A Peek at a Mermaid from the Carnival of the Animals

Illustration Friday's website definitely keeps me occupied, but this time I had a finished illustration, or at least, a detail from a finished illustration, ready to go.  This week's prompt from this popular art-participation website is "Mermaid".  I also started a series this week, on this blog, of illustrations for The Carnival of the Animals, an orchestral piece by Camille Saint-Saens.  This mermaid detail image is from one of these illustrations, yet to be unveiled.  I am posting one per week on this blog and on my YouTube channel, Creative Magic.  Check out the video, I'll include the link below.
   I know the classical music aficionados out there are scratching their heads and wondering, "What's a mermaid doing in the Carnival of the Animals?"  Well, this is a detail crop from one of the illustrations for this delightful, musical romp through the animal kingdom and you'll just have to hang in there patiently, until I reveal the larger picture.  And even then, you may say, "This is a travesty!".  But that makes things fun, doesn't it?
  So, have a gander at a mermaid and her platypus friend.  (Hey, now, don't start complaining about the platypus not being in the Carnival.  Keep an open mind, please.  This is art, not science, after all.  And don't even get me started on quantum physics.)

           Oh, and now I've got a new "minisode" about this up on my YouTube channel.
                                                You can check it out HERE.


                                         Melani Grube's Creative Magic: Carnival of the Animals

Go ahead.  Complain in the comments.  I can take it.  (Hee hee.)

Carnival of the Animals Series is Here!

  If you've followed this blog, you've seen the illustration I made back in June for an Illustration Friday prompt of "vacation".  But as things often meander and converge in life, so did they in my subconscious.  As I worked, I heard the Aquarium portion of the orchestral suite, "The Carnival of the Animals" by Camille Saint-Saens.  It's magical sounding and is often used in movie soundtracks for similar sections of story.  That was the portion of the suite I knew the best and I couldn't even recall all the other animals.  I was intrigued, intrigued enough to consider illustrating the whole piece.
   When I dug up my recording of it, I found there were 13 creatures and a Finale.  Could I really pull this off?  Could my subconscious deliver on prompt, thirteen times?  With continuity?  And produce a Finale piece that referenced each of the creatures? 
   The music entranced me and I was hooked.
   I worked out some random color studies, letting my excess paint spatter onto clean paper.  I looked through the dried spatterworks, staring at and rotating them, searching for the first character: the lion.  "Introduction and March of the Royal Lion" was the exact name of the movement.
   Whoa, watch out!  Lion energy poured into my life.  People were in my face, leading me around, voicing their opinion on how things should go.  I learned the lion energy was fierce and showy and insists on being heard, roar!
   After I produced the lion, little subtle figures started popping out of the background: a frog, a rabbit and three birds.  They contrasted the lion energy with humor, smallness and a very different way of moving in the world.
   The lion energy roared glorious, confident and insistent: I will not be ignored.  He proved to be the perfect herald for the beginning of the tour of Saint-Saens' fantastical creatures.  And check out the video on it in the link below the image.

                                                  Carnival of the Animals: the Lion Video

It's here! The Premiere of Creative Magic

I've started my video blog, Melani Grube's Creative Magic. Catch the premiere, right here. If you love the arts, create or critique the arts or design, create or innovate in any way, you're going to want to tune in. Join in the fun, now.

Melani Grube's Creative Magic

Unfamiliar Aquarium

   This vacation shot comes from deep in the subconscious and has never happened exactly in this way.  But it  has happened many times, in many variations and forms and melded together in this pool of neurons that make up the mind.  I can hear the "Aquarium" movement from Saint-Saen's Carnival of the Animals playing as I look at it.  This image surfaced for Illustration Friday's prompt this week: "vacation".  Happy summer vacation and may yours be compelling and memorable.

Up in the Air

   I'm floating, I'm floating.  Look.  What's that?  Can I get it?  I think so.  Oh, there's something else that's going after it, something flying, dropping and fast.
   What will happen?  We'll see.

   Today's illustration and post are prompted by Illustration Friday's theme this week: Airborne.

Imagine a Selfie

You knew it had to happen, didn't you? A selfie, right here. But it's different. It's all part of the plan.
   Yes, I've been noticing that the more I illustrate, the more the physical world, the actual tactile environment around me changes. I start to see the usual stuff and places all around me with a different light coming from them, different colors, kind of like the color of potential.
   It makes sense, though, if you think about it. We have the physical world we can touch. We have the mental world we can think and plan and analyze and organize. We have the dream world we can imagine.
   When we draw, paint, illustrate from the core, from our unconscious, we take an idea from the dream world and bring it into the physical world. Now it exists in both worlds. We changed our physical world.
   Okay, I could keep going, but let's just sit with that for a while. And here's an illustrated likeness of me. Yeah. There are major changes going on here.

Rabbit of Ages

Rabbit reflecting

Happy New Year!  Something new hopping through my studio… or is it ancient?  I figure it’s got to be ancient, though it’s new to me: the Japanese reed pen.  It’s really just a bit of bamboo with shaped points at each end of it.  I was intrigued by a few of Uri Shulevitz’ reed pen illustrations in his book, “Writing With Pictures”, so I hunted down a source for the pens and ordered fine, medium and large sizes. 

Mr. Shulevitz suggests that working with these pens really frees up the style and after a couple goes at this, I would agree.  I’ve been exploring loading the pen up with ink from the dropper in the bottle stop, as well as with dipping the tip of the bamboo directly into the ink.  I’ve tapped the nib on the mouth of the bottle, as well as blotted it on paper towels to release the excess ink and control the flow.

The effect of the reed pen really took my pencil drawing of the rabbit (above) to the next level.  The lines formed have an effortless grace to them.  And the process is gentle and enjoyable, calling me back again to the drafting table after I have finished my piece.

What has been your experience working with pen and ink?  Have you worked with bamboo pens before?  What about other tools?