15 Illustrations: The Damsels in Distress Cakewalk

Posted on November 27, 2016 by lksukany

I am working with Inktense pencils, Micron ink pens, and Canson Illustration 11×14″ 150lb art pad to create 15 illustrations (that is how many pieces of paper are in the art pad) of my current family life and inspirations.

This work is narrative in content and uses color in a monochromatic way accentuating one part of each drawing. These fun and quirky illustrations are a reflection of the current joy and activities I have been experiencing.

“The Damsels in Distress Cakewalk” is a piece based on an event that happened a couple of months ago. Our friend Mr. C invited us – The Damsels in Distress – to be one of the opening bands for Chris Staples who was stopping through Springfield on his “Golden Age” album release tour on a Monday evening Labor Day.

We were sitting in the kitchen and talking about what our set list would be when M asked me, “what would get you out on a Monday night to see a band play?” I immediately said that I would go somewhere if there was free food and if there was a chance for me to win a prize. And then I said, “like a cakewalk.” Then we both looked at each other and nodded vigorously. We would do a cakewalk! So, I made up some flyers.

We taped numbers on the floor and had a volunteer roll dice after each song. Whoever was standing on the number that was rolled won a cake from HyVee or coffee from the Coffee Ethic or the Mudhouse. It was a fun time. I drew this picture of what it looked like when I imagined it, and used Inktense pencils Iris Blue and Mauve blended together.

Some of my favorite parts of this drawing are the people walking in a circle,

this guy’s stubble and this girl’s crown,

this girl’s braids, this guy’s party blower, and this girl’s Lularoe bicycle dress,

The Damsels in Distress playing the guitar and accordion,

our baby and friend who carried her during our show (thanks Gallery Gal!),

the fun party decorations,

and all of the delicious looking cakes!

15 Illustrations: Book Babies at Terry Library

Posted on September 29, 2016 by lksukany

“Book Babies at Terry Library” was a direct inspiration from a children’s reading program at the Terry Library in Little Rock, Arkansas called “Book Babies” and was such a fun time for E and I. Book babies is a 30 minute program that meets once a week and involves stories, action rhymes, songs, and a playtime/social time at the end.

I used Inktense pencil Carmine Pink for my monochromatic color, which felt very fun and playful within this composition. I have been going to my favorite art shop – National Art Shop – in Springfield, MO to pick up extra Inktense pencil colors.

Here are the close ups of all of the moms and their kiddos.

Here is E and I!

Some details I liked were the rug pattern and the background books – all of which we have read!

While we were still living in Arkansas, the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) promoted a very fun and challenging program called 1,000 Books Before Kindergarden which we did in six months. For me it was a lot of research in the children’s books publishing world. For E it was just a lot of fun with mama.

The inspiration for this drawing:

15 Illustrations: Sunday Morning at St. Andrews

Posted on July 8, 2016 by lksukany

I am working with Inktense pencils, Prismacolor and Micron ink pens, and Canson Illustration 11×14″ 150lb art pad to create 15 illustrations (that is how many pieces of paper are in the art pad) of my current family life and inspirations.

In “Sunday Morning at St. Andrews,” our little family is standing while the Gospel according to St. Matthew is being read – in which we all respond “Glory to you Lord, Christ.” We have recently moved to Springfield, MO for M’s job and I am really missing our church St. Andrews, so this piece is especially sentimental.

I wanted to match the actual color of the main wall in the church, so I blended Carmine Pink and Tangerine Inktense pencils to get that orange color. All in all I was happy with the composition and patterns in this illustration.

Some of the things I enjoy the most about this drawing are our little family portrait,

the Gospel reading, and the backs of the other people’s hair and patterned clothes.

The inspiration for this drawing:

15 Illustrations: Walking at Two Rivers

Posted on June 5, 2016 by lksukany

This series is called 15 illustrations because that’s how many pages is in my awesome art pad gift – a Canson 11×14″ Illustration art pad 150lb. I am using a blend of inktense pencils and micron ink pens size .005, .01, .03, .05, .07, and .08. This series is inspired by my family and all of the fun and interesting things we do together.

Derwent-Inktense-Pencil-12-350

“Walking at Two Rivers” is pretty self explanatory. The Two Rivers Park Bridge is in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is a pedestrian and bike bridge connected to Two Rivers Park. It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The bridge is 1,368 feet long. It opened to the public July 23, 2011. We moved to Little Rock November 2008, so when this park opened a couple of years later, we were pretty happy to have a great place like this to walk. My favorite part of this trail is going through a forest of large trees. I used a blend of inktense pencils leaf green and teal green for the forest.