The TALENT of Chess

March 1 to March 7 Illustration Friday's topic is: Talent suggested by Childrens Illustration

"Games - Chess":  Black and white Pictograph Communication Symbols by Sandra Santa Lucia/May/1988

Chess, a game of strategy and talent is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a checkered gameboard with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments. 

Pictograph

A pictogram, also called a pictogramme or pictograph,[1] is an ideogram that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and graphic systems in which the characters are to a considerable extent pictorial in appearance.

Pictography is a form of writing which uses representational, pictorial drawings. It is a basis of cuneiformand, to some extent, hieroglyphic writing, which also uses drawings as phonetic letters or determinativerhymes.

The quiet whispering of nature

February 22 - Feb. 28/2013 Illustration Friday's topic is: "Whisper" Suggested by Diana Toledano

While hiking a number of years ago, up a winding trail leading up to the base of Mount Rundle, stands a tree quietly standing for all to see.

I stopped, took a picture recording the peaceful and serene gift of nature. From this photo  I painted the acrylic scenic below.

Serene, an acrylic painting, painted by Sandra Santa Lucia, 1983

"All of nature begins to whisper its secrets to us through its sounds. Sounds that were previously incomprehensible to our soul now become the meaningful language of nature." 

Quote by Rudolf Steiner 

Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/whisper.html#VdXJKdfLMKxdDKrz.99 

Mountain goats - dressed in a WOOLLY white double coat

This week's  Illustation Friday's topic for February 15 - Thursday, February 21st is — "Wool" as suggested by Claudea A. Larrauri

Mountain Goat pen and ink line illustration by Sandra Santa Lucia

Facts about this animal: Both male and female mountain goats have beards, short tails, and long black horns, 15-28 cm in length, which contain yearly growth rings. They are protected from the elements by their WOOLLY white double coats. The fine, dense wool of their undercoats is covered by an outer layer of longer, hollow hairs. In warmer seasons, mountain goats molt by rubbing against rocks and trees, with the adult billies (males) shedding their extra wool first and the pregnant nannies (females) shedding last. In the winter, their coats help them to withstand temperatures as low as -50 Fahrenheit (-46 Celsius) and winds of up to 100 mph (161 km/h). 
A billy stands about 1 meter at the shoulder and weighs about 90 kg. It has longer horns and a longer beard than the nanny. Adult males typically weigh between 45 and 100 kg, while females are usually 10-30% lighter. The mountain goat's feet are well-suited for climbing steep, rocky slopes, sometimes with pitches of 60 degrees or more, with inner pads that provide traction and cloven hooves that can spread apart as needed. Dewclaws on the back of their feet also help to keep them from slipping. 

 This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mountain Goat". 
Did you know? that by inhabiting this extreme and remote habitat mountain goats limit competition from other ungulates and predation risk? 
Factsheet: Class: MAMMALIA; Order: ARTIODACTYLA; Suborder: RUMINANTIA; Family: BOVIDAE; Name: (Scientific) Oreamnos americanus; Name (English): Mountain goat; Name (French): Chèvre de Montagne; Name (German): Schneeziege, Bergziege; Name (Spanish): Cabra de la montaña, Cabra de las Rocosas. http://www.waza.org/en/zoo/pick-a-picture/oreamnos-americanus

…on stormy winter day Snoopy ran the race

February 8 - 14/13 Illustration Friday's topic of the week is "storm" as submitted by Karen B Jones

" Snoppy would only run pulling the sled if she was chase Dorts…" 

from Wagging Tales book illustration a ink drawing by sandra santa lucia/published 2009

This "storm" illustration is from Wagging Tales by Dorts Stafford, a delightful book about one of Banff's families through the stories of many four-legged friends. This particular illustration of mine portrays Dorts Stafford and Snoopy in the Banff Winter Dog Race down Banff Avenue. The sled which Snoopy pulled was built by Barrie, Dort's young son. 

Lost…have you seen this man?

Back in August of '97 The Banff Crag & Canyon newspaper wrote a news story relating to a LOST hiker. "A 70-year-old hiker who was missing overnight was rescued when he stumbled upon a warden posting his description in a parking lot at Kootenay National Park".… the story was perfect material for a cartoon!

Pen and Ink cartoon by Sandra Santa Lucia published in the Banff Crag & Canyon newspaper Aug. 6/1997.

