Daily Life 100 Themes: 9 Drive

 

It's amazing to me how often this car-jacking scenario plays out in the backyard. One kid walks away from the car, and another gets in. Then the screaming begins...Ha-ha-ha! I'm a firm believer in the idea that if you walk away from it, you are done playing and it's somebody else's turn. I won't defend toys that have been walked away from except in special situations. The really funny thing about this though, is that I have two cars, and I still get to hear this. 

As usual, the rest of the Daily Life illustrations have been archived on the Red Herring Illustration facebook page. Thanks for stopping in! Until next time, take care and be good!

Your friend,
Jeffrey

Photo Round-Up From The Second Week Of April

All these pictures were taken on my iphone and processed with instagram. You can follow me if you want too! My user name is redherringjeff.
We went to the zoo this week with the Hunters, and spent a couple of hours playing in the children's zoo area. The girls had a lot of fun in the "farm yard" digging, moving the fruits and vegetables, playing in the little houses and feeding the wooden sheep. It was a beautiful cool spring day too, which was just icing on the cake!
A bit later, we all stopped for a snack. A curious chicken came over to check us out...after we were all settled, a second chicken came charging out of the bushes! We had to pay close attention, because these friendly birds would snatch crackers right out of the fingers of the unwary.
Abby showing me what the chickens were so excited about. A couple of cheeze-its and the birds are all over you. Ha-ha-ha!
Olive is at that age where stairs are just about the coolest thing ever. I think it's a "mastery over your environment" thing. When we go downtown to check out the shops, or in this case to go to a friends art opening, there are stairs aplenty.
It's hard to explain how much I love the orange warmth of our living room...when it's clean. I moved the little kids activity table over by the kitchen this week to make room for the train table that I rotated in from the basement. This was taken in the evening in that quiet time after the kids were in bed, and before I went to work in the studio.
And finally, our friends at the Foundrie are reopening this week. If you're in the Chesterfield area, you should totally go check them out! This photo is one I took in preparation for a blog interview I did for the Fusion blog.

Until next time, take care and be good.
Your friend,
Jeffrey

Some Alphabet Marker Sketches

How about a little bit of artwork to start our Friday off right? This is the first three letters of an alphabet series I'm working on about nerdy stuff I like. I hope you enjoy them, as much as I'm enjoying drawing them! These were drawn in blue pencil then inked and colored with copic markers.
A is for Artie, the strongest man in the world. From Nickelodeon's low budget family adventure series, The Adventures of Pete and Pete.
B is for Bone, from Jeff Smith's epic comic book. Fone bone was obsessed with the book Moby Dick, and kept having dreams about it.
C is for Captain Britain drinking a cup of tea. I have a thing for Super Heroes doing everyday things.

Until next time, take care and be good!
Your friend,
Jeffrey

Photo Roundup from the first week of April

All these pictures were taken on my iphone and processed with instagram. You can follow me if you want too! My user name is redherringjeff.
We're really into "back to basics" toys around these parts. This wooden train set is AWESOME! There are tons of parts (and available expansions) so it is able to be put together in several different layouts. Plus, the pieces are easy enough to put together that even Olive can do it.
Abby's tiny hands peeling the backer paper off of foam star stickers. It's amazing how much time this activity takes her, and fascinating to see how she arranges her stickers on the paper. Often it's in rows, but just as often they are all over the place.
Abby's clothes hanging cheerfully on the clothes line. I just love that little splash of color in the yard.
Several months ago, Abby and I went to story time at the library. We heard some camping stories and did a craft. Abby's campfire is pretty awesome, I think.
Abby and Olive in their new Easter Dresses.

Until next time, take care and be good.
Your friend,
Jeffrey

Daily Life, 100 Themes: 8 Innocence

Amy is usually the one who gives the girls a bath. Sometimes I read, sometimes I catch up on facebook, and sometimes I'm down in the basement lining up my work schedule for the night. One thing that I can pretty much count on though, is Olive running to see me as soon as she gets out of the tub, with her towel hanging by it's hood on her head...butt naked. Those little visits, and the joy on her face always crack me up, ha-ha-ha!

As usual, the rest of the Daily Life illustrations have been archived on the Red Herring Illustration facebook page. Thanks for stopping in! Until next time, take care and be good!
Your friend,
Jeffrey

Photo Roundup from the last weeks of March

All these pictures were taken on my iphone and processed with instagram. You can follow me if you want too! My user name is redherringjeff

We were borrowing Amy's parents car while they were in Hawaii, so the girls and I were able to make it out to the park more often. I miss having two cars...
Mrs Handmade, all set up for our first show of the year.
We met my friend Leighton Conner of Hex games and his family at Laumier Sculpture park this weekend. Here's our two abbys sitting on what we think must be a giant robot that was buried and is waiting to awaken and save Saint Louis.
Olive looking at notebooks while we wait for Nana and Daddy Jim to finish shopping for a picnic.
I finished four new Ghostbusters marker sketches.
And finally, a photo/ideaogram that my friend Holly made for me on facebook. We all had a good laugh over it!

Until next time then, take care and be good!
Your friend,
Jeffrey

What I Think About In The Yard

Hi all! Mr Handmade here. Today I was working in the garden, it's past time to start my planting, and I'm still scrambling to get it in a position to grow anything! My yard is on a pretty big slope, so this year I decided to rethink my garden set up and begin terracing it. It's a combination garden and landscape project, really...

The first terrace will have 1 garden bed, and the picnic table that I got for Christmas in it. Basically, this will be our base of operations, and will offer somewhere to sit and rest, or play, or draw during outside time. The second and third terraces will each have two beds in them, and the fourth will be a patio area just below the fire pit. This is my plan, and now that the framing on the bottom terrace is done, all I have to do is move the rest of this bit of yard. Yay!
So here it is from above as of about a month ago. I had the front edge delineated, but most of the rest was looking kind of bleak. It's amazing how much the green changes how it all looks now.

When I'm working by myself, I have a sort of long-running, inner dialogue. My daily life is an ongoing story in my head, that involves me, hobbits, like the illustration at the top of this post by Alan Lee, for the Lord of the Rings...The Millenium Falcon, super soldiers, spies, farming, my daughters as adults...It sounds like an odd mix, but the story evolves as time goes by. Ha-ha-ha!

The reason I bring this up, apart from wanting to talk about digging up my yard, is that I wonder if this is a pretty common thing among bloggers. That constant thought in narrative form sort of lends itself to blogging. I mean, we talk to ourselves anyway, so we may as well let other people have a peek behind the curtains too, right? The funny thing is that I had no sooner begun to think about this than I stumbled upon some examples in blogs that I follow.

First on Fat Mum Slim she talked meeting bloggers in person. She talked about how bloggers like to share, and how they get it. "It" being that spark that happens between like minded people. She also talked about something that I worry about a lot, but in such a positive way. She mentioned that when you meet fellow bloggers all the groundwork has been done. I always feel like it would be odd meeting someone for the first time, and already knowing them like they were an old friend.

The other was on Connie to the Wonnie where she made a great little cartoon illustrating this thought. You should go check it out. :)
And finally I'm leaving you with this picture of young Wyatt showing what Uncle Jeffrey hath wrought. Ha-ha-ha! Until next time, take care and be good!
Your friend,
Jeffrey