Living Mindfully Month - APRIL

I'm hosting a 21 Day Challenge in April on Kindspring.org so join me there!

Here's the backstory:

So I have been using an app called "Happify" to work on reversing my tendency towards negative thoughts. This app asks you to do little tasks and play games to rewrite your internal monologue and reprogram your brain. This. I. Need.

So today, to show kindness and appreciation I started a new exercise regimen. And I discovered (through Happify) that March is Living Mindfully month... somewhere - Australia I think. Here's a link to the site I found it on: View Link



So since March is almost over... Well, I'm posting this little image (above) for you to download and write 5 ways you lived more mindfully today. I'll edit the image and post another one for April so we can keep it going for the whole month. If you use the hashtag #livingmindfullymonth you can post it to social media and the original creator will see it!

Here's my Living Mindfully Month list for today 3/23/15:
1. Exercise Daily
2. Make healthier choices
3. Eat more veggies
4. Enjoy nature
5. Explore
6. Daily yoga session
7. Be Kind (including myself)
8. Make art daily - or create SOMETHING
9. Don't judge
10. Look for opportunity - even in the negative

Since April is my birth month, I'm going to live mindfully every day of April. And post another living mindfully list for the month! I hope you'll join me! Maybe I should make this a challenge? hmmm... o.O

Namasté
- See more at: http://www.kindspring.org/my/feed/#sthash.eAcYBXol.dpuf

Ok, so now to the challenge part...
I was inspired to host a challenge on Kindspring - a site that is wonderful for inspiring you to do more random acts of kindness.  This is an awesome site and I just love it.  I discovered it through my friend DotMatrix who hosted a challenge on there a couple months ago.

So I took the totalbalance.org idea and modified it so you can use it for April.  Starting in April, we'll be posting our mindfullness lists using my updated image.  Just print it out and fill in as many ways you want to be more mindful for the month.  Then post then join us on the challenge page and post.  It's contagious, right?  And we're making the world a better place just by changing what we can (ourselves & our mindset).

So I hope to see you on Kindspring in April!

Namasté,
Liz

Download this image by right-clicking on it and saving it to your computer.  Then print it and fill in your list.  Looking forward to hearing from you in April!

Kindspring.org Kindness Contest Winner!

A little over a month ago, I submitted an idea to the Monthly Kindness Contest on Kindspring.org.  

Imagine my surprise when my idea was chosen as a winner!  So, without further adieu, here is the story and a progress update...

My husband is a Navy veteran who did two tours of duty in Vietnam.  He is also a disabled veteran - service connected; he suffers from pretty severe PTSD and degenerative joint disease.  He grew up on a small family farm in southern Indiana, so at a young age he learned hard work.  He likes to tell the story of how, at age 4, he had to get up at 4 am to get the cows into the barn for milking.  He was too small to milk them, so he would water them, wash their bags, and put feed into the troughs so they'd be happy and relaxed when his dad and older brothers came along to milk.  His dad was ‘old school’, and didn't use machines—he had sons for that! They milked 44 cows twice a day, by hand.  When he got to Navy basic training at age 18, he was happy to learn that he could "sleep in" until 6 am reveille! 

He saw some pretty horrendous things in the "war that wasn't a war" & suffered insult and injury upon returning from duty back to the states, but he's a pretty tough old sailor.  He kept on ticking. He learned early to put his head down and get his chores done so he could play later.  Another thing being raised on a farm taught him was how to grow just about anything.  So his garden is his own form of "therapy".  He likes to say that plants are the only beings on this planet that ask for so little, and give so much in return.

Gary is a magician with plants so, when we moved to rural New Mexico, he immediately started a garden.  He grows his vegetables and flowers from seed, and lovingly tends them every day.  Watering, weeding, enriching the soil with organic fertilizer – his garden responds with a bounty of delicious, nutritious, organic produce. 

