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!

MANY FACES OF WINTER

The many faces of winter offer grand opportunity to play with color temperature & purity. The snow is a mirror for the subtle atmospheres that surrounds it, from pure warm and cool colors of a bright sunny day to the subtlety of a snowstorm.

MARCH FULL MOON OVER MEADOW

March's full moon is commonly known as the worm moon because it's the time of the year when warmer temp thaw the ground & ground worms reemerge bringing migrating birds back to feed on them. By March, I'm usually dreaming of warmer places. But to see a full moon over snow cover meadow is still magical!

SNOWY GARDEN BENCH SKETCH

A tranquil little scene after a snowfall.

I like to start my drawing on tone paper, so I can use the sepia tone as my middle value.

After a simple outline of the bench, I draw & shape the bench with a kneaded eraser. I use 8B graphite to work in the darker values. Touches of white oil paint to indicate the snow.

Beauty in a little drawing, sometimes, it's that simple. "The world is full of magic" WB Yeats

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.