Round.

Here's my sketch for this week's Illustration Friday topic, "Round."

Song:

'Round About Midnight - Thelonious Monk

You Probably Think This Drawing's About You.

Here's my sketch for this week's Illustration Friday topic: "Vanity."

Song: 

You're So Vain - Carly Simon

Paisley Punctuation Pattern

This week's Illustration Friday topic was "Paisley." I can never pass up the opportunity to pour over patterns, whether in book form, web form, or book-on-web (via drawn) form. And I like ampersands. Hence, the Paisley Punctuation Pattern. In (Peacock Blue) Pen.

You can also purchase a print of this on my Etsy!

Movement V: Self-Organizing Emergent Patterns - Sufjan Stevens (Last.fm)

I Know the Pattern - The Thermals (YouTube)

Triphallus, To Punctuate! - of Montreal (iLike)

I Hear the Bells - Mike Doughty (iLike)

Spelunking Into the World of Etymology

I'm intrigued by the meanings of words & where they came from. I'm been perusing the etymology books from the Harold Washington Library Center, and found some pretty neat things. My favorite of these word books so far is Word Nerd, by Barbara Ann Kipfer.

I've decided to sketch some of these findings. This week, in conjunction with Illustration Friday's topic, "Subterranean," I drew "Spelunking."

From Kipfer's Word Nerd: Spelunker: Cave explorer / speleologist. It comes from the Latin word for cave, 'spelunca.' (In Greek it's 'spelynx').

Songs:

Spelunking - Laura Veirs (YouTube)

The New Underground - Guster (iLike Pop-Up)

Frozen.

Illustration Friday! Frozen.

Songs:

(Baby It's So) Cold - The Apples in Stereo (HypeMachine)

Tenth Avenue Freeze Out - Bruce Springsteen

Cold Roses - Ryan Adams

Baby It's Cold Outside - Dean Martin

Hope You're Handy. Hands down. I've Got to Hand it to You.

Etc.

This is my drawing for this weeks' Illustration Friday topic: Cracked.

I really want to get back into drawing. I like textures, and want to render the detailed texture of skin. Here's a starter. Stay tuned for more zoomed-in drawings.

Clap Hands - Beck (Video)

Drawing Printed Boxes!

Illustration Friday's topic this week is "Intricate." This is a double-edged sword, because I love pattern and details.

I decided to draw from observation. I really like seeing package designs.

In the spirit of crayons...
Red and Purple- The Dodos

On a side note... I've just discovered, Blogger does not like ampersands as much as I do.

Danger of the Water

This week's Illustration Friday topic: Breezy.

I like to think of illustrations as stills from a movie. And now, I present the soundtrack:

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot

Russian Sailors' Dance - Reinhold Gliere (Youtube)

Sloop John B - The Beach Boys

Ocean of Noise - The Arcade Fire

Danger of the Water- The Futureheads

Stormy Weather - Ella Fitzgerald (Youtube)

Raincoat Song - The Decemberists

The Mariner's Revenge Song - The Decemberists

Trying My Hand at Illustration Friday

Illustration Friday is an art blog where artists are given a word, then draw what they think of that word. This was recommended to me by my friend Kate. I thought I'd give it a try. This weeks' word is "Instinct."

I made a photo collage of the women on my Mom's side of the family, as Russian Matryoshka (nesting) dolls. I feel like instinct is something ingrained in you, learned from generation to generation. My Mom's side of the family also has strong ties to Rochester roots, so hence the lilacs of the "Flower City." And without further ado, here's my interpretation of "Instinct."