When pondering the theater, I immediately thought of the "butterflies in your stomach" - the moment of trepidation before walking onto the stage. I saw this pic I took of my daughter and was immediately inspired. I thought about defining the thoughts in the character's head, but decided to leave it up to the viewer.

You never know when inspiration's gonna hit you. It could be in the middle of a lecture at school or during a root canal. But when it does, you have to jump on it. Whether it's committing it to memory and writing it down as soon as you get a chance or breaking out the sketchbook immediately, you should never ignore your muse when she acts. My muse today was iPhoto. I was scrolling through hundreds of photos, organizing but mostly reminiscing, when I came across this pic of my daughter making faces to the camera in her Halloween costume. I thought of the Illustration Friday topic for this week and thought, "Hey, I bet I can make this work!" So I immediately began searching for supporting images and composed this sketch.



I won't talk about it just yet until I finish the painting and post it to IF. But i am very excited to be painting after a few weeks' hiatus.

A girl is playing in her backyard and discovers a dinosaur bone. Once she picks it up, she is met by an actual dinosaur. Before we know it, they become friends and go off on an adventure. After it is all said and done, the dinosaur leaves and she is left alone again with the dino bone. She recounts her tale to her mother and her brother. Her mother kindly humors her and praises her for finding the fossil. However, her brother mocks her and smugly explains the impossibility of the whole situation. Nevertheless, it was her adventure to be had.

When I did this self-portrait, I wanted to convey multiple ideas. One of them being a child lost in a grown up world. I had always considered myself childlike and often times childish. And I would find it difficult sometimes to function in a fast-paced, cynical world. Another idea I wanted to convey was the fleeting aspect of time – that time will escape us and before we know it, we're older and have not accomplished our goals.

I grew up boiling my eggs and then decorating them. That meant, if you happened to miss an egg during the hunt, you'd still be able to find it months later by smell alone. And how many of you remember those "shrinky dink"-type wraps that went around eggs? I think I may have tried every store bought kit I could find, from PAAS to Dudley. But nothing beats some acrylic paint and a small brush. I just may make this a tradition!

"Talisman: an object that is thought to have magic powers and to bring good luck." I chose this piece I did last year to illustrate the story of the Little Red Hen. Somehow, I'm starting to see the seed as the object of good fortune or magical powers. But it only works for those who nurture it.

Doing the final art for Carl Jung was pretty tricky at times. I ink my work so infrequently, that I sometimes forget a few safeguards. One of them is wearing lint-free photography gloves. This prevents oil from the hand contaminating the surface to be inked. There were many a line I had to repair because of that. Another safeguard is a piece of cardboard or other sturdy material to keep my hands from smearing work I had already done. But when it was all said and done, I was very happy with the results. I spoil myself with smooth gradients of color and value that I forget the simple joys of line-work and crosshatching. Well, here it is: