...and in COLOR!

Check me out! Just one day later and i'm posting the colored work from yesterday!

By Popular Demand!

I've had so much positive feedback on my original Barefooted Hippie pencil drawing, that I decided to re-create it as an ink drawing. It will be available in my etsy shop TOMORROW as part of the You-Color-It Collection. (It's late now and i'm sleepy and cross-eyed from all that detail work!)
I will also be adding color and offering the bright and fancy version as well. Happy bare-footing! Summer is so close I can taste it!

Imaginary Purse

I got a new purse. I love it. The shape is perfect.....but I wish the fabric were different.

So of course I started sketching away to concoct the bag the way it lives in my head. Crazy to daydream about a purse? Probably. But I prefer to think I'm daydreaming about drawing and inspiration and pretty design. That sounds much more respectable.

You can't buy this purse, but, if you want, you can buy the art print here.

Can You Believe it Sometimes Starts Like This?

I'm making some mixed media collage and ephemera pieces on wood boards. They'll have sketched kids over the collage and chalkboard word bubbles to capture the ever-changing funny musings of hysterical toddlers. The above thumbnail sketches are the starting point. Sometimes I look at sketches like these and think, "God, how does anything resembling art come out of the same hands that clumsily drew this?"
But here's the thing, I have always found that my roughest, thrown together, 20 second sketches always result in the best finished pieces. I think it's because when I force myself to sketch quickly, without a chance for second-guessing and such, the layout isn't labored and it's very organic. I posted this because I thought it would be interesting for ya'll to see the crazy transformation from glimmer in my eye, to finished piece.

I'm Needy

Yep. Needy.

I need some more feedback on the condensed version of the new logo which would be used on Twitter and Facebook and Etsy and blah, blah, blah. I'm torn between leaving the background white or staying with the vibrant color. Opinions?

Is it ME?

I have been working on a new logo for myself. It is the precursor to a new website which will be a better, more organized and more up to date gallery of my work. In the past, I've always thrown my name on the page in a nice font or something and not given a tremendous amount of thought to it. I am appalled now that this was the case. What's that they say about the cobbler having no shoes? I should have bee working to create my brand from the beginning. I should have been acutely aware that the way my logo looks is a glimpse of what my work will be and what my personality is like and should convey the overall feel of my aesthetic. I cannot believe I didn't draw it by hand before. I am an illustrator for goodness sake!
So, I mentally squooshed together all my drawings and colors preferences and personal taste, fed 'em into the playdough fun-factory that is my brain, and this is what came out on the other side.

But I'm not objective.

Do all of you who know me think this is me? Does it communicate my crazy, intricate style and still maintain enough simplicity for a logo?? I welcome feedback. I might take it to heart, I might stick to my gut. But communicating through images is always my goal, so I'm still interested to hear what this says to you. THANKS!

oooooohhhh - TOP SECRET projects

I have no graphic to post today, but not because I haven't been working on some fun projects! I have been drawing up some customized baby thank-yous! No fair me posting the work before all the generous gift-givers receive their notes!! I will post it next week, and tomorrow I'll be sure to post some full-color love.

Pour Me a Bit of Yellow?

Sometimes it's nice to just start drawing, have no clue "what" you're drawing, or have any concept of the completed piece in your head. The shapes take form on the paper as you go, the color scheme sorta choose itself once you begin to shade things in. In short, this piece was an experiment from start to finish, completely organic and, I suppose, somehow telling of what state of mind i was in when drawing it. Hmmmm......can a person be in a drippy, yellow, flowery, deflated balloon kind of mood?? My mood WAS somewhat deflated in the moment, but maybe the selection of the bright, happy colors and flowers shows my real, optimistic self peeking through? Sounds nice. I'll stick with that.

Hairdo Series - Entry 1

This piece is about 25" wide and it took forever!! I also made the mistake of beginning it on a porous and textured paper which i had to fight every step of the way to achieve the smooth lines. Ah well, live and learn. At any rate, it feels good to be finished. Wait til ya'll see entry 3!

Hairdo Series - Entry 2

I finished this piece tonight. It's the 2nd in a 5-piece series showing various angles of heads and hair which i've stylized in my signature fashion. (Piece 1 is very large and still unfinished! - it's coming, i swear!) I plan to reproduce the piece above in B&W and add multi-color as well. In fact, i was thinking of offering it in my etsy shop as a B&W "color your own" piece too, perhaps the entire series could be offered this way to customize to suit your taste or decor. Then you could have your own original artwork made by YOU with, you know, just a bit of help from me! Anyone have any thoughts on this idea? Tell me what you think.

The thing about swirly hair is...

Partial progress on number 2 in a small series I'm doing with hair as the theme. I'm using different head angles and hairstyles as a means to incorporate my line art. Volume, fine detail, directionality and balance of line weight are my focus. I'm also working on a variety of new patterns and motifs. Stay tuned