It has been a while, but here is an entry for this weeks Illustration Friday theme strong.  It is hard to say which has a stronger attraction the delicious ice cream or the curious gentleman.  I had an image of an ice cream shop and the rather curious gentleman who owns the shop.  He is only referred to as the curious gentleman by those who know him.  It is not that anything is wrong with him or that he is weird.  He is rather a mystery.  Rumor has it that he was an officer in the Great Ice Cream Wars, perhaps even a spy.  He is very hush hush about it, but he is said to be a hero.  Regardless, he has that best ice cream to be found.  Hope your week is filled with excitement and perhaps even ice cream.

Check out the Curious Gentleman stuff in my Zazzle Shop.  Create your own adventures with the Curious Gentleman.

Most dragons have a craving for gold, jewels, and wealth.  They hoard all of their treasure away from the world, in dark caves and fiercely guard it from anyone or anything that may try to take even one single coin.  Over time the dragons grew larger and larger, trapped with the very treasure they hoarded.  Pip, the little red dragon, did not crave the selfish ways of the older and larger dragons. He enjoyed sharing his wealth with his friends and family.  He preferred the sunlight instead of dark caves.  Flying in the early morning air was one of his favorite things.  He would glide, float, and soar.  His scales were red and gold like the rays of the sun light.  Anyone that witnessed his early morning play could not help but smile.  Over time, Pip became legend, however to this day his image is said to bring happiness, joy, and wealth to all who see it.  May you be filled with happiness and joy, and share it with everyone around you.

“Adapt” was the theme this week for Illustration Friday.  I thought about fun little monsters and robots having to adapt, cooperate, and work together to achieve a desired goal, but nothing was really striking a cord with me visually.  I left the topic alone for a few days and then it hit me.  What kind of car would different animals drive, and which one might have to adapt the most.  A fish seemed like the animal that would have to make the most changes to drive a car, or would they.  A VW Beetle, sort of looks like a fish bowl, so maybe more fish will take to the streets and help the ailing car companies.  It could happen.  Well, it can in my imagination anyway.  Have a wonderful week.

The theme this week for Illustration Friday is “cracked.”  Eggs and things breaking came to mind first, but then I thought about the sad story of Hungry Bot.  Hungry bot is normally one of the nicest robots around.  He had been on a low-car diet for several days, and finally cracked due to the temptation of so many tasty cars and trucks.  In his defense, the local freeway did look like an all you can eat car buffet.

I’m having a huge sale right now on my original watercolor paintings in my Etsy Shop.  Also, my Zazzle shop is full of wonderful summer t-shirt designs.  I’m trying my best to develop my art and design work into a full time job, so if anyone needs some wonderful illustrations, art, or design work please let me know.  I would like to thank everyone for visiting, and for your support and encouragement.  Have a wonderful week.

With all of the horrible flu and virus stuff going on right now, especially in the news, my thoughts initially turned to negative ideas for this weeks illustration friday theme “contagious.”  My negative thoughts were soon pushed aside, when I thought about how someone can have a smile that is contagious, or that laughter can be contagious.  Happier notions prevailed, and I produced this happy little robot.  The color palette was influenced by thoughts of food for Memorial Day, and a fresh produce stand that I noticed a few days ago on the side of the road.  The farmer had a truck overflowing with watermelons.  I’m not sure where they came from since, it should be a little early in Tennessee to harvest watermelons.  Whether food, robots,art, friends, or family bring happiness to you, find something that makes you happy, and let your happiness be contagious.

The illustration friday theme this week was “parade.”  My mind often takes fun turns, when I start drawing.  I thought about all of the typical parades, with floats and bands, but with the warm weather approaching, my thoughts turned to summer time parades.  The summer heat reminded me of the fun popsicles we enjoyed growing up, whether it was from the freezer or the crazy ice cream van in the neighborhood.  Have you ever wondered what goes on in your freezer, when the door is closed?  I know it probably just something that I think about.  I imagined a freezer full of parades and fun.  How else could a popsicle make you so happy unless they were fun loving themselves.  I was able to catch a quick snap shot of the party in my freezer.  I hope the image brings a smile to your face, because it was certainly fun to create.  Have a wonderful day full of imagination.

The theme for Illustration Friday was “hierarchy.”  I will admit this one gave me a little trouble.  I thought about my usual birds on tree branches, but really wanted to do something different and to challenge myself a bit.  I’m a big fan of Japanese art, animation, and culture (hint to Japanese package/design artist representatives and agents).  I was looking at a new mechanical pencil that I wanted to buy from Japan, and was reminded of how wonderful their package designs are, because they very often have cartoons on them.  Anyway , the thoughts of Japanese product design collided with an MP3 player, music players of old, and my art to produce the image above.  My imagination is a happy place, so the music players old and new get along great and just enjoy good music together.  Go get your music player, turn on your favorite music, smile, and have a wonderful day.

It was time to get out the ink and watercolors.  I enjoy digital art, but I love the tactile sensation I get when working with traditional media.  The theme this week for Illustration Friday is “theater.”  Hamlet may be one of the most well know plays of all times, and this scene is certainly the most iconic.  I needed to inject my personality, so I naturally thought about a robot.  Our robot, the RJ series 4500J, calls himself, Rosencrantz, and secretly longs to perform Shakespeare’s Hamlet.  He is working on his emotional range and delivery, and will certainly follow his dreams very soon.

If you would like to purchase this original illustration, you can find it in my Etsy Shop, along with other illustrations.

I combined the Illustration Friday theme “impossibility,” with thoughts about Earth Day to create this illustration.  One of my favorite movies is “My Neighbor Totoro“ by Hayao Miyazaki.  Miyazaki captures the beauty, innocence, and wonder of childhood.  The movie is beautiful and I love the little and big Totoros, and especially the cat bus.  My imagination never stops, so I see my drawings and creations everywhere, and gain inspiration from everything around me.  The young man in the illustration is proclaiming the forest spirits do not exist, since they are most certainly an impossibility.  To the contrary, I say that not only do they exist, but they are everywhere, we have only to stop and notice them.  People often ask, if I really see my little creatures in my head and the world around me, and I answer, “yes, well certainly.”  I more amazed that they do not see them.  The world is full of wonderful things, just ask any child.  In the movie Satsuki and Mei can see the Totoros, but none of the adults can.  It is important to imagine and dream, life will keep you grounded on it’s own, so don’t worry about living in a fantasy world.  The important thing is to bring the spark of creativity and wonder into your life everyday, and if you need any help, I’m sure a child will be happy to help you.  Have a wonderful day.  Imagine, dream, create, draw, laugh, and love.

“Fleeting” is the theme for Illustration Friday this week.  Many things seem fleeting lately, but nothing is shorter lived than your turn with the new cool toy.  It could have easily been a new video game, but I wanted our heros outside enjoying fresh air.  The kids were playing Space Patrol, and the star captain has to have the new cool laser blaster.  Fortunately, they are good friends and worked out a plan to take turns and share.  Peaceful solutions, good friends, new toys, and imagination, the only thing that is missing is a batch of fresh cookies, and it would be Utopia.  Well, I’m off to find some cookies now, have a wonderful week.