Year 3 of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 50

Week 50: Festive.

Symmetrical collage and freehand white opaque Signo drawings and black pencil and Sharpie shading, mounted onto Quill Metallique card.

Year 3 of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 47

Week 47: Buildings.

"1960s Street". Sketch in finepoint Sharpie, with watercolours, white opaque Signo, yellow pencil and collaged road markings on watercolour paper. Based on a photo found in a Facebook image search.

Update:

Week 47: Buildings II.

"King Kong hug." Quick sketch in black and brown Sharpies with highlights in white opaque Signo and watercolours.

Year 3 of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 44

Week 44: Spain.

Sketch in red and black Sharpie on white card, based on several Google Image photo references.

Update:

Week 44: Spain II.

"The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain." Cartridge papers of various colours, mesh baking sheet and photocopied flowers, collaged onto pink card. Some brown Sharpie shading. Inspiration from a Google Image search of publicity stills of Eliza Doolittle (My Fair Lady).

Year 3 of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, bonus round

Bonus Challenge: #AUSILLO

Sketch in black fineline Sharpie on watercolour paper, and coloured with watercolour pencils. (I did use an HB pencil first, before inking, which I haven't done in quite a while.) I decided to surround the girl with a few Australian inventions and icons. Based on two different photos of children, one from a Google search, another from my own collection.

Year 3 of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 43

Week 43: Rainbow.

"Pot of Gold - Found!". Black Sharpie, watercolour pencils and Kindy Glitz glitter glue, on watercolour paper, collaged onto white card. Photographed under a halogen lamp.

Update:

Week 43: Rainbow II.

"Rainbow Paddle-pop." Just a quickie sketch of a kids' summer favourite - for all of its colours, the Streets Rainbow Paddle-pop is simply vanilla/caramel flavour. Drawing is coloured with a chunky Noor Hardtmuth rainbow pencil - multiple random colours compressed into the one lead.

Year 3 of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 36

Week 36: Pencil.

"Gone fishing." Freehand sketch in 2B graphite pencil, shaded with yellow, red and blue pencils. Based on my own photo of Dugil in 1978.

Year 3 of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 33

Week 33: Father.

One of the first frogs I ever caught, as a kid, had an extra frog attached firmly to the larger frog. A few minutes later: frog spawn! And lo, I learned about froggy fatherhood. Design created on black "scratch paper", which comes in a pack of five sheets (plus tool) for $4.00 from a toy shop. Based on an image found in a Google search.

Update:

Week 33: Father II.

"Dreadlock Daddy". Freecut silhouette collage with various coloured cards and crushed papers, blue pencil and white Puffy paint. Based on a photograph of my nephew and his baby son acting out "The Lion King" at the beach.

Year 3 of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 31

Week 31: Realism.

"Portrait of Ian and Jack" (from a personal photo) in HB graphite and yellow, red and blue pencils on a black Sharpie easel. I hope this fits with the theme. I was inspired by some art examples in online articles on realism. My original intention was to draw an artist and two sitters, perhaps as less-than-real cartoons, with only the "painted" canvas featuring the realism. But I came to prefer the white space.

Update:

Week 31: Realism II.

"Elephants at Perth Zoo." Freehand watercolour on textured paper, based on my own photograph.

Year 3 of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 27

Week 27: Canberra.

Finepoint black Sharpie on white cartridge paper, with highlights in watercolour pencils and opaque white Signo ink. Inspired by the current Australian $5 note and a holiday photo of my dog, Jack, on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin.

Update:

Year 3 of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 25

Week 25: Invention.

"Professor Pat Pending builds the better mousetrap." Black finepoint Sharpie with watercolour, based on several cels of the character from TV's "Wacky Races".

Update:

Week 25: Invention II.

"Invention in the arts." Freecut symmetrical silhouette in black card, plus ribbon scraps, collaged onto a mounted print-out from Wikipedia.

Year 3 of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 22

Week 22: Science.

Ida Lupino as the evil alchemist, Dr Cassandra Spellcraft, in the "Batman" TV series of the 1960s. Oil pastels on A3 paper, with watercolour wash.

Update:

Week 22: Science II.

"Periodic Table of the Elephants." White pigment Signo ink and collaged black finepoint sketch on black card.

Year 3 of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 20

Week 20: Still life.

It's all I had in the fruit bowl. Bananas with lime and garlic. Oil pastels on black card.

Update:

Week 20: Still life II.

Black finepoint marker, graphite pencil and coloured pencils.

Year 3 of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 8

Week 8: Horizon

"The art of planking". Freehand sketch in black Sharpie on a folded horizon on grey Ingres paper. Highlights in watercolour and white Signo. Inspired by several photos found in a Google Image search. The radiating effect is a lucky accident of the scanning process.

Update:

Week 8: Horizon II

Cartridge paper collage. There seems to be a slight shadow in the centre. That would be me. The iPhone pic works better than the scan, I think.

Return of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 45

Week 45: Peace

Freehand dove in watercolour on white Quill Linenbond card. Olive branch cut from green paper and collaged into place.

