Call Me.......

Call Me....

Well I looked it up and push button dial phones were introduced in 1963.  My early childhood was in the mid to late 60's and we still had a rotary dial phone, very similar to this one.  When we would go to other peoples houses, and if they happen to have a push button phone I would think to myself, "Wow...they must me rich!"  I  remember at one point we even had a "party line."  I know it sounds like a fun time but it just means that we shared a phone line with a neighbor's house.

When my kids were just a few years younger than they are now they would ask me questions like,  " How old were you when you got your first cell phone?" and I would reply,  "I was in my 30's."  They gasp..."Why wouldn't your Mom and Dad let you get one when you were young?"  Hahaha.....because they didn't have one either, no one did!  

My children simply can't imagine a life without cell phones and internet.  I do remember life without it but I would be the first to admit how much I love my iphone and how I never go anywhere without it!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Critters

Collection of Critters

What would children's illustrations be without critters?  Well not nearly as "cute!" Here are some of my favorites over the past year and a half.  Happy Tuesday everyone!!

Little Blue

Little Blue

"Little Blue" is so very close to my heart!

I think in life we all bring our own unique influences and experiences to whatever we are doing.

In artwork,  these influences and experiences can be especially evident.

Take "Little Blue" for example,  now I believe that "red" is the standard color when it comes to little play wagons, but no, not for me, mine was a light blue Radio Flyer.   I don't even think I have ever seen another Radio Flyer Wagon in that color, have you?

 I can't bring myself to paint a little wagon any other color than blue...it just doesn't feel right.  LOL

My best guess is that my blue wagon was a Christmas gift from Santa in 1969.  Here we are on that very special day......

Clearly "Little Blue" was special to me because after completion of this illustration I realized that my wagon has been featured in not ONE, not TWO, and not even THREE, but rather FOUR of my illustrations.

If you have been following my blog for any amount of time I bet you can at least think of one them.

Here they are.....

........no "little red wagons" to be found.  

Work in Progress

Summer is over and Fall is here!  Kids are finally settled in school with busy schedules and the lazy days of summer are becoming just a fond memory.

Even though you have not been hearing from me here in the "blog-isphere," I promise you I have been keeping extremely busy.  My first and foremost priority has been working on a book filled with many, many short stories.  My authors have been emailing me new stories every few weeks and so my days are filled with researching and sketching these fun stories.  A little bit like I do for my blog sometimes but only better.....getting paid is always better!  LOL  I simply can't wait to share more of that project with you but that will come later.

I can share with you some other "work in progress."  I have decided to work on getting together an official website.  I am working on some spot illustrations specifically for this site.  Here is my work so far....

My daughter says the girl in the wagon looks like her.......not intentional, so I added some freckles and you know what......I think she is right!   Enjoy!

Harry & Gladys: Upstair Adventure - continued

Well last week I surprised you with yet another Harry & Gladys illustration and left you with a little "cliff hanger."  So here it is folks...this series has been a lot of fun and I hope everyone has enjoyed it.  I sure did and it was awesome to relive a lot of old memories that have been tucked away for quite some time.  For those of you wondering, the blonde cousin who has been in several of the H&G illustrations is also one of my BFF's, Dana.  Our friendship has truely spanned our lifetime.

Harry & Gladys: Upstairs Adventure

Harry & Gladys: Upstairs Adventure

Are you surprised?  I know you thought the Harry and Gladys series was done and so did I but it turns out I had one more story to tell.  It wasn't like I just thought of it, I actually had it on the original list of illustrations,  but when it came time to sketch for this series I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to illustrate this story and all it's parts.....so it got scratched from the list.

This is a story about all the fun we used to have in the upstairs of Harry and Gladys's house. This story had so many parts to it. Sure I could have illustrated one part of the story and blogged about the rest of it but what is the fun in that I ask. This illustration helped me stretch my creative muscle and I'm really happy with my solution.  Just like every good adventure story there is a "cliff hanger."  LOL  You will have to show up next week to hear the rest of the story.

Harry & Gladys: The School Yard

Harry & Gladys: The School Yard

This series would not be complete without the mention of the school yard, most famous for the landmark "giant rock."  Many, many days were spent playing there with my cousins, almost too many days to count really.

In this illustration I really wanted to include the large rock but honestly we probably spent more time on the playground equipment.  And then when my younger sister wrote down her school yard memory I knew I needed to show us coming down that slide without any "blood shed!"  You will understand if you just keep reading.

Janell's Memory

One of the best parts about going to grandma and grandpa's house was the fact that they lived one block away from the schoolyard. Now being the second youngest of the 19 grandchildren my memories are very limited as grandma and grandpa passed away when I was six. However, I do remember when we went to grandma and grandpa's we always used to get to walk down to the park. One time in particular my sister was in charge of watching me when I went to play and the instruction that was given was not to let me go down the "big" slide, to stay on the small slide.

Well, being the typical little sister I begged and being a good big sister she relented and let me go down the "big" slide. Needless to say I got scared and grabbed the side of the slide on my decent and cut my hand on a screw that was sticking out. It wasn't much of a cut but I was screaming so it was hard to hide from mom, dad, grandma and grandpa. While my poor sister was getting in trouble for letting me get hurt, grandma bandaged my hand, wrapping my whole arm in an ace bandage because I was fascinated with casts.

Thank you so much for following along in this series about my grandparents, it has been a fun trip!  If you missed any of it here are the links.  Enjoy!

Meet Harry and Gladys
Silver Dollar
Needle and Thread
Chocolate Cookies
Watermelon
Ice Cream Treat