I completed this odd sketch while watching Hero last night. I got so lost in the crazy shading that I finished quite late. I should probably get onto painting some things so that I have actual color work in here...

thanks gabe for signing my guestbook, first to sign!

Today's sketch is a little bitty of fun I created at Christmas time. I dreamed up Samuel's story as such: a lonely musician playing for coins on the street, happy as can be. There are ideas that involve Sam travelling with his guitar and singing on the road, gathering different friends and contacts until someone trys to sign him. Samuel doesn't feel this would be good for him but signs anyway and eventually... well heck! I can't ruin the end of the story. Stay tuned to find out about Sam!

I am rather excited to get back to painting today. Yesterday consisted of much figuring out of web material (setting up a flickr account, scanning like crazy and waiting for my husband to finish playing xbox live so that the internet could work again... or just go to sleep because the playing never stopped!). I have a really good sketch done for the cover of that teenage handbook. (and no, it's not the mermaid picture on here) I think that I can not attach it to this blog until after the contest runs it's course as I wouldn't want unpublished material to surface before the publishers had their run of it (that is IF I win the contest which may prove difficult).

I have also discovered a marvelous website called childrensillustrators.com which I am going to join as soon as I have 20 of my own pieces (unless of course I can get my current employeer's permission, which would be so great and save so much time). Here's hoping!

In the meantime, enjoy a sketch I put together at my parents house on the farm. I really enjoy drawing mermaids. There is something so exotic about them. You can put anyone's face on the body but as soon as you add that tail it's a whole new dimension.

Unfortunately for me, I have to completely redo my portfolio of four years (having been under a work for hire contract as a full time employee.) so most of my work for now is still in the sketching phase. Keep checking for updates as I finish paintings and upload sketches.

This week has been quite surreal. I am still at the local publishing house for one week and each day that I return it feels like nothing has happened and life is going to continue like always. Yet I have this wonderful sense of hope and excitement that I can't seem to shake off so I guess it must be real. I have been so fortunte to have worked with such amazing people. They are so talented, inspiring and hard working and most of all have become dear friends.

This picture was done over Christmas holidays. I really love drawing girls with weird necks (not sure why!) and odd creatures are of course one of the coolest things in the world. Sigh...

I have spent the last four years illustrating full time for a local publishing business but have been craving more time to work in my home based studio. I am one week away from cashing in my card to be there, and going part time at our local provincial museum. I am going to approach children's book publishers, local magazines and various other local business's that require personal artwork. Scribbled Business is going to be the journal of progress that my business takes as I make my way from no name corporate artist to crystal driedger, "that illustrator now featured in communication arts", or "that artist who did illustrations in that new book at Chapters".

My goals are to create pieces that I feel comfortable entering into Communication arts and Applied Arts (deadlines are in February and March) and there is a local publisher that is doing handbooks for teenagers and children and I am going to enter there as well (prize 10,000 big ones, enough to get my business good and started full time). I have been painting a mermaid for a good month now and will finish that this February and plan to post it here as well. I am going to create an original mail out sampler that goes to local business's and a great brochure type mail out to go to the big gun publishers.

A little teaser of my work appears on my website splash page at www.crystaldriedger.com and I have included a recent sketch I did while watching some movies on my couch. It is certainly inspired by Maurice sendak as I had received a copy of "where the wild things are" for my birthday in October. I love Maurice's characters hands and scribbled etching type under layer pen work. Do check it out if you've never read this book. It is certainly a classic beauty!