meeks

After an absence of several months, I finally managed to participate in Sketch Fest again! I only did five sketches this weekend, but it's nice to know I haven't completely forgotten how to draw :P

Prompt: Matsu
This one is a multilingual pun: "Matsu" is both a chinese sea goddess and the japanese word for 'to wait'

Prompt: Web Sight

Prompt: A face in the forest

Prompt: Selfportrait -- together with one of your own characters

Prompt: Nice big sweater

current mood artistic
crossposts http://meeksp.livejournal.com/88246.html

Sorry for the delay, everyone! I was feeling pretty sick from Sunday afternoon through most of yesterday, so I didn't get around to posting these until now. I did seven paintings over the weekend, including "Bathing Time", which is probably the most popular Sketch Fest piece I've ever done!

prompt: Fell through

prompt: bathing time

prompt: catch me if you can

prompt: feeding a friend

prompt: shutter bug

prompt: an army of potato golems armed with garden implements

prompt: baby dragons waddling across the highway

crossposts http://meeksp.livejournal.com/86264.html

I'm taking a break from working on meeksmas art to go play at Sketch Fest this weekend! My fellow artists and I will be taking prompts until noon (Alaska time) on Sunday, so come join the fun! As usual, I will be posting individual pictures to Facebook and twitter and the whole set here when they're all done. You can also keep an eye on my artist page for new additions. :)

current mood bouncy
crossposts http://meeksp.livejournal.com/85944.html

Here's my latest batch of < 1hr paintings. I managed to do seven of them this weekend, despite being distracted by the end of Lorelei's kickstarter project and all the nitpicky formatting stuff I'm doing for the print and various electronic editions of the book. Prints are available through the SketchFest site until Friday, after which...well, I can still do them, you just have to tell me. :P

prompt: Cameleopard

prompt: Oh where could those dust bunnies be hiding?

prompt: If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck chances are good it's not a cat but I fall for the lie everytime

prompt: The wrong guide

prompt: What Happened to the Book on How To Fly Your Dragon

prompt: The thing in the back of the closet

prompt: Flower bed

I'm amused to discover that I seem to be creating a series of cute bugs. It might be fun to do something with them if I ever have time again...

crossposts http://meeksp.livejournal.com/76645.html

This may sound a bit silly coming out of a SketchFest weekend, but I feel like I haven't been very productive lately. It might just be because so much of my time has been filled with things that aren't art, or maybe it's just that many of the projects I have planned right now are self-directed rather than collaborative. Actually, that's probably what it is...the need to communicate when other people are involved in a project gives it a sense of urgency and makes it feel more like 'work', no matter how much I enjoy it. Oh Brain...*sigh*

I managed to do eight pieces for SketchFest 23 (without losing any sleep this time!) That brings my total for the month up to 20, so it's not like I haven't accomplished anything. :P

prompt: Flying cat, with halo

prompt: turtle vs hare

prompt: keeping warm

prompt: Grumbly Bear

prompt: Bark

prompt: "no, really!! I'm a dragon!!"

prompt: zebra in a herd of cows

prompt: Combine "monster" and "house slippers"

crossposts http://meeksp.livejournal.com/72095.html

I will be boarding a plane later tonight to go visit my family, and will be returning on Jan 18. As usual, I will be bringing my laptop, but I may be a bit slower to respond to messages due to the presence of live people.

The 48-hour SketchFest was quite a success! I did 12 paintings for it — enough to make up for missing last month. Coat of Arms has already sold, so I'll be cleaning it up to print, and copies of all the others are available through the SketchFest site.

( lots of pictures under cut )

In case you missed it, I did a guest post at

poetree On Illustrating Poetry on Friday last week, with some commentary on each of the poem-based Story Sketches I've done so far. Comments on this post will be counted toward this week's icon draw! (Which I'm postponing for a couple of days since I didn't give you any art to comment on until now. :P)

Signal boost!

The

crowdfunding community is seeking nominations in six categories for this year's Rose & Bay awards. If you know of any great crowdfunding projects, feel free to suggest them! Personally, I'd love to see more people and projects from outside lj/dreamwidth get involved in this!

Speaking of crowdfunding,

aldersprig has a new idea for a project involving mini-stories on postcards!

ariestess 's monthly one-card-draw is open for a couple more hours (until 8PM PST). She's got a few decks to choose from, and donors are entered into a draw for a more in-depth reading.

