Last night, I sketched the design for my Ginkgo leaf with two fists. Its the first draft, but you get the idea.

For our honeymoon, my husband and I went to Japan. I could write forever on how beautiful and lovely it was being there..but, that would take too long. One thing I will always remember were the smells. One particular smell was that of the female Ginkgo tree. Imagine the smelliest of socky cheeses mixed with fresh mulch and you're there. The odor came from the ground beneath the tree where its fruit would land and get constantly smashed and ground into the sidewalk by pedestrians. It wasn't only the odor that impressed me. It was the shape of the Ginkgo leaf. How elegant and dainty of a leaf? I collected some fallen leaves off the ground and brought them back home with me..to draw. I've since become a little obsessed, and draw them constantly. These two drawings are the beginnings of a design I'm working on for a sticker. I haven't mastered the hand in the leaf yet. My next drawing is to make the leaf have two fists instead of one. Because after all, that odor was pretty strong.

Pssst...wanna know a secret? I am starting to make hand designs. I've had this idea to use hands in illustrating for a while, and here is my first. I'm sure you've drawn a face to talk with on your hand at least once in your life. No? I'm the only one? Well, stay tuned for more unusual uses of hands in the days to come. This drawing is colored pencil and pencil on paper.

I've always wanted to be able to breathe under water. I've come to realize that probably isn't going to happen. So, I'll leave it up to this kid to report back to me, on the life of a fish. For this drawing, I used charcoal on kraft paper.

For my first entry, I thought I'd share with you one of my favorite drawings in charcoal. What is better than a boy in a panda suit? I drew this while taking a break from the paintbrush a few weeks ago, and it sparked a missing flame in my work. I've decided to draw more than I usually do. Whether it be charcoal on white paper, kraft paper, pencil in a sketchbook, or pen on a napkin..I'll be sharing more drawings with you starting today. Please enjoy!