Comedy Duo

Aside from knitting, portraits are my go-to favorite gifts for my friends and family. But sometimes it's tricky to find the perfect subject. Portraits of myself are a little creepy and vain (Here! Have a drawing of my beautiful face to stare at on your wall!)--as well as portraits of the person I'm giving it to...for similar reasons.

Ideally, a picture of the two of us is great. But for the right person, something even greater pops into my mind. Like this gem of a drawing of comedian Aziz Ansari with an adorable-yet-ugly monkey.

Obviously this isn't my photo. And if I was selling it I wouldn't be comfortable using someone else's professional photo (gotta keep up my non-plagiarism cred). But it was too perfect to pass up for this.

We're thinking about doing a whole series--comedians with ridiculous animals. I'm thinking Chris Rock with an iguana for the next one. Stay tuned.

Laughs and Curls

Ink and graphite

Boy

How cute is he?!?!?! It's easy to do great portraits when the subject is just so gosh darn cute.

Crash

Chalk pastels of a little girl at the beach. My favorite part? The little wave sweeping around her legs! I definitely remember doing this when I was little--remember grabbing the wet sand in your hands and feeling it squish and fall back into the water? Until a wave came and a bunch of salt water went up your nose...

Snorkel T

This oil pastel is of my super cool little brother. We were snorkeling off the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and my dad snapped this awesome pic with one of those underwater disposable cameras. I love these colors!

True Love

I currently work at a non profit child advocacy organization in Omaha, Nebraska, and one of my wonderful colleagues is getting married. We are having a surprise wedding shower for her tomorrow, and I thought that I would make her something that symbolizes her true love...advocating for Nebraska's children through legislative and policy reform. I know her fiance would have to agree.

The Nebraska State Capitol is quite a strange building. It has a tomb-like quality when you go inside; no windows, and long tiled hallways. But over one of the entrances is this wonderful quote:

"The salvation of the state is watchfulness in the citizen." 

I love this quote. And I know she does too. No matter how tough her job can be--advocating for some of Nebraska's most vulnerable kids--she truly lives up to her role as a watchful citizen. A wonderful, beautiful, compassionate and dedicated citizen. Nebraska--and her fiance--is lucky to have her.