New Work

Here's a sample book cover I did for a project. Although it didn't get used, I still really like it, so it's going in my portfolio.

xo

nessa dee

Meet Nigel and Mr. Turtle

I met a couple of new characters yesterday. This is Nigel and Mr. Turtle. This wasn't our first meeting. Nigel popped up in my sketchbook last week, and Mr. Turtle joined him during church on Sunday. (I listen to the sermons better if my hand is busy...honest) They were so cute, I had to see what they would look like in color with their matching outfits. 

And now I'm introducing them to you. :)

xo

nessa dee

Materials used: Acrylic paint, scrapbook paper, glue, and embroidery thread.

Check This Out!

My art is featured on Other Cool Birds today! Thank you so much, Lafayette Wattle, for the lovely write up! You can read the post here.

xo
nessa dee

It's a Wrap!

Conference weekend is over, and now comes the fun part...processing everything I saw, heard, ate, and learned. There's always an overwhelming amount of information presented at these writer's and illustrators conferences, so much so that I feel like I just received an entire education crammed into two short days. My brain is fried, but thankfully, I took copious notes, so after a short detox, I'm going to dive into my notebook and bathe my brain.

One of the events in the conference was an illustrator's intensive where we were given an assignment to illustrate a specific sentence in the Pied Piper story. We were instructed to submit sketches to Kristine Brogno, the art director at Chronicle Books, to which she offered feedback. Then, based on her feedback, we created final art pieces which were presented at the conference.

This was my sketch:

The feedback included varying the ages of the children more, as well as the expressions on the adults. Overall, she liked the movement of the piece from left to right, and the environment.

Here's the final:

Overall, she said the piece was very nice. She liked the diverse characters and the movement in the piece, as well as details like the ballerina which she said kids could relate to. While I did change the expressions on the faces of the adults, I could have pushed their expressions and body language further, as well as the expression on the piper's face...she commented that his expression seemed a bit basic.

Other comments from illustrators were to change the red-headed boy's striped shirt because it was too similar to the piper's, reposition the little girl in front to de-emphasize her as the focal point, and to clarify the vignette of the man standing in the window above the piper.

After finishing the Pied Piper piece, I liked the colors and the feel of the piece so much that I wanted to do more. So in the week before the conference, I worked up another illustration from the story where rats are taking over the city because who wouldn't want to paint a plethora of rats?

This illustration still needs some finishing touches, like about a dozen more rats, but the deadline of the conference forced me to call it quits. Deadlines can be a good thing, otherwise, I might still be painting rats!

xo

nessa dee

Clever Fox

Just wanted to share this little fox painting I finished last week. It's going to be one of a series of woodland creatures. I hope to get the others painted soon, but right now I'm working on a couple of illustration projects in preparation for a Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrator's conference I'll be attending in a couple of weeks. I've been painting like mad, and I can't wait to show you the new illustrations, but for now, you'll have to settle for a fox...

Does anyone else feel like they need to restart the New Year. I feel like we've been rushing and running so much that I didn't get my year off to a good start. Here it is, the end of February already, and I haven't even made my list of resolutions. As a matter fact, when I uploaded this fox picture, I realized I still had pictures from Christmas on the camera. So I have some catching up to do with this here blog. And just for the grandparents...

I can't tell you how much joy this little cutie brings to our lives. He certainly keeps me on my toes, but he's quite charming even when he's full of mischief.

xo

nessa dee

Narwhal

There's still time to get this guy before Christmas! He's for sale at Cherry Tree Creative in Taylor, TX, along with a whole collection of vintage and handmade items. They stay open late on the third Thursday of every month, which happens to be tomorrow!

Are you ready for Christmas?

I'm not...yet.

xo

nessa dee

Rocket Dog

Well actually, a rocket AND a dog.

 These are a couple of recent paintings that I sent to Cherry Tree Creative, my favorite store for unique, handmade, and vintage finds. I am so excited to get to sell my paintings at this store. It is a treasure trove of things that are infused with imagination, saturated with character, and filled with history. If you're ever in Taylor, Texas, you should pop in for a spell. It's worth a special trip.

xo

nessa dee

The Angel Guardian

Well, as promised, I'm back to tell you a little bit more about one of the projects that kept me so busy over the summer. I had the wonderful opportunity to illustrate The Angel Guardian, written by Michelle and Chris Miller. The Angel Guardian is a children's illustrated book and matching angel doll designed to help children get more sleep and make bedtime fun for everyone.

 The illustrations for this book were created using collaged paper, acrylic paint, and lots of love, and then assembled in Photoshop. 

I had so much fun bringing these characters to life for the book! Now it's your turn to help...