His garden was so prolific that it was more than we two could ever eat.  So Gary reached out to our little community.  He asked around and found out that there were several families in need.  He began to give the produce away.  He encountered some flak for that when the group who runs a summer community “farmer's market" complained that he hurt their sales by giving his stuff away.  Plus, his ‘free’ produce was bigger and prettier than theirs!  As he saw it, the folks he was feeding couldn't afford to buy the market’s produce anyway, so he just smiled and kept on—no harm, no foul. The market folks got over it.

Even our chickens were happy to contribute copious eggs with yolks so rich that they are orange instead of yellow.  He gave those away too.  He took comfort knowing that he was giving local kids and their families a healthy source of organic vegetables and free range, no hormone or antibiotic protein.

So I wrote to Kindspring.org last winter with the idea that $100 would buy a ton of seed and supplies to build raised bed gardens.  Raised beds are easier on Gary’s knees and back—and frankly, mine too! He will continue to raise his vegetables, chickens—and flowers.  He has already purchased seed, potting soil, and containers with the money.  Every windowsill in our place (we moved in February – same community) is filled with pots full of seedlings.  He’s growing tomatoes, peppers, chives, herbs, beans, lettuce, greens, and beets.  They’re already sprouting and reaching toward the sun.  Once the weather warms up, he’ll purchase lumber for at least 2 raised beds if not more.  He plans to reach out to local Veteran’s groups and food pantries to get his produce to the neediest in our community – all for free.

He wants to help everyone learn to love planting and growing as much as he does.  So he plans to offer free instruction to those who want to learn.  He even got me to grow an herb garden outside my art studio—and I have a ‘black thumb’.  Here are some photos:

The garden outside my old art studio. You see tomatoes, zucchini, cilantro, basil, marigolds, zinnias, and native wildflowers. (and shhh…. Weeds o.O – Gary’s much more vigilant than I am when it comes to weeds!)

He crammed every available inch of plantable soil with veggies & flowers – inside and out! This is our old place ‘up on the mountain’. 

Gary tending his garden early last spring.

Later on in the season – the garden grows!  You can see tomatoes, squash, corn, beans, peppers & pumpkins.

And grows some more…

 And now here are some of Gary’s new starts sprouting up at the new place…

This is a sunset view from our new place.  You can see Gary’s made a little cold-frame in the lower left – the white cloth covers the tender sprouts to keep them from freezing.

So, many thanks to Kindspring for making an old vet & his wife very happy, and for enabling him to help feed our community members.

I will post more progress notes and pictures in the future, as the garden grows!

Namasté,

Lizstevensart & Gary

DIY Grimoire on WordPress.com

http://wp.me/p2zv3P-2v

My Saga Fanart Collection

I discovered (or should I say REdiscovered) my love of comics through the amazing Saga Comic published by Image Comics.  Written by Brian K Vaughan and drawn by the fantastically talented Fiona Staples.

Saga is the story of a family first and foremost.  It's a space opera where the planet Landfall and its moon, Wreath have been at war for so long that they have outsourced the war to the rest of the galaxy.  Alana and Marko, the main characters are former soldiers on opposite sides of the conflict who have fallen in love and deserted their military positions in order to try and raise their love child, Hazel (who often narrates the story).  It's also a story of technology vs magic as the leaders of both warring planets have issued death warrants for the two lovers and attempt to kidnap their love child.

It has elements of Starwars, Game of Thrones, & Lord of the Rings all woven into a funny, crazy, sexy package.  It is an adult themed comic - not for kids - with violence and sex but appropriately so and not gratuitous (IMHO).  You can purchase the hardcopies at Amazon.com or digital versions.  I'm using the Comixology app on my kindle tablet.  You can download issue #1 free there!  https://www.comixology.com/free-comics

I have been so taken with Fiona Staples' wonderful artwork that I felt compelled to recreate some of her images.  I'm hoping her genius will rub off!  So I'm posting the 4 images I've recreated so far here with more to come as I continue my journey through this fabulous universe.

Thanks & enjoy! --Liz

Alana

Baby Hazel

Marko

The Will

A Letter from Father Christmas

https://lizstevensart.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/the-father-christmas-letters-2013/

Illustration Friday - SWEET

My entry for this week's IF topic, SWEET.

