downtown lampost.

The hubs and I went downtown probably about a month ago and while waiting for his sister and her now husband we were sitting on a bench across from this lampost. The base of it really intrigued me with some of its fancy detail so I started sketching it in the moleskine. I feel like it scanned a lot darker and less delicate than it actually is but I still enjoy it nonetheless. Until next time, have a good one.

from the moleskine.

Tonight I had the husband scan a bunch of sketches in for me so the next couple of days will probably just be some random sketches all out of my moleskine that I LOVE. (Moleskine is a brand of notebooks, sketchbooks, etc.) Anyway, I sometimes at work have to cover the front desk and since my job doesn't allow for much to be done while up there I have sketched some birds (surprise, surprise, huh?). So I googled birds and found some generic types of birds to work on different types of beaks and different birds, really just sketch a little. It's funny these were all done at different times so I didn't realize until just now there's a common thread between them all, they all face the same way. Thing to work on for next sketch session: looking different directions, different perspective on the faces.

This bird is the white eared sibia.

This is a coppersmith barbet. Had a little trouble with the positioning of the feet. (That's why they aren't exactly finished.)

This is some sort of chickadee. I don't exactly remember what type I forgot to write it down

And a new favorite of mine, the brown pelican.

Hopefully I will be updating sooner since I have more sketches waiting to be seen. Until then, have a good one!

as promised.

As promised I have returned and continue to be more frequent in updating. So I finished my second wedding card and I'm really starting to think that it's a favorite type of art job to do. This card has a neat story behind it too. My friend Sara at work is going back to Iowa for a wedding this weekend of her two friends, Evan and Julie. For whatever reasons Evan lived in the Antartic for awhile and Julie in Brazil. So she noted on the fact that it would be fun to have two birds from those places. And this is what was created. Probably one of my favorite pieces lately so I'm excited to share it. Also, if there's anyone out there with more ideas or needs a card, I would be more than happy for suggestions or to make you one! Enjoy!

I'm back.

Well so I decided to not completley abandon this blog...life has just been busy. Being married is so much fun and I'm slowly figuring out how to fit my studio space into our apartment. :) It's coming along. I haven't been up to too too much however I have started sketching a whole lot more and am actually in the midst of about three projects. One project is a huge oil painting for one of my mom's friends that she actually asked about a while ago but with graduating and getting married haven't had much time until now. I'm actually really happy with the way it's turning out. I am currently in the thumbnail stage of a movie poster for a friend's independent film that will soon be heading to film festivals. That's pretty exciting and different. And lastly I've been working on a few wedding cards for friends who are attending weddings. The one below started out as a simple pen sketch and surprisingly turned into much more. It inspired another one I just finished today that hopefully will be posted soon. Also soon I hope to be posting more of my sketchbook from the past month or two, keep this a little more up to date. Until those postings here are these lovebirds to keep you busy. :)

slightly overwhelmed...

...but not completely. I am so excited for the next two weeks and in that time and the past week and a half I have had zero time for art. However a lot has been going on. I got a full time job at the school, working in the admissions department closely with where I was a work study. So basically it's a perfect transition and I get to stick around school with loved friends a bit longer. My first week was last week and the weekend before that Benjamin and I drove back to Oklahoma for the weekend to have some wedding showers and spend some time together. It was good to drive with him. Driving for long periods of time allow us to talk together and be silent together and really just enjoy each other. Now that we're back in the swing of things, we get to move into our new home on Friday!! Hopefully we will get it all moved and settled by next Wednesday because the fam comes and then the rehearsal and then the WEDDING! I am so excited to be Mrs. Gross and even more excited to spend time with Benjamin as my husband for the week after the wedding that I took off from work-up in Estes, down here in Denver. Who really knows what our definite plan is. I'm just excited. Anyway, that's a brief update, hopefully soon I will be able to post some sketches I've been doing and will maybe sometime soon turn them into watercolors. Have a good week!!!

Lots to do.

