Snaid and Birl and "Art"

IF- Pioneer (This just flew in!)

So... I know I haven't posted in a while but I have been doing artful things. Above is a photograph of a set of postcards I recently created for my etsy shop (Just Dandy). This bird is the pioneer of the Snaid and Birl series. He started it all!

I couldn't just leave him in dust so this set is called "shadow of wings." They are simple yet artistic. This watercolor bird is printed on a flecked card stock and ready for you to write a thoughtful note on the back.

For all you Snaid and Birl fans there is more to come ... don't fret.

Have a happy new year!

IF- (Music) Snaid, Birl, and the new friend

IF- (Unbalanced) Snaid and Birl on the Tightrope

Snaid and Birl

IF- Blurrrrrrrrrr

The night was a blur. The stage... the lights... the pressure of perfection. It was almost too much! Roberta and Will sang till their fur tingled and the crowd was lulled into a trance. They had made it to Broadway and in the process had lost everything but each other. Was it worth it?... Absolutely!

A new book

So excited to let you all know I've just started a new book. Here is one of the first illustrations.

At first glance...

So I did this illustration after watching "New World". What a great movie!

This is done in watercolor and hopefully gives you a feeling of friendship and anticipation for what the future holds. This is my first try at depicting an Indian. It was a little tough because I had to use a lot of shades of brown but not make them smudge into each other. I'd love to know what you think.

IF- Wrapped aka Lucy and Mr. Tumnus Meet

"He was a faun. And when he saw Lucy he gave such a start of surprise that he dropped all his parcels." ...

We are really into Narnia right now at our house. We are listening to the entire series on CD and of course watching the movies. Mr. Tumnus is a personal favorite. He is so sweet to Lucy. as they say in the book it was, from their first meeting, "as if they had known one another all their lives."

Impatient Graci

Impatient Grace just can't wait, the icings on the cake. Sugar, sprinkles and lots of sweets are things she can't wait to eat.

Scraps

So I had a piece up that I liked all the parts but together they were not working.These are the parts. Whale Shark (brushing his teeth), Lighthouse, and Scuba Boy

Hoof Beat Jazz

The elephants trumpeted, the snakes gave a hiss,

This was a party giraffe didn't want to miss.

This was a fun watercolor I did after seeing an adorable photograph of a prairie dog in a conservation magazine.

IF- Modify aka "Wonder Hog"

Wonder Hog heard the cry of a baker in distress. So he and his trusty sidekick, Reckless Recipe Rat (R3), modified their appearance and were off to help the discombobulated confectionist.

The Wonder Hog team live in a small hobby farm about 20 miles east of the custard stand near you. They're just like any other swine and rodent you might see but they have a secret that reveals itself when there are domestic cooking dilemmas. It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow but someday you may need their help in a "mixing mystery."

Bone-Appe'tit Birthday

Okay, so I'm a day late getting this up. Yesterday was not going to work out.

Anyways, We have here a very nice birthday in an open park and ...."uh oh!" Some crazy puppy has gotten loose from his owner and is eating the birthday cake! Well, as soon as those girls stop playing with bubbles they are going to have a surprise. I wonder what they are going to have for dessert now? Perhaps this illustration needs a sequel, eh?. We'll see.

The birthday has gone to the dogs- sketch

So I really want to put something up everyday. It was a busy day so I wasn't able to paint. I will finish this tomorrow and put up the final. FYI the little pup will not look so mean once I put in the color. He is a husky puppy so those are going to be white eyebrows. I can't wait to see how this comes out.

Now... must go read and find out how horrible things are in "Tess of the D'Urbervilles". I never thought I'd enjoy a tragic tale so much. Check it it out for yourself!

Girl and Toad Unite!

This watercolor was inspired by my daughter. Yesterday she found a a baby toad in the back yard. She named him the ever-popular name, as far as toads go, Toady. She gave it plenty of attention, gathering grass for soft bedding, water for amusement and bathing, and even a shell from a local river for variety of scenery. She even tried to teach it to swim by dunking it in a cup of water. In the end she knew that there would come a time when she must bid her dear Toady farewell. That time came after dinner, per the strong enforcement of her parental units. She still thinks of her cold blooded chum, as I'm sure he thinks of her, and wonders if she will ever see him again. Only God knows if they shall ever cross paths again. But one thing is certain. We will all come across new friends that we will learn to love, warts and all.

The squirel and his boy

I had a lot of fun making this scene. I have noticed that I lack scenes in my illustrations. And so with that I made one. I wanted there to be many things to see. I also wanted simplicity, another thing I have trouble with. So here is the outcome of things to work on. For a while I believe my illustrations will work on these points. May you enjoy my adventures in illustrations.

Revised Taco Tango

So I revised the Tango illustration. Added a spanish newspaper clipping and the title. I like it so... much better. Has the feeling I wanted all along.

IF-Idle the Sloth

I thought of so many things when I saw the word for Illustration Friday was Idle. I thought of an idle car, a person lounging on the beach, "idle hands are the devil's playground" and others. But then I really wanted to have something that I could possibly put in my children's illustration portfolio. Then I remembered the sloth, a mammal so idle that vines actually start to grow around this creature. I looked up baby sloth, on google of course, and found the most adorable video! From that I made this illustration and created the vines around it for flair. Let me know what you think. Hope you had a productive week! -Julie

IF- Taco does the Tango

Taco loved mexican food, rolling under the juniper bushes, and dreaming of standing on his hind legs and doing the Tango.

