One World One Heart 2011

Welcome to my blog!  I am so excited to be participating in the One World One Heart Blog Hop created by Lisa Swifka.

Please allow me to introduce myself:

My name is Kristin and I live in Western New York with my husband, son and 2 crazy cats (Mona & Lisa).

I spend quite a bit of time playing in my sketchbook...

And I'm always up for a challenge!

I recently completed my moleskine for The Sketchbook Project:

I love to experiment with many different types of art (even edible).  But if I had to choose, my favorite medium is paint.  Which leads me to...

The Giveaway!

"Tribute (One World One Heart)"   10 1/2 x 11   acrylic on wood

One lucky winner will receive this original painting that I created just for this event!

Three additional winners will each receive 1 mini print mounted on a 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 canvas displayed on a mini easel!

This giveaway is open to all active bloggers worldwide!  If you are a blogger and would like to enter:

• Leave a comment on this post
• Make sure I have a way to contact you if you win
• You have until the end of February 17th to enter
• Winners will be chosen from a random draw and announced on February 18th (I will also email all winners)

I look forward to 'meeting' you too...

I'm so glad you stopped by and hope you visit again soon!

*Update*
The winners have been chosen!
(Check out the announcement)

Sunday Sketches: Bunnies, Bunnies, and...

More Bunnies!

While going a little bunny crazy this week, I made a couple of discoveries:

1.  Left-handed bunny drawings are just as addictive as left-handed cat drawings.  And...

2. Creating creatures from fingerprints is a lot of fun!

What was your latest creative discovery?

Please make sure to stop by Sophia's blog to see what my friends have been sketching this week!



The Gnome Is Back...

Okay.  Here's the story...

I had a completely different post all written and ready to "publish" when I saw an email in my inbox that said that this week's Photo Friday challenge is "Travels".  Well, I just couldn't let that theme pass me by without sharing more gnome photos!

This is the photo where I made a spectacle of myself while taking it!

Here is another photo from Niagara Falls - I just love the rainbow in the background.

And a collage of some fun gnome photos for your viewing pleasure!

I have so many neat things I want to share with you, but my original post will have to wait for another day...

I will also be participating in One World One Heart.

(I have a fun giveaway planned for it!)

If you haven't heard of it be sure to check it out!

Dust Bunny Love

This week's theme over at Illustration Friday is "dusty".  Well, if I'm being completely honest, I probably know more about that topic than I should.  With all of the fun creative projects I'm currently working on (including a super-cool one with EVA), dusting the house is pretty low on the priority list.  Hee hee.

And if there is one thing I know about dust bunnies - When a couple of them get together...

They multiply!

Since I'm choosing to embrace and laugh about the dusty little critters hanging out in the corners of my house, this is also my entry for Whimsical Wednesday.

Sunday Sketches (A Peek Inside My Head)

You may remember Percival the pig from this post.  Normally, when I post a sketch or painting I only show the end product.  What you don't usually see is where it came from...

Percival was an idea that came to me while sitting on my living room couch.  My sketchbook was in the other room, so rather than waste precious creative minutes walking to retrieve it, I quickly started sketching him on a scrap sheet of paper that was sitting on the coffee table. 

After I was finished drawing, I glued the sketch into my sketchbook so I wouldn't lose it.  (If you remember this post, then you'll also remember that my sketchbook is the keeper of all things important.)

Since I always love to see how other people work, I thought I would share the entire page that Percival now resides on.  This is quite typical for my sketchbook... lots of random thoughts and doodles all in one place.

Please be sure to stop by Sophia's blog to see what thoughts and doodles my friends have to offer this week.

Charles the Chicken

Standing up on stage, Charles discovered that singing in front of a crowd might not be so easy after all.

It was at that moment he realized he truly was chicken.

Since I am working on multiple projects (including a fun one with EVA), Charles will remain a sketch in my sketchbook for the time being...

Please be sure to stop by the Illustration Friday site for more chicken art!

Creative Tuesday: Scarf

Percival the pig

has a penchant for

pecan pralines.

The theme for Creative Tuesday is "scarf".

My interpretation:

A pig in a scarf scarfing sweets!

Be sure to stop by Mr.Toast's blog to see how my creative friends have interpreted this week's theme.

