Happy Holidays!

From our family to yours:

For the love of clothes

I love people. I love talking to them, working with them, getting to know them, so custom orders are a lot of fun for me. I am hoping to do a few posts that highlight some of them

I really enjoyed working on this one.

Two friends ordered it for a third that works as a consultant (or Trunk Keeper as they are called) for Matilda Jane Clothing. They sent me photos of the outfits their friend likes most and left up to me what to do with that. I also did my own research and the outfits are too cute for words. You can bet that my girls will be getting some for the holidays :). I decided to put the clothes on the clothes line and added the girl's name and the company to the top. My customers were a joy to work with and promised to let me know their friend's reaction. I hope she likes her gift :)

Travel mugs galore

I've been on a Travel Mugs kick lately. They are just so fun to paint! The surface is uniform and the matte finish lets the paint go down almost as if on paper. They are also pretty eye catching and what girl doesn't like a complement? I started out with a could cheaper ones from Target, but the problem is that they are not insulated and do get very hot without a sleeve. And if I put on the sleeve, I cover up the art work. So I moved on to the original double-walled "Not a Paper Cup" mug and it's so worth the price! They are solid to hold and really keep my coffee hot without burning my hands in the process. If you are going to try this yourself, definitely make the investment. Here are a few examples of the ones I've done so far:

And this one is my favorite so far. The base is chalkboard so you can have a little fun with it and add your own spin to the picture :)

Halloween is almost here!

I love Halloween, not for the creepy skeletons and creepy movies on TV but because it has a lot of special events surrounding it. My husband and I met at a Halloween party. His birthday is October 30th and my mom's on the 25th, and of course you can't beat Halloween's colors. Orange and black - you just can't go wrong!

I will admit I have never carved a pumpkin. Me and sharp object generally just don't mix but this year I did make a couple of contributions to our pumpkin patch:

And of course, what's Halloween without spiders. Here are a few that have taken residence around here:

I hope your Halloween are coming along nicely! Cheers :)

Ducks and butterflies

I am still going strong with my pottery painting kick and somewhat surprisingly finding a measure of success with it.

I had a lot of fun this week combining illustration and pottery design for a very sweet custom order. The husband ordered this pair of matching mugs for his wife of 20 years. The direction I got is that he should be the duck and she the butterfly and they should show a connection to each other.

Here is what I came up with. What do you think?

Of stars, spiders and ladybugs

Here are a few of my creations that are not too complicated but I like them non the less. The stars cup especially is easy to make yourself you are so inclined, or you can get the one I made :)

Acorns

Panda and bellerina duet

This was a commissioned piece that left for itd new home last week.

New Addiction - Hand Painted Pottery

I have to admit I've been seriously cheating on illustration. A few weeks ago I discovered painting on pottery and glass and I am absolutely hooked. I've been spending 90% of my art time trying out new techniques and designs. I want to update the blog with a few designs and will spread them out over several posts. I hope you like them.

IF - Surprise... oops I meant Secret

Ellie was surprised to find such a willing dance partner in Mr. Fluffington.

This topic gave me the push to try this old sketch out in watercolor. It looks better than it did in its digital incarnation but I am still not 100% happy with it.

Edited to add - I just got some time to look through the other IF entries and realized that the topic this week is not "surprise" but "secret." Oops...  Maybe Ellie and her cat are sharing a secret before their performance?

IF - Hurry!

Hurry Little Elephant or Miss Butterfly is going to be late for her party!

IF - Faded

 

When she saw the cupcake tray, her resolve to forgo desert faded into nothing.

Only time for a quick sketch this week, drawn ironically while I waited for my husband to come out of oral surgery.

Something Different

I've been experimenting a bit just for fun :)

I actually sold this one which was a first for me :)

This one was for my daughter's room:

Illustration Friday - Kernel

This chipmunk might have gotten the nut but he will have to work hard to get at the kernel.

A fun topic for Illustration Friday this week :)

Jumping in puddles

I used to love doing this as a kid :) So many puddles and not a parent in sight :)

First Snow

A bit out of season but I live in California so it doesn't really matter :)

Happy Birthday, little brother :)

Happy 24th birthday to my baby brother :)