Category: thoughts behind the work

animals, fantasy illustration, Illustrations, Odd Little Stories, thoughts behind the work

Cat clouds good night

Michele B. Naquaiya

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Have you ever lost something and found it a long time later? Well, here’s one cat I remember drawing way back in 2004.  I found this little guy in a zip file that somehow got saved from disaster.  So I know he’s not very well drawn but this art came at a time in my life when I almost died.  I was recovering from major surgery and was trying to remember who I was as I had lost a lot of my memory.

I remember sitting in a little travel trailer and painting these little cats by the hundreds. I painted some on wood and some on paper. Most were just simple watercolors no bigger than 6 square inches.  I did some on scratchboard too.   Some survived.  They helped me clear my head, get my bearings and be optimistic for the future.  I love cats and this therapy did work.

Eventually a lot of my memory came back but I still don’t know what day or month it is most of the time.  My friends are very patient with me.

Here is the little guy on some products.

fantasy illustration, Pen and Ink Drawing, people, thoughts behind the work

Dear Aunt Lydia

Michele B. Naquaiya

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If you have ever had an aunt Lydia, you might enjoy this post.  She is a caricature  from my imagination.  I think she could be in anybody’s life at any time if they were lucky.  I never had one of these, but I actually have been her to some people.  I hope you enjoy this character as much as I enjoyed creating her.

This was all drawn with a speedball nib in an old fashioned pen holder.   I use red ink very often and like the kind they still sell in a bottle.  If you are lucky enough to find some, try it. I have three shades of red ink. Art supplies and yarn have always been my go-to collections. I’m done with books after changing countries, but inks and pens are still small enough to fit in a suitcase.

The original work was the separate oval pen and ink –a highly detailed drawing with a crow quill nib.  The center was another oval I left blank.  I scanned the drawing into photoshop and then layered another red ink drawing of the lady that was done with a heavy speedball nib of Miss Lydia.  I put her into the center and then I just played around in photoshop– tweeking the images to present something unique. She makes me laugh.

After being without Adobe for a few years because my life was so insane, I am back on my computer and can’t wait to do more.  It is so much fun.

If you want to see this in print check out my online store.

animals, dogs, horses, cats, fantasy illustration, Illustrations, Pen and Ink Drawing, thoughts behind the work

Itsy Bitsy Spider and Cat

Michele B. Naquaiya

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Babies and kids fall for it when you make a crawling motion with your fingers over their sweet little bodies.  They laugh and anywhere from 4 to 6 months will make you a hit.

The itsy-bitsy spider
Climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain
And the itsy-bitsy spider
Climbed up the spout again

Then there is the never-to-grow up child like myself who still likes to play.  I am playing here with fonts and how they relate to the subject matter. This sweet font is Segoe Print.

Click the link to purchase on various products

animals, flora and fauna, Illustrations, thoughts behind the work

Red Deer Illustration

Michele B. Naquaiya

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This illustration with extra color and a few symbolic waves of grain is an older drawing that I have completely redrawn and repainted with watercolor pencils.  I love the flourishes and references to plant and animal life.  I have digitally removed the background so the image can be printed on different color textiles.  There is another red deer in this series which will appear soon.

Odd Little Stories, thoughts behind the work

Remodeled work station

Michele B. Naquaiya

remodel work station

I redid my work station with Mike’s help. I am very grateful. I am almost there. In any case, writing and drawing will be much easier now. I haven’t been able to use my Wacom Intuos 4 in a few years. Moving to Mexico will knock the wind out of you. I even am using the monitor I brought here from Washington in a suitcase, praying all the way that it would not break. Now at last my world is coming together.

In celebration, I wrote a little story and am breaking through to incorporating my drawings and stories together.

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