Decorating the Evergreen Tree

Baby Bear needed some help from Papa Bear to put the angel on the tree!

 This year, we got a cute little fat tree, so I didn't end up needing papa bear's
help to put the angel on top this time. 

Happy Holidays!

Knittin' Kitten

Here's a painting of Mama Kitty knitting some clothing for her lil' babes.

When I worked on this painting, I was looking primarily at the work of illustrators Alice and Martin Provensen, as well as Roger Duvoisin. I'm so inspired by their use of shape and color, and wanted to make something with their techniques in mind. 

I'm so used to working in watercolor now that it was actually very difficult to work in acrylic; 

acrylic dries so much darker than when it's wet, while watercolor always dries so much 

lighter than you expect it to. I also really wanted to force myself not to use any outlines, which 

added an extra challenge. I really enjoyed getting to experiment, though, and I'm really happy with the results. I learned a lot from this work, especially about creating distinction 

between shapes without relying on line. 

And don't worry, the little bare kitten's scarf is almost done!

Aprons, Doughnuts, Eggplants

This semester is suddenly wrapping up, and I can't believe it's over. It seems like it was just a couple weeks ago when I finished up my little Baker Bear piece! For one of my final projects, I was to create a series of 4 works with a theme, so I decided to go back to Mrs. Baker Bear and continue working on the alphabet. I'm up to E now, and I'm really excited about where this series is heading.

 Here are all of my letters so far, all lined up together :)

 A is for Alpaca in an Apron

 C is for Crane Crocheting

 D is for Dachshund Drawing a Doughnut

And E is for Elephant Eating an Entire Eggplant!

Now... to think about what I'll do for the next 21 letters of the alphabet! :)

Rainy Day Chicken Outfit

 This week, I needed to design something that could be a potential product. I really wanted to 

make something that would be for children, and I really couldn't help but 

involve chickens in this project somehow. 

I decided to make a chicken raincoat/boot/umbrella set for children.

 Here's the turnaround sheet and the prototype for the raincoat.

And here's my little model in her chicken raincoat. 

I enjoyed this project a lot, and it's made me so excited for the Surface Design and Illustrated Product classes I'll be taking next semester!

Play

Tonight I had to revamp my sketchbook cover.

It's very easy for me, and I'm sure for others, to get caught up in trying to make everything perfect, or worrying that nothing I'm doing feels like it's working. I think a lot of this mentality arises as we grow up - children aren't hindered by these kinds of fears when they create art. They simply play.

Perfection does not matter, there aren't worries of not being good enough.

One of the most important things in art, and in life, is to relax and enjoy the journey. Art isn't about perfection and fear. It's expression and love. I've been told quite a few times lately that you simply need to do what you love, and then the rest will come naturally. Play. Explore. And most importantly, have fun! I'm hoping that my sketchbook cover can now serve as a frequent reminder of these things :)

Is it bedtime yet?

Sleepy lil' chipmunk.

 

 A little too fluffy...

Just right.
:)

Les Trois Ours

A quick color comp for Goldilocks and the Three Bears. :)

How do you do, Mr. Pigeon?

Some doodles of some birds, my notes from history class. 

 

 I wonder what kinds of conversations they'd be having. 

"How do you do Mr. Pigeon?" 

"I'm well, Mr. Duck, thank you for asking." 

"I saw you and your wife by the park bench the other day but didn't have the time to stop 

and say hello - I was in a big rush to get to a park council meeting." 

"Oh, that's alright Mr. Duck, don't fret. I hope you had an enjoyable meeting."

"Yes, it was quite productive. Have a good day, Mr. Pigeon. Tell your wife I said hello."

"You as well, Mr. Duck. Good bye for now."

B is for...

I've been feeling very inspired by vintage children's flash cards lately, and wanted to create something with them in mind. I really enjoyed making this and am definitely considering making a whole alphabet like it, so we will see what happens.

Baker bear made blueberry muffins! Yum yum yum.

:)

Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo!

Wow, it has been WAY too long since I've posted. Between the start of a new school year, finishing up the Tarot Card Project with the Illustration Club, and preparing all of my stuff for the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo (MICE) this past weekend, I barely had the time to breathe. BUT, it's all done now, and it was all worth it! 