Update:

Week 45: Peace II

"Peace of pie." Collaged watercolour paper and textured card on mauve Quill Metallique paper, extending a concept I tried out during last year's Abstract Week.

Return of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 39

Week 39: Melbourne

"Luna Park, St Kilda". Sketched in black finepoint Sharpie (no pencil, no eraser) on A4 gold Quill Metallique card, with highlights in white opaque marker and black watercolour. Based on my own photograph.

I am always in awe watching pro cartoonists and carnival silhouette artists creating art without pencils and erasers, so I think I (almost) enjoy the danger. I learned in "Dance Week", with my Batgirl collage, that you can't really erase anything on the gorgeous Quill Metallique card without causing damage anyway, so... I had to be brave.

Update:

Week 39: Melbourne II

"Cole's 'Little Men', Cole's Book Arcade". Mechanised advertising amusement, now permanently located in Museum Victoria. Sketch in black fineline Sharpie, highlights in watercolour, and gold and white opaque markers. Based on several photos found in a Google Image search, plus the rainbow logo of the former book arcade.

Return of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 33

Week 33: Mythology

"Icarus flies too high..." Drawing of Icarus with finepoint black Sharpie. Highlights in watercolour on white Quill linenbond paper, collaged onto a yellow paper Origami circle and blue felt background. Cloud formations created with cotton wool unwound from a cotton bud. Several photos of Pygar the angel from Barbarella used as reference.

Update:

Week 33: Mythology II

"Behind every successful Minotaur is a clever publicist." Drawing of Mr Minotaur and his aide, Mini Taur, in finepoint black Sharpie. Highlights in watercolour on Quill papers: white linenbond collaged onto cream "marbletone".

Week 33: Mythology III

The dugong, origin of the mythological mermaids. Charcoal sketch on blue card with metallic silver Sharpie and opaque white Signo highlights. Based on my own photograph of Wuru, the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium's female dugong.

Return of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 24

Week 24: Calendar

This is "Calendar Man", one of the lesser-known Batman villains. Sketched (without pencil or eraser) in black and red Sharpie and white opaque Uni Paint marker on red car, mounted on black card. Based on several panels from DC Comics.

I had a Batman board game in the 60s, a tie-in to the 60s TV series, but which drew heavily from the comics of an earlier decade. The villains were the usual Joker, Penguin, Riddler and Catwoman, but also Mr Zero (who had became Mr Freeze before the TV series), Blockbuster and the Calendar Man, whom I'd never heard of! Poor Calendar Man is ridiculed by the other villains for his fascination with calendars.

Update:

Week 24: Calendar II

Freehand-cut symmetrical heart in red card, with watercolour highlights on a sketch in black Sharpie.

Return of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 18

Week 18: Art Deco

"RT-Deco". It seemed appropriate for Star Wars Day ("May the 4th be with you") this week. Art Deco-inspired droid, sketched in blue and black Sharpie inks on textured white card, with watercolour highlights.

Update:

Week 18: Art Deco II

Diana Lamp base in silver and black Sharpie and white Signo pigment ink on textured black card.

52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 45

Watercolour - with no pencil lines - based on a photograph I took one Autumn in Bright, Victoria. The painting came together very quickly after a night of compiling a big batch of report card marks, but I'd had the composition in my head all last week. Getting into the painting was very therapeutic. My reward!

Week 45: Leaves

Update:

Eucalyptus shape cut from green handmade paper remnant, with koala sketch drawn in white Unibolt Signo pigment ink, metallic silver Pilot marker and fine point black Sharpie. No pencil lines! Mounted on a pre-printed Origami paper square.

Week 45: Leaves II

I ended up with a spare eucalyptus leaf shape last night, cut from green handmade paper remnant, so I decided a lyrebird would be the best fit for the available area. Sketched in brown Staedtler Triplus fineliner, white Unibolt Signo pigment ink, metallic silver and gold Pilot markers and fine point black Sharpie. No pencil lines! Mounted on a sheet of black card.

Week 45: Leaves III

Assemblage art of a leafy apple tree with torn brown Ingres paper, candy mint leaves, acid drops and Jaffas on a blue piece of nylon fabric.

Week 45: Leaves IV

52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 26

I spent all day Wednesday surrounded by fog in San Francisco so, in the wee hours of Thursday, when I tried to recreate a plump, fluffy, accurate-to-nature cloud I had painted in 1978, this came out instead. Celebrating the rediscovery that purple and umber are the perfect tones to shade a cloud! You'd expect to need grey or black, but no it's purple and umber! Oil pastels on tiny notepad paper of the Cova Hotel, downtown San Francisco, USA.

Week 26: Clouds

Update:
A bit of a thought experiment. "Every silver lining has a cloud." [Quote from Avon, "Blake's 7".] Created by attaching a torn Ingres paper cloud to my hotel window, complete with a silver lining made with a tinsel pipe-cleaner:

Week 26: Clouds II

No more baked beans for you! Oil pastels on Ingres paper:

Week 26: Clouds III