And The Catalogs Begin To Arrive

Now is the time of year when seed catalogs begin to grace my mailbox in droves. While today is rather dreary and a bit cold, thumbing through the pages makes it all seem to disappear. I love gardening, I love flowers and I love dirt. I also love growing my own fruit and veggies even if the amount of space I have is small.

Veggie Lover Print

I was insprired to make some vegetables recently, well I made a carrot for an Easter design and it sort of fell along that way. These veggies took all day to make in Illustrator because I was drawing them with a mouse, not an easy task but someday I hope to get a Wiacom tablet.

I started with basic shapes and added frilly brushes and my own patterns to them. Although it took a very long time to draw these I am considering a fruit line and a floral line too (the head of lettuce sort of looks like a peony) I have begun to post them on Zazzle for you to enjoy.

Lettuce Tie

Corny Cookout Invitation

Radish Grocery Bag

On another note I want to thank all of my customers and fans that follow me. You are most appreciated and I treasure every kind word that is given. You all make what I love to do worth doing.

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Today I Thought I Would Have Some Fun

Today I thought I would ask some friends for inspiration. I sent a message out asking for a color and a basic shape, the first one that responded would get the honors (though until now they did not know what that honor would be)

The first response I received was the color yellow and the shape was square. It came from Shannon Justice of Lollipop Labs Studios, a very talented artist in her own right.

So square it was and yellow, well let's just say it was a bit of a challenge. Although yellow is one of my favorite colors it is very hard to not make it glaringly bright. I started out by playing with a few yellow colors, some on the green side some a bit toward orange with nothing quite doing it. I opened Illustrator up and began drawing squares and that didn't work either so I cheated a little and used the rounded rectangle shape to make a pattern in Illustrator. Back to Photoshop. When all else fails start playing with filters, adjustments and distortions.

I began with a slight noise filter to break up some of the solid color and then applied a cubism effect which turned the noise into a random pattern of squares. I brought the rounded rectangles into Photoshop placing them on top of the yellow background. Still it wasn't right so I thought I would select the rectangles and cut the shape out of the yellow background. I thought some white was needed to break things up and added a white stroke. After playing around with it for a few hours I am happy with it and I began to post it on Zazzle.

Now you might ask what honor did Shannon receive for this little game of mine? Well the design is named after her of course.

Shannon 1" Binder

Cordelia

Cordelia Invitation

This is my latest design for Pen And Ink called Cordelia. It is funny how things can sometimes spark an idea really. Every morning I happen to watch reruns of the tv show Angel. Now I can practically recite the whole series but I just never seem to get tired of it. Recently I took notice of a particular shirt that one of the characters named Cordelia was wearing. It was a bright orange color with giant circles down the front and back. While I personally could never pull off a look like that it really worked for her and it stuck in my mind. Now fast forward a few weeks and something jarred me to actually get that design out of my head and on to paper, well virtual paper anyway and thus Cordelia was born.

I have set this line up with the ability to change the background color to anything you would like. I personally like the orange but I realize orange can be an aquired taste. Cordelia looks great with a light pink background or a darker colored orange. You also have the ability to change the text colors with ease. It certainly will grab the attention to anyone carrying one of your business cards, of course there are other coordinating products to go along with them.

Cordelia Chubby Business Card

Cordelia Tie

Cordelia 1" Binder

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It Has Been A While

Well it seems I have been absent here for a while. Time really flies when you are in the midst of chaos, even if the chaos is a good thing. There are some bright things ahead for me but I will share them another time. Like half the world I am trying to get things done before the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I have a choice, t.v. or the internet but not both, such are the choices you have to make when you own an old house. I have to choose between an air conditioner or a vacuum in the summertime (guess which one wins) or else I am trudging down the dark, dank basement to flip unmarked fuses. Again I am rambling which happens when my mind is trying to remember too many things.

