I've Moved!

Hi, All! My blog has moved over to my shiny new website at http://cbeckwith.com/?p=545 I hope you will all join me there!

When the Rain Falls

When the rain falls

Dance to the beat.

You won't feel so wet

If you move your feet.

Cute Kitchen Art

Food in our house is always a group effort. With two toddlers underfoot making anything more complicated than a sandwich involves two people. I've been teaching my oldest to help out too. His favorite job is peeling garlic! It's the perfect mommy helping job for an almost 3 year old. As easy as it would be to cook in peace and quiet, I'm really beginning to enjoy our family cooking time. I did this little drawing with those thoughts in my head.

If you want these mice in your own kitchen you can order a print here: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/kitchen-art-cooking-mice-christy-beckwith.html

Snake Wearing a Scarf

When you woke up this morning the last thing you probably expected to see, with the possible exception of cats dancing the conga, was a snake wearing a scarf. Well, now that you've seen it you probably have some questions like, "How does he keep those scarves on?" "Do they even help keep him warm?" "If he is wearing earmuffs where are his ears?" Don't ask me. I just drew it. I'll leave the explanations up to smarter people than I.

If you like him you can find a print of him here: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/snake-wearing-a-scarf-christy-beckwith.html?newartwork=true

Typewriter Valentine

Christmas is over. New Years has come and gone. Do you know what that means? That's right it's almost Valentine's Day. I'm working on a few greeting card designs for Recycled Paper Greetings right now. Of course they won't be in stores this Valentine's Day but I'll let you know if they are going to be out for 2014. If you would really like one of my one-of-a-kind handmade cards for this Valentine's Day stop by my store to see what I have available.

Giraffe Nursery Art

I love this giraffe baby saying hello to his mom. It would be adorable in a nursery! Now one of my friends just need to have a baby.
If you want a print for your own nursery you can find one here: http://christy-beckwith.artistwebsites.com/featured/baby-giraffe-nursery-art-christy-beckwith.html

A Very Beckwith Christmas

When Chris and I were first married we didn't have much money and lived in a tiny apartment. Our first Christmas together we decorated one of our house plants with handmade ornaments. Even though we live in a much bigger house and have space and money for a real tree we still decorate a houseplant with the same handmade ornaments. This year we decorated the avocado tree we grew from a seed.

Are there any special ornaments on your tree this year?

Nile River Illustration

 I'm working on a new illustration for Winter Promise. It's part of their popular Sea and Sky curriculum. It is for the section on Egyptian boats and travel on the Nile. 

 

I started with a rough sketch and scanned it in. 

 

I started blocking in the color making. 

 

Then I refined the details and deepened the shadows, brightened the highlights and added reflected color. I would show you the whole image but I'm still cleaning it up. 

Illustration Friday: Mirror

I have another picture from Winter Promise for Illustration Friday today. I've been very busy doing work for them. This is Tatty and Buster using Silver Lake as a mirror.

Illustration Friday: Book

For illustration Friday this week I have a little illustration of Tatty the mouse reading a book about vikings. Tatty is one of my favorite characters I've gotten to draw for Winter Promise. She is shy and timid but loved and protected by all the other critters.

Mystery Book for Kids

Do your kids love a good mystery? Then they will love The Great Gumshoe: Case of the Missing Bear. I illustrated the book for Travelers Trunk Publishing. It was such a fun project.

"Teddy is Missing! Charlotte can't imagine her life without her best friend. She must get him back, so she enlists the aid of the most famous kid detective, the Great Gumshoe. Together they search the town for clues. Will they find Teddy? Will Charlotte ever play with her best friend again? The Great Gumshoe must use all of his skills to track Teddy down. This is a fun and fast paced detective story. In the 1930's, there were no high-tech gadgets to unravel the mystery. The Great Gumshoe must rely on his magnifying glass, quick wit, and powers of observation to solve the case. The Great Gumshoe is an 8 X 8, 32 page picture book. It is recommended for ages 4 to 7 years old"

Illustration Friday: Burst

Waiting for the bubble to burst.

I Hope You Know

Today I have an image from a book I worked on this spring. It is now available for purchase at http://www.ihopeyouknowbook.com/.  
I Hope You Know is a poem book and is easy for kids of all ages to enjoy. The messages in the book are simple and clear, and they are the most basic things our children should know as they leave our homes each day.

Mouse sleeping

I'm still doing a lot of work for Winter Promise. This little image is for their LA2 Reader.

Children's Book Illustration

The best thing about being an illustrator is that every job is fun and different in it's own way. I loved working on the illustrations for Hole Up in a Homemade Hideaway for Winter Promise.

Inspired By Time

My Favorite Things just released another stamp set I worked on. It's called Inspired by Time. Head on over to http://www.mftstamps.com/blog/?p=11748 to see the whole set. There are some special release goodies too that you wont want to miss.

Fairy Stamp

I've been working on a new stamp set for My Favorite Things the past couple days. I can't show you what I'm working on right now but I can show you the set that was just released. It's called Fairy Dust. You can check it out over at http://www.mftstamps.com/blog/?p=11745 along with all their other exciting releases.

Chiaroscuro

Louie the duck.

Chiaroscuro literally means light and dark. Some objects in the image are very dark while others are beautifully lit. I've always loved chiaroscuro and when my two year old wanted me to take pictures of some of his favorite toys I decided to give it a try. I don't consider myself a photographer. I just have fun and snap lots of pictures for inspiration. I don't have any fancy photography equipment. In fact, all I used for these shots was a window, an iPhone and a very giggly two year old. I think they turned out rather nice.

The Wes man. 

I love the bright shimmer of his hair and the fact that you can't see the messy playroom behind him. 

Mr. Bear

A little worn, a little matted but full of love (and probably boogers).

Here is how to create some of your own chiaroscuro photos:

1. Select a window with very bright direct sunlight. I chose a window on the West side of our house just before sunset. 
2. Place your subject in the middle of the beam of light. 
3. Set your exposure to the brightest area on your subject. If you are using an iPhone like I did tap the screen so that the blue focus box is on the brightest area. Wait. You should see the exposure change so that the background appears darker and you can see detail in the highlights.
4. Crop and adjust the contrast if needed. I only had to tweak these photos slightly so that the background was true black.

If you need a visual Mr. Giraffe has volunteered to be an example.

Well done Mr. Giraffe. 

Post links to your photos in the comments if you decide to try this. I would love to see them!

Bunny Character

I'm working on more illustrations for Winter Promise. The stories for their readers are cute and full of characters. It can be difficult to bring life and personality to each character. I try to include siple elements to make each character unique. This bunny is Aunt Lacey. She is nice but proper and defiantly dislikes clumsy porcupines who walk through her washing. I gave her pearls and an apron for her proper, organized side and a cheery sunflower to show she isn't disapproving all the time.

I Love Cake

 

It's true. I do love cake but I also love my son and learning new things. I thought this picture of Wes was adorable so I popped it into Photoshop, brightened the colors and added text. I just couldn't find the typeface I pictured in my mind. I normally stay away from hand lettering because of my terrible penmanship but I live in a create-everyday-try-new-things world now so I gave it a shot. I created a new calligraphic pen in Illustrator and drew the letters on the angle I wanted. I think it turned out nice but I have a lot more to learn.