I painted this watercolor today per the theme of Illustration Friday "Tango". The painting has more vibrancy but you get the idea. Let me know what you think.

Making Web Templates

So I've been making some web templates for my friend Byron. They will be available for purchase on smashly.net I'll let you know once they are up and ready. For now take a look!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthdya to you, Happy Birthday dear Daaaad. Happy Birthday to you! So my Dad is 61 today, so I made him an assortment of desserts the best I know how from 3 states away. We have chocolate silk pie, lemon cupcakes with a cherry on top, and lastly homemade buttermints. The best part... completely calorie and fat free. I love you Dad!!! I'm so glad you were born. I can't imagine having a more wonderful Dad. The joy I get from talking with you, the way you say my name with that tells me how much you love me, and your laugh are things I can't live with out. So really,.. you are a present to me. And I thank God everyday for you. Your phone calls are something I look forward to everyday. I am blessed to know as my father and friend. I can't wait to see you soon.

It's in the Jeans!

So I've painted children's jeans before but not my own. Today that changed. These are a pair of wide legged jeans that I painted with fabric paint. I used only white on these fora  simple look. I think they turned out well. I ended up painting four jeans today and they might end up on my etsy shop, juliehammondart.etsy.com. I've emailed a local resale store first before listing them.  Let me know what you think! or if you would like to see more. Yup,... it's definitely in the jeans!

Just Dandy card slide show

I'm very pleased to show you a slide show featuring some of my cards I sell at my etsy store Just Dandy. I design notecards as well as wedding invitations and prints of my art. Take a look and let me know what you think. Anyways it was fun to make. Enjoy!

Happy ETSY Day!!!

It's ETSY day today. If you haven't visited ETSY before check them out. It is a great place to get some one of a kind stuff. They have everything from art, face scrubbies, pottery, and my fav paper goods!
In honor of this day shipping, at my store, will be $1 today ONLY so if you were waiting to buy something do it today!
Happy shopping! -Julie

Poppiedot cards

This series of notecards is called Poppiedot cards. I love poppies and I love polk-a-dots, put them together and voila! I am selling these if you are interested. My email is in my profile.

Our Hands His Heart

Here are some options I gave a client for a church invitation. The event is called "Our Hands His Heart". The event is for ladies and the subject stressed will be "doing God's will". Which one do you like best?

Over the River...

So I think I might start a series of illustration type works. I took a bunch of photographs around town and I'll mix them with my illustrations. The works will be called Enchanted St. Louis. Let me know what you think.
This first work is called, "Over the River". I took the photo at my favorite park, mixed it with my an illustration of an owl, and then had fun in photoshop! I think I'll name this reoccurring owl character Octavius. ... Unless you have a better name?

Bookish Wear and More!

That's right folks! I've just added some new super cool T's to my cafepress store The Loud Librarian. We've got Bookish Wear for those "Cover Girls" and Art with A Vengeance for the arty types. Check it out you might actually find something ya must have. If you have any suggestions let me know!

Mr. Snuffleupagus can cook!

I made this as a gift for a friend of mine. My nick name for him is Snuffleupagus because he's is super nice, caring, and ya just wanna give him a big hug everytime you see him. Actually today is his birthday! "Happy birthday Snuffles!"
Anyways, he likes to cook so I made this as a cover to a cookbook he has to fill with his recipes. Obviously, the photo is not mine, I've never had the please of meeting Mr. Snuffleupagus. I jazzed up the picture in Photoshop. Let me know what you think.
Side Note- did you know that Mr. Snuffleupagus is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the logest eyelashes on a puppet? Just a bit of trivia to impress your friends with.

It's Raining Creativity!

This illustration was created as an entry to OFFF. An international illustrators catalogue. I'm still waiting to hear back from them but I wanted to put it on my blog. I had so much fun with this one! The theme was "This isn't flying ,this is falling with style" So here we have some very stylish ladies falling with grace. Check out the boots of the lady in the bottom right,... I want them! The photograph in the back is from a hike by the Meremac River last spring.
Okay, let me know what you think. Ta!

A Clue- Robin Hood

So here is a sketch I did of Robin Hood in the BBC TV show. My daughter is bonkers over Robin Hood! We get the shows from netflix and the library. So... what do you think? Who is your favorite character on the show? Maybe I'll sketch them. Gotta go . Off the fight the bad guys!

In the Elements

She's Cool, She's Hip, She's... In the Elements.
So this was inspired by winter clothing, the artist John William Waterhouse, because he too loved to draw women with red hair, and just all around having fun drawing.
I love this girl. She doesn't even know she's cool. She's just trying to stay warm, and keep her unruly locks out of those tree branches, which let me tell you is harder than one might think in the wind.
So what shall I name her, eh? Something earthy, fun, not typical, yet not shove it in your face different? Let me know what you think.

Loud Librarian- Cafepress Store

Hello all! It has been way too long since I posted but I'm getting back on track. I've been a little obsessed about getting my Cafepress shop up and running. Feel free to go, shop and tell me what you think! It has been a lot of fun! I have super cute valentine and un-valentine shirts and note cards. Anyways. Check it out! - Thanx
The Loud Librarian- www.cafepress.com/juliehammond