May 28, 2007

Illustration Friday "Cars"

Well its been a long time since I posted anything for Illustration Friday. But I am trying to swing my focus back around to this in preparation for joining the studio. This is an old, unfinished illustration I started with the intention of screenprinting, and digging it out has made me think of a lot things.

I could've spent the rest of the week working on this and getting it into a more finished state, but somehow I can't bring myself to revisit it, so it will have to remain in its unfinished state. The subject matter means a lot to me. It is an image of my dad playing a game and the car is a Capri. My mom and dad separated when I was about 5 and I have this very distant memory of my dad picking me up one time in his yellow Capri with the black roof. I don't know why this memory has stayed with me, it is so random, but it is one of many that makes me think of my dad and smile. I miss him terribly and want to try and capture my memories to make sure they stay alive and don't just fade away.

Which is why I think this one this one will remained unfinished. But hopefully it will spur me to start illustrating again.

Posted by Maxine at 10:37 AM | Comments (5)

December 09, 2005

Illustration Friday "Surprise"

For me, there is no greater surprise than the birth of your child. I spent the whole of my pregnancy referring to my bump as 'he' or 'him' and when the big day came I realised I had been so wrong when my gorgeous little girl was born. I would never find out the sex beforehand, it would totally spoil the surprise.

Posted by Maxine at 08:18 PM | Comments (6)

December 08, 2005

Illustration Friday "Blue"

Ok, for me this is a kind of cop out. But I have been so busy lately and really do like to take part in Illo Friday. Anyway it also kills two blog entries with one stone if you know what I mean! I decided this year that I would do linoprints for our christmas cards. I have done a lot of different printmaking before but I have always been in the workshop using a press of some description. Its a bit different trying this at home.

For a start I had never tried to do something this small and it is a bit fiddly. Also instead of a press you have to use the back of a wooden spoon to transfer the image onto the card, so as you can imagine its a lot less precise. So after a couple of different plates I decided to go with this one. Its plain and simple and works for me. I added a couple of snowflakes afterwards just to lift it a bit.

Posted by Maxine at 10:20 AM | Comments (2)

October 20, 2005

Illustration Friday "Cold"

Brrrrr.

Posted by Maxine at 09:46 PM | Comments (2)

October 10, 2005

Illustration Friday "Lost"

This makes me a little sad. Maybe its because she has a special blanket, just like Emily and it makes me think of Emily being lost, a most unbearable thought.

Posted by Maxine at 02:04 PM | Comments (3)

October 04, 2005

Illustration Friday: Float

Just a quickie this week cause I am finding it hard to keep up. My house is still full of balloons from last weeks celebrations. Maybe it should be me floating instead of the sheep...or maybe that is wishful thinking.

Posted by Maxine at 12:42 PM | Comments (6)

September 08, 2005

Illustration Friday "Roots"

Its been a long time since I participated in Illustration Friday, so I am pleased to have something for this week.

This weeks topic made me think of my family tree. I often think that it would be great to look back over generations and find the roots of the family. But then my family is so complex (I suppose who's isn't?!). It makes me think 'if you want to go digging around you have to be prepared for what you might find'.

Posted by Maxine at 02:53 PM | Comments (3)

June 21, 2005

Illustration Friday: Black and White

Here is my illustration for this weeks topic 'black and white. There was a number of literal interpretations that I was thinking of doing this week, but as I was working on this anyway and it fitted the criteria I thought I might as well put it up. I still have a few tweaks to do but I have a busy week this week and I am going to England for a long weekend so I thought I better fit it in now.

I am thinking of submitting it to Threadless. It would be so cool to get a t-shirt with your very own illustration on it. Its a worth a try!

Posted by Maxine at 12:14 PM | Comments (6)

June 15, 2005

Illustration Friday: Summer

I could've chosen endless images for this weeks topic, but I settled on what summer makes me think of and what I would really like to be doing right now. Its kinda obvious, but there is something uplifting about the summer, when the flowers start to bloom, the birds start singing and big fat bumblebees bumble past.

There is nothing nicer than sitting outside with your toes in the grass, the beautiful scent of the flowers and a clear blue sky. Now I am looking out of the window and wondering where our summer is. I think I was a bit hasty storing away my winter wardrobe. Well I'm not giving up yet. If I freeze over I am determined to wear my lovely hippy dippy skirts and flip flops.

Posted by Maxine at 01:12 PM | Comments (4)

June 06, 2005

Illustration Friday: Digital

Its not exactly my greatest effort and I suppose its a bit lazy but here it is anyway. This weeks topic made me think of my lovely hubby Warren as he is the Futureboy and his company is called Radar Digital.

I did a line drawing ages ago of him at work and so I used this along with some Photoshop laziness. He works so hard that I imagine sometimes his head feels a bit like this image. Seeing spots before his eyes and the lines of reality and CMS code becoming one big blur. If you are reading this Warren 'Stop working, get a big mug of Green & Blacks organic hot chocolate and put an x-files on!'

Posted by Maxine at 10:22 PM | Comments (2)

June 02, 2005

Illustration Friday: Envy

I was beginning to wonder whether I would get this done for Friday. I had the sketch all ready last weekend but I haven't had the time or energy to work on it until today. I have always been inspired by other creative blogs that I read, especially the stay at home moms, and the more I try to commit to my creative endeavors, the more respect I have for these people (once my site is finished I will have links to all my favourite places of inspiration).

Emily, now 21 months, is getting to the stage that is practically impossible to do anything creative in the day, especially as she is going through a real clingy phase and I am having to pick her up every few minutes. Its very emotionally draining. So by the time the evening comes, nine times out of ten I am too exhausted to do anything other than veg in front of the tv.

I even installed a demo of Painter yesterday. Somehow I have to find time to use it before my 30 days expire (thats after I make myself stop using paste insides in freehand...very lazy).

Posted by Maxine at 07:41 PM | Comments (1)

May 18, 2005

Illustration Friday 'Nourishment'

At last my first Illustration Friday entry! As soon as I learnt what this weeks topic was I instantly knew what I was going to do. Since having my daughter Emily, who is now 20 months old, I have become acutely aware of nutrition. Buying various books on the subject, spending my evenings reading up on what is the best food for my baby and making an endless freezer full of nutrious and healthy food, stored neatly into tiny tubs.

I don't think I am obsessive about what she eats, just aware that food plays a vital role in her mental and physical development. She rarely has chocolate and still only drinks water. I am not going to deny her 'treats' but I feel I am giving her the best chance possible.

Posted by Maxine at 08:31 PM | Comments (0)