Blog
Creating Repeating Patterns Without Tearing Your Hair Out
I decided to open an Etsy shop. I’ll be selling hand printed greeting cards and notebooks. The past few months have been filled with planning and researching (How do I open an Etsy shop? What do I sell? TAXES?!?!). But now comes the fun creative part: making patterns and designs to go on my cards […]
Blogiversary: Year in review
I started this blog on January 7, 2014. The first post was pretty short. The gist of it was be more creative and productive in 2014. Which, incidentally, is on my 2015 New Year’s resolution list. The post also introduced a painting project I started: the Queen series (no, not that Queen). Today is January […]
Process: One for sorrow…
“One for sorrow…” is my latest watercolor painting. It’s been awhile since I worked with watercolor. It was nice getting back into them. I’d forgotten how much I like watercolor. I made sure to document each step so I could share it with you guys. Here goes: Brainstorming: “One for sorrow…” is my submission for […]
New Year’s Resolutions Clichés
It’s that time of year again: time to make your New Year’s Resolutions. We always start the new year with good intentions. Then it’s all downhill from there. Just kidding…kind of…hopefully not… There are some resolution clichés that always appear on people’s lists. And they are definitely on mine. Some of these are: be better […]
All I want for Christmas is…
The holidays are around the corner and for many people that means wish lists. Christmas isn’t all about presents but let’s be honest…besides your birthday it’s the only other time in the year you can ask for things you want but won’t/can’t buy yourself. My wish lists have gotten more practical as I’ve gotten older: […]
My avian obsession
So…I like birds. Not to the point that I’m out with binoculars but still…I think they’re pretty. If you’ve been through my portfolio you have probably noticed this interest. It started in college while doing my printmaking minor. Using fables and myths was my way of incorporating my major (illustration) into my prints. And birds […]
Process: Don’t Blink
I’ve been watching a lot of Doctor Who recently. The Weeping Angels are the scariest bad guys on show. Mostly because of the jump scare — they move when you’re not looking and suddenly it’s right behind you. Freaks me out every time. So, of course, I had to make art about them! Concept and […]
Pocketful of buttons
I like collections. I used to collect cardboard. Yeah, I know… I don’t understand either. Although that cardboard collection could have come in handy when I was making books. But I also collect rocks, buttons, and shells. I collect mostly for aesthetic reasons — something looks pretty or is visually pleasing and I want keep it. […]
Fowl: a handbound book
The final project (if I recall correctly) for my screenprinting class at SCAD was a handbound book. My professor taught us some basic bookbinding techniques (kicking off a new interest for me) and asked us to create an artist book. My book, Fowl, combined two things: memories of my grandparents and my fascination with birds. […]
DIY Stretched canvas
Along with the large canvases I didn’t need. I also bought a bunch of raw canvas. I had the intention of stretching my own canvases in the sizes and dimensions of my choosing. And I did! At least nine of them. This won’t be a real step-by-step tutorial but I’ll give you a general idea. […]
Favorites: Bookbinding
Bookbinding is an old art. People still do it today but how often do you run across a handbound book? I love books in general — holding them, turning the pages, putting them in my bookcase. So the idea that I can make books is great. I started making books in college. We had to […]
I think I’m an art supply hoarder
I used to work at an art supply store while I was in college. And an art student with an employee discount at an art store? Like a kid in a candy shop. And I had no will power. Especially when there were clearance or sale items. I minored in Printmaking at SCAD during which […]
Painting aftermath
I wanted to show you all what my set up looks like after I finish painting. These pictures were from an acrylic painting class I taught. I don’t use anything too fancy. I think that’s a leftover from college. I don’t have a lot of space to work in (my “studio” is my bedroom) and […]
If the apocalypse happens I’ll be doomed
I spend a good chunk of my time on my laptop when I’m not working. Connecting to the internet is an integral part of my life. I don’t know what I’d do without technology. I can’t live without my: MacBook Pro iPhone Kindle I don’t watch a lot of television. (My T.V. randomly shuts off […]
In the pursuit of creativity
