the brown owl

Drawn for hoots and giggles, a brown owl drawn with a brush pen and a bit of verse – from poet Jane Euphemia Browne's The Great Brown Owl – and texture added digitally.

The Skinny

Illustration Friday's brand-new theme of skinny allows me a chance to show off a brand-new freelance illustration endeavour. It also sends me spouting off about blogs' inabilities to showcase or scroll long and skinny horizontal pieces (like comic strip panels and stitched panoramic photos, which I love making).

The whole back-story and process can be had – devoured, even – right over here.

The Great Pretender

Submission for Illustration Friday's recent theme of pretend. Drawn with varying thicknesses of Pigma Micron pens and coloured in Photoshop (with musical note added from Illustrator).

Check the whole story here, and a more detailed look here.

Go Suck A Lemon...

...is what this mossie was told to do – and behold the toe-curling results.

For Illustration Friday's theme of sour, you can read the whole story here – and check out a more detailed look here.

SFG: (Old School) Politics

Forgive me if I've posted this before, and if I have then it's certainly been awhile. Thought I'd post this portrait of Ricky Nixon for SFG's theme of politics. Done originally for Illustration Friday's theme of spotted (as in spotted dick, nyuk nyuk...), the whole story behind the piece can be had here, and a better look at the linework can be had over here.

The Early Bird

Curious? Read more, here. And view larger here.

(Oh, and hullo, SFG-ers ... long time, no chat.)

Failure To Leap

A submission for Illustration Friday's theme of leap. And for this, I am inspired by the squirrel. If you've ever seen a squirrel fall, I'd like to hear about it.

For the whole story, click here.

Choose Wisely

A recent submission for Illustration Friday's theme of choose. I suspect there's a few sci-fi nuts on SFG! – so I'll spare the groan-worthy punchline. But if you don't get it, click on over here.

Is A Bear Catholic?

SFG's theme of hats makes me think of the quite-funny Flickr group Bears In Ill-Fitting Hats.

(Click here for the whole story.)

Stitch

An illustration done last week for Illustration Friday's theme of stitch. So why a painted bunting for this theme? Well, there's an answer to that here – if'n you want it. Access to a more detailed version can also be had here.

B

A submission! For both SFG's theme of "B is for" and Illustration Friday's recent theme of "superstition" – and one of the superstitions that intrigues me most is that of the bird in the house.

Originally a doodle on scrap paper, then inked, scanned and coloured in Photoshop (type and speech bubbles created in Freehand). Click here to read the whole story, and here for a better look at the detail.

Potato Gangsta

Hi, SFG friends!

A rare recent illustration of a fine young urban man who can't juggle potatoes to save his street cred. Not much to it other than that, but further insight can be had here – and a larger view can be had here.

I Drew A Hippo

... and I had never drawn a hippo before. That calls for a drink at my house.

Click here for a closer look at the detail, or here for the whole back story. Good to see you guys again – it's been awhile. Some of you don't look familiar ... you, namely. And you. And that guy. But you're all still a fine-looking bunch.

The Blue Suited Booby

Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man ...

My Nemesis

I imagine that when I die, I will be riding a bike, swerve to miss a dangling cankerworm – and run head-on into an oncoming bus. Following each spring, I wonder why it hasn't happened yet. These hanging caterpillars freak me right out.

Click here for the whole story.

That's So Raven

Illustration Friday’s weekly theme of polar makes me think of the raven. Not entirely a polar bird (and I think, by absolute definition, there are no true polar creatures), ravens are still strong symbols of the higher latitudes and icons of the Great White North. I drew this raven in pen from a photograph (not my own) for an unrelated recent project and decided to snatch it for I-F’s theme also – adding dashes of subtle colour to the mix to give a bit more resonance.

Click here for access to a better look at the detail, and here for the whole story.

Frog Life (aka It Ain't Easy)

Submission for Illustration Friday's current theme of "green", a straight-up homage to one of my favourite all-time characters, Kermit the Frog ­ with a slight eco-touch tossed in for good measure. As always, check out the whole story here, and have a closer look at the detail here.

You Spy

A submission for Illustration Friday's current theme of "I Spy". Take a few moments out of your busy schedules and see if you can spy the thing that doesn't fit in this piece. Then be sure to click here for the obligatory back-story and access to a closer look at the detail.

Ill Communication

A recent submission for Illustration Friday (theme: communication). We live in an officially bilingual nation way up here – but like this chap on the left, this is what it'd actually be like for most Canucks if plonked down suddenly into conversation with one of our french-speaking countrymen. Click here for the whole story, if'n yer interested.

Losing The Battle

Any SugarFrosted folk here losing the battle to gravity? Then this is for you, my first drawing of any kind since December (been having a fling with the camera lately), sketched for Illustration Friday's current theme.

The full story on this illustration can be checked out here, and a closer, more detailed look can be had here. Sketched in pen, coloured in Photoshop.