DA's Sketchpad

Pencil roll update

2012-02-08T13:31:00.001-08:00

All done!

In progress - my new pencil roll

2012-02-08T11:52:00.001-08:00

Using the directions on this site: http://www.smallfriendly.com/small-friendly/2011/08/no-sew-colored-pencil-roll.html I have a new, no-sew pencil roll in the works! Yay!

Hearts

2012-02-07T06:51:00.001-08:00

Bored and stuck with what I wanted to be drawing.... So hearts and swirls and dots and the like it was!

Headband / scarf time!

2012-01-27T22:07:00.001-08:00

Bored! Soooo I sewed together two pieces of material (denim on one side and an awesome orange flower cotton print on the other side) since I love scarfs for over my headbands and hats. Easy enough for my lack of sewing skills -- no pattern needed ( though I'll probably make the next shorter and even this light weight denim is kind heavy so adding a second fabric to it for double sided was pushing the limits of a headband scarf).

Covering boxes

2012-01-19T19:55:00.001-08:00

I was feeling crafty but the kitty is extra clingy while the other kitty is spending his days getting cancer treatment... In other words anything that required sewing was out as kitty walks all over sewing area when lonely and bored. I tried watercolor pencils... Nope, stuff to walk over. Turns out glue is the answer! She doesn't like the smell (nor do I but I don't nearly stick my nose in it).

Sooo I had two of these boxes from Christmas and covered one in fabric... I think I will paint the other. And now the kitty is being cuddled.

Hello Duct Tape

2011-11-28T02:24:00.001-08:00

Couldn't resist blue polka dot duct tape + Hello Kitty duct tape. Had no idea what to do with it beyond a duct tape wallet (which I'd seen, but never made). Decided to skip the pattern and jump right in. Pockets on each side. Still debating the middle... ID holder... Credit cards slots... Another pocket... Nothing feels quite right yet so taking a break.

Sunflower Butterfly

2011-10-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

So this morning as I was falling asleep, someone started calling my phone as I was half asleep. Ignore it. If it's for me, it's probably mom and she'd leave a message or call back later, she knows my sleep schedule is screwy and changes a lot. Stops ringing when it should go to voicemail. Starts right back. Repeat. Okay I'll get up, must be important, right? Wrong #. Get back to bed. Starts again. And again. Finally answer the phone with "Still the wrong number." So, they try again, from a different phone number, then finally gave up. I was awake and needed to draw something... Saw a kid on tv in a butterfly mask. Yup Butterflies are happy enough to make me forget stupid people and ungrumpify me. By the time I was watering in the Inktense pencils, I passed out for real. Yay! Done on an ATC.

Butterfly Girl

2011-10-24T03:57:00.001-07:00

I was bored. I'm currently in love with Art Nouveau styled art, but not quite there art wise, so I just kinda borrowed their kind of borders anyway.

Made on watercolor paper using a regular pencil and Inktense watercolor pencils.

Blowing the Zeppelin Away

2011-10-19T16:17:00.000-07:00

Original was done with inktense pencils. The paper I have here really isn't meant for watercolors though so using so much of it on the paper... Eh, pushed the paper to the limit, so I redid it on the computer in Sketchbook Pro.

Available at Zazzle on:

~ A card
~ An iPad case
~ An iPhone case
~ A Mug
~ A Bag
~ A necklace
~ An Ornament
~ A keychain
~ Wrapped Canvas
~ A binder

Love Yourself

2011-10-15T02:47:00.000-07:00

Made with Inktense and ink, border done on computer.

Ahh, thank the world for creating wireless headphones. A night of Alexander, Elliot Smith's Either/Or , and Electro Swing Volume 3 had me in such a good mood that I just had to break out the pencils again.

Pretty Self explanatory I would think. Love yourself, no matter which of those titles (or others) you or others give to you.

Untitled drawing - 14 Oct 2011

2011-10-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

Made with: Inktense watercolor pencils + ink.
Just bored, sitting around watching tv, but not really so grabbed the pencils.

Breakaway Star

2011-10-10T23:14:00.000-07:00

Breakaway Star

We all have stars inside of us, waiting to break free.

When pieces of yours breakaway and shine, will you be ready to follow?

Original is done with watercolor pencils and ink, then tweaked on the computer.

Available at Zazzle on:

~ A bag

~ An iPad Case

~ An iPhone case

~ A Postcard

~ A Poster (with text)

~ A Necklace (with text)

~ A binder

Out Of Time

2011-09-19T23:10:00.000-07:00

Time ran out and broke the clock, oops!
Only took me two tries to make this one digital (original was a sketch). Tip #1 - save stuff. Oops. Had to start over when almost done the first time.

Available at Zazzle on:

~ A postcard

Makin' Wishes on the Moon

2011-09-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

She heard you could wish upon a star and decided to do it up close and personal while sitting on the moon. Yup turned the sketch into this...

Available at Zazzle on:

~ A postcard.
~ An iPad case.
~ A necklace.

Galileo was Outvoted for a Spell...

2011-09-08T00:39:00.000-07:00

This, my friends (that's what politicians always say, right?) is a public domain picture of Galileo. I watched the Republican debate. It was mostly just silly. I can sum it up with they didn't REALLY give REAL answers then interrupted themselves to praise Reagan then interrupted themselves praising Reagan to bash Obama then interrupted themselves bashing Obama to say hey wait someone else said something I'd like to comment on. But yeah, Galileo made an appearance. Rick Perry announced that had been outvoted for a spell. Hence me taking this image of him and creating this image from it:

It's now available at Zazzle on:

~ A t-shirt
~ An iPad case
~ A Poster
~ A Postcard
~ A Keychain
~ A Magnet
~ A Bag
~ A Mug

Usually I reserve my Zazzle account for my own art. I just couldn't resist. They make it too easy sometimes.

Two version of Clifford Walks Mom...

2011-09-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

Clifford Walks Mom Comic Book Style Canvas by delusionalangel
More Pet Canvas Prints

Sent this version to his actual mom today in case the original gets damaged before we get home / in the trip home -

Clifford Walks Mom Original Canvas by delusionalangel
See other Pet Canvas Prints

Today's sketch - girl on moon

2011-08-29T19:00:00.000-07:00

Mother Nature's Battle 2 - Sun vs Moon

2011-08-07T07:03:00.000-07:00

Mother Nature's Battles 2 - Sun vs Moon. 7 Aug 2011. I'll probably redo this one to look better when more awake as the text sucks and only 60% happy with the moon side. Then again, maybe I'll just leave it. It's not on an atc, nope! 5x7 which I bought to cut into atcs.

Mother Nature's Battle

2011-08-05T09:50:00.000-07:00

~ A Bag
~ A Print
~ An iPad Case
~ A Postcard

Manga Man

2011-08-05T00:12:00.000-07:00

My review of: Mangaman

Okay first off this is very cute. It is one of those things that masters honoring and yet making of a genre all at once.

The description of the book really is the whole plot - Ryoko falls through a rip landing in the western world. Being a high school kid in American high school is tough enough. Being a high school kid in an American high school when your thoughts show up over your head, your eyes turn to your hearts if you like a girl, and your actions create visible lines that get left behind -- well that's a bit tougher. But never fear, the government is working to get you back home.

I did like this one enough that if it turned into a series I'd probably read more of it. That's the good.

The bad is that I keep thinking that it should be a movie instead of a book. Also, they probably could have done more right in this book. I cannot really put my finger on what is missing. A more substantial ending, that doesn't feel so rushed maybe. Or perhaps better developed supporting characters -- we never really got enough back story like why parents would side with a boyfriend over their own daughter when he's already showing signs of becoming and abusive drunk in high school. Which leads me to something that parents might not like --

This book is marketed for teens. Personally I'm fine with that. Some parents want kid/YA books to be uber clean and not to cover issues that kids face. If that's you, pass on this one for your kids. It includes violence, bullying, deals with teen sex (sort of - I won't ruin that totally, there is no actual sex, but the topic is in this book), teens drinking. Basically yeah all of the main issues they all face in the real world and at times it gets ugly.

Overall it's good enough. I suspect in the right hands as a movie, it could be perfect. Just not quite there yet. But has potential if they keep going with it. 3/5 stars

She Loves All

2011-08-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

John Locke "We are like chameleons, we take our hue and the color of our moral character, from those who are around us." quote on her shirt. She's met a lot of people and loved all types picking up a bit of color from them all. No matter their religion, sexual orientation, etc. Also the rainbow being a popular symbol in gay culture and supporting that cause big time, well it just all worked out. *nods*

Available at Zazzle on:

~ A bag
~ A Postcard
~ A Print
~ An iPad Case
~ A Card
~ A Speaker

Head in the Clouds

2011-07-28T22:49:00.000-07:00

Bored. So I bring to you my cloud pic from the plane ride to Detroit with a quote that seemed to fit it...

Thoreau Head in Clouds picture Postcard by delusionalangel

Don't forget to check this one out

2011-07-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

Amnesia

Okay first off - I will disagree with those who say that if you read Milrose you must read this as I sent Milrose to my young nephew and even though he sometimes reads "adult" books instead of books meant for a younger audience, this would be beyond him. So while this is the same author who wrote Milrose please make no mistake - it's not for everyone who read and loved that book.

Now with that said, for the rest of us, I'm not even sure where to begin. The book itself sort of warns of that straight off, we'll forget. The book is about Izzy. Or a man with no memories struggling to figure out who he is before he gets married. Or a dysfunctional family. Or young girls who ended up going through way more than just typical heartbreak of youth. Or… well I forget.

While most try to compare books, even loosely, to others to give you an idea of what you'll get from lesser known books I'm not sure I can compare this book to another or explain it fairly. The best I can say is that I felt as though I were reading a coming of age flashback story (albeit with more serious issues than the usual rah rah stereotypical who will I take to the prom stuff) if told by Tyler Durden of Fight Club (okay I worked in another novel reference after all). You won't want to pick this one to just read a little here and there and get back to it later - as I said, you'll forget, or get lost, etc. It will mess with you even as you're reading it straight through, and that's a good thing. 5/5 stars

She will drag you in...

2011-07-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

My review of: The Undrowned Child

The short version? People will probably compare this to books like Harry Potter. In a generic sense it could be fair - There's a bad guy who is cursed, there is magic afoot, and really for all practical purposes only the children are useful in saving the world they care about (here that world is simply the city of Venice), there are some fantasy creatures and it's a fairly long story for a childrens book.

On the other hand The Undrowned story takes place in Venice and attempts to drop us right there next to Teo and her sidekick Renzo making sure we see the city just as well as we see the kids and the characters they bump into along the way (after the book ends, the author gives us an extended tour explaining what in the book is based on fact - how loosely, what structures we can see to this day, etc).

The violence in HP tends to be, well, magical. There is much of that here too... However, the author also takes us back to the days where both fairy tales and the news were scary and where we didn't try to shelter the wee ones in random ways - no these children know quite well of the butcher who eats children and in fact stumble upon him making for both a character and scene that could be quite scary for the younger readers this books targets.

This is definitely one of those books that can get kids interested in reading. Sadly there were a few sections that felt as though they dragged on a wee bit too much and as is common with so many stories lately, it makes up for it by having a quick final battle scene. Being that stereotypical cliched kind of plot is the only reason I'm knocking it down to 4 stars. Otherwise Teo and Renzo's adventures through Venice are exciting. These children are not afraid of being outcast (mainly for being smart) and it is refreshing, yet they're still compassionate with others - even to the bullies and bad guys, yet not so weak that they can't stand up for themselves. They experience mermaids, ghosts, vampiric eels, pirates, humans turning to well... hideous creatures... etc. Yeah it's a full on fantasy adventure and most importantly (to me) it did not feel as though the author was just rushing a partial book in order to collect on a series as so many seem to do after the popularity of so many other series lately - this is a complete book that does not leave you hanging by the end, yet if she really wanted to write another later, she could. 4/5 stars

2011-07-15T01:25:00.001-07:00

Under construction - ignore the mess while I play with the style.

DA