This morning has been rather restful compared to the crazy weekend I just had and the crazy week ahead of me. I graduated from college on Saturday, it's weird being done. But the family was all here and we also got a lot of wedding stuff done. So I'm quite wiped out. Today I plan on finishing up some side projects and meeting some djs for the wedding.
The side projects have been pretty fun and a little neglected so now it's time to buckle down. I'm helping a friend, Andrew, with an illustration for some wedding invitiations he's creating. Maybe when I finish and scan it to him I can fill you in a little more. It's a tree, slightly decorative and rather simple. Really interesting lines though. The other project are shower hostess gifts for the two wedding showers we are going to in Oklahoma this weekend. For my step mom's friends I am doing monogram type letters in watercolor and ink. And for my mom's friends (if I finish, eeek!) I am doing some small little watercolor birds. Hopefully I will be able to share all of those with you. But I just thought I would stop in and say hello since it's been awhile because of the craziness. Hopefully in the next week or two job hunting will work well and turn up something to return me to a set schedule so I'm not so content to sit around and draw and paint for no money. :) Have a good one!

Postponed.

I hate that word. But due to MASSIVE amounts of snow in APRIL, our graduation exhibition opening is postponed. On the one hand it's good, my whole fam will be here for the opening now, because it's next week but on the other we all worked so hard getting up on Wednesday and it looks great. But anyway, looks like plans to apartment hunt tomorrow are a little cancelled now too. I enjoy being snowed in I just wish it felt like I had lots to do inside. Hope you're enjoying the wet messy snow. And Yucky, it looks like we're going sledding after all!!! :)

Sooner than expected...

...introducing Mrs. Murrnong!

Coming soon.

In my mastering the pencil class our final project is similar to the game Balderdash. I'm not sure if you've ever played that game but the gist of it is you get a word that's a little unknown and you have to make up interesting definitions for the word, that is if you don't know the actual word. So, our teacher Paul gave us the word Murrnong. Now if you now the definition don't tell me. We'll find out later on this week. However the drawing I'm doing for it is so much fun. It's a bird (go figure) but she has quite the personality. Her name is Mrs. Murrnong. I wanted to tell you about it so you could be anticipating something fun. It's been a nice break from the craziness of graduating and I will be sad to see that class end. It's been really fun. Anyway, be on the lookout for Mrs. Murrnong to make an appearance here soon! 

A few new things.

In my computer illustration class, my final project was to create two more realistic renderings of the bird I've been studying, the northern gannet. It was quite a challenge painting these guys digitally but I'm quite excited about the way they turned out. Also, since they are digital, any critique is welcome since digital work can never really be finished. Enjoy!

Oh, also I went on my first bird watching trip last week and got a few nice photos, so hopefully I will post those soon. And will have some new birds to start sketching. : )

Almost through...

Graduation is approaching more and more quickly every day. We hang our graduation exhibition next Wednesday and then it opens Friday. And then the following Saturday I'm done. Done and on to the next stage of life. It hasn't hit me yet, I know it will. I figure once my show is on the wall I will just crack. But in the meantime I'm enjoying being busy and finishing up things. I got my business cards in the mail, they are so awesome! And postcards will be ordered soon...so fun. That's all for now, just a quick update and hello! More pictures of artwork coming soon.

Some sketches.

So I've been meaning to post sketches and recent drawings but since I don't really have any brand new ones I thought I would start with any. As I mentioned before, I am in love with birds and drawing them. For my graduation exhibition here at school I am working on a specific bird, the northern gannet.

In studying them for my final projects I have accumulated a number of sketches and studies and color studies of them. Since I will soon be getting the photographed version of my final piece to share with you, I thought in the meantime you could see some sketches. Enjoy!

A quick update.

Well not much has been happening lately. Only three weeks until we hang our grad show here at school and two months from today until I get married and will officially be Laura Gross. It's a crazy busy time of the year but I'm really enjoying it. Especially with all my creativity flowing. This week in our grad portfolio class we are having a professional photographer come in and shoot our work for prints, websites, etc., so hopefully soon I will have some work (more recent work) to put on the blog and to put on the website that will soon be launched. By the way, I bought a domain name this past Friday and I'm so excited to put it to use! For future reference it will be lgillustration.com, however don't try it yet. You'll just get a blank page. Anyway, I thought it would be good to have a quick update despite the slow pace this blog seems to have. I'm also getting sick so I'm not quite as chatty as I am most of the day. Anyway, that's all and I hope to have more come the middle to end of this week!

Hello there!

Welcome to my blog! Let me introduce myself. I am a senior illustration student at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design about to graduate this April. I am hoping to break into the freelance world of illustration with fun and realistic drawings. My current love is the art of birds and the study of them. For my senior show at the college, I am studying the northern gannet, a seabird native to our east coast. Hopefully soon my website will be up and running and you can see some of my work on this project and others. However, with this blog I plan to post new projects, in the works stages of projects and any other thoughts that I have about my art and other artists. Hopefully you'll come back and see new posts.