Petsecure - cats are chill :)

Here is the third poster I did for Petsecure, starring the cat character. I had fun with this one, since we have 2 cats, and I know many of their ridiculously cute positions!

Here are a few super rough sketches I did to get an idea of placement....

 After the client chose which one they liked best, I did a bit cleaner rough...

Then did a rough colour pass to show the client....

 And here is the final! Yay!   

Petsecure - dog in the park!

Second poster for Petsecure - starring the dog romping in the park!

Here are a few super rough sketches I did to get an idea of placement....

 

 After the client chose which one they liked best, I did a bit cleaner rough...

 Then did a few rough colour passes to show the client - I couldn't decide which worked best for this one....

And here is the final! Yay! 

Petsecure - at the vet!

This was the first poster I was commissioned to do for Petsecure, featuring the new pets I had redesigned for them. They wanted the first one to have both pets, going for a visit to the vet.

Here are a few super rough sketches I did to get an idea of placement....

After the client chose which one they liked best, I did a bit cleaner rough...

 Then did a rough colour pass to show the client....

And here is the final! Yay!

New pets for Petsecure!

So much of what I work on at the studio I am not allowed to share. Which is sad, cuz it's super fun. BUT, it motivates me to create other projects and art that I CAN share!

This newest project is for a company called Petsecure - a large company focused on insuring your pets. Having two cats, I understand that your pets are like family!

What a fun project this is shaping up to be. I first did a one-off redesign of their two pet ambassadors Ruff & Tumble - pictured above - which led to doing a series of 3 posters starring Ruff & Tumble! I have just completed the posters, and will post them soon, but thought I would post this first!

I love doing fun projects!

Water, the Hub of Life.

I was asked to be involved in a great campaign called "Art for Water". They got over 100 artists to donate an original piece, and they would all go up on an online catalog, where people could order prints. All the proceeds of the catalog are going to build new wells in countries that are gravely short on clean water.

Anyway, a thumbail of my piece is above... I was inspired by the quote above that I found by an old philosopher. Water is so integral to sustaining any kind of life, and we all take it so for granted here in the West.

Click on my thumbnail to see my page in the catalog, and peruse the many amazing pieces! It would make a great Christmas gift, and a chance to pay it forward  :)

There is beauty everywhere.

I walk through Gastown on my way to the studio here in downtown Vancouver twice a day, Monday to Friday. Many of those days, I see people who are just wandering through the streets, wearing the same worn outfit every day. They all tug at my heart, as I become more and more painfully aware that I am fortunate enough to wear a clean, dry and almost new outfit every day, under a warm jacket, carrying a backpack with a lunch, on my way to a job which pays me quite well in the scheme of things.

There is one man in particular who has captured my heart. I usually see him either sitting in Starbucks to warm up as I walk by the window, or slowly making his way up the street, just to keep moving. I believe God is opening my eyes to see true and simple beauty, in that there is such beauty in all of these wandering souls that we so easily pass by and try not to make eye contact.

This morning I walked by him once again, always attempting to look him right in the eyes so I can at least give him a smile. At least acknowledge that he is a beautiful soul, perfectly made by God, and not forgotten like he may feel. I couldn't get him out of my head, so I drew him when I got to work.

I am thankful for him, for walking by him everyday to remind me of my own humanity, and to redefine my definition of beauty.

I will be drawing more often.

That time change...

The time changed last weekend, and I couldn't believe how much of a difference it made! Now when I leave work at 5pm, it feels like 9:30pm.

Sneaky time change!!

Love to Cora.

A good friend of ours just had a precious little girl this week who was born with a hole in her heart. Today she is having open heart surgery, and we are sending our prayers and love to her!!

Dancing a jig.

I had some time waiting for more approved designs here at work today, so I just started sketching in Flash and this little dancing alien showed himself. Little varmint.

Go dance yerself a jig today!

The K-King's Sp-Speech.

By making "pun" of the title of this film, I am in no way making fun of the subject matter. I absolutely loved this film, and the relationship that develops between Lionel Logue and The King. I am fascinated by true stories, and especially when those stories can encourage and teach us all a little something about not giving up.

