Illustration Friday - "Clandestine"

©Kathleen Rietz
I thought at first it might be a stretch, but I keep coming back to the same notion regarding this illustration: As much as I have chosen to be a designer and a children's book illustrator, late at night I revert back to my roots in a clandestine effort to nourish the parts of myself deep within my soul that will always be a fine artist.

You can see more of my work like this one on my Moleskine blog.

Happy Bloggiversary, Little Blog!

Today marks 2 years that this blog of mine has been in existence! Yay! I wanted to say a big THANK YOU to all who have stopped to visit - even you "lurkers" out there - and especially those of you who come by regularly and leave comments. I have 'virtually' met so many other incredible artists and talented people. You all inspire me and at times encourage me, and it's been a lot of fun. I have even met some of you in person, and have made some friends. So....THANKS!!

Earlier this week I launched another blog, "A Moleskine Journal". Those of you who visit regularly know that I am under contract for 2 children's books at the moment, and now I am negotiating a 3rd contract. As funny as it may sound, I sort of needed a creative escape from the children's book illustrations (read as 'art therapy'), and have found that escape in setting up still lifes (or single objects) in my kitchen or studio and drawing from life. I even added a section of this work to my website. It's been fun to tap into a skill I have not exercised in a while. Here is what I worked on tonite in my kitchen:

Maybe tomorrow I will add some garlic...

Autumn Oak

©Kathleen Rietz
More therapeutic sketching between illustrating my children's books.

We Have Winners!

Congratulations to Vickie, Carli and Teri! They left me a comment on Thursday's post and today I drew their names. They each will recive a free Halloween note card.

Also, I have launched my new blog "A Moleskine Journal" to showcase my latest obsession. Check it out when you get a chance.

Glazed Bowl

©Kathleen Rietz
Hhhhmmmm....I'm thinking need to put these on a seperate "moleskine" blog....

A Lovely Pair

©Kathleen Rietz

Sketch Buddies

One of the last warm afternoons of September, my friend Joan and I took our sketchbooks to Starbucks and spent a couple of hours sketching and getting caffienated. Later that night I bought my first Moleskine, and what a difference (as you can see here)! Joan's drawing convinced me to give one a try. My sketchbook paper had too much "tooth". I was not very happy with my sketches during this session.


The pencil sharpeners are actually ones I still had from when I was in gradeschool!


Joan drew my purse. You can see more of her drawings here.

Leftovers

©Kathleen Rietz
..in my moleskine....I am finally "okay" with the fact that I am very VERY diverse as an artist. I enjoy a quiet evening lost in my new moleskine as much as I enjoy drawing whimsical images of children in my "children's book" style. I also enjoy cutting stained glass and grouting to create my own mosaic projects, primitive silversmithing, and creating textile patterns on my computer in Photoshop. Go figure. I always thought I had to pick one and skill/style and stick with it to create a "brand" for myself. But I don't care anymore, really. This blog is to showcase my creativity APART from my professional website, so this is what I drew last night and wanted to post today. : )

The Moleskine

©Kathleen Rietz
©Kathleen Rietz
©Kathleen Rietz

Fellow blogger and good friend Joan Yoshioka has been visiting from Hawaii and staying at my home in Chicagoland. We have so much to post about...it has been a vacation of sorts for us both. But tonite I am finishing up some sketches for the children's yoga book I am illustrating, so we are taking a little break from our adventures.

Today was grey and cold...the first real nip of autumn in the air. I bought this Moleskine sketchbook last night while we were out, and today we decided to have an afternoon of sketching at my kitchen table. Now I understand why artists become obsessed with their Moleskines....they are just so "different" from any other sketchbooks out there. It was nice just to do some sketching, free of deadlines and pressure. I guess there is still this fine artist living inside of me, set free on the pages of her new Moleskine.