Happy Mother’s Day! My mom is the best of moms.
The Painting That was Hidden for More Than 12 Months
Ignore the almost Christmassy winter feel. Or embrace it. Whatever feels natural.
My mom absolutely LOVES Animal Crossing, so for her birthday on the 20th she asked for a painting of her character. My mom takes her role in the game seriously when she plays, and never neglects a dying flower or a sad neighbor.
A present for my fiance on his 25th birthday, February 1st—a ten year old alien boy walks home alone from school for the first time.
I’m writing a short story about him (“Grood” is his name) but I’m not ready to post it just yet!
For sale as a print over here!
Last week I was driving home from work and I was stopped at a red light beside a group of yellow and orange trees. I had the windows of my car rolled down and as I looked at the wind blowing leaves all over the road, an abrasive screech shot out of the trees. It was like little noisy black birds were streaming out of the trees at once, forming a large mass and weaving into the wind and the leaves.
Because of that funny little image and that feeling, I’ve been planning an autumn tree piece, and I love love love pumpkin faces right now.
Lonely October
She can recall a time
in which she was important to the people of villages.
Her audience now are pod flowers, growing slowly
from the rubble that surrounds her.
To her, the thin blue thistle seems to whisper its approval
and the endless cycle of cool mornings begin
in the same dull way.
Many thanks to my lovely sister for being exactly the model I needed for this piece! It’s in gouache and took some time. It’s kind of a large painting for me, large enough to accommodate the detail I wanted. I loved painting the rocks and her bronze shoes. There was a story building as I drew it. I wanted her to seem lonely, like October has seemed at times, but in that loneliness she is able to gain some sort of peace or maybe even a sense of power.
My favorite piece of the summer so far! I wanted everything to be cotton candy pink and an elongated lady in the center with a demon boy sighing wistfully up at her. Oh, my imagination! Of Montreal’s Paralytic Stalks really helped me through this.
This lady does not let travel stress HER out. Foreign diseases? Yeah right! Language barrier? Gone! Currency conversions? Piece of cake! (notice she is eating a piece of cake). This was so much fun, man oh man I love gouache.
This is on watercolor paper and not on my typical illustration board, so there’s a great texture. I also found the most perfectly vibrant tubes of Quinacridone Magenta and New Gamboge and lickety split, a yellow toned painting that is NOT a color disaster! I ALWAYS challenge myself with yellow, because though you may believe that yellow goes with everything, it sure will make you nervous as you are painting.
Specs the Seal Girl welcomes the Summer Season with an illustration straight out of 1970’s Hallmark.
She’s looking upon a deadly cup and deciding whether to drink.
This is my *official* tumblr, now! Here are my pretty paper people!
My personal silly tumblr is over here:
neighborhoodghoul.tumblr.com
There are from my website, yet another link…
http://www.noellemcclanahan.com/2012/04/home-sweet-home.html
