ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ REMEMBER ??????

©GingerNielson2007

PS. the newest chapter in the Adventures of Winston the Wonderhound is now showing.

A Beary Funny thing Happened...

As I was finishing a slide show, our neighbor began leaning on our doorbell....I thought the house was on fire.... but No. She came with camera in hand to tell us that there was a huge bear in our front yard.

I grabbed my camera and called the police just in case, as he was heading for our neighbor's back door. He settled for her bird feeder instead and after wandering around for about a half an hour he headed back into the woods. I have to say, he or she was so beautiful. The Police said they are usually afraid of humans, but since he was at someone's back door they responded and kept an eye on him until he wandered away. Lessons to be learned... no bird feeders once the snow is off the ground. Make a lot of noise if you walk in the woods... (I don't plan to anytime soon.) Always have film in your camera or a fresh disk in your digital.

Here he is wandering in our back yard....
And grabbing the neighbor's bird feeder... he just sat right down and devoured all that was inside.
And finally heading home.

Recycle...

Something pushes me to recycle old sketches from time to time and these are two that were painted a bit differently a while ago. I think there is always room for improvement... and these may be redone again at a later date.©Ginger Nielson

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ POLAR

Everyone needs a little music no matter where they are. Have you heard about the newest from Apple? The ICE-POD!
©GingerNielson

And Now for something Completely Different....

Enough tough stuff... it's time for some happy thoughts. The sun is out today, and hopefully it will stay out for many more days to come. Time for a walk, and an ice cream cone, a happy puppy to come along and maybe a new adventure.

A Soggy Saga....

The storms in the Northeast caused our power and phones to be disabled. Roads were closed and the fire department couldn't even get to our house to help out... The story was repeated over and over here in NH. With no power we couldn't use our pumps and tried bailing from the sump hole. That became useless after the first two hours because we just couldn't keep up with the flow. We even tired the old syphoning trick with the garden hose.... ever tried to suck water for 60 feet? We could get it going, but then it would quit. Finally we quit too and just had to grab things off the floor and try to find higher places to store them. I felt like the sorcerer's apprentice carrying those buckets.

After about 6 hours the fire department was able to get to us and turn off the furnace, but there was still no power, heat or phone. We started a nice fire and kept warm there. Reading, sketching, talking and praying for the power to be restored.
Telephone poles were down at either end of our rural road. Our family room was entirely flooded and the water was rising when the power came back on at 9pm. We started our pumps and kept on pumping. By morning we were able to remove the dozens of books that had been soaked and other things to the garage on a higher level. Furniture and carpets were casualties but we did finally get the floor dried out with the use of fans and a dehumidifier.

We consider ourselves very very lucky. There are people here who lost their homes.. businesses that will not recover for months and many roads still closed ....some indefinitely.

Our biggest lesson from all of this... can be summed up in one word. When you live up here remember this: GENERATOR!

the latest in Winston's Adventures

The latest in the Adventures of Winston the Wonderhound have been added. Go take a look at the newest predicament that has befallen the curious beagle and his traveling companion.

From the Sketchbook

More from the midnight sketchbook....

Just when you thought.....

Just when you thought is was time to plant flowers
Just when you'd shoveled for hours and hours.....
Just when you thought you'd put all that behind you
You're getting more snow in an hour or two
So don't store that shovel just yet,
An inch to ten more is a definite bet.

The "Bunnie Papers"

The Bunnie Papers are a series of Colorpages for kids. They will be 'multiplying' in the days to come, but your children can start with these first six. Pictured here is your "Basic Bunnie."

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ FORTUNE

©Ginger*:)
These little kids are either going to make their fortune with that treasure chest, or one of them will notice the mermaid just behind them and start taking pictures!

From the Sketchbook

New Chapters on Winston the Wonderhound

The continuing adventures of Winston the Wonderhound
find the heroic hound in danger.

From the sketchbook

©Ginger*:)

Pleased and Flattered

In the children's book illustration industry it is becoming more and more evident that there are many friends to be made. Illustrator's who are willing to share kind words with one another, offer helpful advice, and hints, and words to the wise are to be treasured. Be sure to take a look at Michelle Lana's body of excellent work offered with great humor and wonderful color and design.

I am pleased and flattered to be featured on Michelle's illustration blog this week.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY ~ GREEEEEEEEEEN

©Ginger Nielson 2007

the Adventures of Winston the Wonderhound

A new hero has arrived. Winston the Wonderhound and his continuing adventures is being presented as an online story-gift to young and old alike. He will be retelling his adventures in weekly installments. Be sure to keep up with his antics.. er, I mean 'adventures.'

Snow Birds

I guess if you live in Florida, the word 'snowbird' means one thing. Up here in northern New England, we have a different kind of snow bird. These poor confused robins hardly know where to look for a worm or a bug with 8 fresh inches of snow on the ground. I saw these poor puffed up robins trying to stay warm by sitting in the sun near our backyard fence.

And now with a bit of color

©GingerNielson2007

From the Sketchbook

Another one from the late night sketchbook....

April Snow

April Snow ... it came in the night
Fluffy and wet and soft and white
Trees are draped in lacy gowns
Snow covers roads in cities and towns
A bewildered Robin peers from his nest
Squirrels and doves and all the rest
Are wondering why it happened this way
But I am delighted..NO SCHOOL TODAY!

From the Sketchbook

©GingerNielson

Another Experiment

Just wanted to capture a few different areas from the same painting... a digital experiment.