Terrible Yellow Eyes

The kids LOVED all the wonderful artwork collected at Cory Godbey's "Terrible Yellow Eyes" blog (...now see here)

They were inspired to try their hand at Where the Wild Things Are:


by Isaac, age 10
watercolor


by Gracie, age 8
pencil


by Lily, age 6
cut paper

Update: Cory included the kids' pictures on the Terrible Yellow Eyes site! The kids have no concept how cool that is to be included alongside such amazing artists, but Dad sure does... Some of my long-time heroes are in there. Check it out here in the June 19th post.

"Unfold" for Illustration Friday

For Illustration Friday this week, the kids made some mirror image paintings. They painted half an image on a sheet of paper, folded the page, pressed it down, unfolded the page, and discovered how chance saw fit to complete the image.

Here are some faces by Isaac (age10):







And some crazy creatures by Gracie (age 8):







And finally some lovely butterflies by Lily (age 6):

HO HO!

A Girl Holding Hands with Her Monster Friend
by Lily

Colors of the Wind

Pocahontas
by Gracie

(Often I worry about plopping the kids in front of a movie... rotting their brains and all that. But it does my heart good when I see them jump up afterward and spend the next few hours drawing!)

"Adapt" by Isaac

"Adapt" for Illustration Friday
by Isaac, age 10

This hippo thinks he's a bat... and has adapted rather well! 
(Inspired by Adam Rex's book "Pssst!")

Durge

Durge
by Isaac

From the Star Wars universe... Isaac tells me he's an indestructible bounty hunter

"Cracked" by Gracie

"Cracked" for Illustration Friday
by Gracie, age 8

Humpty Dumpty's poor friend has slipped and will soon be cracked...

"Parade" by Isaac

"Parade" for Illustraion Friday
collage by Isaac, age 10

It's a garden parade... potted plants and a marching tree...

fun with clay

Dragon Sculpture
by Isaac

Trooper Girl

Gracie just was thinking... If any girls wanted to become Storm Troopers, they'd need someone to design an outfit for them...

"Fleeting" by Isaac

"Fleeting" for Illustration Friday
by Isaac, age 10

On a hot day, ice cream is fleeting...  so eat fast!

"Fleeting" by Gracie

"Fleeting" for Illustration Friday
by Gracie, age 8

what you see is what you get

Isaac was pretty proud of these, his first attempts at still life drawings:

"Legendary" by Gracie

"Legendary" for Illustration Friday
by Gracie, age 8

This ninja has skills and moves that are legendary.

Teddy Pear

poem and pictures by Gracie, age 8

A Teddy Pear is a special bear
kids sleep with when it's night.

Or you could eat it for your breakfast.
That would be alright.

The Ticklafuss

some free verse by Isaac, age 10

There are dogs, cats, and kangaroos
But
The things I like most are the Tigills
Like the Tooflugar and the Tromparoo
But
The one I fear is the Ticklafuss
With its wiggly, squiggly arms
And its whirly, squirrely fingers.
What, Mom?
Who's there?
What!
The Ticklafuss!

Dragons

Isaac made a bunch of great dragon pictures this past week... These are two of my favorites.

I love how he's playing with framing on the page - how the dragons weave in and out of the picture.

"Time" by Isaac

"Bedtime" for Illustration Friday
by Isaac, age 10

Little Hoot thinks it's time for bed.

"Balloon" by Lily

"Balloon" for Illustration Friday
by Lily, age 5

This little penguin is using a balloon to visit some flying birds...

"Balloon" by Gracie

"Balloon" for Illustration Friday
by Gracie, age 8

Assembled from pre-cut paper shapes...

"Balloon" by Isaac

"Balloon" for Illustration Friday
by Isaac, age 10

Here comes the bride...

Frankenstein's Monster and his Bride
by Lily, for Adam Rex

Bookie Woogie!

Today we are happy to announce an exiting new venture! We've launched Bookie Woogie, a blog where we review our favorite children's books. Today marks our first review!

Visit Bookie Woogie, and feel free to leave us a comment - let us know you're visiting, what you think of the books, what you think of the reviews... Our plan is to post a new review every Monday. Hope to see you there!

Lovely

Pink and Blue
by Gracie

Gracie was experimenting with limited palettes. She made a whole stack of drawings, for each picture using a different 2-color combo. Dad loved this pink and blue one...

Thar she blows...

Whale
by Elijah, age 3