Flower Calendar

I've been busy working on some more photography this month.

I plan to have at least two calendars to release in September The first is ready for upload once deviantART changes to 2010 format in Sept.

Flowers
Back cover preview:


I will be making calendars and products with the individual images at both my stores:
KerStitch on deviantART
and
KerStitch on Zazzle

Please let me know what you would like to see! At least 2 images will be exclusive to the calendar through 2010, but I haven't decided which ones yet So if you want a product get in your request, so you don't have to wait until 2011. :)

My 2nd calendar will be waterscapes from S. Ontario, Canada and FL, USA. There may be another calendar that combines my flower photos with a friend's poetry. I really hope something works out there for some unique products!

Wow!

Great work and brave artist!
Amazing artwork done with ballpoint

Taking Photos

I happened to notice that the light was perfect to take flower photos yesterday. I ended up taking 423 during an hour around my yard and my next door neighbours'. I don't have anything to post yet, but at least a few turned out good enough for printing and will be for sale eventually. :)

Drawing Again

Well, I'm both tired and excited after drawing for a couple of hours Saturday and Sunday. I've been wanting so badly to get back into drawing and painting and really learn how to draw human figures, since I've never really did do that back in high school. Now, with access to sites like www.deviantart.com and a Rogers Rocket stick so I can actually browse stock without pulling my hair out, I've finally made the leap.

A competition notice inspired me to start drawing *something*. I did a very rough conceptual sketch while waiting in the car at a grocery store. lol Then, after finding some stock that conveyed a similar idea, I worked on a detailed figure drawing. Still somewhat rough, since I'm still deciding on components etc. and I'm so out of practice, I will sketch everything separately before making a final pencil drawing. Then, if I still have the energy, I will try a colour version - probably watercolour.

I am relatively happy with how the figure turned out though! I compiled 3 different stock sources, so I'm not sure some of it flows quite correctly, but for a first art nude drawing, I am quite happy. I won't post it here yet though since it is for a competition. If I end up using it in a finished piece, I'll ask for permission to post the different stages here. I'm not sure how stock permission works when you've used 3 different model references to make up one person.

I expect I will have a much tougher time with a coloured version since my watercolour skills are at a very beginner level. I've watched a lot of shows and read a lot of books about doing it, but don't have the real-world practice. I think it is easier on my hands than coloured pencils though, which is really my only other option with the supplies I have.

I'll have to see what turns out for my entry. Hopefully, I can complete it on time. I do better when I have a set date to work towards at least.

I've been getting more products up on http://www.zazzle.com/kerstitch* , include customizable cards. Some are already set up for "Happy Mother's Day", but you can change the text to whatever you like!

Trout Lilies Card, Happy Mother's Day Card by kerstitch
Make a custom notecard On www.Zazzle.com
See more Nature Landscapes Cards

First Sale: A little over one day left for Zazzle's Tax Day sale. Ends Wednesday the 15th, 11:59pm PDT

Details from Zazzle:

Use code TAXDAYZAZZLE during checkout*.


*10.40% of the net sale price will be deducted when the coupon code
TAXDAYZAZZLE is applied at checkout. For most products, the net sale
price is the price of the product (excluding shipping and taxes). For
Zazzle Custom Stamps, the net sale price is the difference between the
price of the Zazzle Custom Stamps (excluding shipping and taxes) and
the face value of the postage. Offer is valid from April 13, 2009
through April 15, 2009 at 11:59pm PDT. This offer does not apply to
past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle
promotional or discount offers. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only and is
not valid on Smilestore.com orders.

--------------------------------

Second Sale: I now have several of my photos available as postage stamps for US residents. Get the new postage for old postage prices until May 24th.

Details from Zazzle:

Use code NEWPOSTRATES during checkout*.


*$1 discount applies to orders of any number of sheets of twenty Zazzle
Custom Stamps with a denomination of 44 cents (typically $17.95 for
small, $18.95 for medium, and $19.95 for large per sheet) when the
coupon code NEWPOSTRATES is applied at checkout. Offer is valid from
April 7, 2009 at 12:01am through May 24, 2009 at 11:59pm PDT. Your
order must be placed during that time to qualify for this special
promotional pricing offer. This offer does not apply to past purchases
and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or discount
offers. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only and is not valid on
Smilestore.com or Zazzle.co.uk orders.

-------------------------


As always, I'd appreciate feedback on products, images, themes etc you would like to see!

My Latest Photos

Some newish photos. These have been on my deviantART store since the beginning of March, but I am still working on updating my web site to show them. With these, I'm finally getting to some photos that I've wanted to offer for sale for a long time. I hope you like them!

Click on the thumbnails to go to the store pages.

Big Cats


Her Majesty: The Lioness



Tiger


Flowers


Sunburst: Strawflower
(orange and black border, other versions without border or with white border are also available)

White and black options have been added to my other flower close-ups too. I plan to do more like this so people can mix and match for a series.



Flower Barrel


Raccoons


Raccoon Baby 1



Raccoon Baby 2


Scenic


Breakwall



Sunset at Jenkin's Creek
-------------------------------------

I took some great photos this past week of a sunset on the lake with the ice formations that are melting. It looked like a very alien landscape! Hopefully I'll get some of those up eventually, but I'm more in the mood to look through my Spring flowers again and get those up first.

Any and all feedback is appreciated!

Art Class Reminiscing 3

Ok, another old piece, since I haven't been working on new art. Oh, I do have new photos on http://kerstitch.deviantart.com/ though, that I will blog about properly soon.

Back to this artwork. This is from grade 9 or 10 (14 or 15 years old) More than half my life ago! lol The object was to put a grid on a magazine photo and copy the photo square by square at the same size. We were only supposed to look at one square at a time. This explains some of the random direction pencil lines I have in the "black" areas which shows up the "grid". lol

But otherwise it turned out pretty good and I got a perfect grade on it - I think the only one on an artwork that I received. The singer is Ricky Nelson. This was done with a regular #2 school pencil.



Larger version: Ricky Nelson Drawing vs Original Comparison