Coffee and Sippy Cups
One of my favorite morning activities with my daughter, Sophia, is drawing and coloring. We’ve drawn and colored all sorts of subjects. We’ve illustrated favorite nursery rhymes:
…getting dinner at a well-known restaurant…
…and even rendered other fun 2 1/2 year-old activities. You know, like bubble-popping.
In fact, I now let her tell me what to draw and we then color the pictures. What I love is that Sophia will pick day-to-day moments which I then conjure from memory, as many are actions I have seen repeatedly. Like, washing your hands with green monster foamy soap:
…catching dragonflies…
…and watching dad work (I really do have the computer on a stack of books in my makeshift Florida studio. It seems to lessen neck and shoulder tightness from a long day’s work).
There is something sort of delightful to me in these. I think its the spontaneity of the sketch along with the simple tools (crayon, markers, and stickers). Anyways, I thought they were fun enough to post, now I am back to work drawing aliens and robots…maybe one day I’ll have a helper.
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These are delightful!
Tony, these were such a delight to look at…. I love the quickness (and incredible accuracy and vibrant liveliness) you’ve captured in these…. little sophia seems like such a sweet and charming child… I imagine she’ll be a great little muse and model (before she’s put to work colouring orcs and monsters!)
I especially liked seeing the activities she has chosen for you to draw… like washing her hands with foamy soap.. it’s a beautiful insight into the mind of a child
Thanks Monika, They were fun to do. I’d love to see her color an orc…hmmm.
How creative! Thank you for posting these lovely collaborative pieces you did with your daughter. I’m an aspiring illustrator fresh out of college and living in South Florida. I would love to buy you a coffee sometime! I’m interested to see how you got your start as an illustrator and how it works for you to be an artist and have a family. I don’t need any favors, I would just love to pick your brain. If you are interested, e-mail me at mandiemarieanderson@gmail.com
Either way, I’ve been following your posts for a while, thanks so much for all the inspiration!
Thanks Amanda, I am on the tail end of an incredibly long project, so I will be laying low for a spell after I am finished in May. So it may take some time for that cup of coffee. In the meantime, might I suggest reading through my FAQs on the site? Of course, you can post questions here or contact me thru facebook…
Wow! You are an inspiration to a fellow artist with a young child. Such great moments captured. And you’re not pushing her too much – she’s expressing herself in her own way just as you are in yours. My own son – 17 months – insists we read G is for One Gzonk every night, and points and says each letter. He giggles every time I do the voices for the Teedle=Weenie Woo, with a low, British congested sounding voice. I’m so glad you included the techniques you used when illustrating the book as well as the effort you took to pay homage to the children’s illustrations of yore. I am so addicted to this book that it will be my art student’s lesson this upcoming week. I hope to send you pictures when we’re done. Thank you for being such a whimsical, honest artist!
Tony,
Too cute,…I (normally) get a Scooby Doo portrait to take to the office every morning.
Funny how I seem to get more inspiration from my little ones doodles, than an entire
library of master works. Fun.
How fantastic! My father is also an artist and some of my fondest memories (besides reading with him) were laying on the floor drawing/coloring while he worked away at his own drawing board. He always took time to look down at me and comment on my little art projects. I hope you are saving these for little Sophia!
Did you see this cake for the spiderwick cronicles?
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wGr8njEWjtI/S-7yDKEqNOI/AAAAAAAAIi4/8ETwJFFdHcE/s1600/Trista+C+.+spiderwick.jpg
It was on Cake Wrecks for awesome cakes, not a bad one!
I saw this (was it you who posted it on fb?)…very sweet!
so sweet !!!
Long time no see!
I recall Sophia just a baby when you wrote “For my little girl,SOPHIA.It’s what’s on the inside that counts.”on your book
Now look at her! Grow so big and cute! Already got the talent !
I think these works are the most precious works you have !
Thanks for posting these. Very fun!