The author's have launched a Kickstarter campaign to help with the production. You can read their story, see their video, and get a sneak peek into the book here: http://bit.ly/angelguardiankickstarter

They need to raise $7,500 on Kickstarter to bring the book and doll to market. So please help spread the word!

If you’re not familiar with Kickstarter, here’s a quick intro. How it works is that people describe their project on Kickstarter.com, set a funding goal and deadline, and create a series of rewards that backers can choose from and receive in exchange for pledging money to support the project. Rewards are often the product itself, along with unique rewards customized just for Kickstarter backers. It’s an all-or-nothing model, meaning the project either hits its goal and receives the money it needs to undertake the project, or it doesn't hit the goal before the deadline and receives nothing at all.

For this project, rewards include the ebook and an autographed hardcover copy of the book for $25. For $45, you get the trio - ebook, autographed hardcover and angel doll. You also get a second hardcover book free to give to the charity of your choice.Check out the site for more rewards!

Thanks so much!

xo

nessa dee

Oink, Moo, Neigh, Baa

The farm has come to my studio! 

These little guys are my latest works. They were super fun to make. I experimented with the backgrounds a bit, and I love the result. To me they are reminiscent of old crazy quilts which fits so well with the farm theme. They will be available for purchase as soon as their done with their photo shoot for Gallery Direct.

xo

nessa dee

Animal Parade

One of my latest pieces...

xo

nessa dee

On the easel

xo

nessa dee

Latest works...

I've been madly working on some paintings lately, including these three...

It's all in preparation for something exciting!

I can't wait to share the big news with you, but you'll have to be patient for now [as will I]

xo

nessa dee

A caffeine kind of week

This week’s going to be pretty hectic. I’ll try my best to post some stuff, but my schedule might get the best of me and I just might be absent from this blog a bit. I also just might be needing a lot of this…

except in forms other than coffee. Chocolate, perhaps? Yes, I think caffeine infused chocolate will definitely do the trick.

xo

nessa dee

New Shoes

After posting all of the pictures of my feet a while back, I realized that my shoe collection, or rather, my collection of mostly tennis shoes, could use a little makeover. So I’ve been on the lookout for some cute summer shoes that will look better than my usual attire when I happen to take pictures of my feet.

Well, several weeks ago, when I was out and about looking for my Marion Ravenwood costume, I happened upon a very summery pair of bright yellow wedges [maybe?] and on impulse, I bought them. I’m not sure why though because yellow is not one of my colors, and I do not own a single piece of yellow clothing, and therefore have not worn the shoes yet. But I couldn’t just let them sit in the closet in all of their cuteness, unappreciated by anyone else, so I took them out today and decided to paint them; not the shoes themselves…but a picture of the shoes.

Until I can wear them, I’ll have a constant reminder of what’s waiting for me in my closet.

xo

nessa dee

And Stretch, Two, Three…

Meet Patch. He’s the latest character that will be joining his friends in the shop soon.

This set of paintings will be making their way to a gift shop at a charming bed and breakfast…

I also have a bunch of new paintings in the works at the moment, but a lot of them are waiting on me to overcome lack of motivation + a little fear.

I enjoy most of the creative process when making my mixed media paintings. But part of what I enjoy doing [sewing the decorative stitching] goes hand in hand with my least favorite part of the process…stretching the canvases. I have to start the pieces with unstretched canvas in order to sew around the characters. Then, I have to cut the stretcher boards to make the frames, which is where my little inkling of fear sets in. Every time I’m sitting in front of the jigsaw, I visualize slicing right through my thumb, the blood, and the fainting that is sure to follow. I wonder how long it would take before anyone would notice that Mom is passed out on the garage floor, missing a thumb. Morbid, I know, but I think this fear helps to keep me extra careful when working with the jigsaw…maybe. Then, after the cutting comes making the frames, followed by the seemingly endless stapling. It’s really not all that bad, but it’s tedious, and well, the tedium tends to drown a lot of the motivation I have to create these pieces. So what do I have to do? Push through, keep on trucking, and catch up on my favorite shows while wielding the staple gun.

My plan is to have these paintings stretched, painted, and up in the shop ASAP. I want to get these guys ready to greet the Christmas season before the turkey and stuffing induced sleep stupor sets in.

xo

nessa dee

IF: Unfold

This little boy has no idea what kind of adventure will unfold as the day progresses.

This is an older painting, a quick study of a picture from a magazine. I had every intention of creating a new illustration for this week’s topic, but I had no idea what would ‘unfold’ through the course of this week. The sudden onset of a cold and fever has rendered me useless the last couple of days. I’m hoping I can knock this cold out by tomorrow, but that’s what I said yesterday.

If you are joining us for Crafty Friday, please note that I might have to change the name to Crafty Saturday this week. :)

Alright, I’m going to go back to bed now.

xo

Nessa Dee