Sweet Tooth and a Cute Pig

A few days ago I pulled out my paints and brought them into the tiny camper along with the extra cowbells, wooden spoons and lots of good intentions.  I managed to paint 2 cowbells and now my paints are shoved under the table.  Oh, I want to paint, but the truth is, I'm just having too much fun combining my art with elements of graphic designs.  So let me show you what I did the other day..

Sometime in 2016, I drew a sketch of my grandson with all this curly golden locks.  He loves candy sprinkles and so I had him floating with only the upper portion of his face showing above the colorful avalanche of sweetness.  I also wrote a poem to go with the illustration called "Ode to Sprinkles"
JulieTownsendStudio.com:  Poetry and Other Silly Things

So just for fun, I revisited that original sketch and added some digital enhancements.  I added coloring and then went to PNGTree.com and downloaded a couple of image files of candy and donuts and placed them around the sketch.  I'm calling this funny composition "Sweet Tooth" and while I might still do some tweaking on it, I was anxious to show it to you.

Seeing how cute this turned out I decided to create a couple more images using more grandsons (I have plenty to choose from) and here is what I came up with.

I feel I should also share with you this adorable pig that I created this week that I didn't share with you. I made it to go long with my cow and rooster image I drawn a few days earlier.  I'm having fun creating simple drawings of these farm animals and then finishing them up in Photoshop.  Just like the coloring page I created the other day, these images just start out as simple line drawings in my sketchbook.  I'm sure when I finally return home to my studio they will end up on magnets and greeting cards along with merchandise.  

What if Elephants Could Fly

I am often amazed at just how diverse an artist life can be.  I can only speak for myself of course, but I always have a pretty long list of things I would like to paint or draw.  While I am retired from any real 8-5 employment positions, I still find that there are often times that I can go weeks before I am actually able to work on my own projects.  That is mostly because there is something taking my artistic attentions in another direction.

This week it has been all about flying elephants.  I know you think that I must be a bit crazy to be thinking of aerial pachyderms but my only daughter asked me to paint a special piece for her upcoming baby shower for her very first child.  There is no way I would not consider doing this commission piece.  What an honor to be asked to share just a little bit of my talent for this special occasion.  This little guy will be our eighth grandchild (we will have 6 grandsons and 2 granddaughters) and we are anxiously awaiting his arrival towards the end of November.

As my normal ritual, I first grab the pencils and pens and work out some concept ideas on paper before I crack open a new canvas.  Drawing the subject first helps you to understand and get a better idea of what your brushes will need to do in order to accomplish the composition you have in mind.  I guess it's a little like a road map.

Since my son-in-law is an active reservists with the Army and a Purple Heart recipient for injuries sustained in Afghanistan, I thought a touch of military flair might be to their liking.














She loved the concept but decided she preferred a more traditional elephant for the nursery art.  So back to the drawing board minus the Olive Drab Green and the AR15.  Trade those for a couple of cute stowaways and you get my final piece that I'm calling "Up, Up and Away".

With so much attention spent on this odd subject, I couldn't help myself but to jot down a few lines of a poem that kept rolling around in my head.  It's pretty silly stuff, but I hope you enjoy this little rhyme.
I have plenty of other crazy stuff and cool artwork on my website and you're welcome to come visit at JulieTownsendStudio.com.  Drop me a message and say "Hi" or let me know what you think.

WHEN ELEPHANTS FLY

By Julie Townsend

Have you ever stopped to consider how crazy this world would be if elephants could fly?
That would surely change the look and beauty of the overhead sky
I was just wondering if they would fly solo or in a herd like flock?
And just how many elephants would it take to darken the sun or completely block?

Now maybe I shouldn't even go here and you might say I’m crazy to even think
I mean just the thought of what I’m thinking makes me shiver and takes me to the brink
So where do I run and take cover when from up above the urge of nature calls?
Believe me I don’t want to be anywhere near when that stuff from the sky falls.

Telling a Story with a Paint Brush

As an artist, I'm having a blast with this project that I recently started. It has been something in the back of my mind for some time and this week I took the initial step to actually start putting my idea to paper.   I know that I am just a few sketching into it but I really wanted to share some of the fun I am having.  I'm not sure if the end result will actually be a published children's storybook, but I am having fun illustrating what I hope will be at least a real keepsake for my grandchildren.  I have a lot of work to do since I currently have 6 amazing grandchildren all wanting their stories to be told.  

I'm just using watercolor and pen and ink to make these sketches.  I have no idea if this is the best medium to actually use to illustrate a story, but I feel I just have to get the ideas on paper and they can then be refined as I learn the correct processes.  It is going to be a learning experience for me but I'm feeling up to the challenge.  

With a real dog that is very much as big as a small pony, the inspiration for this story is not hard to come by.  I have all kinds of funny ideas about the problems and benefits that one wee little girl could face with such a large pet.  

When you are just a snip of a girl, taking your giant dog for a walk is more like a fun park thrill adventure than a chore.  

Sleeping can be a challenge when your bed dog is more like a bed HOG!

Tea parties can be very frustrating affair when one of the guests have such bad manners that knock over all the invited guests, break the table, step on your entrees and spill the party beverages.

CONSIDER LEAVING ME A COMMENT....I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

I promise to keep updating this blog as I come up with more and more pages to my story.  If you are interested in seeing more of my artwork, please click the gallery tab above or visit my webpage at julietownsendstudios.com

Turning a Photo into a Portrait

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of painting with my friend Jan Arduini.  Jan calls herself an "eclectic artists" and paints a wide range of subjects, all of which could be described as colorful.  Her ability to paint portraits is amazing and so I wanted to paint with her and learn more about the beginning steps taken to paint a portrait.  What is the approach needed to start and a good mixing recipe for the skin tone.  You can see Jan's artwork by visiting her Facebook page at Jan Harris Arduini

What I learned during my painting session was that it is better to pick a photo or subject that has a nice contrast of light and shadow across the face.  Straight on face shots sometimes lack that depth because of the lack of shadows.  In the picture I chose of granddaughter Katherine there are shadows cast by both her little arm and her very large and ornate hair bow.  The fact that she is reaching up with her little hand gives really good movement to the composition but boy did it play tricks on me as I was trying to sketch it out.  In relation to the size of her face the hand felt huge but that is because it is closer to you.  I decided rather than trying to draw in fingers that were not in the present in the photo I would try to paint a portion of the hand just like in the photo.

After a couple of hours of painting I am very happy with my results so far.  There are many more layers needed and tweaking of the facial features that have to be done.  I plan on painting the background in a nice rich brown so that all that pink just pops.  I plan to blog my progress in the next few days and talk about things I learn so check back for my following posts. 

Packing up after finishing an afternoon of painting and sitting at the gallery

Sweet Katherine- The reference photo I am using for my painting

Sketchbook entries for the week

In my effort to fill my sketchbook in 2013 I've started by looking towards my amazing grandchildren for sketching inspiration.