murphy girl

skinny

2009-10-30T09:38:00.001-05:00

good luck staying skinny after attending this party! happy hallow's eve!

adapt

2009-05-29T08:44:00.001-05:00

one cannot be reasonably expected to adapt to the world until they have had their coffee

hierarchy

2009-05-01T09:21:00.002-05:00

this fits the bill nicely

breezy

2009-02-27T09:57:00.002-05:00

what i wouldn't do to be here now.....

instinct

2009-02-20T08:14:00.002-05:00

since it is STILL SNOWING here, i instinctively gravitate to warm liquids. but i'd much rather be having a tall cool number with ice that clinks against the glass! i'm not bitter......

time

2009-02-06T09:43:00.002-05:00

time moves so slowly in the winter.

flawed

2009-01-30T10:09:00.000-05:00

a flawed concept for a garden, i suppose.

contained

2009-01-09T10:39:00.003-05:00

dinner is contained within their bellies (although two of these may be considered our dinner)!

rambunctious

2008-12-12T07:32:00.001-05:00

crows can be rambunctious when they gather together.....

opinion

2008-11-21T08:05:00.001-05:00

opinions will be shared over appetizers and cocktails

wise

2008-11-07T09:33:00.001-05:00

love letters sent in this fashion isn't wise....too many peeping eyes!

repair

2008-10-24T07:30:00.002-05:00

some serious tooth repair will be in order.....

late

2008-10-17T13:18:00.002-05:00

late night lights

packed

2008-09-26T08:14:00.001-05:00

packed in like sardines!

flowers for dad

2008-09-11T09:41:00.003-05:00

flowers for dad's birthday; i started all these indoors from seeds in april, and the dahlias just started blooming a few weeks ago. we are due for a frost soon, so this will have to be their last hurrah.

clutter

2008-09-05T09:34:00.001-05:00

candy corn clutter; the season is upon us! now if it would just stop being 90 degrees....

routine

2008-08-22T07:27:00.000-05:00

mmmmm.....part of my morning routine!

poof!

2008-08-01T04:44:00.001-05:00

pop the cork and poof! instant party!

enough

2008-07-18T09:11:00.004-05:00

i'm taking a day off; i've had enough!

to mark the occasion: my midnight train margarita....if it were possible to drink it, i would!

(enough is a strange sounding word....say it over and over again.....enough. enough. enough.)

foggy

2008-07-11T06:16:00.001-05:00

a good cup of tea will take care of a foggy head!

sour

2008-07-04T05:21:00.001-05:00

sour limes and sweet watermelons, may both be on your holiday menu!

fierce

2008-06-27T07:11:00.001-05:00

the graveyard cat; fierce, indeed!

hoard

2008-06-20T05:31:00.002-05:00

a hoard of coffee beans in this pumpkin latte!

punchline

2008-06-13T06:41:00.001-05:00

my husband is golfing today: jokes will be told, there will be a punchline (and i dare say some drinks on the 19th hole...)

forgotten

2008-06-06T06:45:00.001-05:00

a sailboat forgotten until washed up on shore for some lucky boy to find!

wrinkles

2008-04-25T07:03:00.002-05:00

wrinkles in the fabric, wrinkle in time: this reminds me of my childhood visits to grandma's house in reading, pennsylvania!

homage

2008-03-28T07:23:00.001-05:00

an homage to willie!

heavy

2008-03-14T08:57:00.002-05:00

heavy on the salt, please!

garden

2008-03-07T09:18:00.001-05:00

a halloween garden-in-a-cauldron

multiples

2008-02-22T10:54:00.003-05:00

coupla sets of flip flops here......i'll be bringing multiple pairs with me when i go to key west baby!!!

theory

2008-02-15T08:38:00.002-05:00

theory: put a penny in this baby on a cold winter day, and you'll be transported to a sunny beach!

choose

2008-02-08T09:44:00.000-05:00

artichokes or chilies; which do you like better?

