Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Friday, March 16, 2012
Summer Fun Coloring Page!
This is a coloring page I created for a coloring book I illustrated. You can download yours for free!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Free "Explore Our National Parks" coloring page!
Today in the Midwest it is definitely a "snow day". So here is a free coloring page for your kids to download and color, and a reminder that there are warmer days ahead.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Illustration Friday: "Midsummer Night"
Here is a preview illustration from my latest book, Prairie Storms, set for release in just a couple of weeks. The book was written by Darcy Pattison, and published by Sylvan Dell. We have a follow-up book, called Desert Baths, which will be coming in 2012. It has been wonderful working with both Darcy and Sylvan Dell. In this illustration, an earless lizard shimmies to find shelter from a dry, crackling lightning storm in the middle of an August night. You can download a free coloring page version of this illustration here.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Fly Free, Little Hatchling!
Anyone who regularly visits my blog has figured out by now that I love nature's little wonders...
...which is perfect since the book I am currently illustrating for Soundprints is all about the life of a little black ant.
I can't show you any illustrations for the book yet...
...so I'll continue to post photos from my yard instead.
...which is perfect since the book I am currently illustrating for Soundprints is all about the life of a little black ant.
I can't show you any illustrations for the book yet...
...so I'll continue to post photos from my yard instead.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Gardening Pal
Today while I was pulling weeds I spotted this little guy keeping watch over my garden.
©Kathleen Rietz
That inspired me to add this fine art print "Symphony In The Pond" to my growing online shop. You can see all of my designs available by going to my website and clicking on my shop page.
©Kathleen Rietz
That inspired me to add this fine art print "Symphony In The Pond" to my growing online shop. You can see all of my designs available by going to my website and clicking on my shop page.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Jim Flora and July Flowers
On Sunday I met Andi Butler and her son Owen for brunch and then a drive out to The Lake County Discovery Museum for a Jim Flora exhibit. So cool!
Here is Andi taking some photos of the artwork while something in another room has caught Owen's eye.
I loved Jim Flora's fun designs. Many of his works were inked by hand.
But for me, it was the beauty I saw in the fields outside of the gallery which drew me outward for some amazing photos.
I love Black-Eyed Susans...
This little guy appeared to be doing push-ups! : )
Nature has created the most incredible designs....
This busy bumblebee was hard at work
And I loved the beetle sunning herself on a snowy bed of Queen Ann's Lace.
A perfect ending to the weekend...
Here is Andi taking some photos of the artwork while something in another room has caught Owen's eye.
I loved Jim Flora's fun designs. Many of his works were inked by hand.
But for me, it was the beauty I saw in the fields outside of the gallery which drew me outward for some amazing photos.
I love Black-Eyed Susans...
This little guy appeared to be doing push-ups! : )
Nature has created the most incredible designs....
This busy bumblebee was hard at work
And I loved the beetle sunning herself on a snowy bed of Queen Ann's Lace.
A perfect ending to the weekend...
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
A Northern Girl Heads South
Before I tell you about my 1600+ mile adventure last week, let me first offer some background.
There was so much good news brewing that I could not wait to announce on my blog at the beginning of July. On July 1st, I was awarded a children's book project, illustrating an "ABC's of yoga" book. Less than 48 hours later, the book project was shelved (no pun intended). Then on July 4th, I was involved in an auto accident which flung me around my vehicle like a rag doll. The other motorist was not looking at all where he was going, all the while accelerating at a moderate speed through a parking lot and into the side of my vehicle. I was taken to the emergency room, and my red Honda CR-V was towed to a lot full of crumpled metal carcasses. I suffered no broken bones, but a broken spirit. My weekend was spent at home with ice packs and Advil. The only fireworks I saw were over the tree tops outside of my second story bedroom window. And my car was totaled.
The next 2 weeks were spent making trips to the chiropractor's office and on the phone with 2 insurance companies. It was 6 days before I could even get a rental car!
My friend Pam, whom I met in Sophmore year English class in high school and always manages to keep me laughing, invited me to ride along with her and her 2 kids to visit family in Alabama. She has invited me to tag along with them in the past, but since I average one vacation a decade (literally), a vacation with kids has never really appealed to me. Greece or the south of France sounded a bit more appealing, but Alabama was calling, and this time I answered. After lots of advice from my chiropractor, who agreed some time away would be good for my mind, I packed my suitcase and 24 hours later Pam was throwing it in the back of a rental car and we were heading south.
