Amelia Peabody

from the incredibly adventurous Amelia Peabody series, by author and Egyptologist Elizabeth Peters

..........

“No woman really wants a man to carry her off; she only wants him to want to do it.”

“Your trousers are on fire. I would have told you, but you so dislike advice...”

“There was no warning, not even a knock. The door flew open, and he forgot his present aches and pains in anticipation of what lay in store. The figure that stood in the door was not that of an enemy. It was worse. It was his mother.”

..........

Unlike Alice and Ramona, I don't think Amelia Peabody is as well-known. I've written before about how the Emerson family is like a family of Indiana Joneses - if he was based in the Valley of the Kings and his mother and father went on adventures with him. The stories borrow a lot from Rider Haggard novels, and if you're looking for action and adventure with some romance and a healthy portion of Victorian sensibility, you are in for a treat. It's funny, too.

There are murders, mysteries to be solved, a Master Criminal, love, sword fighting, spying, and loads of information about Egypt and excavations at the turn of the century, as the author was an Egyptologist herself and made the series as historically accurate as possible. In Tomb of the Golden Bird, they are present at the discovery of King Tut's tomb and must watch as Howard Carter finds "beautiful things" as they work on their own excavation nearby.

If you're looking for a fun, adventurous book to read, give the series a try. There are 19 books, so if an early one isn't your cup of tea, try Lion in the Valley or The Last Camel Died at Noon. Then you can work your way up to The Falcon at the Portal and He Shall Thunder in the Sky (heart heart heart).

About the illustration: she carries a red parasol that's been retrofitted to hide a blade, and she has a belt she's rigged up with everything she may need in an emergency: "Pistol and knife, canteen, bottle of brandy, candle and matches in a waterproof box, notebook and pencil, needle and thread, compass, scissors, first-aid kit and a coil of stout cord (useful for tying up captured enemies)." Her hair is perpetually black, even when she has grandchildren, and her husband Emerson never makes the connection with the small bottle Amelia keeps on her table next to her hairbrush. I just love her.

The t-shirt we made her for today, which matches the cardboard doodles we still have hanging in the kitchen. The Sophster is a sloth fan from waaaay back (remember the sloth Christmas painting?) so we knew she'd love it. Happy birthday, you awesome kid.

This assignment was to use reference material to draw just the most basic elements of an owl and create a design or almost a logo from them. So in my world, Pigwidgeon, Errol, and Hedwig all get designer makeovers.

This day's assignment started with this example at right of a very proper businessman in the rain. I've decided he's British. (Not that you can tell from the pic, just trust me, he is.) In any case, notice was made that all of his limbs were very close to his body, and if he'd been a silhouette, he'd make kind of a staid one.

The challenge was titled "Reality is Boring" and encouraged you to rearrange Mister Businessman so that he made a more interesting shape. Artistic license was encouraged. Poor Mister Businessman... I see a bit of a trip in your future.

Day 13's assignment is to create a visual narrative within one rectangle - no words, no speech bubbles. It should come as no surprise that this was drawn during a nice round of family D&D, but I've always had a soft spot in my heart for dragons ever since I read my first Anne McCaffrey book.

So you all know I have painted with some non-conventional media in the past. Wine? Check. Coffee? Check. Tea? Check. Pomegranate juice? Check. But never have I painted with Coke! (Probably because I don't drink it, so we hardly ever have any in the house.) But should you ever get the urge.... here's a tutorial that explains how to do it!

(And here's the link for when FB strips it out of the reader: http://youtu.be/oJvGwF5LDRQ)

This Christmas painting is for Sophie, at her request. It’s Little My from the Moomin books, and she is something of a teeny hero in our house. For those of you who don’t know Little My, here’s a good excerpt:

“Where’s Mother?” he asked.

“Somebody ate her,” replied Little My untruthfully. “Have you any food?”

Snufkin pointed with his pipe-stem. A small kettle of peas was simmering over his camp-fire nearby. Beside it stood another with hot coffee. “But I suppose milk’s what you drink,” he said.

Little My gave a contemptuous laugh. She did not bat an eyelid as she swallowed two brimming teaspoonfuls of coffee and ate no fewer than four peas.

