Apple and pear

Apple and pear, originally uploaded by alida saxon.

This week's Illustration Friday theme is "Fresh". So I decided to keep things fresh and do something different than vector this week.

The fruit were being pretty fresh with me too... both are lopsided, and kept wanting to ruin my composition. But I eventually got them to stay still long enough to do this 40 minute study. Colored Pencil on black.

Escape

Escape, originally uploaded by alida saxon.

This is actually a combination of this week's Illustration Friday theme "Escape", and last week, as I failed to get one done for the previous subject "Depth"

Fireman

Fireman, originally uploaded by alida saxon.

"Fireman"
9"x6" w/1" border
Colored pencil on black acidfree Artagain Strathmore paper.

I'm not sure how well the flames came out, but yellows are very difficult on black paper. They tend to go green. Oh well. :)

Seaman

Seaman, originally uploaded by alida saxon.

"Seaman"
9"x6" w/1" border
Colored pencil on black acidfree Artagain Strathmore paper.


Yes, I'm being quite punny with these ones. Same size as the "Airman" piece, with the intention of making a set. Contrast is a bit off with the upload, so I'll have to adjust that later should

illofriday "Roots"

illofriday "Roots", originally uploaded by alida saxon.

A little on the creepy side for this week's Illustration Friday. This one took me most of the morning, in large part because most of it's made away from the computer. I did the tree with ink and compressed air, then fingerprints on a separate page... scanned in, vectored and started editing. Best viewed Large.

Airman

Airman, originally uploaded by alida saxon.

"Airman"
9x6 inches w/1 inch border
Colored pencil on black acidfree Artagain Strathmore paper.

I did this up yesterday for the Art for Katrina project. I'm really rather fond of it. This seems to be what happens when I send them away. :)

Art for Katrina stars

Art for Katrina stars, originally uploaded by alida saxon.

Some of you already know this, but when I first moved to the US from Canada, it was to Baton Rouge, LA. I moved in July, right after finishing school. What an experience, and not all of it great. It was too hot, I didn't understand most people with their heavy accents, and I was away from the friends I'd gone through school with.

But I'll never say it wasn't an interesting place. I learned about Cajun music, Creole cooking and I learned how to use hot sauce - which is significant for a Canadian. I still pronounce New Orleans" as "Nawlins".

We got brushed by Hurricane Andrew while I lived there, and a week without power was quite enough to give me a respect for the power of nature. New Orleans saw some flooding then from rain, but nothing enormous like this. It's still hard to wrap my head around the idea of it being under water, even though we all knew it could happen.

These are the stars I make every fall for the last few years, as gifts for friends. Some of you have gotten these. Very labor intensive, but I love the results, and giving them away. Made with remnant designer fabrics, most of them moiré. I'm donating these six to an art auction effort called Art for Katrina. I'll update when I know the ebay auction date. I also hope to finish a small illustration to donate as well.

illofriday "dreams"

illofriday "dreams", originally uploaded by alida saxon.

This week's Illustration Friday is "Dreams". Wouldn't you be dreaming if you worked in a place like that?