"We shape our tools. And then our tools shape us."

That's from Marshall McLuhan, my man for saying things that make my brain go fizzy. I thought it was an appropriate title for the theme of today's post: tools! The things we make are always a wonder to me. Giant buildings and bridges, huge interstates, our creations cover (too much of?) the Earth. How did we make them? How did we go from these soft, pink, fairly useless creatures to Masters of the Universe? Our machines and tools explain a lot about that, and how we think, and then how our thinking is shaped in turn (thanks Marshall!).




I did two of these. Somehow when I finish a drawing, I want to draw the same thing again, but different.


And here's the man with the hammer!

Fairy Mural

This past week I did a private commission, a nursery mural. Painting on the walls feels so forbidden and fun! The client wanted fairies, butterflies and dragonflies, as well as mushrooms and flowers and animals, and I was happy to oblige her. As a big fan of Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, and other classic fairy tale illustrators, I've been drawing fairies and elves since I was a kid, so this was kind of the dream job!
Since the mural was to include so many elements, I started out with a pretty detailed thumbnail

as well as a color sketch

By the end of day one:

Day two:

Day three:

And by day four, it was done!

A few details:



It was rewarding to see my client get teary-eyed looking at it!

iDrawing Guest Blogger

Go check out my post on my friend Julia's blog iDrawing where I am guest blogger today. Is it cheating, or at least double-dipping to post this here? It's cool, on my blog, I'm the boss!