blanket

2008-02-01T08:13:00.000-05:00

a blanket of stars on a summer night.....ahh, summer. right now my little town is under a blanket of ice! help, when will winter be over little groundhog?

one year

2008-01-31T08:25:00.001-05:00

seeing death as the end of life is like seeing the horizon as the end of the ocean --david searls

my father died one year ago today. a few weeks ago my brother, sister and i got together in san antonio and i gave them these shadow boxes that i made as a tribute

tales & legends

2008-01-25T09:23:00.000-05:00

the perfect venue for tales & legends to be told!

plain

2008-01-18T08:46:00.001-05:00

plain & simple. yum!

soar

2007-12-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

these critters are soaring in paisley formation.....something you see regularly in your backyard, right?

horizon

2007-12-21T11:58:00.000-05:00

it's back there somewhere....

little things

2007-12-07T11:41:00.000-05:00

lots 'o little things (or as my irish father-in-law would say, 'tings') on this holiday tree!

couldn't help but also add this photo; i looooove little things and have this hanging on my office wall....wish i had 12 more of them to fill up!

i've been tagged!

2007-11-30T19:47:00.000-05:00

nancy lefko has tagged me for a meme!

that said, i had no idea what was going on.

so, i went to nancy's site for clues, and discovered what it is i am supposed to do; she has some amazing artwork, so please visit nancy's blog and, well, be amazed!

the rules of this meme are:
· when tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you.
· then post the rules before your list, and list eight random things about yourself.
· at the end of the post you must tag and link to eight other people.

eight (8) random things about me:

when reading national geographic, i must read it from cover to cover, in order of the pages; i am utterly incapable of skipping around; with other mags, not so much

i loooooooove all things 'day of the dead' and have little skeletons all over my house

i'm pretty sure that the act of making lists (and checking off completed items) is more satisfying than the act of doing whatever is on the list, even if it's fun stuff that i look forward to like going on vacation!

i always have to count on my fingers when adding; also, i have to go through the entire alphabet if i need a letter (i.e. in a bookstore when looking for a title, author, etc on the shelves)

i want to live everywhere

i cry so easily (seriously, a folger's commercial can trigger it), that it's a wonder i'm not a desert wasteland

i'm a paint-sample-aholic

i never forward chain mail, and was very conflicted about doing this because i now have to tag eight other people (but this was a fun getaway), so here they are:

willie at williebaronet

michelle at rottentuna

q at the rongovian academy of fine arts

andrea at colouring outside the lines

alina at ice-cream monster toon cafe

karen at art in the garage

ag at phreaque art

kelmurphy at who the sh*t drank all my beer?

excess

2007-11-30T11:11:00.001-05:00

that's alotta birds for one little nest!

superstition

2007-11-16T08:41:00.000-05:00

Christmas candles should be left burning until Christmas morning and should rest undisturbed from time of lighting until they are snuffed.

this morning we are having our first real, stick-to-your-ribs snowfall in my little town....it's fantastically and magically beautiful! and the flakes are big, fat, christmas flakes that float down and bring back your childhood memories of christmas!

when we were kids, my grandmother lived in reading, pennsylvania, and at christmas we had the good fortune to visit her, and, of course, hershey! talk about magical! that is one of my happiest childhood memories.

alas, by january i'll detest the snow and the impending months of winter left to endure....but for now, i'm in love!

scale

2007-11-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

eat yer veggies and you'll be happy when you step on the scale! now, where's that pizza.....

hat

2007-11-02T08:26:00.000-05:00

i just finished this 'fish flower' yesterday, and added the hat for it this morning.....with a hat like that, he should probably have a stogie in his mouth, too!

trick or treat

2007-10-26T08:11:00.001-05:00

two treats! happy weekend, happy treats, happy halloween!

grow

2007-10-19T08:20:00.000-05:00

grow some wine!

extremes

2007-10-12T08:46:00.000-05:00

it's extreme. -ly small.

(shameless self-promotion: see all my 'teenies' on my website: www.leighhannan.com)

open

2007-10-05T09:41:00.001-05:00

eyes wide open

the blues

2007-09-28T08:43:00.001-05:00

this topic couldn't be more timely: my father's house just went on the market and last night my brother emailed me the link for it. it couldn't be more impersonal. they forgot to mention that a man's life was spent there. his neighborhood was filled with cypress trees, which i love, and they were the inspiration for this mini painting. it will be a very blue day

wedding

2007-09-14T08:01:00.000-05:00

dress for the occasion

happy birthday, dad

2007-09-11T07:18:00.000-05:00

today is my father's birthday, he would have been 65; he died january 31st at 7:35pm.

it wasn't a surprise, so we had time to 'prepare', and later i realized that i did much of my grieving during the two years leading up to his death. when he died, i wondered if i had any left.

whenever i hear this song, i weep so uncontrollably that i know i will never be done.

"other side of the world" by kt tunstall

over the sea and far away
she's waiting like an iceberg
waiting to change
but she's cold inside
she wants to be like the water

all the muscles tighten in her face
buries her soul in one embrace
they're one and the same
just like water

the fire fades away
most of everyday
is full of tired excuses
but it's too hard to say
i wish it were simple
but we give up easily
you're close enough to see that
you're the other side of the world to me

on comes the panic light
holding on with fingers
and feelings alike
but the time has come
to move along

the fire fades away
most of everyday
is full of tired excuses
but it's too hard to say
i wish it were simple
but we give up easily
you're close enough to see that
you're the other side of the world to me

can you help me?
can you let me go?
and can you still love me
when you can't see me anymore?

the fire fades away
most of everyday
is full of tired excuses
but it's too hard to say
i wish it were simple
but we give up easily
you're close enough to see that
you're the other side of the world
to me

the photograph was taken by my father and was one of his favorites; it is of the genesee river near rochester, ny.

momentum

2007-09-07T07:47:00.000-05:00

alphabet

2007-08-31T10:10:00.000-05:00

hugs and kisses to you! gotta go, headed to the shore for a few days; have a great holiday weekend!

visitor

2007-08-24T08:22:00.001-05:00

i have been working on a line of snowflake ornaments, and this is the 'trick or treat' snowflake; these spooky houses are sure to have many visitors come october 31st! yeah for halloween!

captain

2007-08-17T08:24:00.001-05:00

i did this drawing in 2001 when i stumbled across this photo of my husband aiden. he looks like such a little boy, but soon after became a captain in the army.

emergency

2007-08-10T16:06:00.001-05:00

in an emergency, stay close to the chocolate to get you through the tough times. coffee also helps.

twist

2007-06-29T10:12:00.000-05:00

a twisty lollipop for a summer day! these make me think of the boardwalk in atlantic city, although i've never been there!

rejected

2007-06-15T08:50:00.001-05:00

i have to assume that this image was rejected by a new york magazine for the topic of 'enlightened sex in the city' because after they told me they were going to use it, they never got back to me.....ah, the trials and tribulations of a freelance artist!

citrus

2007-05-11T11:41:00.000-05:00

a nice cool beverage on a warm friday afternoon....and thanks to ming for letting me know my suggestion was picked! clearly, i haven't been posting lately.....

wired

2007-03-09T12:06:00.000-05:00

hi all
it's been ages since i posted, but i had an image ready and waiting for this topic!
enjoy (and enjoy a cup-o-joe while browsing through illo friday today!)

thanksgiving

2006-11-17T15:21:00.000-05:00

she is very thankful that she is not a turkey! enjoy your family and feast on this holiday!

smoke

2006-11-03T16:02:00.000-05:00

colored pencil on paper. have a good week!

ghost

2006-10-20T19:57:00.000-05:00

my first (and fun!) attempt at the white gel roller (on cardstock); did this by the fire (it's chilly here, should get measurable snow by monday!)
have a great week!

