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

Week 52: Reflection.

"The witch's mirror." Sketch in black and silver Sharpies, with red, yellow and blue coloured pencil.

Update:

Week 52: Reflection II.

"Duck on the pond." Freecut silhouette symmetrical collage using metallic bronze card, watercolour pencils, white Signo pigment ink and black Sharpie. Based on a photo viewed in Google Images.

Return of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 41

Week 41: Sweets

"Gingerbread house". White and yellow Puffy Paint on recycled brown paper. Details in watercolour and black finepoint Sharpie, with collaged roof and witch.

Update:

Week 41: Sweets II

Watercolour and collage with white opaque paint pen.

Return of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 1

Week 1: Fairy Tale

Facebook Friend Tania McCartney is running the 52-Week Illustration Challenge again in 2015. My first effort (above) is Little Red Riding Hood: a watercoloured artwork on dampened watercolour paper. Outlined in black Sharpie - freehand with no pencil lines.

I shall be adding the artworks to this Flickr slideshow each week. Enjoy!

I did the Challenge in its inaugural year, which saw its membership surpass 2500 members! (2728 at last count!) Last year, I got into a fairly good routine of painting on a Sunday afternoon (and perhaps a little tinkering the next night), then creating the scan or digital photo so I'd be ready to post to the Challenge's Facebook page at midnight on the Tuesday. Of course, originally, I had no intention of doing a second artwork each week. I started getting intensely jealous of people putting up multiple works of a theme... so now, if inspiration strikes, I'll alway do more. I'm looking forward to seeing who's still here - and how artistic we all feel - in another year's time!

Update:

Week 1: Fairy Tale II

Peter Pan. Charcoal sketch of my Chicago actor pal, James Edward Dauphin, from a publicity shot of his featured stage role. In a costume he designed himself. Highlights in green oil pastel.

Week 1: Fairy Tale III

The Witch - of numerous fairy tales - as portrayed by Meryl Streep in 'Into the Woods'. Charcoal over watercolour wash on A3 watercolour paper. Based on a publicity photo.

I saw the movie, Into the Woods, on Sunday night and that particular image of Meryl Streep as The Witch has been haunting me ever since. I did exaggerate her nose because she was looking too pretty. I was excited by the randomness of the watercolour wash. Just as it was close to drying, I patted off excess green in the centre, with a scrunched paper towel, guessing where the face needed to be. Then I kept reorienting the paper, trying to decide which way was "up". Working with charcoal takes me back to the late 70s/early 80s. Nostalgia plus!

Wicked Witch of the Trek?

Here's my customised Gaila the green Orion figure, from the recent "Star Trek" movie, made via a simple clothes swap between a Mattel's Barbie as the Wicked Witch of the West ("The Wizard of Oz") and Barbie as Uhura (JJ Abram's "Star Trek").

Obsessing over this idea for several weeks now, from when I first saw the Oz figure in a collectibles shop, with her green complexion, arching eyebrows and tufts of curly hair under her pointy black hat, I realised she seemed to be the shortpacked figure in a range of Ken & Barbie "The Wizard of Oz" dolls.


Gaila the Orion.

I then lucked across a cheap(er), spare Barbie Uhura, but now the Target toy sale catalogue was featuring the "Oz" Barbies even cheaper (but sold out). I did a fairly good eBay deal, but hadn't anticipated that the witch Barbie might not have been green all over. So, there's a little more work to be done.

There are plans afoot for the spare (now near-nude) Uhura.




Click: My Flickr slideshow (Seven images)

"Melting, melting, I'm melting..."

Okay, it's the age-old mystery:

"How did the Wicked Witch of the West ever take a bath?"

It was raining in Mittagong today, our last pitstop before arriving home from our Canberra vacation. I just couldn't resist snapping this witch's hat, which was sitting so forlornly on the pavement in the constant drizzle.

It was perfect weather for fish, chips, battered savs and potato scallops. But please don't tell anyone. (Sadly, every day of this holiday has been Junk Food Day. I just hope I did enough walking...)