Outside My Window

Smudged graphite is my favorite technique to indicate a black & white foggy morning.

graphite stick

black & white, outside my window

New Creative Products

Hello April, still pretty brown outside my window. Winter is the only time I sit long enough to stay focus on creating products.

A new format gives me the opportunity to stretch my imagination, in rethinking my illustration. Zazzle lets me see my designs in a number of gift & home products.

Inspire by Giverny

Let's take a trip to Giverny...dreaming up some creative products from my Paris sketches, this week.  Sketches & quick paintings are usually done en plein air. The creative process happens on the computer. Tools of technology has change the way I now work.

Delighting in the garden's grace & history. Souvenir from Giverny are turned into creative products for the garden lover!

Painting Summer Morning

Making the most of a summer morning. Dreamy pink fog does not last that long. Watercolor is a fast way to express the ethereal mist softening the morning light.

To define the greenery in the foreground, I use pastel pencil on top of the watercolor.

BEHIND THE SCENE: some oldies

Love to paint, but some days, it's hard to get going. Revisiting some oldies...

via Photoshop!

fine art with winter holiday elements

DAISY & APPLE INSPIRATION

Beauty in the simple... Let's see how far I get 

with these daisies & apple from the garden?

NEW DESIGN, THE PROCESS

This Japanese temple was painted from a trip to the Orient in the 70's.

Peacock pattern came from an illustration that I painted in  my college days.

Apple blossom branch was painted in the 90's

This little wren was on my deck this week

This new design spans 35 years of painting!

PRETTY SHADE OF PINK

Something as simple as a new shade of pink can get me inspire to sit down & meditate! 

From Easter bouquet to New Design

This started as just a sketch from my Easter Bouquet. I haven't painted a teddy bear lately. Just by adding this little bear, the sketch is turning into an illustration.

my easter bouquet

I pull some butterfly & hummingbird from my archive, just to add some movement. These sweet elements are pretty enough for a birthday greeting, get well, or just to say hello.

SKETCHING A HORSE WITH GRAPHITE

This started out as a quick sketch. Sometimes, a drawing can just suck me in. 

Tools of the trade: I start with a general shape of the horse; tissue to rub in the graphite; kneaded eraser takes out the white & just perfect for highlights.

Then it's back & forth with 8B graphite to define the features & shadows!

MY COTTAGE GARDEN COLLECTION

A little corner house on Main St was the inspiration for this Cottage Garden Collection.

Initial doodling & sketches...

With so many details, I can work up complimentary designs for use on multiple products.

circular format for coaster

a pretty card for any occasion

same arbor, with a different background

Every collection is a work-in-progress. I'm sure I would return to this theme, over the years!

Botanical Inspiration on a grey Monday

I love botanical for its own sake. This little white Ranunculus from last week is the inspiration for a little brainstorming on the computer this Monday.

Different elements are layer onto the little painting to create a new design. These 2  butterflies are on separate layers. As seperate layers, I'm able to freely play with the arrangement & position of them in my composition... till I found a combination that works.

working up some hand lettering

Some mornings, I can work up an entire new collection. Other mornings, I can't make anything happen on the computer.

Horse Sanctuary

My training in illustration gives me the skill to paint anything in a realistic way, in the comfort of my studio.

I also enjoy my detours into artistic investigation with landscapes. With each canvas, one sought to capture one glorious inspirational moment.

en plein air from my garden

My horse reference came from my visits to ROSEMARY FARM, a local horse sanctuary that's in my backyard.

The best part of photoshop is that I can combine my fine art onto my illustrations. I can create as many new designs as I want from a few vignettes. Click HERE, to see more equestrian designs from one painted horse.