Updates from my own projects:

My Inkling fundraiser is now at 40%! Thanks to all who have contributed so far! :)

Story Sketches tips: $10

current mood busy

I didn't start sketching until after dinner yesterday, but since I more-or-less slept through the day, I felt disinclined to sleep again until about eight this morning, when I lay down for what turned out to be a ~three hour nap. The result is that, despite my late start, this turned out to be my most productive Sketchfest yet! I came up with nine sketches, and although I didn't feel inspired to make my usual jokes, I think a few of these can be developed into great art samples for children's books, and I have three xmas themed ones that can be used for greeting cards. I'll have to decide whether to use a POD service or wait to submit them to card companies in spring.

prompt: xmas under the southern cross

prompt: holiday mischief

prompt: a knight and his steed

prompt: the puppet master

prompt: digging up the garden

prompt: growing

prompt: lesser of 2 evils

prompt: waiting for santa

prompt: rat's raft

current mood productive
crossposts http://meeksp.livejournal.com/62800.html

I did five paintings this month, which is less than my average, but still a better turnout than I expected, considering the state I woke up in. ^_^ 5 x 7 inch prints of any of them are available through the Sketchfest site.

prompt: Sacred Calling

prompt: Bass Monster

prompt: inside a jack o lantern

prompt: the tired stick

prompt: Wingless bat

Full-resolution finished versions of any of these are $75, and prices for smaller sizes are negotiable. Co-sponsorships are welcome!

crossposts http://meeksp.livejournal.com/58285.html

I got six paintings done this month: three yesterday before falling asleep early, and three today. No Lorelei this month, but I introduced her pen-pal, Tanuki Jiro, who doesn't find his almost namesake very appetizing.

I tried an experiment this time, and made postcard sized prints of most of them available through the SketchFest sales system, and somebody bought one! I think I'll be doing that from now on :) You can still sponsor any of these if you want a version that's suitable for larger prints, but it's a quick way to get a copy for those who like the speedpaintings as-is.

prompt: Death in disguise

prompt: monster switch

prompt: The Masked Ball

Tanuki-jiru
prompt: Tanuki at the Market

prompt: The Cat's Music

prompt: sole survivor

Finished versions of any of these are $75. Co-sponsorships are welcome!

current mood artistic
crossposts http://meeksp.livejournal.com/52640.html

Here's this month's batch of ≤ 1 hour paintings. I managed six yesterday, and actually got up in time to do a seventh!

...for dinner
prompt: A Bird Could Love A Fish...

prompt: EEEK. Stomp!

Lorelei has a picnic
prompt: A Hedgehog's Picnic Basket

prompt: Just bitten

prompt: Unusual Illumination

prompt: Painting Nails

prompt: your dream vehicle

You can sponsor any of these if you'd like to see them finished!

crossposts http://meeksp.livejournal.com/47393.html

I seem to be averaging six paintings per month. Not too bad, I suppose. As always, these are all available for sponsorship, so let me know if you'd like to see something finished!

prompt: Coughing Puddles

Lorelei Sees the Sun
prompt: They mostly come out at night. Mostly.

Shooting Stars (Sagittarius, The Archer)
prompt: Shooting Stars

Harry Potter and the Lump of Clay
prompt: Harry potter

prompt: Super Dog Saving a Kitty Cat

prompt: Bows and Arrows

If you like these pictures, please consider leaving a tip! Contributions of any amount are greatly appreciated :)

crossposts http://meeksp.livejournal.com/40756.html

Six paintings this month. I had ideas for a few others, but couldn't get my sleep deprived brain to form proper images >.< As always, these are all available for sponsorship and/or print requests!

prompt: This Is How We Roll

prompt: hot blood

prompt: Sweet dreams...

prompt: Dead Pirate's Pet

prompt: Crying wolf

prompt: I am the walrus

If you like these pictures, please consider leaving a tip! Contributions of any amount are greatly appreciated :)

crossposts http://meeksp.livejournal.com/34125.html

I got a bit of a late start, but I'm playing over at SketchFest today! I'll be posting to facebook and twitter as I upload each sketch, so check there for updates throughout the day!

crossposts http://meeksp.livejournal.com/33924.html

This is the finished version of one of the speed paintings I did for the May 2011 SketchFest. It was inspired by a prompt from Mary Strauchman.

This picture is available as a print!

crossposts http://meeksp.livejournal.com/32114.html

This is the finished version of one of my doodles from the May 2011 Sketchfest, based on the prompt "So they took the trees, they took to the skies" by Laura Siadak. I'll be making prints (and possibly a few other items) available to purchase after the person it was sponsored for gets her copy, so if there's something you'd like to see it on, leave me a note in the comments!

current mood accomplished
crossposts http://meeksp.livejournal.com/30855.html

My pictures from this month's SketchFest...I didn't get as many done as last month, partly because I lost some time after making the unfortunate discovery that our bathroom sink has a leak >.< It also looks like I've again missed some interesting prompts that were posted while I was sleeping...I'll have to try staying up all night for one of these sometime.

prompt: never drink and draw

prompt: Storybook Tree

prompt: So they took the trees, they took to the skies

prompt: Tattoo Time

prompt: Seahorse

Edited to add:
Since I've been asked, YES, you can sponsor more work on these! Please let me know in the seller instructions if there's a particular sketch you'd like to see finished!

crossposts http://meeksp.livejournal.com/29083.html

As I mentioned, I used this month's SketchFest as an exercise in speedpainting, so I ended up with seven images that are not quite finished, but that wouldn't take much more work for me to feel comfortable with calling them 'done'. I'm thinking of cleaning them up and making them available as prints from Imagekind. What do you think? Does anyone want to see finished versions of these? Would prints be of interest to you?

A strange case of indegestion