Tally Ho, Into the New Year!

This New Year will bring the start of a new project, a children's picture book. 

The book is going to be about a fox hunt that happens one day when
Mr. Fox decides to go out and play. There will be a happy ending for Mr. Fox, so stay tuned for more progress work to be posted in the upcoming months.
 Here are some of the first concept sketches. 

Huntsmen & Women Ideas

Riding Huntsmen & Women 

All Images © Liz Cleaves Illustration

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Liz Cleaves Illustration.  

© Liz Cleaves Illustration

Grandmother

© Liz Cleaves Illustration

Winter Fox Den

Greetings Everyone!

Here is the progression and completion of a recent illustration entitled Fox Den.  

Gentleman Fox 

Lady Fox

Inked

The Finish

All Images © Liz Cleaves Illustration

Finals Week

Its getting a little crazy around here, it's finals week! Everyone who is still in school, just starting out, or can remember back to the days of when they were starting their careers.  Here are some words of wisdom to keep you carrying on.  

 “Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work dis

appoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

– Ira Glass

Happy Winter

 Been doing some experimenting with combining the watercolor and ink style with the the embroidery.  Keep your eyes peeled for more cause, so far the results are looking good. 

© Liz Cleaves Illustration

Sugar Rush!

 Thanks to my wonderful Illustrator friends for distracting me with Wreck it Ralph fan art. They all started drawing themselves as Sugar Rush Game characters and I just had to join in. Meet Dizzy Lizzy, the sweet and sour need for speed demon. Any one want to go a little off roading in Sugar Rush?

© Liz Cleaves Illustration

Breaking

It was nice to be able to relax.  The storm ahead is going to be filled with deadlines. Becoming in touch with your humanity before you have to start producing work like a robot.  Its having a reminder of who you are and what your interests are that inspire you to make the art that you make. And putting time back into the people who truly believe in you and your work.  Never stop creating,and never stop being filled with the things that give you creativity. Here are some of the influences that fill me over the break.

  

Thanksgiving Illustration

  May we keep thankfulness in our minds all year, so that we can go forth and give to others.

Happy Thanksgiving!

© Liz Cleaves Illustration

Mail Call!

Look what came in the mail, Liz Cleaves Illustration business cards! 

This is terribly exciting since finally I will be able to hand people a professional card, instead of writing on napkins and shreds of paper. Its also convient timing cause, I've been striking up conversations with people about my illustration business in the most random of places.  

So if you know who I am then you better believe that you are going to have a card placed in your hand or sneaked into your pocket. Cause who does not want great design and illustrations made for them by this talented illustrator ?

I Mean Business Self Portrait

© Liz Cleaves Illustration 

Book Jacket Illustration

Hello Folks! 

Here is the process of an illustration for a book jacket. 

The book chosen for this cover mock up is Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

by Susanna Clarke.

 This was a really fun piece to work on, enjoy!

The Pencil Sketch

Inked

The Finish

Finish with Text Placement

All Images © Liz Cleaves Illustration 

GO VOTE!

Its November 6th, Get out there to the polls and cast your Vote!

© Liz Cleaves Illustration 

Surprise Package

Today is full of surprises! 

After coming home from my morning class, there was a package waiting for me. Having known that I had not recently been on Amazon, I questioned its contents. 

It was a gift from one of my favorite people, Elizabeth Kiger who planed this gift from China. 

 It is one of the books that has been on my wish list, Food Rules and Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan. Illustrated by one of my favorite artists Maria Kalman! 

Did a happy dance in the kitchen and smelled the binding. 

Thank you Ellie!!! 

A Embroidered Thank You

An embroidered "Thank You"card design. 

© Liz Cleaves Illustration 

Happy Halloween Illustration

Have a Happy Halloween Everyone! 

© Liz Cleaves Illustration

Happy Birthday Bob Ross

© Liz Cleaves Illustration

Horse Heaven

This is an illustration painting, shown from start to finish.

The topic was to illustrate a dream. 

Pencil Sketch

Line Drawing

Finished Painting of Horse Heaven

Pony Friends

© Liz Cleaves Illustration

Modern Day Fertility Goddess

This scribble has been posted on my website lizcleavesillustration.com and to my Facebook page, Liz Cleaves Illustration. It was made in the summer of 2012 and it has a back story that I would like 

to share. 

I was working at a local farm stand one midsummer's day when a woman came in. She was extremely pregnant, wearing this bright orange sun dress, gold bangles, bug eyed designer sunglasses and four inch wedges! Instantly she brought to mind the teachings of Art History, in particular  "The Venus of Willendorf", a fertility goddess figurine made around 28,000 - 25,000 BCE.  

This woman was a walking talking modern day fertility goddess, the manifestation of "Venus of Willendorf". She was so overwhelming in her virility that she had to be documented as a 

divine sighting. 

© Liz Cleaves Illustration

Illustration 24 and 24 Hour Comics day happened this weekend. It was hosted by Pennsylvania College of Art and Design and it was a great event. Lots of great work was created by some great artists. Go and visit my Facebook page to see some of the comics and to learn more about the artists who created them. 

 http://www.facebook.com/LizCleavesIllustration

Creative Building Blocks

These are some blocks from my childhood. I forgot they existed until I found them recently.

I am so happy to have them back in my life and I can not wait to see what kind of creative mischief they spur. Here are some close ups of favorite blocks. 

I'm New in the Bog of Blogging

I'm new in the Bog of Blogging. For the folks who follow my Liz Cleaves Illustration Facebook Page and LCleavesIllustration Twitter you can now keep watch closer watch of thoughts, rantings and process of Liz Cleaves Illustration. I also invite you to go to my website at lizcleavesillustration.com So put on your rubber boots and go wading in the mud, it will become more interesting as we go on. 

© Liz Cleaves Illustration