This week's theme for Illustration Friday is "crowded". It has been a very busy week so I am only able to post part of the illustration in its infant stage. I am still working out the color dynamics which will be largely decided upon when all parts of the illustration are completed.
One to never miss a good sale, I was in my favorite store the other day where prices were slashed 50-75% off. The place was packed with women all jostling for the best deals and waiting in endless lines as the clothing discounts were racked up at the cash register. This woman had more than most, and many women were a little disgruntled that they had to wait so long to pay for their purchases.

The other elements in the illustration include the crowd of women around her. Stay tuned for updates!

Today is a time to reflect the true meaning of Easter and to be thankful for the many blessings we have been given. While visiting another blog I came across this very short, but moving clip (audio enhanced). For God so loved the world...

I just received this beautiful collage postcard from Hope by Snail Mail!

Hope is very talented and has many other lovely works of collage you won't want to miss. Hope, yours will be in the mail very soon! :)

I am a very big fan of anything vintage and antique so if any of you can share links to vintage photos and memorobilia that are royalty free and in the public domain, or have photos or any files you would like to share I would greatly appreciate it! Just drop me an email and I will be sure to reply.

As promised, I posted 5 new illustrations (including my St. Patrick's Day illo) to my DesignerM website. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, because I was too busy working on these illustrations, I wasn't able to complete the "fragile" theme for Illustration Friday. Time management is always a frustration for me. How can I steal more time for my work? There just never seem to be enough hours in a day.

If you left a comment, have no fear, your post is here! I actually have to log in and republish my blog for you or even me to see the new posts. One, it safegaurds against unwanted comments and two, it safegaurds what is on my server side. So please keep leaving your comments. I will be posting 4 new illustrations by the week's end.

T'would be a bit o' blarney and Irish lore and blessings I'd be sharing with you now.

May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.
God is good, but never dance in a small boat.

May you live as long as you want,
And never want as long as you live.

If you're enough lucky to be Irish...
You're lucky enough!

We are on a movie marathon it seems. Last night K and I watched Terminal. K was reluctant to watch it as we had passed it up many times before but I assured him it would be good (I am a big Tom Hanks fan). It was, and we both enjoyed it. I haven't seen Ladder 49 or Be Cool with John Travolta yet but plan to. I am a huge fan of John Travolta as well so my expectations for these two movies is high.

I decided to take a break today from illustrating. My hand and wrist are considerable sore though I am still able to type. Last night K and I watched "Paparazzi". We both thought it was a good movie though I must say it really brings out the ugliness in one. I wanted to punch out a few people myself throughout this film. It reminded me of Lady Diana and Dodi Fayed and the sadness surrounding their tragic deaths. It really is a shame that well known individuals cannot have a private life and enjoy the safety and the security they have a right to, regardless of their profile status. IMHO.

Often after picking up a Latte at Starbuck's, I will come home and go through my list of favorite daily visuals and reads. Here are just a few, some I'm sure you will have already seen or linked to from other sites, but these are some of my favorites.
Kudos Go To:
Kim- Kim and I met through our common interest of design and illustration. Kim has a treasure trove of so many creative ideas and always has Something To Say that you won't want to miss. She has been a great mentor and Kim, thank you, I appreciate all you do. P.S. Her birthday is coming up, won't you help her make it a special one? ;)

Mariana- Mariana's website tops my favorites list. Her creative and playful illustrations are so full of life and energy. She has a loose illustrative style and she isn't afraid to push the boundaries of her work. She has illustated more than 40 children's books and illustrated work for the Periodical of Brazil for over 13 years. Her native language I believe is Brazilian Portuguese. (Someone correct me if I am wrong). This holds special meaning as my children are half Portuguese. If we could only get Mariana to post her text separate from her graphics we could read her blog. A useful tip: Type in Mariana Massarani in Google. Marianna's blog link will be at the top of the list. Click where it says [Translate this page] and it will translate it from Portuguese to English (if she has posted her thoughts in text-not graphics). The translation program leaves the English somewhat broken however you will get the gist of it. If anyone can let her know this it would be greatly appreciated. I know a smattering of Portguese but not enough to translate all the captions that go with her graphics.
After visiting her website I am revived and energized to push the boundaries of my own illustrations!

Keri- Keri is a writer and illustrator from Ontario, Canada (where I previously lived for 20 years). Her site is chock full of motivation and inspirational tips and wonderful illustrations. My hope is that she will post some pics from her recent trip to New York. Hint, hint.

I have been hit by "Bunny Fever"! While working on a project, I started on a bunny roll. And at what better time, than with Easter just around the corner. Bunny number one is a simple spot illustration in pastel colors.

Just a short note to say I haven't fallen off the face of the planet-yet. I have a deadline to meet this week so I won't be able to post something for the theme "ancient" which I am really not happy about. I think it is an excellent theme and brings so many rich ideas to mind. I will store the theme and do something for it when I catch up. Alls well in the world of Designerm.

Every girl needs a coffee break right? Shopping is a tough job! And where to go? Starbuck's of course, for a latte, a sweet and some good old fashion day dreaming. Turn off that cell phone!

Anticipation of spring has me scouring catalogs and day dreaming of gardens brimming with blooms of every color and scent. Ahhh, the satisfaction of gardening is like no other. Daffodils and tulips will be popping up soon with bright showy petals of yellows, oranges, pinks, reds and greens and even lavenders.

It is time to plan your herb and vegetable gardens too. A good place to get ideas is John Scheepers.

If I were still in California my azalea would be full of buds now and in full bloom soon. Unfortunately I had to leave all my plants behind so I hope the new owner's are enjoying its beauty. I looked so forward each spring watching this become a mass of hot pink and white flowers. It is going to be 70 degrees here in the midwest today-and I have spring fever!

While I am not sure I will make the deadline today for a second submission to Illustration Friday's "Jazz" theme, I will see the illustration to completion and will post it here when finished. I have had major time constraints this week and it looks like it won't be letting up anytime soon. Thanks to all who posted a comment about the Jazzy Crickets. Your comments continue to inspire me to create more illustrations and isn't that what its all about? Life is good!

We rented a couple of movies this week and both were must-sees. If you haven't seen Troy or Notebook yet, I highly suggest it. I thought at first that Brad Pitt might be a little hokey in the movie Troy, but was pleasantly surprised that he wasn't. Notebook is Kleenex required. I thought it was an excellent movie and so moving. Oh, and cooled cucumbers on the eyes to get rid of puffy eyes work great at bedtime and in the morning! Now there's an illustration.

This week's theme for Illustration Friday brought several concepts to mind. This is a quick sketch I made absolutely no changes to other than adding color. If I were to take this to the next step, I would modify the characters, move the objects around and choose a slightly different color scheme. While playing with the color, I decided I like the feeling of the illustration and decided to post it's hatchling stage. I think the crickets would be fun animated. I am presently working on a completely different children's illustration concept that I hope to have finished by Friday. The third concept is contemporary and I plan to complete the illustration in the near future. This has been a fun theme to develop an illustration for. Thanks Jared!