IF - Robot

I did a blog post for the University of Bristol Botanic Garden about composting robots, but I was faced with a definite lack of visual material for the post. After all, a photo of compost wasn't terribly appealing. So, I decided to throw caution to the wind and quickly whip a little cartoon to go alongside the post of what a compostable robot might look like. I drew the outline by hand and then coloured the cartoon in on the computer. So, when I saw this week's IF topic, I couldn't resist submitting this!

IF - Stripes

A quick sketch for Illustration Friday this week. Topic is 'Stripes', so what better than an animal with a naturally striped boa, ready to accent any mood! I love ring-tailed lemurs...who doesn't?

I can't believe I haven't done any artwork since July!

I realized recently how important it is to keep being creative. You see, I realized long ago how important it is for my sanity to exercise my body. I run. On days when I don't run I'm less patient, less productive and more likely to be grumpy.

So why shouldn't exercising my brain be just as important?

I write. It's my profession. So, after several months of doing less creative writing and more paid writing, I realized I was suffering from a lack of exercise of the brain. I was grumpy, doubting my career choice, unproductive...you name it! So, a couple of days of drawing, photography and doing some unpaid but deeply satisfying creative writing, I feel like I've just done a half marathon and I'm ready to get back at it.

Lesson learned - keep running, keep creating.

Asleep

This week's IF word is Asleep. It made me immediately think of the many, many hours I watched our son sleep in an incubator in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. We were in the hospital for two months as he was only 970 grams when he was born.

I kept a journal and wrote in it almost daily. I also sketched. This is one of the sketches from that notebook.

Burning

This week's Illustration Friday topic is burning. What with packing up a house to move to the UK, a sick 3-year old for the last week, a husband overseas for 3 weeks and wrapping up the final days of my job...burn out came to mind initially, however that wasn't terribly inspiring. Frankly, I can't hear the word burning without thinking of the horrific fires here in Australia in 2009. The media was filled with shocking images. So, here is my take on burning.

Nautilus Races

This week's Illustration Friday theme is transportation. What better way to get around than on a marine creature that has been transporting itself for 450 million years. Nautilus are incredibly resilient animals that don't usually get much attention. Of course, the catch is that they propel themselves backwards, so they may hit the odd thing and they may not take the most direct route! This painting is another in a series of underwater children's illustrations I've done for my son's bedroom.

Acrobat

This week's Illustration Friday theme....ACROBAT. Not sure whether I got the point across or whether it just looks like some lady wrestling with the linen?!

A rolling stone gathers no moss

A very quick watercolour for Illustration Friday's word of the week PROVERB. I chose the proverb A rolling stone gathers no moss because it is something my grandmother always used to say to me. Of course, these days my interpretation is much different. I figure, moss grows quickly, so why not roll while you can!

Vacant

Illustration Friday - for the October 31st theme "Vacant". Are your current living quarters feeling a little cramped? See something better, but just aren't sure they are vacant? I just had to do the hermit crab...what a perfect example of something always looking for vacancies!