I-F: Winter

Well I am back in Australia where it is going to be 40C/104F today for New Year's Eve (!) -- but up until a few days ago, I was enjoying Winter at my parents' place in Portland, OR. We didn't get any snow (unlike the rest of the country), but it was lovely to have a cold Xmas again.

I got into the habit of sketching each night before bed -- a ritual I hope to continue into the new year (a resolution, you might say). I sketched this dear deer one night and thought how the antlers looked like the ends of snowflakes, so here is my submission for Illustration Friday's Winter.

At my parents' place, I found what remains of a set of Prismacolor pencils that I had when I was 10. I was just about to buy myself a set!

I love that I am using the exact pencils I had when I was just beginning as an artist. I can remember adoring them, and placing each pencil in order by colour was one of my favourite things to do! It came in a cool box like this (long gone now) but it had two levels of pencils. This piece was done entirely with the Bronze prismacolor pencil - the metallic pencils were my favourites.

Anyway, I hope you have a rockin New Year's Eve, and all the best for a fun, happy, creative and fulfilling 2011!