If you would rather print the image yourself - click on the image above for a high resolution copy and shrink it to size. Enjoy! & let the holiday season begin!

I am posting a Christmas Shop soon with artwork priced for the holiday season so watch for it.