How I develop my character for illustration

How do I create characters for my illustrations?

First, I get inspired in creating a character for my illustrations through either personal acquaintance or relationship.
In this case, a little girl named Rose came over with her parents to spend the day with us last Friday. Rose is an adorable girl adopted from China by Jan and Jon.


Below are some sketches I made from a scene in the playground with Rose:





Next, I traced the whole sketch to a watercolor paper on a light box and started painting in watercolor.

Below is the work in progress entitled " A Day in the Playground with Rose".

TO BE CONTINUED.... watch out for the finished painting!!

Postcard Art



This is a painting I've done based on a story of a Little Girl and a Turtle. It was exhibited at the Society of Children's Book Illustrators 2003 conference in New York City. I was surprised and happy to find out that it won an award as one of the 10th finalist out of 250 submissions.

Here is an article about the award : Maria Madonna Davidoff at SCWBI Artist Showcase

The original water color painting was sold at the exhibit , but I had postcards of it printed professionally.

So for those who would like to have the postcards, here is the link to my shop:CraftyMadonna





My Upcoming Exhibit Nov.2009

I was invited to exhibit at the Art Harmony Regional Center in Maryland for their 20th Retrospective Show in November. I shall post the invitation soon.

Below is a sneak preview of the exhibit:

This is an acrylic painting on canvas, size is 18" x 24"

My " Little Girl Series" are composed of paintings I made after my mom passed away a few years ago. As a way to heal myself during that sad period of my life, I created several Little Girl sketches which I made into paintings.






Launching of My Online Store at Etsy



Welcome to the launching of My Online Store!!

This is my store logo at my Etsy Site:



My Handmade Plush dolls:

Inspired by my travels to Japan and Kokeshi Dolls, I introduce you to Mitsuki
She comes with her own cute parasol:



From the Island of Hawaii, I introduce you to Leilani:
Aloha!



My Original Paintings:

This is my mixed media painting entitled:
Fairy Tea Time:

size: 10"x10", acrylic paint,handsewn fabric with collage on canvas

Another one of my mixed media painting entitled:
Island Fairy:

size: 10"x10", acrylic paint,handsewn fabricwith collage on canvas



My Artsy Craftsy and Sewing Studio




I have been busy like a Bee preparing for my Online Shop which
I will launch very soon. Below is a new addition to my Art Studio :
A crafts and sewing corner where I have been creating some
really cute plush dolls, and mix media canvas painting plus a lot of
other things which you will see soon.

Here is my sewing corner:




Here are some of my materials and tools for my Artsy,Craftsy and Sewing projects:


Book Making & NYC Zine Festival


This weekend, I attended the NYC ZINE FEST '09 at
the Brooklyn Lyceum building.
Below is the official poster of the event:


The NYC Zine Festival are made of self-published, homemade,
independent and small publishers.


Some of the Zines I got from the festival:
By GBtran: A Vietnamese American Cartoonist

Below a handmade book by John Mejias:
spread and front cover


I drooled over the
Microcosm Publishing Catalogue below: ( love the illo on the cover) where they've got loads of Zines, books, posters,etc..

Another favorite of mine : Robin Enrico
she created the "Jam in the Band" below:
cover and inside pages:


Las Vegas trip, Day 2

Welcome to Las Vegas:

In Las Vegas, my hubby and I stayed at the Palazzo Hotel .

A view from the Hotel room:

I visited my childhood friend Gochi and Tifanny:

Tifanny prepared a delicious Chinese meal :
Duck & water chestnuts wrapped in Lettuce with Hoisin sauce
Delicious!

We visited the Springs Preserve


Gochi and Madonna at the Springs Preserve:

Cactus:



Gochi and Tifanny's dogs named CuCu and Euro:

These are the dogs wardrobe closet:
Tifanny and gochi holding CuCu and Euro:





School Girl Memories: Las Vegas trip, Day 1

There is nothing like re-uniting with childhood friends and schoolmates again. I sketched this inside the plane bound for Las Vegas where my Friend, Gochi, now lives. We were classmates in a school called Maryknoll, an all girls-private school in the Philippines. Maryknoll is now called " Miriam College" but I, of course, prefer the old name Maryknoll. I have lots of good memories from that School and as an illustrator, lots of nostalgic images appear in my sketches:

This is how our Maryknoll Uniform looked like:
We were such a disciplined bunch!



Oh the Joys of Lunch break:



That's me in our grade school picture below- what a hair!


And here is Gochi:


And here we are at present: Taken in Las Vegas:


Gochi and Mado( my nickname then)





Las Vegas

Wee, I'm flying a again for a short trip ---to Las Vegas,
not to gamble but to visit a childhood friend. See you then!








