Steven Hawking

When I thought of pioneer I thought of Steven Hawking and when I think of Steven Hawking I think of the birth of a star in space.

She's Come Undone

Either is the name of a song or a line from a song but that is my thought about it.

I was thinking that her do was undone being at lose ends.

Illustration Friday's topic "undone"

Dear Santa

Hatch (Illustration Friday)

Hatching a bright idea:)

Don't know how bright but I hope you like it.

Forrestall Studio Presents – Dayle Doddwell: Children’s Book Illustration

December 7th, 2009

Forrestall Studio is proud to present current works by Illustrator Dayle Doddwell.

In this series of images Dayle explores the art of children’s book illustration. Drawing inspiration from such influences as Alan Lee and Brian Frowd, Dayle is in development on a children’s story featuring the adventures of Felix, an imaginative young boy and his cantankerous ‘closet gnome’ Mortimer.

Dayle works primarily with watercolor in this series. Watercolors have a soft painterly effect that expresses depth and light in a subtle manner; used effectively they can communicate scenes, ideas and situations in a soft unobtrusive mode. Although Dayle works in various other media – including gouache and digital/vector illustration – she prefers watercolor for her storytelling projects.

Before diving into a project Dayle takes time to examine current trends and techniques, borrowing liberally to augment her own evolving style.

In her personal illustration work Dayle will often start with a single small idea and explore multiple concepts along her own creative path. Starting with the word “Blur” Dayle envisions a child asleep on a giant leaf drifting on a current that represents the blurry landscape between dreams and the waking world; “Music” evokes the vision of a fairy’s song and with “Unbalanced” she whimsically reverses the idea of “cow tipping” to cows tipping cars.

Dayle continues to work from her home and studio in Bedford Nova Scotia doing freelance design and illustration for commercial and publishing clients.

Santa's Number Crunchers

This is for Illustration Friday's Crunchy.I used a pun number crunchers is a term used for accountants I just twisted it. Happy Holidays. I like silly.

Let it Snow

Entangle

If You landed here from Illusration Friday Crunchy Please check out my real submission by going to my December entries. I was tired and entered the wrong link. Thanks. They wouldn't let me reenter my link when I realized what I did. This is last weeks entry. Autumn's locks entangle the foliage changing their colours.

A harlequin marionette entangle sort of like when we let others pull our strings.

Had two ideas that I wanted to try and couldn't decide which I wanted to show Illustration Friday. Which one do you like better? I would love to know. I also love to hear people's comments. Thanks for stopping by.

Thanksgiving

There are all kinds of ways to think of thanksgiving. Sometimes it is in a cloud or lying on a hill or being with a friend.

Closet Gnome

A humming, a twitter, a buzz, a noise beyond hearing emanated from the deep, dark, depth of the closet.

A puff of air, a small breath of breeze, a flicker of curtains opens a slit of light from a bright moon lit night.

Caught by a moon beam, held by a boy's clear sight, a closet Gnome stands frozen and frightened to move a minute muscle.

Closet Gnome discovery

Perhaps unnoticed or not believed, perhaps thought to be imagined or seen as night's shadows dancing.

Hoping Mortimer the Gnome wills himself unseen to make himself invisible.

Knowing and now seeing what he knew all along his eyes locked and fixed on this creature of beyond.

The boy Felix stares gluing his eyes refusing to blink scared that his magical creature would disappear.

Closet Gnome dusting

"You there. I see you. Yes you." And in a breath Felix and Mortimer were side by side, face to face and eye to eye.

"I know some serious magic needs to happen now or I couldn't do this." And with that Felix touches Mortimer with a eruption of faerie dust.

"I know something magical when I see it."

Closet Gnome rant

"It is a well known fact that Gnomes live among us unseen. This has been going on for a long, long time and we like it that way. Sometimes people will see us and do not believe it, this happens all the time. You got to be nuts to believe in little people, you need glasses. Well those are the rules and that is just the way it is. Grow up! And go back to sleep I am just a dream. Forget about it."

"Now you touching me like that was out of line. OK OK maybe I do owe you a little magic. And maybe all this Faerie dust is a dead give away."

"Caught in a moon beam; they warn you, they tell you never ever get caught in a moon beam. So I did big deal. Or it wouldn't be if you hadn't touched me. Now my whole world is changed. I have to... never mind. Magic is what you want and magic is what you will have."

Closet Gnome flight

Surrounded by white fluffy clouds flying in a toy red boat Felix steers and guides not knowing where. Mortimer wedged in the front of the boat with arms out stretched like a plane.

Mortimer; "You can not find where we are going by knowing how or by looking. There is no route in fact the more you think about it and try to find it the more it will elude you. Do not try this on your own. Just follow the Faerie dust."

Just then the clouds part and an island appears flowing in the sky.

"We're here. We're here. I'm home. I'm Home"

Closet Gnome home

The Island is lush and green and thick with forest.

There is soft gentle music flowing and inviting.

As soon as they land Mortimer scrambles out and scurries into the forest followed closely by felix never leaving him out of his sight.

And so it begins....

Music

For Illustration Friday's Music. A faerie singing with all her heart letting the music take over.

Cow Tipping

Cow tipping struck me as a little unbalanced.

I like the idea of the cows doing the tipping.

Illustration Friday's " Unbalanced"

The Closet Gnome

And there he was from out of the shadows.

Twinkle in his eye with an attitude and presence.

Done for Watercolor Wednesdays.

I liked the faeries and gnomes of Brian Fround and Allan Lee and wanted to create my own.

I was having my own gnome problems with anything mechanical while making this. I thought my scanner was broken but I think it was my thingy that I plug the ubs cable devices into. Then my answering machine wasn't on and it was giving me the time and not recording my outgoing message. I bought a new scanner which I may not of needed and had to install it. It have me problems because I was still using a plug that didn't work. When I was reinstalling the photoshop that I like using wouldn't open again because of those plug thingy that were not working. So it is now 2:30 am as I write this had I known I could of had this done by early evening. This gnome is a mischievous fellow who seems to be living up to his name. The wild thing boy in the tree and this fellow will get into all sorts of adventures.

I love to hear comments please feel free.

Wild Thing

He sat perched in the fork of a tree in the back yard.

Painted in war paint of lipstick on his arms and cheek waiting.

He tied his mother's leopard patterned scarf around his waist and over his underwear.

Maybe not one the best of his decisions he made today.

Mom loved that scarf, one of her favourites and there would be a price to pay.

For now he is a wild thing, a thing of the wild and in his mind endangered.

For Watercolour Wednesday's topic Wild Thing.

Blur

There is a place between waking and sleeping.

Between here and there, between real and dreams,

where everything blurs together, where nothing is separate.

This place where everything is possible, this place of the in between.

Skinny Dipper

Had another thought about illustration Friday's "Skinny". I wanted it too be happier and lighter so a skinny dipper it is. Let me know what you think I love to read the comments.

Skinny on Skinny

Getting the skinny on skinny for illustration Friday's "Skinny"

Telling tales and dishing what little they knew made their words and them skinnier and skinnier.

Who could trust them as they became as thin and flimsy as paper.

So easy to write on with no dimension or depth.

So easy to see through and be picked up by a pasting breeze.

Fast for IF

Dogs chasing a ball. Thundering paws. Going very fast indeed, For illustration Friday revised from Friday on Monday.

Highway Sign of Fisherman