Day 192 ~ Create a family crest for your family.

Sorry, this didn't quite fit in my scanner, but you get the idea.

I looked at pictures of family crests on the web. Took note of the format, which often included a shield, two figures on the side, a banner with words (sometimes in Latin) and another figure (usually a knight's helmet) in the center on the top of the shield. So you can see what elements I copied.

The two figures on the side were easy! YoYo and Bela. The shields often have a repeated graphic silhouette, so I used that area to represent our nine cats ~ Mim, Cooper, Naomi, Gus, Zubie, Theo, CJ, Mishi and Augie. The violin is Judy's. The trees and wreathe stand for our beautiful home and land which is a constant source of amazing delight. The Latin phrase on the banner is Ars Longa, Vita Breva, which means Art is Long, Life is Short. We both felt that an apt representation for our lives.

The design started as a pencil sketch, painted with watercolor and with some details added with colored pencil. It's 81/2X11.