Illustration inspired by Bali

My entry for Illustration Friday's theme this week : CRAVING

I created this illustration based on a Balinese mythology, inspired by my travels to the island of Bali. I was in Bali last April and I rented a small bungalow which resembles the one in my illustration below. This is an illustration of a Balinese witch who likes to devour children. In the myth, the Balinese children saved themselves from being eaten by dancing.

by: © Maria Madonna Davidoff

After my Asian Trip, Events in New York



I'm Back!

It took me awhile to update my blog since I got back from my Asian trip.

For one whole month, I traveled solo to Singapore, Bali, and The Philippines, except in Vietnam, where I joined Bart, my hubby,who was already there to meet me.
During my trip I had a wonderful time sketching, sight-seeing, meditating and meeting old as well as new friends in Bali, Cruising in a romantic small ship through Ha Long Bay in Vietnam with Bart, taking a nostalgic visit to the city of Singapore where we used to live for a year from 2006 -2007, and then finally, re-uniting with my family in The Philippines.

When I arrived in the States It took me almost 2 weeks to recuperate from my jetlag.

But..... I had artwork to do, new projects to start on and several Books and
Art events to attend to in New York City.





The Book Expo America 2009:


The first event I attended was the Book Expo America held at the Javitz Center in New York.
was exhibited at the previous Book Expo.  



Inside The Book Expo America at Javitz:
Madonna Davidoff in front of the Book Expo at Javitz Center NYC:




I joined some of my fellow CBIG (Children's Book Illustrators Group) inside the Book Expo:
Below, I am behind a lot of wonderful Childrens Books:


Some things I got from the Book Expo when I got back to my studio:
Bookmaks:
Childrens Books Publishers Catalogs!

My BEA badge and some Children's Book with authors signatures:

Some Totes to carry the tons of Publishers catalogs and books:

MOCCA Museum of Comic and Cartoon Festival

Another Event I attended was the MoCCA (Museum of Comic and Cartoon) Art Festival 2009 held last weekend from June 6th and 7th at the Regiment Armory at Lexington Avenue and 25th Street in New York City.
It was in this same building where the first major exhibition of contemporary art in America was held and where for the first time many Americans saw the works of Cezanne, Van Gogh, Matisse and Picasso.


Here I am with some Illustrator friends in front of the Regiment Armory Building:
Chris Margeson, Marilyn Pappas and (myself-Madonna Davidoff)


Chris Margeson is an illustrator from Baltimore who took these 2 photos inside the Cartoon Festival:
THANKS CHRIS!

Madonna Davidoff at the MoCCA cartoon festival 2009, Photo credit:Chris Margeson



Note: The Rest of the photos below where taken by myself:
I bought a graphic novel by Keenan Rubenstein-His graphic novel was done in a calendar format and I've never seen anything like it before: It has no text, just visuals using the different months to depict the development of his story. It's really cool and his line art were fantastic.



Here is Keenan's Booth with his Calendar/Graphic Novel which he signed for me:
Also met some of Chris Margeson cartoonist friends at their Twin Comics booth:
Cartoonists are fun people don't you think?


Fellow CBIG member  Stephanie Ruble, author of " Sheila, The Zombie Cheerleader"
below signing her book for me:



Another amazing cartoonist is Ken Wong who does Origami Cartoon.
He taught me how to construct one below:




The MOCCA Festival in New York City was a great weekend of comic and cartoon art exhibitors, panels, lectures, sketches, autographs, and more! Some of the world's best cartoonists, animators, and graphic novelists were exhibited there. For anyone interested in the art of making cartoon and comics, I highly recommend it.  I'll be back again next year!

Philippines: Last Destination to be with my Family again

I have re-united once again with my family back in the Philippines:
One of the reasons for going back to the Philippines was to
visit my father, Jose L. Angeles, who is now 90 years old:
Below, Papa and myself in front of the pool. As you can see, Papa is wearing
the Obama hat and t-shirt I sent him: He is now an Obama fan:


Enjoying the pool with my father:



I also visited and stayed with my brother's family
in Pampanga, in front of the house:



The newest addition to the family:

Lazlo Patajo -Angeles


Lazlo is my brother Jolan's first grandson

Madonna Davidoff, Lazlo Patajo Angeles and my brother Jolan Angeles

Lazlo's parents, my niece Anna Patajo and her hubby Paolo:



My niece Anna with her son Lazlo:
My niece Anna's Blog


Myself with my sister in law Tonette Palma Angeles, wife of my brother Jolan:



Below with my other niece, Amanda Angeles:



We visited the former Clark airbase in Pampanga Manila andwe visited
A traditional Filipino restaurant in Pampanga:


A bakery in Manila where you can buy the famous filipino Pan de sal:


I bought a quilted toy for Lazlo:


where we visited a quilting workshop below,
A Filipino Quilt artist with his design:


At Korea Town in Pampangga, Philippines



Finally, with the rest of the Angeles Clan below:

Last Day Vietnam: Water Puppet

Our Last Day in Vietnam, we made sure we watch the Vietnamese Water Puppet in the Old Town, Hanoi. We booked for an evening performance. Below, in the lobby of the theatre, are some puppets for sale. I bought one.


