Tomato Painting

Based off some still-lifes my father made.  Apparently I really like yellow.  And I wouldn't recommend eating these tomatoes. 

Potted Plant Painting

Got the paints out again, it's been a looong time...time to practice...

Dinosaur Coloring Sheet

 

This is the line drawing from a birthday card I made for a friend which I only later realized might make a fun coloring page (see original version here).  Had to take a photo of a colored in version and then convert it back into a line drawing.  Not ideal.  The original drawing is only about 4x3 inches, so it may not print well too large. 

Recent Greeting Cards

Two cards I've drawn lately, for a birthday and a secret santa gift.  Usually I draw things large and then print them out onto cards, but drawing directly onto the card is very satisfying as well.  I really enjoyed making the minimalist/etched dog drawing; I may have to try out more of those.  The dinosaurs are essentially a coloring book page I drew and then colored in myself (forgetting to scan in the original outline, so I cannot make more! silly mistake).  I ended up taking this photo and pulling the original line drawing out of it through a process I like to call "erasing a lot of stuff."  Hoping to get to do more art this winter!

Great Cow Burden

Interchangeable burden

Running and Dogs and Cats

Another T-shirt drawing that never got used.  It's supposed to be a dog, a person, and a cat lined up to start a race, but the cat is not paying attention.  Apparently it's a bit inscrutable. 

Banana Runner

Time flies like an arrow, fruit runs like a banana with a broken arm.  T-shirt design that didn't end up being used, but was quite fun to draw!

Wine Cork Succulent Garden

Wine Cork Succulent Garden

This fall I found myself with quite an abundance of tiny jade plants thanks to my experiments this summer learning how easy it is to propagate jade plants.  Fortunately, The Culinary Capers had a suggestion on what I should do: Make tiny cork succulent gardens.  There are a number of websites describing this out there, but it is an extremely simple idea:  Take a cork, drill or dig a hole in it, plant a tiny succulent in it (don't forget to water it!).  There are a million things you can do with such a tiny garden; put a magnet on it and slap in on the fridge, put a suction cup on it and stick it on the window, put a pin on it and attach it to your hat, the possibilities are endless.

I don't predict these to have very long life spans (the fingernail full of dirt that they are in will be used up pretty quick) but they are adorable.  I used a chopstick to help push the dirt and roots into the hole.

Update: Two months later it appears to still be alive! At the very least this could be an amusing way to transport tiny jade plants. 

Update: June and it's still alive (over seven months later!).  I'm planting it back into a regular pot to see if it is still viable. 
   

Halloween Dinosaur Skull Pumpkin

Happy Halloween!

Quick Last Minute Halloween Super Hero Shirt: Marvel's Wolverine

Need a last-minute idea for Halloween? So did I!  I was fresh out of ideas for Halloween after what has been a series of very fun and rather elaborate Halloween costumes.  This year I went simple and straight-forward: T-shirt + markers.

Supplies:
Solid print T-shirt
Permanent markers (or better yet, fabric markers)

Find a hero you like.  See how they make their costume.  Convert to a T-shirt.  Very simple, very satisfying.
I did Wolverine from Marvel's X-Men.  If you have to draw a lot, make sure you have a few markers available as you can run through them quickly.  Also, permanent marker, despite its name, does run if you wash the shirt.  Wash by hand to avoid too much running (and to keep other clothes from getting markered), or better yet do not wash the shirt until after Halloween.  

If you are looking for more elaborate costume ideas, see all the posts here