Christmas Projects

I'm now on Instagram!

It is mostly crochet project pics right now, but it will also have art, too. Find me here - instagram.com/kennarieske

Like my sculpture professor, I am not "technologically retarded, just technologically resistant."

So it takes me a while.

Been working on Christmas gifts - here are a few things I've been working on:

Fanart for a friend

Coat of Arms for my Handsome Husband

Vintage-style plush kitties for my daughter

Are you ready for Christmas?

Well good for you. Cuz I'm not even close. O_o Still so much to do!!

Welcome to November

Wondering where I've been?

I'll tell you what I told Facebook:
Living with a chronic illness is difficult. Being an artist with a chronic illness means that sometimes I go a long time without making art. (I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, by the way, not sure I mentioned that)

I haven't had the energy to create new creepy puppet paintings. I've been spending a lot of time in bed or on my couch crocheting, instead.

Wanna see what I made? ^__^

For Halloween.

And a black pair for my good friend Alicia

This is a free pattern, found here: http://nephithyrion.blogspot.com/2013/12/crochet-pattern-lace-beret.html

I've drawn ONE thing. Even though it is only one, I'm quite please with how it turned out. 

...not sure how to explain this one. Maybe you had to be there.

 There are many more pairs of fingerless gloves and at least three other hats (I have a problem....) but I don't have pictures of those (YET).

Wanna know what else I'm doing??

NANOWRIMO! National Novel Writing Month.
Are you doing it, too? We should totes be writing buddies!!
Find me here:
nanowrimo.org/participants/miss-hobbit

Can't wait to see you there!

Collaboration Piece

If you're reading this, you probably know that I have a 2 year old daughter.

I've been looking forward to drawing, coloring, and painting with her since she was born. I was more excited the first time she held a crayon than the first time she walked across a room.

okay, maybe that's an exaggeration...but only a slight one

Behold! Our very first Mommy-Daughter Artist Collaboration!

MDAC? Hmmm...better acronym will be forthcoming

Yes! Behold it's glory and raw passion!

Yeah, no, I know it's just scribbles. But it's our scribbles, and that's what makes it special.

Thanks for sharing this proud parenthood moment with me. I'll have more creepy puppet goodness for you next week.

Burton Needs a Make-Over

You remember this puppet that I drew and I loved (still love) and it took me forever to paint him?

Yeah, this one. You remember. I call him Burton.

He's painted now, so he's done, right?

WRONG

It didn't come out the way I had envisioned and no matter how hard I try, I just cannot be happy with it.

So I painted a couple new versions (none of which came out how I envisioned. I guess I just don't have the skill yet to make him as I saw in my mind.) but they're better than what he is now.

In your opinion, which one is better?
I won't comment because my opinion is wrong.
Nonsense! Please comment, I really want to know what you think. There is no wrong answer here. 
I'll just look but probably won't comment. She's not interested in my opinion.
Not true! I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this, and especially yours. :)

Here they are:

I really wanted him to POP as orange, so I tried a green background.

Then I wondered what a more monochromatic approach would look like, still trying to keep to the orange.

I had this background already made and pasted him on. It would need more work, but the colors are nice.

These colors were surprising, but they add an interesting mood that I think is quite fitting.

Aaaand that's all I have for you. Please pick one so I can add a shadow and finally be done with Burton.

Two New Puppets

He's painted!
(finally)

Not exactly what I'd imagined, but it's good. And it's done.

 I'm lost as to what to title this one. I've been calling him Burton but...that's not really title.
(no, I don't name all the puppets, this is the first time. probably because he's been waiting so long to be painted.)

You know what else happens when you wait a LOOONG time to paint a puppet?

Puppets behind him in line literally POP OUT into reality.

w00t

This guy took a couple of days, whereas the one before him took over a month. O.o
I didn't even know he was waiting in the wings, or that he was getting so impatient, but judging by the speed at which he came into being I'd say he's been cooking in my subconscious for quite a while.