smitten with guinness

2006-10-13T11:59:00.000-05:00

i am smitten with all things ireland and guinness (mmmm, guinness!)

i did this collage years ago, and really love it, but since it is of a copyrighted image, i have only used it for my own pleasure. at least now i can share it with you all! hope you enjoy your weekend and maybe have a guinness?

cut paper on cardstock

trouble

2006-10-06T15:22:00.000-05:00

many people see a full moon and think: oh no, trouble!

i'm not one of them; i love the moon more than anything else in the natural world, and tonight is the harvest moon, the best moon of all!

if aiden had not insisted we be married in a church (i insisted on october, he insisted on the venue!), i would have loooooved to get married under the harvest moon, early in the evening when it's big and low in the sky. the reception would be in a big old barn, festooned in autumn-ness and lit inside with hundreds of candles (now there is the real possibility of trouble!)

colored pencil on paper. have a great week!

quiet

2006-10-01T11:32:00.000-05:00

quiet; i think of ireland with the smell of peat from their fires in the air any time of the year.

colored pencil on paper

phobia

2006-09-22T21:46:00.000-05:00

fire is probably my biggest phobia. ever since i was a child, i've had a plan ready for escape should the house erupt in flames overnight (still do, i have a box of stuff that has to go with me, and of course my murphy!)

a very quick micron pen drawing; if i didn't do it tonight, it wasn't going to get done!

have a good week, and enjoy the changing leaves and fall temperatures!

change

2006-09-15T11:35:00.000-05:00

the change of seasons really keeps me going, and autumn is my favorite; i've already pulled out my sweaters and packed up my tank tops. bring on the color!
have a great week!

safe

2006-09-01T14:14:00.000-05:00

safe.
today my brother is unemployed, for the first time since he was 18 (making this week's theme very relevant!). after more than 12 years at his latest corporate job (with benefits, of course), he's moving on to fulfill his dream:

opening a pastry shop in houston (i made up what it might look like here!)

now, despite how un-safe that sounds, especially as he nears 40, it is anything but. michael is a research-oriented, practical and observant business man. he is energetic, people-oriented and has a natural flair for giving people something that pleases them. not to mention that he is one of the hardest working people i have ever met (the others being the rest of the folks in my family, but as you can clearly see in the image above, i'm a tad biased!)

the only thing un-safe about this venture would be to let me near the cookies (i can identify with cookie monster...)

enjoy the holiday weekend!

run

2006-08-25T15:35:00.000-05:00

this is myrtle hill cemetery, where i walk almost daily (or try to, sometimes it's easy to let the fun stuff fall away while you do more work!); i used to be a runner, but my lower back couldn't take it, but if i were still, i'd definately run in this cemetery, too.

this is prismacolor on cardstock; i am going to be using them more often because i love them, but am not terribly proficient with them (i'm going for a painterly, fauve-like image). that said, any tips/constructive comments would be appreciated! and be honest, the road looks like a river, doesn't it? i can take it.....

match

2006-08-19T10:44:00.000-05:00

a one-minute drawing of the toothbrushes in my bathroom. they don't match, but their owners do; inspired by this article given to me by my brother several months ago

play

2006-08-11T18:19:00.000-05:00

cut paper on cardstock

capture

2006-08-04T14:45:00.000-05:00

so my cats have been going crazy over something underneath the desk for days, and then tuesday morning i heard it chirping (very loudly!) and thought it had to be the biggest cricket on the planet. no matter, the cats will get it eventually. except that it wasn't a cricket......