And, this little painting is doing double duty - it is also my entry for Whimsical Wednesday.

p.s.  Don't forget to keep checking back... Eva and I have big plans!

Blog Love

You may remember that in last Sunday's post I mentioned receiving a "Stylish Blogger Award" from Pavinee, Sandy Coleman, and Jehanne.  Well, my good fortune has continued since I first mentioned it and I have also been given the award from Jenny Blair and Nelly.  I am so completely thrilled that they thought of me - they are such wonderfully creative bloggers with such beautiful art and words to share... it is such an honor to receive the award from each of them!  Please make sure you visit their blogs to see what I'm talking about.

My first official duty as a "Stylish Blogger" is to share 7 things about myself, so here goes...

1.  If my mom had gotten her way, I would have been named Sunshine.

2.  My family calls me Honey - not just as a nickname, but as an all-the-time, introduce-me-to-friends-that-way name.  The reason:  When my sister Stevie was a baby and learning to talk, she heard my mom calling me "Honey" and thought that was my name... it stuck.

3.  Most of the time I wear two different socks.  I have a huge collection of fun and colorful socks and it seems like a shame to have to limit myself to just one design at any given time.  Plus, as an added bonus, it solves the problem of what to do when the dryer eats one - I don't ever worry about having to find a match!

4.  I am accident prone... very.  I have had stitches in my head three times.  The first was after I did a flip off the bed right smack into the dresser, the second was a freak miniature golf (yes I said miniature golf) accident, and the third (and, knock-wood, last) was a horrific rollerblading fall.

*Bob wanted me to add that although I am very accident prone, I am actually quite agile 20 feet in the air on a ladder.  (I had a lot of practice when I was co-owner of a mural/decorative painting company!)

5.  I don't high five.  Seriously.  I am a very enthusiastic person and love to celebrate in lots of ways - a hug, a dance, a cheer, even a low five... but a high five?  Sorry, I love ya but I'll leave you hanging.  (Like I said before I'm accident prone and high fives can be very dangerous!  Ha!)

6.  My favorite ice cream is Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Buns.

7.  I start every studio session by listening to "Tinfoil Girl" by Kathleen Smith.  It's a little ritual I have.  It always puts a smile on my face.  After that I may put on my painting playlist, or I may hit shuffle on my super-duper eclectic ipod.  I love all sorts of music from good ol' rock & roll to 80's dance music, but I always start with "Tinfoil Girl".

My next task as a "Stylish Blogger" is to pay it forward.  I could very easily give the award to all of my fabulous blogging friends - they all provide me with endless inspiration.  But, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to some blogs I've recently come across that you may not have heard of.  In no particular order...

Have you heard of Dueling Banjo Pigs?  Very funny.  It's a collection of over 500 pigs by different artists.  If you're an artist, you can play along too and have your "Banjo Pig"  posted on their blog!

Let me just start by saying, How can you not love a blog with a name like Plucky Chicken Heart?!?  Mari's writing is so funny - I can always count on her blog when I want to get my laugh on.  The illustrations in this post had me laughing out loud!  And I shared this post with my entire family over the Holidays.  If you're looking for some fun, check it out.

U.Du.Art is a very fun collaborative blog between Jenny and Todd.  I love the light-hearted, whimsical nature of the drawings they do.  It always brings a smile to my face to see a painting of a donkey in a sweater or a cat in a tank top!

On the psychopooch blog, Jennie Yin creates fantastically fun illustrations and doodles.  Her inspiration is inspired... Facebook status updates.  Love it.

At the beginning of January I mentioned Charlie Corrigan's blog, Domestic Icing.  Well, I thought it was definitely worth mentioning it again - Charlie is currently halfway through her challenge of creating an original every day and she is doing it in style!

Gumnut Inspirations is the new website of Nutty, a blogging friend that I've mentioned in the past.  So, technically her blog is not one that I've recently discovered, but she has built an amazing new website that I think deserves a shout out!

Finally, I would like to mention a blogger that many of you already know...

Eva from the to be determined blog and I are up to something... We are dreaming up some fun... We are co-conspirators in some playful plans...

Until we iron out the details that is all I can say, except..

Do you like to play with paint?!?

Sunday Sketches... It's A Wrap!