Recently the North East was pummeled with a ton of snow and while I do not mind the winter or the snow I laughed at my friends complain away and long for the Springtime. That got me to designing some things for Ostara and Easter. I posted the first thing tonight, there are a few more in line for tomorrow.

Gingham Carrot Card

Gingham Carrots is the first in an Easter series and maybe even a new vegetable series too now that I am thinking of it. This design took a few minutes in Illustrator. The gingham I already had made and the carrot was as simple circle stretched out and leaves added via the spiral and arc tool.

Be sure to look for the Easter Bunny and Chick coming soon. It is a carry over from my Always Remember Me shop on Zazzle but it is getting a fresh new look.

Sorry to cut this short, Opening Ceremonies are about to start. Have a wonderful weekend all!!!

Gingham Carrot Veggie Lover T-Shirt

Gingham Carrot Mug

Gingham Carrot Bag

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Hearts For Haiti

Hearts For Haiti

an artist's project

Everyone is aware of the devastation that has occurred in Haiti this past week. We have all seen the images and many of us have felt helpless. Recently a bunch of artists headed up by Jamie of Jamie Creates decided to put their talents to use for a good cause.

Hearts 4 Haiti is a Zazzle store that features donated designs by various artists. All of the designer's fees will be donated to the Hope For Haiti relief efforts. I am proud to join my fellow artists with a design that I have donated.

My Design: Give A Little, Gain A Lot

Haiti Relief Valentine Stickers by Hearts4Haiti

If you are an artist and would like to make a contribution to the store please visit the Hearts For Haiti Facebook group for instructions.

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Wow, What A Week!

Well it has been quite a week for me on Zazzle and I have been blown away by the success of my relatively new store Pen And Ink. Zazzle has chosen it to be a featured store last week and has awarded me two Today's Best Awards and I am honored.

It is funny sometimes where inspiration comes from. All last week I have noticed people putting old retro photos of themselves on Facebook. It started me thinking a bit of my childhood and the summers my family and I would spend down the shore. Most of my childhood was spent in Wildwood, New Jersey at a place called The Siesta Motel. It is funny how some things can fly you back in time and for me it was the colors of this motel. It was a throwback from the fifties even if it was the early seventies at the time and it was all done up in black, white and baby pink. I remember it as if it were just a few moments ago and I remember it clearly. After time they remodeled the place and it was painted in the neutral colors of brown and cream, not nearly as special as it once was. Sadly the hotel has been knocked down to make condos but it will forever live in my memory.

Siesta Motel 1" Binder TBA winner and Most Viewed 1/15/10

Siesta Motel Recipe Letterhead TBA winner

Siesta Motel Business Card

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Gifts For Gardeners

I admit, I haven't been updating here as much as I should but in my defense I have been a bit busy trying to tie up loose ends in my stores. That includes adding to existing designs like my Spring Tulips.

Spring Tulips Garden Journal

The one thing I have always wanted to see Zazzle carry is journals (and address labels but that is a different story) Anyway I decided to take the already existing calendars and make one myself.

I love gardening, I love flowers and all the things they attract. I like mud and the smell of dirt too and I don't mind worms and bugs. I have a very large shoebox filled with little envelopes of seeds, old favorites and new ones on the market. I will try it all although not to full success but where is the fun in that? I am not by any means an expert gardener either, I just love to sit in my backyard on the hammock my dad once sat in and stare at the blooms gently swaying in the wind. I could do that for hours.

Above is a garden journal that I had designed for myself. There is plenty of room for notes, different seeds and plant types and in the back is a few pages set aside for recipes. I have already started filling mine up with my favorite plants that are just waiting for spring thaw. I think if you are a gardener, you just might like it. Zazzle was even kind enough to award it with a Today's Best Award.

I added some more products to the Spring Tulips line. I had made this background for a design from my Pen And Ink store. I thought it would go perfectly with the tulips. You will find binders and letterheads that can also be used for gardening and a whole array of matching products too.