i walked into the house tuesday evening after a long, grueling day, and was greeted by a bat flying across my living room! not good, i thought!!!! i must protect myself and my cats, i thought!!! (so, i'll call my husband, i thought!!!) damn, he's getting a massage, and so i am alone in the house with a bat and my (immense) fear! i would like to say i did the noble thing by capturing it and letting it go outside. and in the past, when my murphy had her jaws locked on some poor creature that got in the house, i made her give it up and i let it go outside. but i couldn't do that this time, i was paralyzed with fear, and armed with a broom, tennis racket, and eventually, these books (wrapped in a plastic bag, ever efficient!). so after the deed was done, i left it for aiden to clean up when he got home (hey, he was getting a massage while i was vying for my very life!); turns out i wasn't even successful! i only got it's wing under the books (explains why i was always last to be picked for a team in gym class)! so aiden had to take care of it afterall.....i would like to point out that in my panic, i immediately got on the internet to find out how to handle this (it was on the floor a lot instead of flying around, so i couldn't open a window and shoo it out, which was the original plan, i swear!!); according to the internet (which is always right, right?), a sick bat will lay down, healthy ones fly near a draft. anyway, i'm not proud of it.....i let my fear get hold of me; the truly brave thing would have been trying to get it outside!

immediately afterward, aiden said i should do this very drawing. and since it fits so nicely with this week's theme, here it is in prismacolor pencils

clean

2006-07-28T17:12:00.000-05:00

crying cleans me out, mind, body and soul. (actually, it dehydrates me; i'm a bleeder!)

cut paper on cardstock

opposites

2006-07-22T12:57:00.000-05:00

chocolate or vanilla? difficult choice. and although i'm mad about chocolate (in general), when it comes to 'scream, only vanilla will do!

cut paper collage on cardstock

skyline

2006-07-07T15:27:00.000-05:00

this is italy, where my father is from....and it seems fitting to use, since italy is in the finals of the world cup. i called dad seconds after they won against germany (where my mother is from!), and he practically had to take his heart medication, he was so excited! so, this one's for you, dad; go italy!

sticky

2006-06-30T13:53:00.000-05:00

i'm like a moth to the flame when it comes to food that is unnatural colors, especially blue food! i will try almost any food (especially junk food) that is a weird flavor (i actually tried tamarind soda once....yes, it was bbq flavor!), and when i was a kid, my eyes nearly burst from my head anytime i saw cotton candy! the inspiration for this image comes from when blanch hands one of the pink ladies (marty?) that impossible heap of cotton candy in 'grease'....once again, you might get a better image if you enlarge it 2x (takes a sec for the pop-up box to show in the bottom r-h corner of the image's first enlargement)

oh, and i had every intention of getting away from the whole linear thing this week, but how could i? it's blue food!!! i'd also like to note that this is the very first time i have gotten my idea, executed it and posted to illo friday ON friday! yeah for me!

rain

2006-06-25T15:20:00.000-05:00

it's raining.

dance

2006-06-18T09:53:00.000-05:00

hi all, after a week off from illo friday, i'm glad to be participating this week! i am a huge fan of dance, and locally see the 'garth fagan dance' group in rochester, ny whenever i can. this image came from a book called 'breaking bounds-the dance photography of lois greenfield' (my copy is practically in tatters from looking at it so much!). you can, and should!, check out her website, it is incredible: www.loisgreenfield.com . so, anyway, i drew the picture from one of her photos, and then stylized it a bit and added my background. hope you like it!

portrait

2006-06-04T20:22:00.000-05:00

a portrait of the happy couple....

this is a total cop-out, because this was done last year; i just don't have the time to put a proper image together, and at the moment don't think i'm capable of a proper image even if i did have the time! i would really like to create a self-portrait without using an image of myself, and think i will eventually. in the meantime, i couldn't bear to skip out of illo friday for a week!

cake

2006-05-28T10:06:00.000-05:00

since i made a piece of cake for the 'fat' theme, i had to come up with something different for 'cake'....while going through the mags i use to make my collages, i saw a picture of a bowl full of eggs, and that's where i got the idea for this. sorry it's so small, but i think if you click on it, you'll get a larger image. (i'm not very computer-literate, so when penelope told me i had to 'link to a static page', i panicked, not having the slightest clue what she meant! well, proudly i can say, i followed her simple directions and did it....better yet, i managed to make a thumbnail, too! that was a good day for me, but now i want to know if anyone can tell me how to make the thumbnail so that it only shows a portion of the image instead of reducing the entire thing down?