I was so lucky to be chosen to participate in MICE this year. It's a wonderful annual convention for independent comic artists and other working illustrators to display and sell their work, and it's hosted by my university. It took a long time and a lot of work to prepare for, but in the end it turned out to be an amazing experience, and I'm so glad to have done it. 

This year for MICE, I prepared prints, cards, and my main attraction which was a little wordless comic about a pie baking bird. I love how the book turned out, and I was so filled with joy to see people pick it up and smile or laugh when they "read" it. 

My little birdie comic - I hand bound each one, which was pretty time consuming, but it gave them a really handmade and sweet feel which made it worth the time.

There was a lot of prep time for my display, but I loved creating a rustic looking set up and really felt like it reflected my personality in the end.

A mock set up of my display on my desk at home.

And finally, after all the prepping and hard work, I got to have an amazing weekend with my good friends from the Illustration Club and all of the people who came out to attend MICE. I loved hearing feedback from strangers and seeing the smiles on their faces when they found something they loved. It was an incredibly rewarding experience, and I already can't wait for next year!

Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge

Yesterday I visited an amazing place in Delaware called Bombay Hook. It's a wildlife refuge with an abundance of untouched space where tons of animals can live away from the dangers that humans all too often introduce to natural environments.

My main objective at Bombay Hook was to take some photos of their beautiful birds, many of which are egrets and herons. Because I love painting these types of birds so much, I thought it would be really great to get some reference photos of my own. It's so important to actually observe an animal's movements when you're planning to draw it.

 One of the more common birds at the refuge around this time of year are the egrets. This is a Great Egret, which is typically about 3 feet tall. It was fantastic to see all of the ways that their necks bend, and how long their necks really are when they're fully outstretched! 

I sometimes wonder if I exaggerate the length and slenderness of egrets' necks when I draw them, but their necks really are extremely long and slender! Look how thin their heads are - you can barely even see his when he's looking straight at you!

Taking off - these are the types of photos that can be so informative. Knowing the ways the body bends when it moves in specific ways is so important when drawing.

When this photo was taken, I was particularly excited. In this picture there is a congregation of birds which I had never seen in the wild - can you see them? They blend in pretty well.

The birds in the previous picture are Glossy Ibises. I hadn't ever seen them outside of photos, and they've been one of my favorite birds for a long time now. I was so excited to learn that they like to feed and spend time in large groups, and also to see that they're much smaller than I realized. They're only about 2 feet tall!

I saw quite a few Great Blue Herons. This one was particularly close, and was extremely well camouflaged before he stepped out from behinds the reeds. These birds are typically around 4 feet tall and have wingspans of about 6 feet!

This is another bird I'd never seen in the wild. It's an American Bittern, a small, stout species of heron. It is about 2 feet tall. 

And finally, the best picture I was able to take yesterday - another Great Egret.

I also saw a few Snowy Egrets, which are absolutely beautiful and adorable, a lot of Cormorants, and a Snow Goose. It was such a wonderful day!

Wonderland

Today I worked on some sketches inspired by Alice in Wonderland. I love sketching these characters because I feel like I can make them really quirky and fun and weird and it's great.

Cheshire Puss

Today I worked on a painting for a fellow Alice-in-Wonderland-lover's graduation gift. The Cheshire Cat is one of my favorite characters ever, and I loved painting a new version of him that I'd never tried before. It's so great to be immersed in a painting and realize how much fun you're having! You may notice that I was inspired by the cat I drew from my previous post ;)

A detail shot :)

I can't wait to give it to her!

Wee Critters

Some sketches from today - kitty, elephant, and koala.

I love drawing little bitty critters! It's so fun to imagine the adventures they'd go on. Perhaps someday they'll become characters in my books :)

Takin' Care of Business

I got my new business cards in the mail today! I'm really, really excited - it feels like a fresh start in a way. I'm happy with how they turned out and I can't wait to give them out to tons of people and force them to look at my website, muahahaha...

:)

Organization

Last night I decided to finally tackle organizing my embroidery floss. I haven't been able to find a good way to sort it all, and so far I've been keeping it all in a big ziplock bag which has resulted in a lot of this:

But now I think I have it organized pretty well! Hopefully this arrangement works out better for me. Good organization can really make your life a lot easier. Here's what it looks like now:

The only problem is, now I want more thread to fill up the box!