I've been calling that second one "Climbing." Uber boring, I know.

So what would you call him?

Thanks for reading! I hope to see you again for the next creepy puppet painting.

Re-Ignite!

I drew this puppet and I'm in love with him and I want to paint him.

Really want to paint him.

I think about it all the time.

But every time I've tried, I get...stuck.

Either the colors aren't right or the values are unappealing and it's been a really heart-breaking ordeal.

This puppet has been waiting to be painted for a couple of months now.

So what's an artist to do?
Well...I've expanded my toolbox to include Photoshop and Painter (to compliment my crazy Paint Tool SAI skillz), and I've been drawing a lot of things that are not creepy puppets. I read 3 novels and a self-help book, and I visited family for a week.

The result?

I feel rejuvenated and I'm ready to jump back into the creepy-puppet-painting saddle.
Everybody ready?
Yee--HAW!

Next time you see this guy, he WILL be painted and finished!

 (btw, Prince Lir is finally available on redbubble - yay!)

Expansion

I've been playing around with painting in Photoshop and Corel Painter. All my work so far has been done in Paint Tool SAI (which is a pretty great program, no lie) but I'm running into its limitations and need to expand.

It takes time to learn new software. Period. It just does.

I don't know if any of this is print-worthy, but I'd still like to share what I've been doing. Here are early paintings in Photoshop of old sketches.

More to come! And puppets will be making a reappearance soon, too. Are you excited cuz I know I am!

So Let It Be Written, So Let It Be Done

I know I said I didn't have time for this but it was important to me to get the series to look more cohesive.

Thanks for all the comments and likes on Facebook(.com/KennaArt). After taking a tally, it's been decided that the blue cape is a winner.

So I present to you, for the last time, the completed series of The Last Unicorn puppet characters:

The Last Unicorn Fanart Series

The book The Last Unicorn made a big impression on my life. From watching the movie a ba-zillion times as a kid with my cousins to reading the book for the first time when I was 14, the story has always resonated with me.

It's adventure and hope and loss and love. Beauty, truth, immortality and death.

It pretty much has it all.

So here they are, all together, the 5-part series of puppet fanart:
(first and only puppet fanart series...so far...)

Lady Amalthea/the Unicorn

Molly Grue

Schmendrick the Magician

King Haggard

Prince Lir

As it is with any series of paintings, I learned A LOT (about color, about concept, about painting in general) so it was worth the time and effort, but the last one looks much more sophisticated than the first.

For example: there's a lot of touching up I would love to do on King Haggard, and it drives me crazy that Prince Lir isn't as monochromatic as the others (his cape should be blue...that's going to drive me nuts...I don't have time to change it but I don't care, I'm going to change it) and a million other tiny details.

All that aside, I can say I like what I've done. And I'm glad to declare this little project DONE.
I hope you like them. If nothing else, perhaps they will inspire you to read the book. It's a good read. :)

Molly Grue and Schmendrick the Magician!

Fellow lovers of The Last Unicorn, here are a couple more characters:

"It would be the last unicorn in the world that came to Molly Grue."

Schmendrick took a long time. Much longer than I should be spending on these. But he's such an important character, I think it had to be done. And he has most of the lines (at least the most memorable ones) so there was a lot to include in this painting.

"It's a rare man who is taken for what he truly is."

Next in line is....Prince Lir!

I'll be posting these Last Unicorn paintings on Redbubble, so if you like them you can have them printed on tote bags, throw pillows, ipad and phone cases, as well as posters or canvas prints.
Check it out here: Suspended Dreams on Redbubble.

Thanks everyone!

Peter S. Beagle: The Last Unicorn

For lovers of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle:

That movie was a HUGE part of my childhood. And the book itself was a substantial part of my adolescence. I bought the graphic novel (illustrated by the AMAZING Renae de Liz) as soon as I heard about it.

So. Yeah. Safe to say I'm a fan.

The characters in The Last Unicorn translate perfectly into puppets. All of them are being pulled at by strings of Fear and Faith, Greed and Love. Immortality. Beauty. Truth.
Lady Amalthea acts the part of a human girl and slowly loses herself to it, no longer seeing the strings. King Haggard weaves his own strings, his own limitations, and ultimately his own doom.

Molly Grue is already sketched out, but I'm struggling with Schmendrick. The point of these pictures is their simplicity. Schmendrick is anything but simple. Every time I draw him, he gets more and more cluttered. Too busy.

If you've read the book/watched the movie/seen the graphic novel, then I have a very important question for you:
Could you describe Schmendrick in 5 words (or less)? Let me know in the comments or on Facebook.

I appreciate your help. You're awesome. I mean it.

New Pupp...Er, Or Not

Gave myself a bit of a break from painting puppets and updating the online store. Sat down tonight to get back into it and this came out.

This is a re-telling of my sister's joke, btw.

Everything in me feels like I should not post this (especially not here), but I've got to post something here. I feel like it's important for the world to know I'm still drawing and painting and jazz.

Even though this is not...at all...my usual...you know...

You think the sword should be bigger?

Yeah...probably could be bigger.

End of May. Finally.

Ran into a couple of speed bumps finishing this puppet (major one being I decided to change the light source - yikes) and even with all that, I totes finished within the 10 day goal.

< Victory Dance />

Here's the finished piece (in case you didn't see it on Facebook already)

Sinister Descent

Prints available on Redbubble (they have amazing prints - anything from paper or canvas to wood and even metal. Amazing prints, you've got to check it out) as well as cases and clothing.

Speaking of which, this is what he looks like on apparel (t-shirts, hoodies, and the like)

 I created products on Zazzle, and they will be published soon. All the other puppets are there, so you can check out puppets on stuff like keychains, buttons, playing cards, clocks, jewelry, etc etc etc...all kinds of random and cool stuff.

When I get 12 puppets I'm going to make a Creepy Puppet Calendar, and we're more than halfway there! Yes!

Alright you lovely people, keep sharing, liking, and spreading the word about Suspended Dreams, it really makes a difference. If you have suggestions for me, please send me a message or leave a comment, I love feedback.

Oh! One last thing!
You're awesome.
Don't ever forget it.

Moon and Stars Suspended - Revisited

Thank you  to everyone who -

A) likes the facebook page

B) watches me on dA

C) reads this blog

D) follows me on Twitter and/or Google+

or 

E) all of the above

I appreciate your support more than you can know. YOU are the reason I have momentum to keep doing this crazy thing called Art.

Speaking of momentum, my top concern right now is that I need more paintings. I need more in my portfolio. I need to work faster.

So about a week ago, under the wise counsel of a friend and fellow artist, I made the goal to finish one new painting every 10 days.

7 days later:

Goal pwned!

 I really love the image of the crescent moon and stars being stitched together and suspended in the air. The colors are similar to a previous painting and I'm still torn as to whether it would have been smarter to use a different pallet.

You're welcome to weigh in on the debate, of course.

ALSO -

I've got another puppet painting in the works right now. He's being stubborn, so I'm not going to give you a sneak peek just yet....what's that?

I guess that's a good point.

*sigh*

Okay, fine. You can have one tiny peek....

Sheesh, twist my arm, why don't ya?

In all seriousness, I'm very excited about this purple puppet you see above. I've still got kinks to work out with values and the color scheme (which you are also welcome to weigh in on, I love comments in all forms), but I think he's going to be knock-your-socks-off amazing when he's done.

And when's he going to be done?

Within 10 days. 

Das right. Cuz das how we do.

The Time Is Now Upon Us

I finished!!

I've been looking forward to seeing this guy completed since I first sketched him out in the margin of my notebook.

And he does not disappoint.

(well, I think he's pretty cool, anyway)

What do you think?