She’s kind of a tiny little anarchist, and I think there’s something about her sassy attitude that really appeals to my very strait-laced kids. Little My is not mean, just cuts to the chase and tells it like it is. And does it gleefully. If you haven’t read any Moomin books, go to the library right now and check them out. Tove Jansson has a very dry kind of humor, and often her stories are funny but also bittersweet. I love them, and her amazing illustrations too.

There are only a few days left to get to the Westfield Memorial Library and see some fairies up close and personal! I'll be taking down all the artwork this weekend to let some other lucky artist hang her work up.

For those of you not in the area, the lovely people at the library graciously recorded a short movie so you can pretend you're there, having a walkthrough. Grab a book and settle in a comfy chair for the full effect.

Oh hi. I didn't notice you there, I was so busy reading this book about Cezanne and sitting under MY PAINTINGS!!!

It's been quite an exciting day! I will post more photos soon, (and larger) but in the meantime, can you recognize any paintings that are up there? Every one of them has been on this site.

Meanwhile, if you're in the area: Westfield Memorial Library.

Last year I didn't post anything I was working on for Christmas, but you know what, the recipients of these presents don't use the internet! So I think we're okay on the whole surprise thing.

Sketched in and waiting to get taped and painted: Cindy and some dancing mice.

Want to send some art? Now's your chance to have gorgeous cards to send out for the holidays and original artwork to keep for yourself, so you get to be both naughty and nice.

Choose 5 card sets and get an 8" x 10" print FREE!
Whether you're looking for something deep and thought-provoking, or artwork to just plain make you laugh, this special's for you! These two paintings are the ones I've gotten the most mail about: the thoughtful girl with a tree and two birds; and the one we like to just call "Fishies." Choose any combination of 5 card sets to send out and pick a print for yourself! Each print measures 8" x 10" and is printed on glossy stock with quality inks. Just let me know which print you want in the field marked "Additional Information."

All cards are professionally printed on glossy stock in full, luscious color. And each card shows one of my original watercolor and colored pencil paintings. Or if you just can't decide which to choose, there's an assorted multi-pack so you can have a little of everything.

Go see the cards and check out those prints right here at the French Toast Girl Shop.

Four years ago, (and I can't believe it's been that long) I posted the companion piece to this CD cover as my Illustration Friday entry for "Cold". I like how they work together:



My husband is an amazing piano teacher, and I sing, so as you can imagine there are loads of opportunities for music and art to meet at our house. These are the covers of the music books we've done together... inside they're coloring books as well as having sheet music to play.



It's also occurred to me that for a girl who regularly posts about all different kinds of music and sometimes provides links to said music, I can't believe I've never had a label called "music" before! So this is the first. It's about time!

I love Fairie-ality. I would so happily wear anything from that book. And sadly, I spend most of my days in jeans and a big soft grey sweater! This leaf lady clearly doesn't have to do anything as mundane as pick the kids up at school, though. There must be a happy medium...

I found this through LinkedIn... if this applies to you, go for it! Cards will be featured on Greeting Card Designer blog which has 400-500 visitors daily. Send submissions to: kateharp@aol.com.

The article says...

Christmas cards are the top selling cards of any category, and I'm writing an article on unusual Christmas cards for 2009.

Cards will be featured on this blog whose 400-500 readers a day include agents, editors, stores, and reps.

This is great opportunity & free promotion for you.

If you have a card you'd like to be considered for the article:

-Send jpg image of card to Christmas Card Article
-Send Artist's name (or company name)
-Send Artist Contact Information
-Include direct link to how we can purchase the card.
-Card cannot be a one-of-a-kind craft project. We must be able to purchase multiple copies of the card.


Deadline November 10th.
Article will be published in mid November.

Note: if you want a crumbly base, use just cookies. If you want it to stick together, mix the cookies with some melted butter and then place in the bottom of the pan. Enjoy! And if you make one, let me know!

Thank you so much, everybody who's written to check on me. I have several posts, not to mention paintings, in me that no doubt you'll be seeing something one of these days. I have so many things going on right now, but I'm truly doing okay, and in fact have felt pure love surrounding me. I swear God is holding my hand. It feels really good.

In the meantime, there's a luscious new cake to try out with new illustrations by me in Craft Magazine! (And I'm working on the next new illo right now.) Click here to view it and try it out for yourself.

UPDATE: Sadly, this issue of Craft will be the last one in print. WAH! I loved illustrating for them! But the good news is that the website will still be going strong. Go show them some love.