Illustration Friday: Crooked

a Couple of Cuddling Crooknecks 

Hmmm...maybe I should do an alphabet series...

I've been trying to think of a good subject for the topic, "crooked", while repeatedly walking past a huge pile of these squash on my kitchen counter. Obviously, it finally dawned on me that crookneck squash fit the bill. The plants are getting scraggly and overgrown, but they're still producing like crazy. 

I'm annoyed with myself because I rushed a bit while working on these shadows and made them too dark; it's tricky when you have a yellow subject on a white background. Then I tried to soften them by adding a little crosshatching, which wasn't all that successful either. Ah well, live and learn: Slow down. And plant fewer squash next year.

Illustration Friday: Imagination

Nothing fuels the imagination quite like some blank paper and a box of crayons.

Summer's End

I'm going to be out of town for a few days, so I thought I'd wish you a happy Labor Day weekend with this little sketch from a post last June. When I was growing up, Labor Day officially closed the door on our summer. It meant the closing of the public swimming pools, and, unlike today, was immediately followed by the first day of school. 

Have a relaxing end-of-the-summer weekend!

Plagiarism

Imitation is not the sincerest form of flattery. 

A while back, I wrote a post about how Google Image Search can be used to find out whether any of your artwork has been "borrowed" for use by others. Occasionally, when I'm sitting at the computer, I run searches for a few of my images. Last week, I found my humble little pinecone drawing (a personal favorite, mind you) all tarted up and masquerading as someone else's art—right in their banner! And the most offensive part is that the company is a design firm that offers graphic design, branding, and other creative services! Frankly, judging from the quality of their website and their other images, it's not a very successful company. But if they don't understand artwork copyright infringement, who does?

I decided to play nice to begin with, and sent the company this email:

"As a design firm, I would think that you would understand that it is illegal to use an artist's work without permission. The pinecone drawing being used in your banner and elsewhere on your website is my artwork, and was taken from my website, www.sarahmelling.com, where it is protected by copyright. If you are interested in purchasing rights to use it, I will be happy to send you a quote. Otherwise, please remove it immediately. I will look forward to your reply letting me know which option you choose."

I received this reply yesterday:

"Thanks for informing, it will be rectified soon.  Designer has been asked to remove it."

No apology, no explanation. And as of this writing, the drawing has not been removed. Grrr. I'll keep you posted.


Update! They removed it today, August 28!

Ten-Lined June Beetle

Prismacolor colored pencils on Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper

Some husbands bring their wives flowers, mine knows I'd rather have a cool-looking beetle. He found this little beauty in our pool last week, and knew that I would want it.

I decided to draw it on this paper, because the color and texture of the paper looked exactly like its shell. It's drawn at about 4x actual size, which is about an inch long.

It's been a while since I've drawn insects (see my last one here); I wish I had more specimens available—they're so fascinating to examine under a magnifying glass!