work in progress

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

Even though they're not finished, I still kind of like the way they look at this stage.

christmas at the hudon-verrelli flat

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

Christmas this year was very different for us. Even the lead up to Christmas was different - much less busy than usual. We opted out of gift giving/receiving this year because we didn't want to end up with a bunch of stuff that we would either have to drag around Europe with us, or end up shipping back to Canada. That instantly lessened my load as I find it so stressful to try and find the perfect gift for everyone every year. D and I ended up just getting one small gift each so that we'd have something to open Christmas morning.

Being in a foreign country, this was the first time during my 29 years that I didn't do the family thing. D and I just spent the day together, sipping mulled wine, eating cheese and bread, and watching movies. It was really low key and nice. I made us eggs benedict for breakfast and then we had shepheard's pie for supper (Aunt Norma's recipe).

sketch 3 of 4

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

sketch 2 of 4

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

out with the old, in with the new

I finished my sketchbook today. It feels like quite an accomplishment because this is the first sketchbook I've ever completed - I have several other ones that I've started over the years, but have yet to finish them.

I started this book on January 5, 2007, so it's been almost exactly three years. I remember starting it with the intention that I would take it to work with me everyday and spend my lunch breaks sketching. I was slow getting into it, but during this past year I became very much absorbed into my sketchbook, filling more than 3/4 of it.

As I flipped through the pages this afternoon, I realized that this book saw quite a bit of change and growth, both stylistically and in terms of technique. It's pretty interesting to see how my work has developped.

Here's a peek:

(the book itself was a Christmas gift back in 2002. The front and back covers were done by Kimberly Wieting)






















©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

sketch of little boy and his bear

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

travel journal cover

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

what i'm working on

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

I'm working on the painted version on this sketch right now. I'm trying some different techniques... hopefully it turns out.

child playing with giant lego

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

after art college

There's a blog called After Art College that is run by one of my old instructors in Calgary, Mike Kerr. It features former students of the Visual Communications program at the Alberta College of Art and Design (where I got my bachelor degree) and also some current students enrolled in the program. It's really interesting to see the variety of areas, professions, locations and the different levels of success of former students.

Yesterday's post was a link to my work - thanks Mike.

balloon ride over edinburgh

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

Back in September, a friend of mine went on a hot air balloon ride over the city. I thought it would make a good subject for an illustration so I started working on it. I finally finished it today. The little red haired girl made an appearance.

first attempt at coloring a sketch digitally

I played around in Photoshop yesterday with a quick sketch I had just done. I'm not really sure about what I'm doing and I don't have a tablet so it's a bit clumsy. Here's my first attempt at painting something digitally and adding pattern:


©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

the little match girl

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

portrait of a blond little girl

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

bearded man sketch 2

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

bearded man sketch

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

sketch of man with crazy facial hair

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

the bride's daughter and groom's son from a previous relationship

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

lumberjack bear - painted

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

I spent yesterday painting the lumberjack bear. I tried to use a different technique but by the end I wasn't happy with my piece. I reworked my sketch this morning and spent the rest of the day painting it.

lumberjack bear process

Back in September, I was sketching bears because I wanted to draw a bear as a lumberjack. I was back at it today and settled on this one:



Here's some of my process sketches:




©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

gdansk, poland

highlights of the trip:

• walking through the beautiful, colorful, historic old town
• dragon head water spouts
• tons of red brick
• stopping at a cute cafe to warm up with mulled wine
• eating at a Polish milk bar. Amazing.
• Malbork Castle
• learning about Polish culture and history from our wonderful hosts
• Polish sausage
• Polish bread
• seeing an actual bomb shelter
• browsing Polish children's books and eventually purchasing one with funky ink illustrations
• finally getting a matryoshka doll after wanting one since I was a little girl
• learning how to make zurek (Polish soup) and then enjoying it.




















Malbork Castle - the largest red brick castle in the world:









monument to the striking ship yard workers - I love how the hands come down the side:








this church is 1000 years old - check out how crooked the walls are in the next photo:

we're back

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli

This is just a quick post to say that we have returned from Poland and had a fantastic time. I'll post some photos and such later.

happy (belated) halloween

©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli