Twilight Love

I call this one 'Twilight Love' simply because A. I couldn't think of another title, and B. I thought it was suitable since they obviously do love one another, and that started with Twilight.
Can you tell that I am enjoying the heart motif around my drawings lol. I just enjoy the way it looks, and it seems pretty suitable for the upcoming occassion. I think my favorite part would be the facial expressions. I really enjoy the chemistry between these two, whether it be in the films or not, they just have that vibe together. Its nice. Ok enough rambling... I need to sleep sometime or I'll be drawing stick figures lol. Good night!

With Love,

Andrea

Total Eclipse of the Heart

I am dieing for Breaking Dawn to come out already, and soo bummed that we have to wait until the fall!!! So I guess you could say I'm going through withdrawls hahaha. Anyway, I've been bitten by the Valentine Love bug and decided to do a few drawings of my favorite series... this is the first drawing I created. I call it 'Total Eclipse of the Heart'. Its going to go nicely in my Studio, as soon as I figure out where. ha! I think my favorite part of this one is the detail in the fabric's of their clothing, and the ribbon around the heart!

I hope you enjoy, I'm super proud of it myself! I was actually going through a little stage in the past few weeks thinking that I actually lost my touch in drawing. That would really really be bad because realistic pencil drawing is what I do best. It's my 'thing'. I have a lot of 'things' but thats the one thing that I've always been good at, and I don't want to lose it. My hubby laughed at me and told me I was crazy... maybe I am. ha! This was a breath of fresh air for me... helped me realize that I haven't lost it, I just needed to work out the kinks, shake of the rust in the old fingers and get to work. LOL.  

With Love,

Andrea

Here... again

Its been a long while, and I dont really know what to say... I used to blog here consistantly... I used to make cards, and atc's, tags and scrapbook pages and some how I let all of that go and focused all of my attention on my shop, knitting and crocheting. I havent drawn or painted anything in what seems like years... until a few days ago.

My brother, his fiance and their son are coming up for Thanksgiving! It will be the first time since our move to WV that any of my family has visited, so I am super excited! I havent seen them in a few years too, soo you can imagine! I just know we are going to have fun, just hanging out, enjoying each other's company, taking lots of pictures and sightseeing!

I decided I wanted to go ahead and give them their gifts for Christmas while I had the chance in person, that way I dont really have to worry about shipping and if the items would make it safely and things like that. So I got out all of my drawing supplies and for the first time in months I drew!

My brother loves Tigers, so I drew him a Bengal tiger.... and his fiance loves wrestling and her favorite wrestler is Jeff Hardy, so I drew her a picture of Jeff Hardy.... I like how they turned out, of course photos never do artwork of any kind any justice.... so they look more vibrant in person :) I really hope they love their pictures =]

I rejoined Scrapbooking & Crafting Friends, and I plan on working on some paper arts in the near future... before I really get tired of knitting and crocheting and never want to pick it up again lol. I love doing it, but when you have done it every single day for the 6 or more months... sometimes you just get tired. ya know? Hopefully I will be blogging here more frequently. I am going to update everything today and will be posting my new creations, including knitting and crochet items when they are created. I'm also going to try to put in a little of my everyday life here as well, like I used to.... Im sorry I abandoned my friends like I did... life just got in the way and I miss you guys so very much!

Wishing everyone a very blessed Thanksgiving!

Finally, Autumn!

Im so glad that its finally Autumn! Its my favorite season. I love the crisp air and the beautiful colors! I'm in such an Autumn, and Halloween mood lately that I have changed my blog look for the season. =) It was fun fooling around with everything! I dont think we will be handing out candy this year for the trick or treaters, sadly. =( We live back in the woods on a private drive and there aren't very many trick or treat aged kids in our community. Thats ok... I still enjoy curling up on Halloween and watching spooky movies with my hubby, thats one of my favorite parts, other than seeing all the neat costumes everyone comes up with. We've never been to a halloween party and I havent dressed in a costume in years .lol. When I was a kid I was always a clown except for one year I remember going as Madonna when I was 10 or 11. It was an interesting year I'd have to say. I got tired of the clown get up. I'm not a big fan of clowns in the first place. But I suppose that was the easiest thing my grandparents could think of .lol. My brothers were always vampires or the hulk. They loved painting their faces with green paint and saying 'Im HULK' and the funniest year was when all of my brothers and my little sister all dressed up as power rangers lol. Too funny! What memories Autumn brings =D

Today I started a new drawing. Its a large closeup of a large sea turtle. I loved all of the details in the shell and the face/body. Its going to be a great challenge but a fun one. I am hoping to perhaps donate 10% of the proceeds to an animal organization, such as WWF.. but its going to take me at least a week or more to complete the piece =) I hope tomorrow to work more on the drawing and also create a few atc's or arches, or maybe participate in a few challenges. We'll see. Tim has to work this weekend (except for Sunday) so I'll be home alone. I'll figure something out to keep me busy =) I want to thank everyone who has left me such great feedback for my recent creations. You are all very kind! The Edward and Bella piece has received the most comments I have ever received, and I really truly didnt expect it. I didnt realize how popular Twilight has become =) Again thanks for all of your kind words and motivation! Its greatly appreciated! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I should be back very soon to share some creations! Happy Fall Yall! ;)

“There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the
summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been!” ~
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Edward & Bella- a graphite drawing (IF)

'Edward and Bella' (IF-Sugary)

(click to enlarge)

Tonight I really wanted to get back into drawing and I couldnt really think of anything to draw that interested me until I just started drawing this couple. I wanted to participate in the IF challenge since I have been MIA for a couple of weeks with moving. This weeks topic is Sugary. So I claim this is basically Bella and Edward both thinking 'His/Her kisses are sugary sweet' =D I know its probably not what the topic was intended for but its what my weird mind thought of .lol.

I really really love the Twilight Saga books by Stephenie Meyers. Its a really great series and in November the first film will be out in theatres! I cant wait!!! My hubby and I are taking a trip down to MS to see our best friends that I havent seen in 2 years the week the movie is released and we are all going to see it together since we are fans =) Its going to be great and Im counting down the days. We really deserve a vacation and we've never been to MS before. PLUS I really want to see my sissy =D

Anyway, I totally lost track of my point- haha! Since I started reading the series I always had specific images of the characters in my mind and this is pretty much what I had in mind for Bella and Edward. I suppose its not too far off from the actual casting for the film but just a little. Either way I like the mood in the drawing. You can feel the emotions, or at least I can. Definate Love, Lust and Adoration.

If you havent read the books, check them out. I read all 4 books in 2 weeks! LOL! Thats how great they are.

"The right thing isn't always real obvious. Sometimes the right thing for one
person is the wrong thing for someone else. So... good luck figuring that out."
— Charlie Swan from Eclipse by Stephenie Meyers

The Glory of Spring- an original

'The Glory of Spring'
(Click to Enlarge)

This isnt the best photo of my newest piece but I was so excited I just had to take a quick pic and blog about it =D I just finished this piece about an hour ago... its been an on going project for 2 months now. SIGHS... Im sooooo relieved that its complete! I wanted to challenge myself with something on a large scale with ALOT of detail and I thought the contrast of the darks and lights would be a nice challenge. =) This piece measures 19x24. Im hoping to add it to my shop in the coming days, but I do want a better picture of it to show more of the details and everything. Im so thrilled with its outcome, and more relieved than anything. =)

"To see a hillside white with dogwood bloom is to know a particular ecstasy of beauty, but to walk the gray Winter woods and find the buds which will resurrect that beauty in another May is to partake of continuity.” ~Hal Borland

My Cluttered Mind

"My Cluttered Mind"
(Click to enlarge)

On Illustration Friday the theme for the week is 'Clutter.' This is my creation... Have you ever had a day where you can not concentrate because you have sooo much on your mind? Have you ever had a night where you couldn't sleep because your mind continually ran through all of your thoughts continuely? Have you ever wanted to SCREAM just to try and relieve some of the stress and tension in your head? I instantly thought of a cluttered mind filled with all sorts of troubles as my inspiration. I wanted to try something different and used a mixture of materials. I wanted a drastic difference between the thoughts and the person, and I wanted to show the emotion of frustration. I am considering putting this in my shop for sell, but I dont really know if its really 'sell worthy' *sighs* I really enjoy the challenges on I.F. It really gets my mind working =]

'Detach'- Illustration Friday

The challenge on Illustration Friday [http://www.illustrationfriday.com] was DETACH... I instantly thought of that as losing someone or seperating from someone. What is more heartbreaking then seeing a child have to say goodbye to a parent or loved one? Especially seeing Soldier's say goodbye to their families. So I drew this ACEO depicting that. I hope you enjoy my interpretation of the word :)

Custom Harley Tattoo Designs

I created these 2 tattoo designs this week for my father in law, Bob. He requested a custom tattoo by me, to cover up another tattoo that he has on his arm. I hope he likes them... they were fun to create!

New Drawing- "Dogwood Blossom"

Today I completed this drawing... I simply call it 'Dogwood Blossom' because well thats what it is (lol). I took the photo at the beginning of April at the park and just knew I wanted to draw it. So I did :) Its not a large drawing, just an 8x10 but thats ok. I didnt want to do anything too huge. I have this drawing for sell at Ande's Custom Creations for $40. Thanks so much for taking the time to view my artwork!

Results of the art show...

So I thought I would share the results of the Art Show I attended last week. :) Im really proud to say that I received 10 ribbons in total :) I received 1 best in show, 2 first place, 1 second place, 2 third place, and 5 participation ribbons :) I was really really shocked and am sooo proud too. I didnt really show how happy or excited I was because I was in total shock the entire time *lol* These are all of the ribbons and I took a few pics of the pieces with the ribbons I received for each one. I couldnt believe that the John Wayne piece was the one to receive best in show and 1st place. I really thought another one would instead....

The Maxwell Challenge

I recently joined a group called Paper Imagery Designs, and this is my first week there. I am really loving the group... everyone is super created, talented, and friendly! There is a challenge this week called the Maxwell Challenge.... basically everyone takes the vintage image that is shared of a man named Maxwell and they creatively and humorously create an item showing what Maxwell is up to. The entry's are due today and I just HAD to participate because it sounded like so much fun! I thought I would share my creation.. its a Gothic Arch of course, and I drew Maxwell in comical swimming gear :) I had a lot of fun with him as you can tell! I used a green polka dotted scrapbook sheet as the main background... but I then took some scrap punchinella, placed it on my arch and colored over it using different colored crayons. When I got the colors the way I wanted them. I took my scissors and I gently scrapped the excess wax from the paper to give it a less shiny/waxy look and a more subtle flat look. I added some random flourishes using black ink and a flourish stamp. I cut out Maxwell and edge him with black ink then attached him to the arch. Next I took white cardstock and stamped Fun in the Sun with black ink. Then outlined each letter using neon colored Gel pens. I used orange, yellow, green, pink, and blue. I tore out the words and edged with black ink again. I attached them to the arch, and then edged the entire outside of the arch with black ink as well. The final step was to attach the neon plastic half marbles I had lying around... and Wha-lah! Maxwells having fun in the sun! *lol* =}

Wow, what a week!

This week has been very interesting and fun for me. There is an art show in Danville, W.V. this week that goes along with the Boone County fair and I wasnt planning on entering anything into the show because I wasnt sure if my stuff was something that would be worth it. But my husband, in-laws, friends and other family kept hammering me to do it and I did. I entered 10 pieces into the show...the judeing goes on this week during the fair and Friday we can go and see the results. They asked us to keep our pieces there until Sunday because they have the annual car show then and its the busiest time of the fair, so they want everyone's work their until its over so everyone gets the chance to view the entries and everything. Which totally makes sense but it makes me nervous to keep my pieces there and knowing in my mind that hundreds of people are looking at my work this week. I mean wow, its the first show I have ever participated in! Im trying not to get my hopes up in winning any awards but you know its there in the back of my mind, hoping that I do. Just because I havent won awards like that before except for in school. In highschool I won N.C state art award for a drawing I did my senior year... but other than the one award I won in elementary school for best coloring, and that awards, thats all I have ever won. lol. It just makes me nervous.
Then yesterday afternoon a friend called me up and told me that she had been talking to a guy at a local Dune Buggy shop that she knows and deals with and he has been looking for someone to design his logo for his shop for over a year now and couldnt get anyone to do it. She was telling him that she knew someone who would do it in a heartbeat and would do a great job and that all she had to do was talk to me. So when she got home she called me up and told me about it and asked me to put something together and of course instead of me just waiting around on it until today. I started right away lol. I had an idea brewing in my mind and its not often I get hired for something like this so I was like OK lets go! lol I started working on the logo at 8 last night and finished the rough draft of it at 2 am. LOL. then this morning I sent Robin the rough draft and she told me she loved it but it did need a few tweaks (after all I have never even seen a dune buggy so I was using photos I googled as references) and I worked all those tweaks out and sent it back... She printed it out on photo paper and drove up to Mudslinger's to show Eric (the owner) and he LOVED it. He called me up on the phone and told me that it was like I had plucked the idea's he had right out of his brain and put them on paper! LMAO. I was so thrilled to hear him say that! He said he was going to give Robin the $ for it and that he is having t-shirts made up with the logo and he will get a couple of free ones to me as soon as he gets them. I am just thrilled to death! I have never been hired to do a logo for a business before and I've done it. Im really getting my name and art out there now. WOW. This Friday I get to see if I won any awards, I get to go to the fair and walk around and I plan to look at all the entry's and see what others think of my work from a distance by watching people who check them out and maybe talking to a few. I cant wait. Then Saturday Tim and I are celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary. but we havent decided what we are going to do. On Sunday I get to go pick up my artwork from the show, and then head over to Jack and Robin's to pick up my pay for the logo and everything. Im just super excited and proud of myself. Below is the logo for the shop. Its alot larger but I shrunk it down so it wouldnt take so long to load. I just wanted to share how my week is going so far... can you believe I was actually giving all of this up because I didnt think I had what it takes... and now look at whats happening! Someone really is looking down on me right now!

Oh I almost forgot to mention... along with me doing this logo Eric (the owner of Mudslingers) is thinking of having the logo tattoo'd AND he mentioned that he has an airbrush set and that he really thinks I should borrow it and see how well I do with that... if I do well maybe thats another side job for me to take on. WOW! So not only am I drawing, tattoo designing, and trying to teach myself how to tattoo... Im also going to start airbrushing and logo designing too. SHEESH! Talk about some fun and busy times ahead.

Tarheel Fanatics...

My brother, Jeremy, is a HUGE UNC Tarheel's Fan. He wants to get a unique tattoo of the UNC logo and asked me if I would create something for him. I, of course, couldn't say no because I love designing tattoos and this is what I came up with. He loves it and as soon as he gets it done he is going to send me a few pictures of the finished product. I am very excited to see it! He will be the 4th person to get a tattoo designed by me actually put on his skin =] I've also decided that I want to teach myself how to tattoo and maybe go into that as a side field... and so I have been working on that. I have found alot of great things on it and have gotten tremendous support from my family and friends! Just thought I would share! =)

August Creative Challenge...

The image on the left is the challenge image for the August Creative Challenge in Artistic-Creations. So for my challenge share, I thought I would just draw the picture. I thought it would make a great drawing or tattoo design for sisters, or best friends. Just thought I would share!