The landscape is vastly different from the cornfields and farmlands we drove through in Illinois. The roads are cut right into the mountain rock.
Fresh air and a fresh perspective.
Happiness = Pam and her son Matthew, and me in the middle. Matthew is 7 and into all venemous creatures. He will tell you all you ever wanted to know about scorpions and black widow spiders. Pam's daughter Jordan (not pictured) is 8, and into being "rich and famous" one day, and loves Miley Sirus.
I do wish I had captured more of this day in the country. I had forgotten my camera most of the day.
We drove up to Lookout Mountain for the view and to look at all of the beautiful homes built into the rock.
A dramatic sunset...
Now onto the "other" part of our vacation, one I find horribly sad.
Pam's sister Peggy found these puppies near a cardboard box, abandoned on the side of the road near the woods. I am not a member of PETA, nor do I think animals should receive the same rights as humans, but please people, be responsible and spay or neuter your pets! And if you do not want to shell out the money to do that, don't get a pet and then throw out the offspring when you don't want them. Animals are intelligent and do have feelings. These puppies were covered with ticks and fleas, were weak and hungry and dehydrated. The stray population is enormous in Alabama, where many people do not want to spend the nominal fee to have a simple procedure done to ensure their pets will not reproduce and overpopulate.
"Cookie" was the strongest, and 2 days after we rescued her, she acted like a normal little puppy.
"Shadow" looks sad in this picture. But she also is doing well now and is still recovering from the ticks and fleas...you can see the scars on her chest and face and tummy.
"Sweetie".....did not make it. You can see the bites all over her body. She suffered mange, and likely anemia due to blood loss from the parasites. Animal Control took her from us and euthanised her. I still wonder if we could have saved her after seeing how well her sisters bounced back. It makes me cry, really.
We spent much of trip caring for the puppies and emailing and phoning friends back in Illinois to see if anyone wanted a puppy. I am happy to say that Cookie and Shadow were both placed in happy homes with nice families.
One of the best parts of the whole trip was actually the driving. While flying seems so much more convenient, I loved seeing parts of the country I have never seen before, stopping off for ice cream and coffee and sodas in small towns I will probably never see again. It was a very good trip.
There was so much good news brewing that I could not wait to announce on my blog at the beginning of July. On July 1st, I was awarded a children's book project, illustrating an "ABC's of yoga" book. Less than 48 hours later, the book project was shelved (no pun intended). Then on July 4th, I was involved in an auto accident which flung me around my vehicle like a rag doll. The other motorist was not looking at all where he was going, all the while accelerating at a moderate speed through a parking lot and into the side of my vehicle. I was taken to the emergency room, and my red Honda CR-V was towed to a lot full of crumpled metal carcasses. I suffered no broken bones, but a broken spirit. My weekend was spent at home with ice packs and Advil. The only fireworks I saw were over the tree tops outside of my second story bedroom window. And my car was totaled.
The next 2 weeks were spent making trips to the chiropractor's office and on the phone with 2 insurance companies. It was 6 days before I could even get a rental car!
My friend Pam, whom I met in Sophmore year English class in high school and always manages to keep me laughing, invited me to ride along with her and her 2 kids to visit family in Alabama. She has invited me to tag along with them in the past, but since I average one vacation a decade (literally), a vacation with kids has never really appealed to me. Greece or the south of France sounded a bit more appealing, but Alabama was calling, and this time I answered. After lots of advice from my chiropractor, who agreed some time away would be good for my mind, I packed my suitcase and 24 hours later Pam was throwing it in the back of a rental car and we were heading south.
The landscape is vastly different from the cornfields and farmlands we drove through in Illinois. The roads are cut right into the mountain rock.
Fresh air and a fresh perspective.
Happiness = Pam and her son Matthew, and me in the middle. Matthew is 7 and into all venemous creatures. He will tell you all you ever wanted to know about scorpions and black widow spiders. Pam's daughter Jordan (not pictured) is 8, and into being "rich and famous" one day, and loves Miley Sirus.
I do wish I had captured more of this day in the country. I had forgotten my camera most of the day.
We drove up to Lookout Mountain for the view and to look at all of the beautiful homes built into the rock.
A dramatic sunset...
Now onto the "other" part of our vacation, one I find horribly sad.
