"Swarm"

The Wardens temporarily closed part of an Interpretive Trail
where a swarm of aggressive wasps had earlier stung several people.
Pen and ink newspaper cartoon published in the The Banff Crag & Canyon by Sandra Santa Lucia

Illustration Friday's  topic this week is swarm. Above the cartoon depicting a swarm of aggressive wasps was previously illustrated for The Banff Crag & Canyon newspaper back in 1997. 

under a layer of earth

pen and ink cartoon by Sandra Santa lucia/2/11

Illustration Friday's topic for the week of February 18 - 24 is layer. In the spring, ground squirrels (gophers) come out of their dens around Feb./March.

Near the end of June, adult males go back into hibernation. Adult females do the same in July. But the young are active all summer. In August to late fall when there is less food to be found they go into hibernation. Shelter - They dig a burrow with many tunnels, openings, and different room (called chambers). If a predator (enemy) comes in one hole, they can escape out another hole. Food - The Richardson's Ground Squirrels store some food during hibernation, they wake up every 10 to 14 days and have a snack.

…making the dust fly

Pen and ink book publication by Sandra Santa Lucia

My Illustration Friday's "dust" entry for January 28, 2011 was a illustration from Wagging Tails a book which I illustrated.

Laurie was frightened for Zeke, who was tiring, she stopped Thunder, her horse, hauled Zeke onto her saddle and rode like the wind…making the dust fly!

"surrender"

Once and awhile we would catch sight of a large rabbit. Boysie, too, would spot the rabbit and bound after it, leaving Nana and I in a cloud of dust.

Illustration Friday's

This weeks subject is "surrender" for the week of Jan. 28-Feb. 3/11. I decided to go with my drawing of Boysie, chasing a rabbit, who, being a little faster than his pursuer, was not ready to surrender just yet. This illustration was for a book about a Banff family and their four-legged friends

classic flowing coat

Pastel fashion illustration by Sandra Santa Lucia

Warm, stylish and classic…a woman's must have! On a day when the cold winds blow, a flowing wool coat will keep you ever so warm.

The fashion illustration above was drawn on a burgundy mat board using coloured pastels to create a loosely drawn sketch depicting the flowing fullness of the coat.

Jacket with style

Bomber Jacket pen and ink illustration by Sandra Santa Lucia

The stylish Leather Bomber jacket above is an all-time classic for all women. Worn with jeans, skirts or dresses this stylish jacket will take you anywhere you wish to go.
Using pen and ink with a wash helped accentuate the softness and details of the leather. The border was created with torn paper from various of magazine headers.

80's sweaters

acrylic, ink, and pencil fashion illustration by sandra santa lucia

This week's Illustration Friday's topic is "sweaters".  The bold graphic sweaters of the 80's could be worn dressed up or down, and they really didn't require accessories to make them 'pop'! 
The cardigan and graphic turtle neck sweater were illustrated with pencil, ink, and acrylic paint. Bright bold round graphics were used in the background accentuating the strong graphic elements of the turtle-neck sweater.  

50's & 60's sweaters

A shortie, skims the upper part of a full skirt illustrated by Sandra Santa Lucia

Women's weaters in the late 50's early 60's were  pretty basic.  If fact cardigans, often part of a sweater set, and v-necks seem to be making a comeback. Another popular sweater was the shortie, often worn over a full skirt showing the waistband. The line drawn fashion illustrations of the sweaters below were drawn with pen and ink and pencil.

These cardigans and v-neck appeared in the Calgary Herald newspaper in the early 60's. Pencil illustration by Sandra Santa Lucia

paper dolls from the 50's

Elizabeth Taylor, 1950

Above and blow are some cutouts which I found on a web this morning reminding me of my youth.   Did you ever play with paper dolls?
 Not having the money to purchase store bought cutouts, I along with a friend, who also enjoyed drawing costume fashion would often draw a figure of a woman then design and draw the cloths for the paper dolls.  Our imaginations carried us from the 50's back to the days of knights, princesses and damsels in distress.  Later in life when my two little girls took an interest in paper doll cutouts I would make some for them. It wasn't long before they too took an interest in drawing and designing their own paper dolls. 
Now young girls play with Barbies. Interesting how the material things change but the concept of playing with dolls and using our imaginations has stayed the same throughout the passing of time.