July 13 - 19 Illustration Friday's topic of the week is "lost" as submitted by Antonio Bernal

Newspaper media will never "suspend" it's honesty, objectivity and fairness.

Responsibility to it's readers is always first and foremost—their readers deserve no less.

Pen and Ink Cartoon  published in the Banff Crag and Canyon newspaper  in 1995 by Sandra Santa Lucia.

Back in 1995 I created the cartoon above for The Crag newspaper and thought it fitting for this week's July 6 - 12  Illustration Friday's  word of the week. The word being "Suspend".

Submitted by Allyn Howard at: http://www.allynhoward.com/Artwork_by_Allyn.html 

fluid…water and more water!

"Who will foot the bill!!"  … all about a broken water main in Banff.

Pen and Ink cartoon illustration by Sandra Santa Lucia/ 7/7/92 for the Banff Crag & Canyon newspaper.

Fluid is the topic for Illustration Friday's word of the week for February 17 - 23 as suggested by  http://lorimulligan.com/home.html

useless contraption?

pen and ink suitcase of energy saving ideas cartoon by sandra santa lucia for the Banff Crag & Canyon newspaper/12/09

Illustration Friday's October 7 - October 13's topic is "contraption". 

From the pages of The Banff Crag & Canyon's newspaper back in December of '09 my cartoon of "buck the elk's" contraption pokes a little fun at some of the cost efficient and environmentally sound suggestions put forward for The Town Banff and Parks Canada's Utility needs. 

contraption  (kn-trpshn) n. A mechanical device; a gadget.

Topic suggested by karen krings 

wake up…don't hibernate

Elections…so many coming up around the world.

pen and ink cartoon by sandra santa lucia, banff

Back in September 0f 2001 I created a cartoon for the Banff Crag & Canyon's newspaper reminding voters to get out and vote. This cartoon above seemed the perfect illustration for this week's, Sept. 30 to Oct. 6th' Illustration Friday's topic for the week "Hibernate".
“You live like this, sheltered, in a delicate world, and you believe you are living. Then you read a book (Lady Chatterley, for instance), or you take a trip, or you talk with Richard, and you discover that you are not living, that you are hibernating. The symptoms of hibernating are easily detectable: first, restlessness. The second symptom (when hibernating becomes dangerous and might degenerate into death): absence of pleasure. That is all. It appears like an innocuous illness. Monotony, boredom, death. Millions live like this (or die like this) without knowing it. They work in offices. They drive a car. They picnic with their families. They raise children. And then some shock treatment takes place, a person, a book, a song, and it awakens them and saves them from death." ~ Anais Nin Topic suggested by: suggested by Caitriona (http://www.flickr.com/photos/caitrionasweeney/).

smoking…dirty obsession

smoking…a dirty obsession.cartoon illustrated for The Banff Crag & Canyon newspaper.

Obsession — the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire , etc. 2. the idea, image, desire, feeling, etc., itself.

Illustration Friday's topic for the week of July 29th to August 5th is "Obession:" suggested by Jessica Wong.

do nothing…relax

pen and ink illustration by sandra santa lucia/82

One remedy for relieving tension is to relax and "do nothing" . 
     This week's , July 1 - July 7th Illustration Friday's topic is "Remedy" suggested by Elizabeth McMahill http://elizabethmcmahill.blogspot.com/ .To do nothing is sometimes a good remedy" ~ Hippocrates

casting a shadow

pen and ink illustration of a lynx by sandra santa lucia/5/9/11

Casting a shadow on the tree branch the Lynx spotted a hare below.
Lynx live in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks, but not just anywhere in those parks. They establish home ranges in high evergreen forests occupied by snowshoe hare. Further north, in the boreal forest, hare populations rise and fall dramatically every 10 years, shadowed closely by lynx populations.

Lynx pencil sketch by Sandra Santa Lucia/4/84

This week's topic is "Shadows" suggested by michael (http://teako.blogspot.com/).

