Showing posts with label IF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IF. Show all posts

11.29.2011

IF - Round

My Illustration Friday entry for this week...

Elf with Hammer
5x7
pastel on paper

This little elf has so much to do to get ready for Christmas. If he only new where he left his nails!

I've been experimenting with scanned pencil drawings. This sketch was scanned, edited to darken the lines and clean it up a bit. Then I printed it on art paper and added the color with pan pastels, soft pastels and pastel pencils.

6.04.2011

IF - Shadows

This is my Illustration Friday entry for this week:

Two Strange Beings | 9x12 | pastel

"One evening, while he was lying there alone... he saw two strange beings creep out of the tall bracken near him."

This illustration is the result of a fun SCBWI Westside Illustrators project. I was assigned the above quote from a children's book without knowing the origin.

Would anyone care to guess what childrens book this came from?

1.28.2011

IF - Surrender

A giraffe in a boat,
and a stubborn little girl with plans...
guess who surrenders?


Tea Party
4x6

This is one entry in my sketchbook for
The Sketchbook Project: 2011

To see my complete sketchbook CLICK HERE.

3.05.2010

IF - Brave

My Illustration Friday post for this week...

Max is brave, smart, energetic, loves puzzles,
and has the biggest smile in the whole world!!

9x12
mixed media on paper

Just in case you're wondering... I usually work in pastel, but I used a little different technique for this piece. The puzzle was partly created in Photoshop. I worked over it with ink and pastel. The background and boy are pastel and ink on paper. Then the finished puzzle was added with a little space between it and the background to give some dimension.

1.23.2010

IF - Clumsy

Illustration Friday word for this week is Clumsy. Yep, that's me.

Two Scoops Deluxe
9 x 12
pastel on paper

12.05.2009

IF - Crunchy

This is my entry for Illustration Friday - Crunchy. It's a sketch that was inspired by the children's enthusiasm during a classroom visit where I shared my new picture book, We Eat Food That's Fresh! written by Angela Russ-Ayon. I've sketched the boy in pencil. The butterfly and the word "CHEF" are cut and paste from the book with Photoshop.

9.04.2009

IF - Strong

This week the topic for Illustration Friday is Strong.
If it has a strong unpleasant smell,
you probably shouldn't eat it!


pastel & gouache on paper
From the book, We Eat Food That's Fresh!
by Angela Russ-Ayon
illustrated by Cathy June
Our Rainbow Press

4.18.2009

IF - Impossibility

It's not an impossibility to go back in time when you have good memories. When I was five, my grandfather built a playhouse, dutch door and all, which provided a place for endless hours of make-believe for me, my sisters, and friends.

The Playhouse
8 1/2 x 11
pastel

Idea... wash doll clothes. Bucket, water, bubbly soap.. good.
Bubbly soapy water & dirt... ooh mud!
Shovel, dishes... mud pies. Great!
Need sign. Paper, crayons, tape... sign. Now we're in business.
Hmm. What to do next?

Kitty, kitty, kitty!

1.13.2009

IF - Contained

Max's excitement could not be contained - wind or no wind.


It was just a little homemade kite made from a couple of plastic grocery bags and two wooden skewers. Though it had been breezy that morning, fate would have it, there was not a wisp of wind that afternoon, but Max was in love. He ran around the huge field like a wild stallion set free, towing his kite behind him. Wish I'd had my camera, but this will have to do.

I highly recommend these kite plans from an Austrailian website, MyBestKite.com. I stumbled across them while looking for inspiration for an illustration I'm working o that included kites.


Kassidy's Kite
decorated with permanent markers


The instructions looked so easy I had to try it. We let the grandkids decorate them with markers and helped them assemble the kites. It didn't take too long and they were amazingly easy to fly. We had no wind to speak of that afternoon, so the kids ran with them in tow & had a blast. Plus they were tuckered out that evening! Later we did have a chance to fly the kites with wind and they're very easy to fly... no skill required. Hope you can try them out!


PS: This is my first attempt at finishing a drawing in Photo Shop rather than pastels like I usually do... I enjoyed the process, but have quite a lot to learn to get the vibrant rich colors I like so much.

1.03.2009

IF - Resolve

Let's resolve to take more time to
smell the flowers in 2009.

"Tickled"
pastel on paper
8 x 10

Some "smell the flowers" moments from 2008 for me are:
  • Reading a story to a child.
  • Sighting a pair of Blue Birds in our back yard for the first time in 25 years of living here.
  • Soaking up the sights & sounds & smells of the California Coastal Redwoods, taking a million pictures as if I could capture some of it's grandeur in my little Canon.
  • Receiving a long distance "Happy Birthday song" on my voice mail from a grandchild. That was August - I still can't delete it :)
  • A summer evening walk by the beach with my one and only.
  • Spending the afternoon at the Discovery Science Center with the grandchildren and watching them explore with wonder and excitement. Spending the evening collapsed on the couch!
  • Waking up early one December morn to find a fresh cut Christmas tree adorned with lights that my husband had set up during the night to surprise me.
  • Playing Secret Santa and "Kris Kringling" a friend with a six year old.
  • Serving (at least) 20 cups of hot cocoa to my 2 year old granddaughter made in her Elmo kitchen. She drank every last make believe drop, then we made some more for Elmo.
  • A big pot of soup on a cold rainy day.

I'd love to hear about your "smell the flowers"
moments in 2008
.
Your comments are always welcome!

12.07.2008

IF - Similar

I met these three pals while experimenting with black lines on a not so long plane flight.

12.03.2008

IF - Balloon

Sometimes a person's just gotta doodle. This little guy reappeared from childhood memories.

Nap Time
graphite


Maybe one day I'll finish him in color. If I do, he'll be powder blue with a little fuzz missing.

11.05.2008

IF - Vacant

This is my entry for Illustration Friday - VACANT

copyright cathy june 2008

There may be a vacant spot where her front tooth used to be,
but her mouth will soon be filled with fresh, juicy fruit.

This is the original cover illustration that I did for "We Eat Food That's Fresh" by Angela Russ-Ayon. Of course, it's been changed some to suit the needs for the cover. Click the image if you'd like to know more about the book, soon to be released by "Our Rainbow Press". Thank you for visiting my site!

3.09.2008

IF GARDEN

This is my entry for ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY this week.

Princess Charlotte, loves to read. She likes to read all kinds of stories about girls in other lands and books about animals, dinosaurs, and insects. Keep reading Princess Charlotte!


Princess Charlotte
pastel

GREEN THINGS GROWING
Oh, the green things growing, the green things growing,
The faint sweet smell of the green things growing!
I should like to live, whether I smile or grieve,
Just to watch the happy life of my green things growing...
~ Dinah Maria Mulock Craik