I thought about the word, sweet. The obvious images of various confections came to mind, but then I thought about how a person can be called sweet, which led to thinking about when I was a teen and used to read old romance stories. The ones from the fifties and early sixties always had a great heroine who was usually beautiful, smart, and sweet but never knew it until the end. Hence my illustration with a retro feel.

Enjoy - L

Illustration Friday - LIQUID

Just a little sketch I did using the Sketchbook Pro app on my Kindle Fire HD 7 for IF topic Liquid.

Enjoy! -Liz

Illustration Friday - EGG (late post)

Hey all, here's my better late than not at all drawing for Easter week's IF topic which was 'egg'…

The inspiration was obviously Easter and I stole the background design from my niece Evelyn. She's a pretty amazing artist on her own and hopefully someday we can share IF together (that is with her parent's permission as she is only 13!)

I tried a new technique with this one.  My usual sketch in black sharpie but I used a stiff bristle brush and soft pastels to color and shade, then brightened some areas with marker. It made for a pretty cool effect and some better variety of color than just markers alone! I cleaned it up with a kneaded eraser and voila! 

Anyways, thanks for stopping by. Comments always welcome.

-Liz

Help me "Make Art That Sells"

Hey all,  I have a campaign on Indiegogo.com.  I'm trying to raise funds to attend an online course to help me get current with market trends and build my art licensing portfolio.  Can you help?  I'm offering great perks for anyone who donates!!!  If you can't donate, please share and reshare.  Get the word out.  So far I have ZERO donations.  So please help support me and my art.

Thanks a bunch
Liz

Illustration Friday - BOOK

My entry for this week's IF topic - Book:

IF - Book                                                             (c) Liz Stevens Illustration 2012

I was going for a kind of reverential feel in this one because that's how I feel about books in general.  I love them, wouldn't be without them, in every format, but printed and bound is best.  I certainly have lugged around enough of them in my travels.  My favorite store is a book store and my favorite thing to do (when not drawing) is to curl up with a good book and read.  

This poor guy isn't exactly curled up and comfortable, but he's definitely intense about it, and I hope he doesn't stay up too awfully late reading!  lol This is a "good book" in every sense! 

Enjoy & thanks for visiting - please leave a comment if so inclined!  -L

Illustration Friday - Crooked

IF - Crooked                                                      (c) Liz Stevens Illustration 2012

Here's one I've been working on  for Illustration Friday.  Being that it's feeling much more like fall (and when I think of fall, I think Halloween of course), and the fact that I've been drooling over Edward Gorey's luscious illustrations, I decided to try my hand at a Gorey-like image for this topic.  This couple is "crooked" but in a different sort of way!  You can decide if it's good or bad, no judgement here!  ;)

The main thing I discovered is how easy great illustrators make things look - and how hard it really is to imitate someone's style.  My poor attempt needs some more line work for sure, but I thought I'd share it anyhow.

Cheers!  -L

Illustration Friday - Imagination

I just posted this on my Enter the Dragon post, but in reality I finished this one with IF in mind.  Last week's topic was "Imagination".  I can't think of anything that fires the imagination more than a good story, and one of my favorite storytellers is J.R.R. Tolkien.  So in honor of my brother who passed away last week, and my dear Tolkien, I submit my rendition of the Golden Wood, Lothlorien.

Lothlorien - The Golden Wood                       (c) Liz Stevens Illustration 2012

I'd like to think that my brother and Tolkien are comparing notes up there in the aether somewhere, telling stories and sharing a pipe.  Miss you both, dear fellowes.  xoxo

Enter the Dragon 2

Progress made on my dragon drawing:

Dragon - progress!                                           (c) Liz Stevens Illustration 2012

As you can see she's developing nicely and if I can get a good scan, I'll take her into photoshop and start coloring.  I haven't worked on the background yet.  I guess I should be working on that now, seeing as it's already Saturday; and week two is coming up!

Dragon Detail                             (c) Liz Stevens Illustration 2012

In the mean time I did finish a color drawing I'd started a while back.  This is my imaginary version of Lothlorien, inspired by Tolkien's Hobbit.