Page of Cups

My school's Illustration Club has been working on a very big project for about a year now. We are creating an entire deck of 78 Tarot Cards with art by over 60 different students and faculty. I have had the honor of helping to lead this project, and we're getting closer and closer to its completion. I finished my 3rd and very last card today - Page of Cups.

The traditional Page of Cups card shows a man holding a cup with a fish coming out of it. One of the big focuses of our Tarot Card Project was to have every artist create her/his own interpretation of  her/his assigned card. It was pretty open ended, as long as the interpretation of the card still related to the traditional card. I chose to change the man to a bear. The story in my card is that the bear was sitting down to have a drink when suddenly a mysterious fish appeared in his cup, and now the bear can't decide whether he should eat the fish or if he should keep it as a friend. I think he'll choose to keep it as a friend :)

I always make quite a big mess when I paint/collage. It's always interesting to see such a mess transformed into an illustration.

I can't wait to see the project completely finished!

Mister Oryx Approved

In my last post, I promised I'd show you the oryx painting when I finished it, so VOILA, here it is, all finished!

Mister Oryx giving his stamp of approval.

:)

W-Oryx in Progress

Alright, that punny title doesn't really work out, but basically today I worked on starting a new watercolor painting of an East African Oryx, which is a large, long horned species of antelope. Here are some work in progress pictures - I'm not done yet, so I'll post the finished painting when I am :)

 Some sketches, trying to determine the pose I want to draw him in.

My plastic oryx helped me draw on the watercolor paper.

The painting in a very, very early stage. From here, I'll start developing lots of layers and incorporate more color and contrast.

I'm just as curious to see how it will turn out as you are!

Momma Bear

Momma Bear baked cupcakes today :)

Playing

Today I've been playing around with sketching cardinals and violins. Though they seem pretty unrelated, they are both part of a special project I've been working on. 

The one on the left is a female cardinal, and the one on the right is the male.

Here's a close up of the violins. My favorite is the bottom right one :) I used different types of paper and fabric to make these.

I also spent quite a lot of time mixing up different types of greens. It may look tedious and boring, but I really love discovering new colors. There are so many types of greens, and this barely makes a dent in it. When I want to paint foliage, I can look at these colors, pick one, and mix it right up - it makes things a lot easier down the road!

It's always fun to play :)

Spoonbill Sighting

One of my most favorite things to do is research animals. I particularly love researching birds. There's something about them that is so intriguing to me - maybe it's their grace, or maybe it's the way that they are so delicate, yet so strong. 

Yesterday I spent some time with a Roseate Spoonbill. Unfortunately, I didn't get to spend time with an actual Spoonbill, but I did look at a lot of pictures and do some research, which led to a watercolor painting.

Here's a work-in-progress picture. I love their beautiful pink plumage! They're kind of silly looking birds, but there's something very lovely about them.

Spoonbills are part of the Ciconiiformes (pronounced sick-uh-nee-uh-form-eez) order, which includes other wading birds like herons, ibises, and egrets. All of these birds have really long legs and really long necks, because they walk around in the water all day. This particular Spoonbill's scientific name is "Ajaja Ajaja" which I think is even goofier than its spoon shaped beak!

Here's the finished painting. It was a very enjoyable afternoon of painting :)

Sew Much to Sew

I've been accumulating quite the stash of fabric over the last few days/weeks/months. I'm a tote and messenger bag sewing fool, and I think I might have a tiny bit of an addiction.

 

So many bags to sew, so little time. :)

If you'd like one of your own, visit my Etsy shop!

Surprise Garden

About a month ago, I bought a pack of seeds called "Surprise Garden". It's supposed to be for children, but I'm preeeetty excited about it. I planted the seeds about 3 weeks ago, and lots of neat little plants have come up!

 

Most of those really tall ones are zinnias :)

A couple of the dwarf zinnias already have small blossoms forming!

This one is nasturtium. It'll have really pretty orange or yellow flowers when it blooms! 

I love going outside to see new seedlings coming up. I can't wait until later in the summer when they start blooming!