The Oscars are a favorite time of year for me -- so this year I am gonna attempt to sketch my interpretations of the top 10 Best Picture noms.

1 down, 9 to go!

Craft paper flux capacitor.

I love digital design as much as the next dudette, but today I had a hankering to get out my scissors, glue stick, and imagination - and just GO! So of course, I turned to Marty and Doc for inspiration.

It was an experiment, but me had the fun. I was proud to not use Photoshop for once! Looking forward to trying more of these, but working more on the colour scheme next time before I get cutting!

Bowling mishaps.

So, myself and a few friends decided we should go good old-fashioned bowling last Friday - with REAL pins and balls, not just on the Wii! So we ventured out, donned a fresh pair of glowing bowling shoes, and got our 10-pin on!

However, not everyone knew that my middle name was "Gimpy". Yes, Stacey Gimpy Chomiak, that is me! I did my first frame fine, threw the ball down the alley or whatever it's called, but for SOME reason, the next frame, I COMPLETELY forgot how to bowl!

I kept grasping the ball with only 2 fingers, and every time I went to throw it, it just fell out of my hand! Then I topped myself - I accidentally hurled it backwards into the path of this elderly gentleman in the alley next to us... all the while my 3 friends behind me were scared for their lives and YET laughing their heads off!! Tams then yelled "STACE, put your THUMB in the HOLE!!"

Oh. Right. I knew it felt wrong!

I couldn't resist sketching the moment.

I am very glad I could provide a good portion of the entertainment :)
Onto the next adventure! Thanks for a good time Gals!

"Lily, I'm gonna break the windddooooowwww!!"

ABC's "Modern Family" is, in my opinion, one of the funniest shows currently on TV right now. Not often does a show make you literally laugh out loud - and this one does in every episode! Each character is so well developed - and stinkin' hilarious. I was lucky enough to get the first season on DVD for Christmas, and watching some of the episodes again inspired me to start a series of sketches based on some of the memorable scenes.

This one is one of my favorites, from Season 1, Episode 2 "Run For Your Wife".

If you know the show, I hope you appreciate the sketch!!

I can't wait to do more!! Stay tuned.

Sugarplums.

I was commissioned to paint a special Christmas gift for an adorable little girl this year. The only thing I had to go on were the colours in her room, and the fact that they called her "Sugarplum". Here's what I came up with!

The quick character design:

The finished painting; acrylic on 18" x 20" canvas.

Fraaa-geee-laaayy...!

Here's the second part of the cast of characters from "A Christmas Story" - what fun I had designin' and colourin' these guys up!


Merry Merry Happy Happy Christmas to one and all :)

I triple-dog dare you!

Doing caricatures from Xmas movies just got a lot funner. Yes, funner. Here is the first half of the "A Christmas Story" cast, all coloured and in their fashion. See below for an enlarged version of each character; Ralphie is shown in the previous post. More coloured leg lamp fun to come!

Ralphie, now in Technicolor!

As I said, I have the whole cast inked and am in the process of adding color to them all, but here is Ralphie, avec color!

"You'll shoot yer eye out!" SNEAKPEEK

I love Christmas. And I love to draw. Soooooo why not combine them, you say??? Exaaaaaaactly. This morning I put on "A Christmas Story" and was inspired immediately. The clever dialog, the retro-ish outfits, and the Christmas appeal - 3 for 3.

I ended up doing a caricature of most of the cast, but I just finished inking them, and won't finish them complete with colour tonight.... so I am putting up a sneak peek. Here's Ralphie, roughly inked, sans colour.

Stay tuned for the final with the rest of the cast!
Happy Christmas!

Paintings for the kidlets!

Further to a post a while ago, about designing some paintings for kidlets.... here are how the finals turned out! What fun; I'd love to do more like these. And the best part - the kids loved 'em! That's means the most to moi :)

12" x 24"; acrylic on canvas.

16" x 16"; acrylic on canvas.

11" x 14"; acrylic on canvas.