'Melody Joy' and 'Butterfly Kisses'

Inspired by a sketch I did several months back in my sketchbook, I recently painted a commission for a very sweet friend, a gift for a beautiful baby girl for her baptism. 'Melody Joy' ~ 5x7 acrylics on antique music sheet circa 1890's and canvas board

And now that I'm working in watercolors again I wanted to see if I could get the image down on watercolor paper as well, with some changes so it reflected my vision for the original sketch more closely. This is the result: 'Butterfly Kisses' ~ 5x7 pencil and watercolors on 140 lb. cold pressed watercolor paper

Beginning Illustration for 2012

As part of my New Year's resolution I have made a promise to myself to work on my illustration skills. Illustrating children's books has been such a dream of mine in recent years, and I would so love to enter this field of work. Here is my first attempt (obviously a work in progress):

I didn't base it off of any story, I just wanted to convey a sense of story with the painting initially. I had forgotten how much I enjoy watercolors.