For these cards I was inspired by a few of the sketchbooks at the Sketchbook Project, particularly one where artist Karen O'Brien had drawn and painted on text pages. While I was away at my art retreat last month, I discovered a new way to use Caran d'Ache crayons as watercolours, so the two things combined to make me want to try my hand at hand-drawing and hand-painting ... something.
I just wasn't sure what to draw or paint ... so I let my sharpie doodle around a bit, and it came up with the poddish thing in the top left corner, which I realized was inspired by some clipart I'd found while creating trades for Artfest last year. And the poddish thing needed a leaf, and the leaf wanted some bigger leaves, and the leaves wanted some grass, and the grass needed something to flower with it and the snapdragon things evolved. I know they're not *really* snapdragons ~ I don't think snapdragons have tongues, after all ~ but the tongues were just part of what happened and they looked right so I let them be.
I was having so much fun drawing that I got a little carried away and in the end still made a *whole bunch* of ATCs (plenty to trade), and I'm thrilled to say that they're ALL hand-drawn and hand-painted, which is a bit of a departure for me. I have this quirky thing about keeping one of everything I make and if everything's a one-off, you can't possibly keep them all. So I compromised ... I made copies for myself, and I'll (gasp!) give the originals away. How do YOU feel about giving away your one-offs?
