Tree - Illustration Friday post

Word of the week is 'Tree' and for some reason this is what I came up with! For some reason she reminds me my daughter Juneau too, I don't know why!

Digital painting photoshop CS4+wacom CTE 440 tablet

Illustration Friday - Haunt

It's been a few weeks but I am happy to have finished something for illustration friday this week! Just in time for Halloween! My 4 year old son Sampson is looking forward to passing out candy tonight :). He won't let me put a costume on him so I hope we get a few trick or treaters as he loves seeing other kids in costume!

This little Haunt was quick and dirty today....but I am happy with her results! Digital illustration, digital painting/mixed media in Photoshop CS4 with Wacom tablet.

Illustration Friday Post

This week the work is water...and I wanted to do something with rain because I love it so much! I guess this might be a self portrait of me and my puppy Belle (who lives with my Dad and Step mom). I named it 'Friday Afternoon'.  :)

Digital painting photoshop cs4 + wacom cte 440 tablet

Crooked

I guess I feel like Christmas already? For illustration friday!

Digital painting - Photoshop CS4 + wacom tablet

'Imagination' Illustration Friday Post

Last minute illustration friday post! I just finished it, just in time...I wanted to pair this with my 'Juneau'...my son Sampson, who has a very wonderful imagination, especially with trains!

Illustration Friday - Vocal

It's been a while since I did anything for illustration Friday! I really needed to take a break last night and do something with no sketch, no direction, just a word to start with...illustration friday is one of my favorite sites for inspiration! I think of her like a little winter rose whispering in the cold.

'Vocal' - digital painting with photo collage elements.

Marking today...

This is my beautiful son Sampson. Sampson will be 4 years old on May 9th. He is an amazing child. For those of you who follow my blog you may know that Sampson is Autistic. He sees the world in a different way than anyone else. He is obsessed with letters, numbers, and pattern. He can say all his ABC's and recognize letters out of order and spell things out. He can count to 100 and even count by 10's. He watches countless youtube videos on trains, letters and numbers and has a knack for memorizing things from the videos. He can also identify objects and animals and colors, all sorts of things. That's kind of amazing. In spite of all these amazing things that Sampson can do there are many things that are difficult for him (which I will not go into too much detail about). I try to focus on the things he CAN do and encourage him. He likes trains so we spend a lot of time at the train museum. He is attending a state funded special education pre school that has been amazing.

One of the hardest things for Sampson to do is to communicate with others. He has trouble turning all his words into sentences. He can identify an 'iguana' but can't find the words to tell me what he wants or needs. For all the words he has learned, there are many that he has 'lost'. Some words he learns and then never says again. Since he started school he has regained some of these early words. One word he said only once to my knowledge was 'Mommy'. he babbled it as a baby 'Mama' but around a year it stopped. I heard him say it once when my sister was in town, right after Juneau was born when I walked towards him at the zoo. He never said it again. I try to not think about it, but it's heartbreaking. I just want him to call me, to ask for me. Juneau calls me "mommy" all the time (she is 13 months old). As much as I love hearing my little girl say mommy, I have been waiting almost four years for my 'first love' to call me mommy.

Well I am marking today and sharing these things because today Sampson did say 'mommy'. I want to type about it, to share it because it means a lot. He was in the garden with Dad helping him water the tomatoes....Sampson calls them 'trees'. He was crouched down and holding the hose, his face near the ground watching the water. He enjoys seeing everything up close. He looked to the side a little (we call is his 'side eye', it's something he does to look at people without giving direct eye contact) and he said quietly 'Oh....is Mommy' and then turned back to the water. He didn't say it to me, or ask for me, or call me...but he acknowledged me as 'Mommy' with words...and that is enough. Even if I don't hear it again for another year, it was enough. Today was an amazing day.