Deer Plaque detail

This was one of my first attempts at wood burning done more than 10 years ago. It was created for my friends, Jason and Laura, who are good 'ol country people. They kept it hanging on their wall and even gave it a place of honor, along with other paintings I've done for them, in their gorgeous, newly-built home. I'm so pleased that they've enjoyed my work.

Treeing a 'Coon

This slate was commissioned by my friend, Laura. The dog is their Blue-tick coonhound, Jessie. It is unfortunate that my camera had difficulty picking up the smaller detail. The slate was sealed to protect it, and the sealant gives a bit of a glossy glare even without the camera flash. There is a raccoon, the object of Jessie's interest, resting in the crook of the tree.

Deer Slate

I painted this slate by special request for a close friend. This friend probably has more of my artwork than anyone. When my son was learning about the Italian Renaissance in his 6th grade history class, we talked about patrons of the arts. I jokingly compared Michelangelo's patron, Lorenzo de' Medici, to my friend. Now, I by no means compare myself to Michelango, but I realized that it is true; my friend, Laura, and her husband, Jason, and even their son, Zack, are my biggest patrons. They make me feel that my art is beautiful and worthwhile, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

Psychedelic MP3

This was my 2nd digital painting using my Wacom Intuos3 Tablet and Corel Painter Essentials 3 software. This was just so much fun to create. I'm noticing that I put quite a flourish on my signature when I sign my artwork. I see other people placing their names discreetly in their art. Should I tone it down a bit? I've been signing my name like that for over 2 decades. Old habits are hard to break.

Woman

This was my first digital painting after I got my Wacom Intuos3 Tablet. I used Corel Painter Essentials 3 software. I had no plan when I started this. It just kind of came together. I like doing women's faces. When I doodle, in addition to geometric shapes and repetitive squiggles, I draw women's eyes and faces.

Dusty

This is Dusty, the 3rd in birth order of my brother-in-law's 4 sons. This was a Christmas present last year. I have been reminded a few times that they are waiting on a sketch of the youngest boy. I'm working on that likeness, but it will be a digital painting. I'll post when I get it completed. I am a little rusty. I wasn't 100% satisfied with this sketch, or the sketches of his brothers. They are just simple pencil sketches, nothing fancy, but the boys seemed to like them.

Robbie

Robbie, the oldest of my brother-in-law's 4 boys. This sketch was a Christmas present last year. It was done with a simple graphite pencil.

Dana

This is a sketch of my nephew Dana which I gave as a Christmas present last year. His favorite color is green. He has requested that I draw another picture of him with my son, Tyler, and he wants it to be done in color. I'll post it once I complete it.

Introspection in Green

I created this digital art using a Wacom Intuos3 tablet and pen and Corel Painter Essentials 3.
Green is my favorite color- all shades. It has a calming effect on me. This digital painting was interesting to make because I started out with a green "canvas" and used various techniques to lift out the white areas.

Hummingbird canister

I was asked to paint this white plastic canister for my sister-in-law's friend who likes hummingbirds and flowers. I procrastinated, as I usually do, but managed to paint it from start to finish in about 3 hours. I love the colors in this, and the glitter paint that I added in certain areas (which you may have a hard time seeing in this photo) gives it a touch of whimsy, I think.
This was done with acrylic paints, touched off with glitter craft paint, and coated with a spray sealant.

What's in a name?

"Illustrious Illustrations". In case you haven't figured it out yet, that's what the name of my blog stands for. There's nothing sublime about it- I was simply trying to come up with something catchy. I started by brainstorming words that I associated with art. A few plays on words later, Illustriations came to mind. I admire people who can come up with cool and interesting usernames and blog titles. I thank the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary for helping me figure out my blog title: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary. I thank my mother for giving me such an unusual spelling for my birth name. Of course, in today's culture it's not that unusual to purposefully misspell your child's name. Growing up, though, the spelling of my name was different and unique. I'm proud of my name, even if I can't find a pre-made cup or keychain with Taunnya on it. Even though I am fast approaching middle-age, there still resides in me that teenage girl who likes to doodle her name over and over again.