I don’t draw every single day. That’s something I’m trying to change but it just doesn’t happen some days. I still want to be creative though. That’s where some of my other interests come in. I particularly like paper (fondly remembers filling the paper drawers at Utrecht). Bookbinding was my hobby for awhile during college. […]
Poppy flower pods
Alright, guys. Here’s another pattern. There’s more in my sketchbook but this is the last one for now. (There’s something else I’m working on.) This pattern is more complicated than the others (previous pattern posts: Late night pattern creation & More pattern talk). But I still used the shape tools, pen tool, and pathfinder. There […]
A bit of a rant
I have a pet peeve. I hear something a lot when I speak to people about art. And it’s always the same. They’ll say the line, laugh and shake their head. Then smile at me like they came up with a great joke. The line is:
The downward spiral of Pinterest
Do you ever go on Pinterest for just a few minutes and realize a couple hours have gone by? That happens to me a lot. I jump from pin to pin ‘liking’ as I go. How I use Pinterest I use Pinterest to collect images that I find visually pleasing, keep track of ideas, and […]
More pattern talk
Like I’ve said before, I’m loving patterns right now. I made a few of them in the last couple weeks. After the Grey/Blue Shadow pattern I made a hex pattern. It was fairly simple and straightforward and also gave me an opportunity to try out Quicktime’s screen recording feature. The hex pattern is a simple […]
Late night pattern creation
I stayed up late one night to create a pattern. No reason. But I spent time on it so it’s now in my Society6 shop. I made the pattern in Illustrator. It’s been awhile since I’ve made one. But the Illustrator tools make it so easy to create a pattern. I don’t know what other […]
Soundtrack of Art
It’s difficult to create in absolute silence. I need some kind of noise while I work. That’s lead me to find some great podcasts to listen to. Some artists listen to music while they create. But I think music has too much going on. I also only tend to music while I’m in the car. […]
What’s behind you?
When I was in high school I made a lot of drawings of figures floating in space. So much so that someone mentioned I should go into fashion design. I don’t particularly want to design clothing. I just found it easier to draw a figure without worrying about pesky little things like perspective. But AP […]
Drawing with graphite
I used drawing pencils for my Little Red illustration. I wanted to get good value and shading. Drawing pencils give me the ability to do that. Tools: drawing pencils blending stump/tortillon kneaded rubber eraser & white plastic eraser Quick recap of process: thumbnails > reference photos > line drawing > value and color studies > […]
Spring (Summer?) cleaning
How often do you clean out your smartphone? I use my iPhone pretty frequently. But I tend to forgot that it’s a computer just like my laptop. It has memory and storage just like my MacBook Pro. It’s not something I really thought about. I recently read an article about how to clean up your […]
Little Red drawing
Here’s the finished drawing. I showed this to my family and they thought it was somewhat ominous (“Why is her head cut off?”). This illustration probably works better/makes more sense in color. In total (to this point in the process) it took about 13 hours. The process was: research/thumbnails > reference photos/composite > rough sketch/refine […]
Little Red Riding Hood
The Queen paintings have been put aside for now. I hit a wall of frustration. But I’ll definitely go back at some point. I’m working on two things right now. Two fowl portraits (of golden pheasants) and a Little Red Riding Hood illustration. The Little Red illustration is a modern interpretation with elements that reference […]
Fowl portraits
If you’ll remember (is anyone actually reading this?) I went through some of my old sketches a few months ago. One of the sketches was of two chickens golden pheasants. I developed a bit of a bird obsession while I was in college. Particularly the more colorful ones. The golden pheasant definitely fits that description. […]
Continued Queen II process
Here are the steps so far for the second Queen painting. It’s steadily coming along. I continued working on the face. Painting skin is really difficult. I definitely need more practice. I tried to follow the tones of the grisaille underpainting. But I feel like the acrylic was very flat. I had trouble mixing the […]
Queen II process
I’m trying to do something different with the next Queen painting by doing an underpainting for the skin. Again, I think acrylic’s drying time is a hurdle. I’m still working on figuring out a good process for painting skin. I toned the canvas board with yellow ochre prior to painting. This step looks kind of […]