Okay, I know you are probably all thinking, "Enough already - move on... We've had it with your sketchbook project posts!"  I get it (I really do).  I'm actually anxious to start posting about other things too...  But, since it feels like I've lived the past two weeks in fast forward, with the pedal to the metal, accelerator to the floor, I wanted to slow down and write one final celebratory wrap-up post.  Please bear with me.

Before I actually get down to business, I have to offer all of you a great big heartfelt 'thanks'!  Your kind comments and words of encouragement helped see me through the craziness of my last minute dash to complete this project.  Thank you.

Now the art work... a few things I still want to share:

My title page.  (I drew the gnome and balloon then glued on the frame that I printed out from here.)

The center spread: "Real Life Gnome Adventures".

I really do have a gnome and he really does travel with me.  It is actually pretty funny sometimes.  When I was at Niagara Falls, I got down on my belly under the guard rail (probably frowned upon) to get a good photo of the gnome with The Falls.  While I was down on the ground, tourists started taking pictures of me taking pictures!  Ha!

The index pages.

The final page!

Well, that's it... I did it!  We did it - Thank you for your support... you definitely helped me stay motivated!

Don't forget to stop by Sophia's blog for another week of Sunday Sketches - my friends always have lots of fun things to share!

I'm Almost There

"I Should Be Home By Now"

This is the final spread for my Sketchbook Project.   It is based on Roy Lichtenstein's "Forget It! Forget Me!" painting:

The remaining pages will be an index of the paintings I based my drawings and paintings on.  Today I'm working on the index, the title page, and last minute details.  So, (fingers crossed) with a whole day to spare, I will be mailing my moleskine to Brooklyn tomorrow!  Yee-ha!

(The theme for my sketchbook is "...you'd be home by now".  If you'd like to find out more about my inspiration, you can find it in this post.)

There's Gnome Place Like Home

I continue to work like a crazy person on my Sketchbook Project...

"If you weren't lost in a crowd  ...you'd be home by now"

This page was based on Keith Haring's "Untitled, 1983" piece:

I'm not normally a marker gal, so this turned out to be a bit of a challenge.

"If you hadn't gone to pieces  ...you'd be home by now"

This page was based on Pablo Picasso's "Tete d'une Femme Lisant" painting:

I always have fun creating Picasso inspired art.

"If you weren't in the jungle  ...you'd be home by now"

This page was based on Henri Rousseau's "Jungle with Lion" painting:

(I turned it into "Jungle with Gnome"!)

"If you weren't on a farm  ...you'd be home by now"

This page is based on Grant Wood's "American Gothic" painting:

Trying to squeeze the details of this painting onto such a small sketchbook page was definitely challenging!

This is also my (early) contribution for Whimsical Wednesday - at least I'm early for something!

(The theme for my sketchbook is "...you'd be home by now".  If you'd like to find out more about my inspiration, you can find it in this post.)

It has been a fast and furious couple of weeks, but I'm almost finished...

Sunday Sketches and Surprise, Surprise...

More Sketchbook Project Pages!

"If you weren't stuck in a cave  ...you'd be home by now"

I dug deep into art history for the inspiration for this page - all the way back to the Lascaux cave paintings in France:

The next page is a good illustration of how I'm feeling about the looming deadline for The Sketchbook Project...

"If you weren't suffering such angst  ...you'd be home by now"

This page was based on Edvard Munch's "The Scream":

After this emotional painting, I felt the need to move on to something more tranquil...

"If you weren't in someone else's garden  ...you'd be home by now"

This page was inspired by Claude Monet's "Water Lilies, Green Reflection":

(The theme for my sketchbook is "...you'd be home by now".  If you'd like to find out more about my inspiration, you can find it in this post.)

Don't forget to stop by Sophia's blog to see what my friends have been sketching this week!

p.s.  I want to thank Pavinee, Sandy Coleman, and Jehanne - they all nominated me for a "Stylish Blogger Award"!  My first two duties as a "stylish blogger" are to write 7 things about myself and pay it forward to 15 other blogs I've recently discovered.  Well, I would like to do it "in style", so I will be creating a post much like the one here after I complete the sketchbook project. 

I appreciate your patience as I work, work, work like a madwoman to get my sketchbook finished.  Stay tuned because as soon as it's done I'm all about sharing some blog love...