"I look out the window sometimes to seek the color of the shadows and the different greens in the trees, but when I get ready to paint I just close my eyes and imagine a scene." ~ Grandma Moses

the dance…a lesson of love

 " then there was the dance"… wagging tales book illustration a ink drawing by
 sandra santa lucia/published 2009

Training paddy to dance, a lesson of love. In chapter eight of Wagging Tales, Dorts Stafford's book about her family and many four legged friends there is a wonderful story about Paddy the dog and Barrie, Dorts eldest boy.
Barrie happened to be Paddy's favorite child. Being the oldest, he understood more about what a dog would tolerate and enjoy. He could sit on him and teach him tricks. Barrie would play ball with him and Paddy would retrieve it then saunter back to him, hoping Barrie would throw it again. Then there was the dance. Barrie would hold Paddy's front legs on his shoulders and they would prance about while we all laughed at the sight. They were good buddies.
      The illustration for Illustration Friday's April 29 - May 5 topic portrays Barrie and Paddy dancing. This week's word "lesson" was submitted by  Susan Sorrell Hill.

painting eggs…a fun-filled easter journey!

"bunnies little" ink sketch by sandra santa lucia, 24/4/2011

Bunnies Little were having so much painting the Easter eggs that they completely lost track of time! …Big Bunny needed these eggs now for the annual Easter Egg Hunt .

"big bunny" pen and ink illustration by sandra santa lucia/ 4/2010

Big Bunny, although understanding the creative journey which the bunnies little were on realized that he needed to hurry them along! Once the need of urgency was established, the decorated eggs were gathered up and dropped into Big Bunnies huge magic basket. Off he ran— ever so fast. His Easter Egg deadline completed for another year! Illustration Friday's April 15 - 21 topic was journey which was suggested by botanick. "Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it."

 HAPPY EASTER everyone!

bottled up emotions?…get help dude!

bottled up emotions pen and ink illustration by sandra santa lucia

Bottled up emotions — such as illustrated above: joy, surprise, happiness, panic, anger, guilt, acceptance lead to wrong conclusions and a lot of crap one doesn't need. Recognizing and describing our emotions helps shape the brain. Not recognizing and describing them, I believe, stunts the brain. - Philip Hartland

Illustration Friday's April 8 - 14th topic was bottled suggested by norma jay.

"Our names are labels, plainly printed on the bottled essence of our past behavior".  

- Logan P. Smith

musical chefs…a duet

Pen and ink "Musical chefs…a duet" illustrated by Sandra Santa Lucia, Banff, Alberta

"Duet" — this week's Illustration Friday's topic fit well with a freelance logo which I had designed and illustrated for a restaurant in Jasper, Alberta back in the early 90's

raggedy ann and andy…timeless toys

Pen and ink wash of Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, favorite toys of my daughters
 illustrated by Sandra Santa Lucia

When my little girls were born in the late sixties my mom made each of them large Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. Those two dolls are the subject of this week's Illustration Friday's topic, "toy" pictured above.

Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls have been loved and cuddled since 1915 when artist Johnny Gruelle, a cartoonist-illustrator and a natural born storyteller illustrated and wrote the Raggedy Ann and Andy Stories

 http://www.marcellasraggedyann.com/raggedy-books.html

Raggedy Ann and Andy: History and Legend by Patricia Hall 

Raggedy Ann, and her equally spirited rag brother, Andy are the world's best-known and most adored rag dolls. At the hand of their creator, cartoonist-illustrator-author Johnny Gruelle, the Raggedys weren't ever simply dolls. They were literary characters as well, possessing attributes and outlooks reflecting trustworthiness, kindness, and spunk. Because Gruelle was a natural born storyteller, it followed that his dolls would star in whimsical, fanciful tales, based on fantasy and make believe. 

women in BIG hats…a cultivated taste?

women in BIG hats…pen and ink illustration by Sandra Santa Lucia, March 21/11

March 18th — 24th Illustration Friday's word of the week is "cultivate".

"Art is not for the cultivated taste. It is to cultivate taste." - Nikki Giovanne 

Big hat designing is an extremely artistic venture; the world famous Philip Treacy comes to mind when I think of original hats. 
The hat below is just one of the many creative hats which Philip Treacy has designed.

Philip Treacy design

Warning…creativity is nothing without activity

Illustration Friday's topic  for March 4th to March 10th is "warning". I choose to enter a pen and ink illustration of Albert Einstein…an extremely creative man. 
The man's brain never stopped!…he was blessed with a tremendous brain that was continuously active…hence Warning…creativity is nothing without activity — anonymous quote.

Albert Einstein quotes • True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist. • The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.

• The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. Pen and Ink illustration of Albert Einstein by Sandra Santa Lucia

"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.