CAT ON A WARM TIN HEATING ELEMENT

One cool Cat.
Morning toast.
Cat on a warm tin heating element….

Tizzy cat warming his old bones on the heat
vent before breakfast…….
(Also reminds me of Whistler's "Arrangement in Gray & Black" (aka Whistler's Mother).

Secret Life Of A Groundhog

My illustration from QUESTIONS, by Lee Bennett Hopkins, HarperCollins

February 2, Groundhog Day.

This year he saw his shadow.

Six more weeks of winter.

Ever wonder what a Groundhog does

for fun the rest of the year?

Chucks wood.

Yeah, as in "How much wood would 

a Woodchuck chuck.......

How come?

Groundhogs and Woodchucks are the 

same animal. :~)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog

Weather Report

Rain, rain 

And more again.

Let's build a boat

Then sail away.

Returning on a sunny day.

What do you say?

CC

My art from QUESTIONS, by Lee Bennett Hopkins /HarperCollins

My Comfort Zone

(click on images to enlarge)

Probably the result of all the years I spent as a student. 

Elementary school, junior high, then high school. 

Plus 4 years of art school. 

Followed by nearly 20 years teaching 2-D Design, 

Fashion Illustration and Children's Book Illustration, 

part time at the old alma mater, the Philadelphia College of Art.

(now the University of the Arts).

September first has always been my new years day.

Heat and humidity won't last much longer.

School starts.

Put on socks.

And a sweater.

Can't wait!

Goodnight Irene

(click on images to enlarge)

Started the week with an earthquake.
Which struck just as I'd finished downloading
some trial software from Adobe. The IMAC 
started dancing. Weird noises. First thought.
OMG the mother of all VIRUSES! 
Then NPR announced "Earthquake!".

My illustration from WHAT WILL THE WEATHER BE?, by Lynda DeWitt, HarperCollins

Now we are having a Hurricane, named Irene.

(see August 17, 2009 post in archives).

Pounding winds and rain last night.

Meteorologists tracking weather, from WHAT WILL THE WEATHER BE?

More expected this afternoon.

Watching TV. Schuylkill River and 
Manyunk streets flooded. Many trees down.

2 young gents featured rowing a
just purchased raft down a Manyunk St.
Interview over, immediate arrest by
Philadelphia's finest.
The charge (as stated by an officer), 
"No common sense." 
How infinitely more crowded the
jails if that was law.
The Cat Boys and I are on the top floor,

37 stories above all but wind and rain.

A little scary.

More evidence that I've drawn everything in the word at least once (or so it seems). ;~)

                                             

                                         Looking forward to Monday!

(My art for a different, but apropos, project. )

Gone Fishing

         

A Shore Thing

Rolling waves 

Softening 

in the shallows

Swirling round my ankles

Moving sand under my toes 

Filling my pail

Adding shells and popping seaweed

Cooling sea breeze 

Just writing this brings relief 

From the sweltering city

cc

My illustration from QUESTIONS by Lee Bennett Hopkins

(click on image to enlarge)

Do East

(click on images to enlarge)

More snow, more scenes. This time east of Broad St.

Beginning my career years, book and magazine 

publishers surrounded Washington Square.

The Curtis building, north side of the Square.

The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home Journal

and Jack & Jill used to live here. Converted to

offices. Always reminds me of the north side of

London's Grosvenor Sq.

The old J. B. Lippincott building.
Converted to loft style condos. 
How appropriate and fun for a book Illustrator and Author to live in the 
former publishing house. 
Had my name on it perhaps, but not 
my "number" $$$$.

Next door, former Mayor Richardson Dillworth's
colonial style home. Built in the 1950's and the 
object of dispute whether to save or demolish.
To the left, The Atheneum, a special collections
library focusing on history. For more info:
http://www.philaathenaeum.org/about.html

Goings on over head.

Look carefully, be rewarded.

Find some one enjoying a snack 

over head.

Meanwhile, Down In The Village...

Elevatored down from the mountain top for supplies 
today. After the Mayor assured us all major streets 
were plowed and/or salted. 
Apparently, that meant mostly around City Hall.

Locust Street, major bus route east. Come Spring melt.

Two blocks from my place, just three blocks

from City Hall. Deep ice snow ruts. Illegal 

parking on both sides is a Philadelphia tradition.

Approaching Rittenhouse Square from the west

Only clear streets I saw, on or across the

Ben Franklin Parkway. You can see snow

piled on the Red Tail Hawk nest on the top 

floor right window sill of the Franklin Institute. 

Capistrano has its Swallows. Philly, our Red 

Tail Hawk family. Mr. & Mrs. were seen 

adding twigs to their nest before the snow 

came. Hope, Spring, Eternal!

Hawk Watch blog:

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2010/12/happy-new-hawk-year-theyre-back.html

Secrets From The Drawing Board

(click on images to enlarge)
Better late than never. 

Leading up to the holidays, my head 

has been full of errands and preparations,

rather than the weather. 

So when all the snow fell on the east 

coast I missed sharing my blizzard 

that fell on Washington DC from

WHAT WILL THE WEATHER BE, 

by Lynda DeWitt, HarperCollins.

In the first spread the US Capitol

dome can be seen out the window.

In the next spread, with tongue in

cheek, I drew my dear old friend

Nan N. (in the beret) who lives down 

there, clearing the heavy snow off

her windshield. 

Looks just like her.

Book Illustrators gotta have fun too.

Happy New Year to all!!