projects, projects, projects...

I always seem to forget in the winter that spring is coming. I get into a schedule of coming home from work and spending my downtime working on illustrations relentlessly. That's good, because, of course, then things are completed in a timely fashion...

And the spring arrives.

And suddenly I have the desire to go outside and wander around the yard with my camera... I even stopped on my way home from work a few days ago just to take some pictures. Which means that working on illustrations sometimes comes to a screeching halt.

My desktop is presently filling up with PSDs.
These are some compositions for sarahkdesigns that I'm supposed to be working on, but the outdoors seems to be beckoning me...

tulips & ladybugs
the forest
the koi pond
barn swallows
eastern bluebirds

But they will eventually be finished!
"tulips & ladybugs" is almost done.
I have to draw butterflies for "the forest."
The koi pond just needs to be color edited.
The composition that the barn swallows were drawn for needs to be scanned & filled.
I have yet to compose the background picture for the bluebirds, but I think I have an idea.

I've been procrastinating with some photo editing in the meantime. I got some good shots of the ever elusive pair of bluebird that are scoping out the nest box in the backyard. The bluebirds are a little camera shy.

Hopefully, your spring is productive!

Treasury! sponteneity & spring

It's raining outside as I type this... but it's sunny somewhere off in cyberspace.
Even sunnier that my print (wonderland wash) is featured in this treasury: some kind of fantasy

wonderland wash

which can be found at sarahkdesigns

This was a fun print to make, as I made it on a whim. I was just sitting in front of the computer and decided that I wanted some 'Alice' on my clothesline... and so, I printed out my ink drawing of the clothesline and penciled in the rest... inked that, scanned it, edited it, and started filling in my file with whatever was hanging around on my desktop...

Sometimes spontaneity is perfect.

Picture Story: happy together

I like happy pictures. As far back as I can remember, that's what I've drawn. I like things with bright colors, and a lot of different colors. I like landscapes, I like sky, and sun, and flowers. More specifically, I like drawing them.

I recently decided to make some artwork specifically for myself (the house). And in the process I ended up working out a number of compositions since I made a variety of elements. When I was drawing the calla lilies I also drew a bunch of tulips. And then I made "the house" — well, I also drew out the bird house. Technically, it's not actually a "bird house", it's a bird box, more specifically a nest box.

Anyhow, the reason that I would draw myself a nest box is because I have them in my backyard. They are for eastern bluebirds. And every year, there are a pair of bluebirds that have a brood in one of the boxes.

So, I decided to make myself a picture using the nest box with some bluebirds. The bluebirds usually show up in March, right around the time we have spring here in Michigan, to scope out the yard and claim their territory. They always arrive before the tree swallows.

close-up of the bluebirds

They spend a lot of time inspecting the box. Sitting on top of it, perching on the back, and doing the wing wave.

This will be available as a print at "sarahkdesigns" soon : )

Outside: pining for spring

It's cold outside again, but I'm pining for spring...
So, I've been working on photos again. These are some images I have recently formatted.

Hopefully the weather is warm wherever you are!

These will eventually be available at my etsy shop "sarah knight"

I invite you to check out my interview at Liz Ware's blog

I also invite you to check out Crafty Dream which has featured my "irises & butterflies" print : )

Outside: the bluebirds are here

Since spring seems to be upon us, my favorite harbingers have arrived: the eastern bluebirds.
There are 3 bluebird boxes in the yard, and every year we have a pair of bluebirds occupy one of them. They usually have between 3 and 5 babies.

This week our bluebirds have returned and they're outside scoping out the nest boxes.
This is a male:


The male is on the left, the female is on the right.


And this is the box they are currently laying claim to.

(although, I photographed this a few weeks ago when there was still snow on the ground...)

Hopefully, they'll stick around and build a nest and have some babies.

I have a lot of bluebird items in my shop: sarahkdesigns I invite you to check them out!

I invite you to check out my interview at Liz Ware's blog

Outside: ready for spring

Spring is beginning. I have spotted some harbingers out and about. I saw the first spring crocus just yesterday. I'm ready for spring. I'm ready for the weather to warm. I'm ready for the plants to bud. I'm ready for the birds to return...

And I anticipate the opportunity to go out and about and photograph the spring sights.

In the meantime, these are some shots from springs of yore.

Eventually, most of these will be available in my etsy shop: sarahknight
This friday (03-19-2010) you can check out my interview on Liz Ware's Blog : )

and thanks to INDIE Pretty, for featuring my "spring clean print" on her blog : )

Outside: photography

I have taken a lot of pictures. I couldn't ever explain why. It's not like I thought I was going to be a photographer when I was a child or something. I guess I just kind of came about doing it.

When I was a kid, my mother bought me and my sister cameras. She actually bought my sister a better camera than the one she bought for me. My sister is 3 years older than I... so, I guess maybe this somehow made sense. But well, no not really.

I was always the artistic one and she was always the one who did very well in academics. That's not to say I'm a slouch or something... just that my goal in life was never fixated on being a "straight A" type of student. So, really, it was completely absurd that my mother bought my sister who is so much less artistically inclined a better camera.

Sure, there's that whole argument to be made that the greatest artist can make the most magnificent things with the lowest quality materials... but really, I think my mom was just being cheap. And I also think my sister probably actually asked for a camera, where as I didn't. And my mother was the type who treated us the same regardless of the age difference.

Whatever, I haven't used that cheap camera in years. I took it on one outing with my high school art club to New York. And the only memorable shot I took was of the John Lennon "imagine" thing on the pavement in the park.

Taking slides for AP art in High School I somehow ended up snatching my mother's Pentax SLR. I still have that camera. To be blunt, my mother is not the greatest photographer. So, me taking that camera doesn't really cause much of a loss. I did, however, gain most of my experience with photography from that Pentax. I've taken hundreds of pictures with it. Believe me, I have them in envelopes which reside in boxes in my office.

The Pentax did end up being usurped by the digital camera I bought about 2 years ago. It's a Kodak, and it didn't come with much of a manual, and I'm not the sort of person who has the patience to try and find one on a website. So, I pretty much figured things out by trial and error.

I'm pretty happy with that camera... and while I suppose in this digital age it may seem like it's taken me forever, I decided to format my photos and offer them for sale on my etsy shop "sarahknight".

It's been entertaining going through my vast collection on my iphoto and picking and choosing... but at some point, those labeled envelopes in those boxes on the shelf starting looking pretty interesting. So, I've been spending quite a bit of time in front of the computer, going through the envelopes and scanning and formatting the photos lately.

Since they're printed photos being scanned in at a high resolution, the blips and dots and fibers create an interesting effect. Not being too fixated on any one theme or idea, I kind of like the look.

So, in the near future these will be available in my etsy shop:

tiger swallowtail on tigerlily


midnight enchantment


bee on blue globe thistle