Here is my entry for this week's Illustration Friday theme of "dip" ... it goes out to my wife, Jodie, who is convinced the time is right for swimming, sun-ing and in general heading to the beach. I say it's still spring.

This is all vector, mixing some Brush strokes, the Blob Brush, the new (but still lame) in-line Gradient tool and a tad bit of Illustrator's Raster Effects thrown in for fun.

I just thought I would share part of the Valentine's Day gift I made for Jodie this year ... 24 different designs and pop-culture references for 24 different ways to say "I Love You". If my math is right, then that should be about one per hour of the day and if your guess is right, these were sized perfectly for her iPhone screen. So in spite of AT&T's at-times finicky MMS network, she still ...

This is just a quick daily sketch for Friday ... me in a new shirt and sweater to watch Jodie's performance in FCC's Night of Noel. I apologize for the rough lines ... I'm still getting back into the habit of drawing all the time. ;)

I actually had to repeat the colors a few times to get them right. I tried working them up first using Crayola markers, but ended up re-doing most of the ...

Day 2008-1-5 (uploaded by DRA Studio)For my Jodie:“the ocean’s tide; it is calmed.the push of breeze; it is stilled.time itself finds a stopping place.In the moments when you are gone,Life is weak.”“And breathing; it is hard.the flow of feeling; it is numb.The mind has found a different pace.This heart I suffer and bearhas an aching beat.”“Love is life and in the seek of what’sfleeting, love in its strengthwill stop the heart of beating.”Sorry that this ...

Day 2008-1-3 (uploaded by DRA Studio)“three insignificant glances,bleed my heart of past romances,and fill my life anew,with opportune chances.”

Day 2008-1-2 (uploaded by DRA Studio)This one has a poem attached: “this is for twoas in the number of the day.but also as in youas in a way for me to say:”“I really missed you,and am glad you are home.” “I can’t live without you.I am so not me on my own.”

Day 2007-12-10 (uploaded by DRA Studio)This is Day #4 of the sketches. I think I got some cleaner lines and a bit tighter of a feel … using a ball-point red pen for the sketching and a Marvy Uchida – Le Plume pen for the inking (one of my favorites for this kind of work).Each panel is about something I saw yesterday, so check out the Flickr page for the notes on each. Fun stuff, ...

Jodie has been watching lots of Ace of Cakes recently and decided to add some fun fondant pizazz to the cake she made for her College Choir's end-of-year party. Not only does it look pretty amazing, but because she used marshmallow yummy fondant, it tastes good too!