Lothlorien - The Golden Wood                      (c) Liz Stevens Illustration 2012

So there I am for now, more progress to come.  :)

Enter the Dragon

I'm naming this post after an insanely fabulous idea I saw on the Muddy Colors blog ( muddycolors.blogspot.com ) which I found whilst googling the amazing art of Justin Gerard.  He is one among many of the giants of the industry who is doing absolutely gorgeous work in the fantasy/scifi/comic genre.  I found him by attending his panel at Dragon*Con and was just blown away by his stuff.  Plus his panel was extremely informative and entertaining.  He's funny, bright and so so talented.  I was just in awe.

www.justingerard.com

I am also inspired by Elizabeth Malczynski Litton who illustrated Anne McCaffrey's Dragonsong trilogy paperback edition in the 70's.  I met her at the con and she was just the nicest lady.  Her work makes me want to draw and draw and draw so I can maybe get to someday be as good as she is.

http://thedragonstudio.com/

The Muddy Colors blog group is doing an "Enter the Dragon" celebration of dragons.  Since I'm always looking for an opportunity to motivate myself, and having just come back from the con and suffering fantasy withdrawl... I decided to do my own Enter the Dragon celebration.  Who doesn't like dragons??  So in honor of Dragon*Con, Justin, and Elizabeth...  here are some shots of my latest excursion into dragonland!

I'll post more progress pics as this one progresses.  

rough sketch 

Detail

My goal:  at least 2 finished dragons in 2 weeks.  Also I will try to emulate Justin's technique of doing the initial drawing in graphite and then taking that into Photoshop to color comp.  Wish me luck!  

- Liz

NaNoWriMo/30C30D Day 1 - Blood on the Sun Cover

NaNoWriMo Cover #1
Project Title: Blood on the Sun
Project Type:  Screenplay
Project Status:  in development

I can't say any more about this project except to say it's in development now.  The cover is for the presentation/fundraising package.

All rights reserved.  ©Liz Stevens Illustration 2011

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, Y'all!

What's scary this Halloween?  Probably the fact that I haven't posted anything since JULY!!  lol  So here's one I did digitally using Corel Painter.  Enjoy!

Liz

Illustration Friday - Remedy

My entry for last week's Illustration Friday topic - Remedy.

When I think of a 'remedy' I think of hot tea with honey and lemon.  My Mom used to make me tea and toast when I was sick as a kid.  With lots of sugar and milk.  I loved dunking the toast into the tea and eating it all squishy and buttery.

I also had a friend in Kentucky whose grandmother would give her a teaspoon of white raisins soaked in gin for just about anything that ailed her.  Not sure what the medicinal qualities of that one are...but she said it worked great.

I plan to color this one in Photoshop and I'll post the images when I get them finished.  Just wanted to post this one before it was too awfully late!

TZT Performance Logo Project

I recently completed a fun project for a friend's son - vectorizing a logo for his new performance car biz!  So in this blog I'll show you how it evolved and what the end result was!

First, I received the jpg file of the logo:

Which I then imported into Illustrator.  Placing it into the background, I made a new layer and traced the outlines to make a vector image.  Then I colored it.  I played around with the colors and gradients and gave him several options to choose from:

He didn't bite on any of the changes, preferring the original logo and colors so I played around with values, gradients, and flipping the colors around.

Illustration Friday - Shadows

As promised, here is my IF entry for this week's topic "Shadows".



When I think of shadows, I think of campfires and ghost stories, deep, dark woods and the power of the imagination to see things in the dark.  I also wanted to work on my cross hatching.  I did this one with regular and fine point Sharpie markers on bristol paper.

Hope you like it!

-Liz

In Honor of Grand Canyon

Some random sketches from my sketchbook:

This one is the Queen Mary from a visit to Long Beach.

This is a sketch I did yesterday at Oak Creek in Sedona.

And some rock art from a hike I did just outside of Grand Canyon.  

To see photos of this rock art, check out my Trail Sketches blog.

I know I've been slacking lately and I promise I'll work on Illustration Friday and post this week!

Thanks and enjoy!

-Liz