On Safari, I spy Ellies

 

Illustrator

 

Recently I have become addicted to watching live safaris in South Africa. It amazes me how every day is something new and the beauty of nature at its true work is beyond description. Many years ago I painted this image for an art class. I got a new Wacom tablet for Christmas and in the spirit of my new addiction to safari I decided to recreate it in Illustrator.  You can view the original painting  here Original Painting.

 

 

Blessings,

Charlii Jean

Blue Dog

 

Illustrator and Photoshop

 

 

Everyone has their dog days and every dog has his day, I wonder if they are the same day. Maybe when my dog has a good day I will have a bad day or my good day is his bad day and does this only affect people who have a dog. What if you have two dogs, would you then be twice as likely to have a bad day? OK, probably not. However, my blue dog poster is kind of cool.

 

I took a stock photo of this dog into Illustrator and used the image trace tool to convert him to a grayscale image. I then recolored it in shades of blue. The image trace tool is a neat little tool, but it's also a bit of a cheater tool. It is great for a quick and dirty vector art, but I still prefer to use the pen tool and have control over every aspect of the drawing.

 

 

 I finalized the image in Photoshop by using grain and glass filters to add a little texture. Personally I like to add a little texture to my vector drawings.  Vector art can have a tendency to look very flat, which isn't always a bad thing. However, I like my work to have a little depth to it so I tend to use Photoshop a lot to accomplish that. The smallest, lightest grain or noise filter can add depth to the image and still remain almost undetectable to the eye.

 

Have a beautiful weekend where ever you are and let your dog have his day, but don't let your dog day get you blue.

 

Blessings,

Charlii Jean



Purple Daisies for Miss Z

purple daisies
Originally uploaded by http://www.flickr.com/people/17644879@N00/.

I don't know what made me think of it but I was called to mind of my first argument over creative difference. I was kindergarten, no you didn't read that wrong. I was a strong willed child to put it nicely. Anyway, we were coloring a picture of trees and grass. When I decided that I wanted to make my tree's leaves purple. I was just about to start coloring when Miss Z ( her name was too long for any 5 year old to pronounce) popped her head over my shoulder and said that trees are green. Like I said I was a strong willed child and I told her that some trees were purple. For a moment she lost her sanity and began to argue with a child. I wouldn't relent on my position that there were purple trees and she walked off with the order that I will make the tree green.

I am sure her reason was to teach us that trees are green and the sun is yellow ect. What she didn't know was that the area I lived in was filled with purple leaved trees. Several of our neighbors and my babysitter had one or two. And there was this street on the way to my aunts house ( I think) that was lined on both sides of them. She made the assumption that because she had never seen it and I was five that I didn't know what I was talking about.

However, that rational didn't occur to me then. I just wanted to use the purple crayon. I wanted my picture to be different from the other 31 pictures that are just like it. I had an artistic vision ( well as much of one that a five year old could have) and this lady was messing with it.
I made the tree purple any ways and I got a letter home say that I was not behaving very well again. My mother was not amused by my behavior but she liked my coloring.

So, I think the lesson for us artists is that when we take to creating our next masterpiece is to let go and paint it as we feel it. Even if it means breaking convention and get sent home with a note.