Hello 2017!

I love beginnings. There's so much promise held in beginnings... the excitement of a budding relationship, the first day of a much anticipated vacation, a crisp clean sheet of paper that greets you in a new sketchbook, or the first line of a book that draws you in and begs you to read more. And the beginning of a new year is no different. It's a jumping off point to set our goals, map out a plan, and work towards achieving our dreams. Just like a sprinter coming out of the blocks, we all like a good start. 

But as much as I love beginnings, I hate late starts. Ten days into 2017, and I haven't even written my goals yet, much less mapped them out. I feel this sense of anxiety looming as each day passes and I haven't taken the time to even write down a goal. I have some vague ideas of smaller goals like sketching everyday, or blogging more, or writing a couple of new stories every week, but I've already balked at accomplishing these. If I were a sprinter, I would have been disqualified from this year's race. 

I don't know why it's so hard to recover and start again without that shiny new, first day of the year beginning, but it is. January 1st holds the promise of everything you hope to achieve as you set sail into the year, while January 11th feels like you missed the boat. But I have to remind myself that everyday I wake up is a new beginning. Every day holds promise to accomplish great things. So instead of staring forlornly at the January 1st boat quickly disappearing over the horizon, I'm going to bid it farewell.  I'm opting to step onto this January 11th boat. It may not seem as clean and fresh as that first day of the new year boat, but hey, it's right in front of me, and I can't wait to see where it takes me. In fact, we're already off to a good start:

-Write a New Years blog post.

-Make a sketch for this post

-Use tired analogies about boats and races in one post.

Okay, so maybe I just now added that last goal, but it feels so satisfying to mark things off a list, who wouldn't want to keep riding that gravy train?

I apologize.

Here's to making things happen. Happy January 11th, 2017!

xo

nessa dee

Agatha

Just a little digital sketch I did yesterday. I named her Agatha because I think she looks like an Agatha, and I love the name Agatha, and had my third child been a girl, that child would probably have been christened Agatha. I don't why she's sad, but perhaps I can cheer her up today when I'm sketching.

xo

nessa dee

Ballerina

Just another digital doodle.

xo 

nessa dee

Happy December!

November flew by, as the months seem to do these days. We spent Thanksgiving week visiting family and bringing them good tidings of snot noses. Despite our colds, we had a wonderful time stuffing our faces, celebrating a birthday [mine], and stuffing our faces some more. In addition to celebratory eating, I was also able to finish up the Picture Book Idea Month and Sketch a Day Month challenges. Here are some sketches from last week:

I'm excited to start developing my picture book ideas further, and see some of these sketches to full color portfolio pieces. December is chock full of to-do's and my list seems to grow by the minute. Between shopping, painting, parties, and crafting [Yes crafting!!], this month will be over before I can blink, so I better start checking things off my list!

Happy Monday!

Happy December!

xo

nessa dee

From my sketchbook...

 

Happy Friday!

xo

nessa dee

From my sketchbook

I've been working on several projects lately, some personal, and some to try to garner some work. I submitted some illustrations in response to a search for illustrators for a picture book project. I submitted them last month and have my fingers crossed, but I know how competitive this business can be, so if nothing else, I at least have three new portfolio pieces which I'll have to share with you later.

Personally,  I decided to participate in PiBoIdMo as well as SkADaMo to get my creative cogs turning. [No, August wasn't helping me type] PiBoIdMo is short for Picture Book Idea Month and SkADaMo stands for Sketch a Day Month. Participating in PiBoIdMo means that you commit to coming up with 30 picture book ideas in 30 days. My brain is full of picture book ideas, and I tend to write them down in random places at random times. PiBoIdMo is adding a bit of structure to my process, or lack thereof. Basically, I'm writing my ideas down in the same notebook, and I'm forcing myself to actively come up with new ideas, and expand old ones. I love the creative challenge this offers!

As for SkADaMo, I already sketch every night, so this wasn't a huge stretch for me. I just wanted to add the cute button to my blog! Seriously, though, being a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom, it's not always easy to get in the studio to paint some days. But I can draw anywhere at anytime. I always have a small sketchbook on hand to take advantage of of those magical moments of free time. And those free moments can lead to quick little sketches that lead to big ideas and new characters. My dummy book that I'm finishing up came from one of those moments.

Enough talk. Onto the pictures!

Here are the sketches I've produced so far:

 

And one of those sketches led to my latest portfolio piece:

"This little piggy went to market."

xo

nessa dee

From my sketchbook...

xo

nessa dee

Travelling Musicians

Just a quick post to pop in, say hi, and show you a sketch. 

I've been settling into our new school schedule, but Labor Day threw me off quite a bit. It's also been quite an adjustment with a very active toddler in the mix. I'll get back to my regular blog posting soon, but if you want to check out some of our goings on you can look at my Instagram page, or follow me on Twitter for few there as well.

And just for the grandparents...

xo

nessa dee

On the grid...

I fell off the grid last week. It wasn't intentional, but it was much needed. The kids and I spent the week visiting family and being bums. We stayed at the Roeder Resort [our Aunt Susan's house] which has a pool, lots of good treats, and a fabulous hostess who has a knack for spoiling people. The internet was being fickle, so I used it as an excuse to lay off social media and just be lazy for a week. It was nice. The kids swam enough for a whole summer.  I did a lot of sketching, and even more eating of the cookies.

These few sketches are from the week:

But now we're back, and I'm trying to blog with a baby fussing at me, all the while picturing that wonderful lounge chair out by the pool, sketchbook in one hand, cookie in another, baby sleeping in his grandma's arms, kids happily swimming. It was a good week.

xo

nessa dee

From my sketchbook

Sketching's about all I have time for right now. Anytime I try to go paint, I get everything set up and ready to go, and somebody decides he needs me. That's okay, though, because I need to work on my technique. When I was young, pencil was my medium of choice. I liked the control it offered. Now, I much prefer paint and collage, and the freedom they allow, but my technique has suffered a bit because of it. Now that I'm back to sketching, I'm starting to look at every detail, trying to figure out how to translate each object with a pencil.
 I got my haircut yesterday, found myself lost in the drops of water falling off the tips of each bundle of hair. I was drawing the droplets in my mind, studying the highlights and shadows, the overall shape, and the movement of the drops. I haven't paid that much attention to something in years, but I attribute it to my renewed (if not forced) interest in sketching. Or maybe it's the fact that I'm a walking zombie who's slowly losing her mind.

xo

nessa dee

From my sketchbook...

I walked away for a moment, and when I came back, I found a party pig amid my characters. Made me smile.

xo

nessa dee

From My Sketchbook

I was working on an idea for the Illustration Friday topic “strong.” I thought he needed a partner though.

Mr. Strongman

The Bearded Lady

xo

nessa dee