Pam's sister Peggy found these puppies near a cardboard box, abandoned on the side of the road near the woods. I am not a member of PETA, nor do I think animals should receive the same rights as humans, but please people, be responsible and spay or neuter your pets! And if you do not want to shell out the money to do that, don't get a pet and then throw out the offspring when you don't want them. Animals are intelligent and do have feelings. These puppies were covered with ticks and fleas, were weak and hungry and dehydrated. The stray population is enormous in Alabama, where many people do not want to spend the nominal fee to have a simple procedure done to ensure their pets will not reproduce and overpopulate.
"Cookie" was the strongest, and 2 days after we rescued her, she acted like a normal little puppy.
"Shadow" looks sad in this picture. But she also is doing well now and is still recovering from the ticks and fleas...you can see the scars on her chest and face and tummy.
"Sweetie".....did not make it. You can see the bites all over her body. She suffered mange, and likely anemia due to blood loss from the parasites. Animal Control took her from us and euthanised her. I still wonder if we could have saved her after seeing how well her sisters bounced back. It makes me cry, really.
We spent much of trip caring for the puppies and emailing and phoning friends back in Illinois to see if anyone wanted a puppy. I am happy to say that Cookie and Shadow were both placed in happy homes with nice families.
One of the best parts of the whole trip was actually the driving. While flying seems so much more convenient, I loved seeing parts of the country I have never seen before, stopping off for ice cream and coffee and sodas in small towns I will probably never see again. It was a very good trip.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Back...so soon?
Well, I returned late Thursday night from an impromptu vacation/adventure. I will tell you all about it in a future post. But for now I am sort of enjoying my break. I took a break from drawing and from blogging. I missed it at first, but now I have to admit it is sort of a nice little break. I am really trying to learn to take time for myself.
Meanwhile, more GOOD NEWS to share: I was awarded a new picture book to illustrate for Spring 2009. The publisher is Soundprints, and the book is for The Smithsonian Institution! I am very excited. This book will be a huge challenge for certain, but I am really looking forward to it. I need to begin researching the characters.....who are "creepy crawlies". Okay, that was a hint. I cannot say anything more!
Also, PLEASE NOTE: If you sent me an email between 7/13 and 7/17, there is a good chance I did NOT receive it. My web mail program is HIDEOUS and UNRELIABLE and DETESTABLE. A couple of people have told me they emailed me. I did not receive their emails. It is the best I can do when I am out of town. So...I am not ignoring you.
It's good to be back. I think I'll go read....
Meanwhile, more GOOD NEWS to share: I was awarded a new picture book to illustrate for Spring 2009. The publisher is Soundprints, and the book is for The Smithsonian Institution! I am very excited. This book will be a huge challenge for certain, but I am really looking forward to it. I need to begin researching the characters.....who are "creepy crawlies". Okay, that was a hint. I cannot say anything more!
Also, PLEASE NOTE: If you sent me an email between 7/13 and 7/17, there is a good chance I did NOT receive it. My web mail program is HIDEOUS and UNRELIABLE and DETESTABLE. A couple of people have told me they emailed me. I did not receive their emails. It is the best I can do when I am out of town. So...I am not ignoring you.
It's good to be back. I think I'll go read....
Sunday, July 13, 2008
I Need a Break!
I am taking a much needed break this week, but shall return on Friday. Have a great week. ~ Kate
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Carnation Girl
As requested by Shannon, The Carnation Girl is the 6th and final girl in my Flower Girls collection, which will be featured in color and available later this month as note cards in my upcoming online shop.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Illustration Friday - "Forgotten"
I finally got around to adding color to this sketch I had made during the 21 Day Challenge (scroll down the main page to see my sketch). Many people forget about our soldiers serving in the Middle East and all over the rest of the world. But for little kids who have to endure another summer without their parent, they have not forgotten. This little girl is watching summer fireworks outside her bedroom window and missing her dad. The baseball under her bed symbolizes a time when he was home to play ball with her. Her little kitty keeps her company for times when she needs someone to listen. And the photo on her wall was taken on the day her father was preparing to deploy. She remembers her father telling her to be brave and that he would be home soon. She manages a smile in the photo. But now it has been 18 months.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Illustration Friday - "Worry" & Day 18 of 21 - Celebrate Summer
I love carefree summer days that make me forget about my worries. Looking forward to celebrating summer!
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