sorry

2006-05-19T20:14:00.000-05:00

two versions of one drink which i'll be verrrrry sorry about if i have too many....oh, the guilt!

angels and devils

2006-05-14T18:52:00.000-05:00

very few people haven't been touched by cancer in some way, as my family currently is. in this building are the angels and devils: doctors and cancer. unfortunately, the devils leave the building and accompany my father home each time he visits this building, but the name of the best angel in our lives is dr. panagiotis valilis, who is working very hard to keep my father as healthy, comfortable and happy as he can, and who always has time for us.

fat

2006-05-06T15:21:00.000-05:00

just a little something to make you f-a-t!

under the sea

2006-04-29T21:47:00.000-05:00

here's my rendition of 'under the sea'....don't quite get it myself, but it's what came out of my pen! it was a lot of fun, too!

i have a new website, please check it out!
www.leighhannan.com
leigh@leighhannan.com

enjoy!

spotted

2006-04-15T18:48:00.000-05:00

circles are my favorite shape, and i cannot get enough of them! the curve is addictive, and they are everywhere in my artwork, so i had trouble deciding what to post for this topic. i have been working on this dragonfly this week, and when i finished the wings, i knew it was the one! they are klimt-inspired wings.

speed

2006-04-09T17:42:00.000-05:00

this photo was taken by my father, who i am currently visiting in texas. it is one picture, mirrored, and taken during a storm. when i told him this week's topic, he instantly showed me this picture! if you want to see more of his photos, drop in at www.angelosavino.com
this is my post for speed....ironically, despite the fact that i am always going, going, going, never sitting down and relaxing, every image i conjured up in my mind for 'speed' was related to a lack of speed! this drawing, however, was a speedy one for me to complete!

spring! finally spring!

2006-03-31T12:43:00.000-05:00

couldn't help me'self, i posted a pen drawing and a collage....the collage is old, as you can see from the watermark, and the pen drawing i just finished last week. it is a part of my new series (layers), and, predictably, i did one for each of the four seasons. they were very stressful, but now that i'm done, i'm pretty happy with them. they aren't on my website yet, but the eggs are. i actually had trouble deciding what image to use for 'spring' because i have a lot of flower/tree/leaf images. you can check out some of them on my website: www.invitationsbydesign.org
enjoy!

monster

2006-03-26T13:55:00.000-05:00

here's my monster.....this is collage, my second favorite medium to work in (b&w pen being my main squeeze). the pink is an additional 'monster' because my mother looooooooves pink, and everything in my room, closet, etc when i was a child was pink. i hate pink! (love you, mom!) it is a long-running family joke, now! enjoy!

feet

2006-03-19T19:37:00.000-05:00

here are my feet....i'm not a fan of feet, but definately am a fan of visually studying things(anything, as it turns out). and one day, obviously bored, i studied my feet on the coffeetable in front of me. this led me to paint them in watercolor, laugh at my stupidness when finished, and eventually add this silly sticker to the image (don't know where i got the sticker, this was painted at least 4 years ago). to top it off, i stuck it in the edge of my mirror, so i saw it every day. well, eventually i took it down, but didn't have the heart to get rid of it, i liked it so much. the pitiful reason for this is that (gulp) this is the best watercolor painting i have ever done! yes, sad but true, because this isn't so grand either! but i have never had any skill or talent with watercolor, only occasional luck. but this one...this wasn't luck! sad, again. anyway, it brought a huge smile to my face today when i found it!

tattoo

2006-03-12T17:30:00.000-05:00

a very quickly-done drawing....didn't want to skip a week, but time is tight!

insect

2006-03-04T09:08:00.000-05:00