Hippety hoppity! Just a few short weeks until Easter. I hope you like this Bunnies of Cuteness download. Click HERE for to print Strawberry Bunnies.
Bunnies of Cuteness!
There is another in my ETSY shop, and every day until Easter I will add another downloadable page. Have fun! Please share your colored page and share with me--I would love to post your colored pix on my blog and on my fun Facebook page ART by YOU. xo Don't forget the Fancy March Giveaway. Enter HERE.
The internet has made what Disney called a small world even smaller. We get information in the blink of an eye, and we are exposed to far more than any other time in history. We can get news from the other side of the globe faster than if your neighbor ran over from next door. What was once underground and very hard to see can now be considered mainstream.
The web has leveled the art playing field somewhat--what was once relegated to a very select group can now be viewed by millions with the right amount of retweets or shares. We see hundreds if not thousands of images a day as visual artists. We are lucky enough to look at the work of our peers, and in a matter of seconds we can find millions of images to help as reference points for our work. Looking at other beautiful artwork can certainly elevate our practice, but I feel it can't help but influence our style, too. When we see a color combination we love we get excited and want to try and incorporate it into our work too. A new medium can have us running to the store so we can try it at home. It is hard enough to develop a style that is recognizable yet unique, and now we have to contend with the daily hyper-viewing of images. I am not complaining! I love the web and I love that I can see all the lovely art I could I ever dream of. But I am just a tad more aware of the fact that I need to stay true to me and my style, and not get seduced by something bright and shiny. Every Friday I will be sharing a video that is geared towards helping kids learn to draw. I will be demonstrating in a way I liked to learn as a child--with fun and fancy images that are easily repeated and not too complicated. This week it is the grumpy bunny from the image above.
Please feel free to share this post or video with any artistic little ones you may know.
This is an image from a book I illustrated a few years ago for author David Rowinski called The Open Pillow. Another style for PPF.
So get going! Draw draw draw with abandon--and help your kids do the same. Before you know it you will have your own amazing style.
Although I am over 50, I still have a penchant for certain styles. As an artist, muted colors, animals, and flowers still make my heart flutter when I see them incorporated into fashion. (And when I say animals I do NOT mean fur!) I can't get away with the same things the twenty somethings can. Plus when you are young, people assume you are experimenting, learning, and are willing to put yourself a bit more out there when it comes to fashion.
But today I found shoes that I may not be able to resist. These grey flats (already two checks in my BUY THEM box for color and heel height), with a very faint stitched and sleeping bunny, complete with ears on the instep, make me happy just looking at them. They are fairy tales for the feet! To make us smile even harder, the same company, ModCloth, (click HERE for their website to buy) sells Tiffany blue flats (two checks), with a wide eyed cat on the front that is reminiscent of the Totoro cartoon. Who is the genius that designed these! Love them.
Okay, okay, maybe the Totoro skips are a bit too youthful for me, but the Furry Up, We're Dreaming bunny shoes might be just subtle enough for me to get away with. And ya know what, if something makes you THAT happy, go for it--opinions be damned. xo
And for those of you that have not seen Totoro yet, please see the trailer above, then rent it for the kids. It is one of the most beautifully animated shows you will ever see. Enjoy!
If you ask any kid in the world what he wants for his or her birthday there is probably a 90% chance they will say A PUPPY!
Or a kitten, bird, fish, hamster, gerbil, ferret, mouse, or pot bellied pig.
Even if there are pets in the house--they will want more pets. Especially the young version of any animal they may choose. It seems kids just know they are on the same level. (CLICK HERE to see a few pix that drive that point home just a bit ;) ).
Kids and puppies just go together. If you have one or the other you are already stuck feeding them and keeping them clean--so why not just get the other?
They also like being around each other. They both have endless energy to play and can help with your already greatly diminished energy level.
I think this is also the reason kids love books with animals. They have a natural love for the outdoors and nature, and animals in books, whether anthropomorphic or real capture their attention. Even the Cat in the Hat, who bears only the most faint resemblance to a feline, (I think he kind of looks like Jack Benny), grabs their attention.
It's a mutual admiration society, kids love animals and animals love kids.
They truly love animals, and love the books they are in. From Clifford the Big Red Puppy to Peter Rabbit, kids feel warm, safe, and familiar when they read about animals.
Even my favorite book as a child, Where the Wild Things Are, has animals in it--kind of...
Some scientists warn that kids could get confused if reading about animals that have human traits. I think
(I'm not a doctor) that we do not give kids enough credit. I do not think Winnie the Pooh, Dory the fish, or Snoopy did me or any other kid any harm.
Has it been done already? Yep. But kids love it, and it will be done again. I'll do it in my next book in fact. And I'm pretty certain all the kids will be fine even after they see the main character in the book is a mouse, and he wears a vest. I think they will be just fine. :)