This puppet holds some meaning for me, but I'm curious, what do you think when you see this?

The insights of others gives me broader understanding of my own work. It helps me see the reasons behind decisions that were mainly instinctual.

Does it resonate with any experience you've had? Someone you know? Yourself?
I would love to hear about it!

Drumroll, Please

Congratulations, you're patience has paid off!

Today I present to you, in all it's glory...

...the newest addition to the Creepy Puppet Family....

...and here he is, folks!

....

...

...oh dear. Hold on, ladies and gentlemen, I've just received a note from my manager. Let's see, reading the note now...
Ah. Yes. Well...ahem.

My sincere apologies, dear readers, it seems there has been a slight setback.

While the greatly anticipated Creepy Puppet is getting ready, enjoy these sketches of paintings to come. We love comments, of course. Let us know which one YOU are most looking forward to (your favorite just might get bumped up on the to-paint list *wink*).

Some puppet interaction, finally!

We need another puppet with crazy eyes, don't we?

As long as we're talking about "needs," this painting NEEDS to happen, right?

Please comment, either here or on Facebook. Brand new puppet painting is on its way, fret not, and in the meantime, we'll speculate, conversate, and mitigate...or something like that.

Because You're Wonderful

For everyone who has supported my art, from encouraging words to clicking the "like" button on Facebook, I thank you all.

 

Please keep commenting and sharing with your friends. There are people out there who need creepy puppet paintings in their lives, and we must find them. 

And goofy-eyed crochet owls, too. Everyone needs a goofy-eyed crochet owl in their life.

Sneak Peek of Tonight's Project

Free owl offers are now closed.

It was a pretty crazy run! Thank you to everyone for liking and sharing and getting the word out to your friends. We went from 48 likes to 110 likes in about 14 days.

*does some mathing*

That's about 4 new likes per day. Which is WAY more than I could have done on my own, so thank you. From the bottom of my creepy puppet heart. Thank you.

More creepy puppet paintings to come soon. I'm planning on working on the newest sketch tonight. Here's a quick look at what it looks like as of now.

He's going to be brilliant, I'm so excited to start.

Also, I know there are some who wanted a free owl but didn't have time to get one. Fret not, they are on etsy for a mere $5. And special Graduation owls for only $2 more.

Etsy Shop

Thanks to all you lovely supporters. You are great, don't ever forget it.

Owl Giveaway will be over on Monday!

Time is running short to get your free owl -

- Monday May 5th will be the last day you can earn a free owl by getting 2 friends to Like the Suspended Dreams Facebook page.

Act fast, this weekend is crunch time. Share on your page, comment on the page, keep liking posts. Free owls will come to you!

If 2 of your friends already like Suspended Dreams and you haven't gotten an owl, please message me! I'm very friendly, I don't bite, and I'm more than happy to make an owl for you. Ecstatic to make an owl for you! But you gotta let me know.

But Kenna, I really really really want an owl, they're so adorable, but what if none of my friends are cool enough to like your page?

Do not despair, neither let your heart be troubled! Owls are available in the Etsy store! Still made in whatever color you request, still hand-crafted with love and gratitude by Yours Truly.
Check it out: Easy $5 Gift for any occasion or event.

Keep being awesome. I mean it.

Have You Gotten Your Owl Yet?

The owl promotion is still going on, there's still time to win your own owl. 

If you haven't seen these cute little guys yet, here's a peak:

How do you win?

Get 2 friends to like the Suspended Dreams Facebook page, then message me over FB or email me at kj.hennefer [@] gmail.com telling me -

- Which friends liked the page

- What color you want your owl

- A mailing address for you

Done and done.

Links to Facebook, the dA gallery, and shops on the left. Be sure you check 'em out.

Big thank you to everyone who has helped getting the word out about Suspended Dreams! Let's keep spreading the word, because there are people out there who NEED creepy puppet painting t-shirts, buttons, and other paraphernalia and we have to find them!