Vietnamese Water Puppets on stage:



The Puppeteers:



The Vietnamese Water Puppet Musicians:



I am waiting for the show to begin:




We had dinner the same night at this fabulous restaurant called
The Green Tangerine which was featured in the book " 100 Things to do before you Die"
Food was Asian Fusion ( Vietnamese/ French) They also have a good selection of wines.





The Green Tangerine :




One of the appetizers we ordered: soft shell crab with mango sauce:




Bart and I love Vietnamese Food:

Our last day in Hanoi, Vietnam, we also just relaxed during the day by the pool:



Ha Long Bay Cruise, Vietnam

Our Cruise to Ha Long Bay, From Start to Finish


Bart & I waiting for our car service to take us to our crusie ship to Ha Long Bay,
A three hour drive from our Intercon Hotel Hanoi. Ha Long Bay is a world Heritage site
and is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.



The traffic in Vietnam--filled with motorcycles, some carrying stuffs you cannot imagine:
The drive is an experience in itself.

More Motorcycles:



Stopping at a ceramic workshop where you can buy souveniers done by the disabled:




Some rural scene on the way to Ha Long Bay:




Beautiful sculptures:





The ceramic workshop:





Madonna Davidoff in the middle of two buddhas:



Finally, we reached the port to board our ship to Ha Long Bay:






Our ship the Ha Long Ginger has only 10 cabins plus an interior made up of all wood .
It resembles an old Asian sail ship. Really beautiful and cozy, plus romantic:





Having my first Vietnamese beer while waiting to board:




The captain of our ship The Ha Long Ginger





Our ship The Ha Long Ginger:



The Ship's bar:



Our Ship Guide named SON




My lifesaver--I made sure I know where it is...



Our cabin:


Our cabin bathroom:all marble


The ship dining area:


More views of Ha Long Bay( lime stone islands, lots of them)











Bart getting his coffee:






Stopping at a beach at Ha long Bay:


Another cruise ship The Indochine: a view from the beach
Madonna Davidoff at the beach in Ha Long Bay:

Bart swimming at Ha Long Bay beach:


Again, yours truly after a swim in the water:


Back again in our ship:

Bart enjoying the breeze at the top deck of the ship:
Madonna Davidoff on the top deck of Ha Long Ginger:



Approaching the Fisherman's Village: some of the fisherman's kids selling shells:


Fisherman's Village homes: All of them have TV and electrical power:













After seeing the Fisherman's village, we are now visiting the Ha Long Bay National Park:






Waiting for dinner at sunset:




Our dinner at the ship: giant prawn, Vietnamese fresh spring rolls, crab soup, grilled fish, calamari and of course dessert
The Morning after: before breakfast in the ship, more vendors -
I bought a sea shell from one of them:
Bart & I before breakfast:


This is a typical Mini Mart vendor in the sea:

After breakfast, we are now visiting one of the famous caves in Ha Long Bay:


Madonna & Bart inside the caves:


Going back to our ship after the caves:

Madonna Davidoff in a tradti0nal Vietnamese dress:
Our last lunch buffet at the ship:


An unforgetable cruise of the Ha Long Bay:
Bart and Madonna Davidoff 2009, Vietnam



Museum Tours, Hanoi. Vietnam Part 1



The Vietnam Fine Arts Museum is located in 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street of Hanoi.
It houses a lot of paintings, sculptures and Ceramics from traditional to contemporary.


The Contemporay Art building:



I enjoyed the wood block prints and scrolls as well as the lacquered etchings and paintings:




Lacqered etchings:








After visiting the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum,
Bart and I went to see the Lenin Statue at Lenin Square :


Below, at the Lenin Park in Hanoi, one of the fruit vendors lent me her traditional hat and I tried to carry her pole with the fruits she is selling which was really very, very heavy. A lot of vendors carry their products this way:



Below: Bart infront of Lenin Statue:



And of course, yours truly in front of Lenin:


The Vietnamse Flag in the background:






The Military History Museum


The Military History Museum is situated in Central Hanoi near the Lenin Park. It was built in 1956 and it reflects the history of founding and defending the nation against foreign invaders of the Vietnamese people, including the Ho Chi Minh age Resistance Wars.




















Statue of Ho Chi Minh: