Monday, August 14, 2006

"Play"

Can you believe this photo was on the front page of the Cape Gazette 4 days after I posted my picture?!

"Playful Dolphins"- (please click on illo to make big) Illustration Friday Challenge for Aug. 11. Please check out other artists entries at Illustration Friday's Website!
This piece took a while to complete. It is inspired by the dolphins that travel up and down our shores here in Delaware. Here are more interesting facts about dolphins at Dolphin Ear.
Here are some people who (I would love to be as good as someday) who have inspired me to work with watercolour more...please check out their sites Courtney Pippin Mather, Wynlen, Gabriella Travaline, Sweet Pea,Kristina Hunt,Gina, Nick, Fenris, and of course, Penelope (who created I-Fri)!
This is just to name a few there are many, many very talented people out there!

I sketched this piece out in graphite on watercolour paper first. Then taped it down and added water colour. I added detail with Sakura ink pens and good ol' Crayola coloured pencils! Really, it looks so much better in real life. The scanner never quite picks up the vibrancy of the colour when you colour by hand!

Speaking of "hand" I went for several tests last week. One was an Electrodiagnostic Test to see how bad my carpel tunnel is (so they can operate!). I am beside myself since I never miss I-Fri challenges!

13 comments:

° said...

love ur border and ur triangular waves nice colors and texture too

Gabrielle said...

I can believe it took a while to complete this. The detail is marvelous.

Loni Edwards said...

Nice job! I love your use of yellow to accent. I like the framing too. Sorry about your carpel tunnel :( Hope you don't have to have surgery.

Linda said...

I love dolphins, wonderful painting really captures their playfulness!

good luck with your carpel

andrea said...

I once did a mural of dolphins in the science wing of my high school. I love how you've worked the border into the design. Looking forward to more!

Amy Zaleski said...

Playful indeed! It's always a treat when I spot a dolphin jumping over the waves. I love the iridescent look of the waves and of course the patterned border is spectacular!

steve said...

Beautiful job Ellen! Gotta love dolphin play. I'm so sorry about your hand. I know as artists the hands are what we hold dear to us. Best of luck on a speedy recovery!!

HARDWAX said...

Very nice artwork, the dolphins look natural and playful, and love the design of the ocean waves.

Hope your hand is on the mend soon.

Debra Cooper said...

Your dolphins look like they are having a great time. I like the rainbow effect you used with the waves.

thank you for your comment on mine - its needs some refinement and I should paint it. I live in Skaneateles and would love to move a little more south after the kids are done with HS. Where did you use to live?

Andrea said...

I like how the sea looks like mountains. Bravo!

Larry Lee said...

Nice work. They remind me of the dolphins I saw while vacationing on the Outer Banks recently. All I could see were a couple of dorsal fins appearing and disappearing. Your dolphins are having much more fun.
8^)

Ian T. said...

A lovely spin on the topic and a beautifully realised picture! I wondered if anyone would do animals at play, and yours captures a wonderful mood.

Ian T. said...

Amazing how that happens (the newspaper picture). I've had a couple of things happen like this lately - newspaper stories on ducks in the Cretaceous, and the sex life of black swans, a few months after I'd done cartoons about them!

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Delaware, United States
I'm a professional artist, a wife, a step-mother, grand-mother, friend, Ms. Fix-it, older sister and a daughter. A regular "person in progress!" Oh yah, and I draw alot! Copyright 2010-2012.

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