Debbie Reynolds, 1953 

 

Betty Grable, 1953

fashion from the sixties

This week is New York Fashion Week…love fashion illustrating.
Women of the early sixties enjoyed the comfort which many casual shoes offered. 

Pen and ink wash of flat shoes of the sixties illustrated by Sandra Santa Lucia 

Pen and ink wash lingerie drawn by Sandra Santa Lucia

Pen and ink wash of a full slip drawn by Sandra Santa Lucia

Years ago, in the early sixties,  while a rookie layout artist in the graphic department, at The Hudson Bay Company in Calgary, Alberta one of the finishing artists would hand over a few art assignments to me.   The post above highlight a few lingerie illustrations which once appeared in a Hudson Bay Company advertisement in the The Calgary Herald newspaper.

reverse

This week's Illustration Friday topic is reverse. 

"Boredom is just the reverse side of fascination: both depend on being outside rather than inside a situation, and one leads to the other." 

– Arthur Schopenhauer

  

All of a sudden Doreen let out a scream, "There's a bear on the path!"

pen and ink book illustration by Sandra Santa Lucia

Who wants to be inside…a bear that is!  

The subject chosen for this weeks Illustration Friday , depicts one of the illustrations which I drew for Wagging Tails a  book about a Banff family and their four-legged friends. In this particular illustration depicting three friends who had been enjoying their hike to Johnson Lake when one of them spotted a bear!  They're leisurely hike soon became a very fast reverse speed hike away from the lake!

hands of time

Hands of time are so very beautiful. 

Hands of one who has lived a long life often have skin that is deeply etched with the wrinkles of time. These hands tell us stories of love and hardship. In these hands I see a person who may have toiled long hours creating a life for all those around them more comfortable, always striving to do the very best with what they had. I also see hands that may have held their partner, little children…possibly their own sons, daughters, grandchildren and sometimes great grandchildren. These hands are hands of love that remind me of my Mom and Dad's beautifully etched hands.

 ink illustrations of hands by sandra santa lucia

Old age is not for sissies. – Betty Davis

One of the signs of passing youth is the birth of a sense of fellowship with other human beings as we take our place among them. – Virginia Woolf

The aging process has you firmly in its grasp if you never get the urge to throw a snowball.  – Doug Larson

Age is an issue of mind over matter.  If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.  – Mark Twain

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.  – Mark Twain

A man is not old as long as he is seeking something.  – Jean Rostand

An archeologist is the best husband any woman can have:  the older she gets, the more interested he is in her.  – Agatha Christie

None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.  – Henry David Thoreau

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.  – Henry Ford

Age is like the newest version of a software - it has a bunch of great new features but you lost all the cool features the original version had.  – Carrie Latet

The spiritual eyesight improves as the physical eyesight declines. – Plato

Mr. Humpback Whale cartoon

Pen and Ink drawing of Mr. Humpback Whale of the South Seas by Sandra Santa Lucia

            

A while back I was presented with a rather fun project…a cartoon character of a Humpback Whale, I choose to portray Mr. Humpback in a tiny little tour boat welcoming enthusiastic tourists who had a birds eye view from Mr. Humpback's wine glass. What fun! I thoroughly enjoyed the process of simplifying and creating a mammal in such a cute and exaggerated humanistic cartoon style… Mr. Humpback was born. Along with the actual drawing I did some research on the Humpback Whale gaining a little knowledge about this magnificent mammal. From July to November the Humpback Whales spend six months in the tropical waters of Vava'u, a tropical Island group in the Kingdom of Tonga, located in the South Pacific. It is one of the most scenic and unspoiled of the Pacific Island nations.