Tag: fantasy

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

fantasy illustration, flora and fauna, Illustrations

Fantasy Mermaid Watercolor

Michele B. Naquaiya

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Between serious painting, there is a layer of fantasy fun.  This is yet another old watercolor I have reworked and I am playing a little bit with text.  Enjoy the fantasy. Believe me, I think we can all use some of this.

If you want to purchase, just go here to my Red Bubble store

animals, Illustrations, interior design, Pen and Ink Drawing, step by step, how to, thoughts behind the work

Rabbit and company, still life, color and black and white illustrations

Michele B. Naquaiya

 

 

This process is really long and tedious.  I don’t understand why I am making so much work for myself….except, I started with this idea and I can’t break the mold now. When you have high resolution images, bottom line is that it is what you need to publish your work.

I first do a pen and ink with fine line nib on to bristol paper, which is great for detail.   If I am happy with that, then I transfer that drawing to a heavy watercolor paper.  I am using my 12″x16″ light table to make the transfer.  I am doing this with a thicker nib and heavy emphasis lines are darkened to balance the amount of black on the page.

Then I scan the b&w into a large scanner and upload the b&w to my online store.  When I have the new darker black and white on watercolor paper, I paint it.  The composition defines whether or not I leave a lot of background white in the image or paint it in.

I have been playing with gouache and my usual clear watercolors, which is either Winsor and Newton or Maimeri Blue.  Why do this complex process?  I have learned a lot by this process.  It is remarkable how if you discipline yourself, you can accomplish a lot.  These drawings are giving me a lot of pleasure.  I can’t wait to get to a place when I can assemble them into some kind of storyboard book.

I studied this book building and illustrating in 1988 with Uri
Schulevitz but here I am now, so many years later, actually stepping into scary waters with a style that is actually the first one I adopted such a long time ago.  I discipline myself to doing 3 things every day, studying Spanish, working on the treadmill and drawing and/or painting.  I actually am very satisfied doing these activities.

I hope people will enjoy what I have to say.  My story really never changes.  It’s only the way of telling it that is new.

You can find my art here.