"Make A Wish"

  
 Summer months are busy for us.  My husband and I have birthdays 5 days apart in June.  We have my mother-in-law, 3 nieces, 2 nephews, my brother, and my brother-in-law's birthdays in the summer.  If you add in our anniversary, my parents' anniversary and Father's Day, we've got a lot of special occasions all within 3 months.  It's NUTS!!  With all of these special things going on, I guess I had candles and cake on my brain.

    I'm always thinking of new things or new ways to re-invent these characters.  I try to stay with my core elements -- the things I love like brilliant color, lots of textural layers, blending and shading, and a childlike quality in the overall feel.  I try not to overthink the outlining and I do it quickly the way a child would.  I'm still having such a great time creating these "people".  I may do more dogs (I have several sketches that I haven't used yet and some new ones I just finished) but I still love doing faces.  Kids appeal to me because they have such a wonderful way of looking at the world.  My own kids inspire me daily (hourly!!) and they never cease to amaze me with their simple yet profound thoughts on so many subjects. 

So, enjoy this little piece...especially if it's your birthday!!  And even if it's not your birthday, you can make a wish just the same.  Maybe it will come true!!!

Smiles as always!