I’m probably a little over excited about this…but just found some pics from the Adelaide Walk Against Global Warming this past Nov 4th taken by Liam Jon. Being the first time I’ve ever done anything “activist-like” I was a bit ignorant and surprised that of the 800, most were families and regular old folk. There was only the occasional stereotypical greenie / hippy type, which made it feel more like a family atmosphere and less like some radical movement of extremists. Mind you there was one bloke wearing a sheepskin and not much else, we think he was supposed to be a polar bear… but aside from him, everyone just seemed concerned with global warming and wanting to make a difference.

BUT, my silly excitement…that’s me sitting down in the crowd in the orange t-shirt lounging about. I couldn’t find a picture from the helicopter that came by for the media, but we spelled out the words “See Change.” I was proudly sitting at the very upper top right on the very end of the top rung of the last letter “E.” Next year we’ll be walking through Adelaide because it’s a voting year…should be exciting!

Now that I’m on the third watercolour layer, it’s a bit more satisfying as I’m able to distinguish where I want the shadows, highlights, and know exactly what colours will go where in the painting. From here on it is basically continuing to layer on the colour until it is dark enough, until I get to the point where I am able to start sharpening up the details.

Time : 2 hrs

All illustrations in this post are works in progress and © Heather Castles & Cristina Guarneri

It just amazes me what some people can paint! Yannick Dusseault is an extremely tallented matte painter for feature films…here are a few of my fav.’s from his collection of works.
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Things still look a little squidgy after wash #2, but at this stage I’m finding I’m blocking in wide paths of colour before establishing lights & darks. I’m trying to put down the most pure yellows first, because they are the hardest to get back to a pure yellow if added later on top of another colour.

Time : 2 hrs

All illustrations in this post are works in progress and © Heather Castles & Cristina Guarneri

Michael Paulus‘ “Skeletal Systems” of present & past cartoon characters are both a little disturbing and a little cute at the same time!

Fefelants…oh my goodness, I just want to EAT THESE!!! You can find these wonderful items at Mahar Dry Goods

  I became signature #281 in the No!Spec petition against speculative work, whahoo! Begone, spec! (Read on …)

This is one of my favourite artist blogs… it’s a bit addictive checking out what other designers have on their desks! AND…I can’t believe it, I just found out I missed the coveted “100th contributor” spot… sigh, I was contributor #99! (Read on …)

Bouquet © Heather Castles

I’ve been enjoying working with brides to capture their memories of their wedding day by painting portraits of their wedding bouquets for themselves, and occasionally as gifts for their bridal parties.

I like to work from digital photographs, but painting from life can be fun too!

First I prepare a sketch of the bouquet for approval.

…then I paint! For information on rates for paintings of your bridal bouquet, please feel free to send me an email.
(Read on …)

Incredible Book Eating Boy
Written & Illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

This tactile story is my new favourite…everything from the little guy’s expressions to the illustrations actually being done on recycled BOOKS! If you look carefully at the illustrations you’ll notice there are book spines & pages being painted across… it’s a deliciously edible story, encouraging children to read books to learn cool things…not eat them! (Read on …)