Spring Tulips Garden Binder

Spring Tulips Letterhead

Spring Tulips Bag

Next thing to tackle is a very outdated website, oh where to begin with that...


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It's Party Time!

Ahhhh, the holidays have come and gone and I can come out from hiding. While I was ducking behind the couch I was playing with some color. Anyone in the Northeast right now can tell you it is cold and today the wind is raging to the point of almost being frightening. To keep the thoughts off of the rather large tree in my backyard I decided to add to my Celebrate section as it is not very full by any means. I can say I had quite a bit of fun doing this design and it didn't take me very long in Illustrator but did take quite a while in Zazzle.

Party Hats Photo Card

First off I wanted to take advantage of the great photocards Zazzle now offers. I set this one up in both horizontal and vertical with thoughts of using them as announcements or thank you cards for after the party. It is easy to personalize, just upload your photo and type in the name and it is ready to go.

I added a whole line of party supplies, things for the birthday boy or girl and some things for the professional party planner too.

Party Hats Card

I'm The Birthday Boy Party Hats Shirt

Party Hats Invitation

On another note though I had planned another tutorial for everyone as I was working on an illustration for the Owl and the Pussycat. Well as I was drawing and inking the design I realized that I had mixed up two nursery rhymes in my head and there is a moon jumping cow where she is not supposed to be. Make sure you look for the NEW version soon, as for me I am going to call it an early day of designing.


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BIG After Christmas Sale

Zazzle has a great sale running today, up to 75% off!!!

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10% OFF Mugs
20% OFF Tote Bags
20% OFF Aprons
40% OFF Prints
50% OFF Ties
25% OFF Mousepads
75% OFF Cards, Photo Cards, Invitations
30% OFF Embroidery
25% OFF Business Cards


Use this promo code to get these great savings:
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Alice In Wonderland

Alice Playing Card - Card

I don't know many people that have not been inspired by Alice In Wonderland, there are many movies, games, tv mini series and artwork out there all depicting Alice and her menagerie of characters that travel through Wonderland with her. While watching SyFy channels Alice series I was inspired too, well, sort of.

I have always wanted to design a set of playing cards featuring different fairy tales or animals and I guess the thought hit me the other night. Now most of what has been out there lately has been very dark and goth looking, American McGee's version comes to mind. Now don't get me wrong, I love those versions immensely but since I have been endlessly painting in red, green and white for the holidays I wanted to use color. My mind also tends to live on the dark side of things so that is another reason I shy away from creating darker artwork.

Although people are not a strong point for me to draw or paint I attempted and Alice and Queen of Hearts card. I am not sure why people are so hard for me to depict, perhaps it is because I never really learned or maybe it is just not one of my favorite things to do. I tried to give it an old fashioned card feel, an expressionless face staring off in the distance and I think I achieved that.

I started out making a short list of things that stuck out for me in the story and then cut it down to a few subjects. I lightly sketched the outside of the card with those objects trying to keep Wonderland and Alice's world separate to an extent. I always loved Dinah so I made sure she was in there. The flamingos are a favorite too and of course the Cheshire Cats grin. I tried to fit the Mad Hatter in there but the only thing that made it into the final design was his hat. Add the White Rabbit and his pocket watch, a dancing tea set, and of course the looking glass and I had my outside design.

The harder part was getting Alice and the Queen to align. I drew a grid and that helped but I was having such difficulty with Alice's dress lining up with the Queen's cape so I had no choice but to give Alice a cape too. I thought about making the Queen older but it sort of looked out of place so I made her about Alice's age and I think it worked ok.

This is my first attempt at trying something like this. I would like to do more fairy tales, perhaps I think I might attempt a Mad Hatter/Cheshire Cat card next...hmmm....

Alice Playing Card Tie

Alice Playing Card Bag

Alice Playing Card Letterhead

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For Pet Lovers

Today I would like to share a charming store with you Miss Myrtie's™ Funny Pet Postcards, Cards & Gifts

Whenever I need a giggle I check in to see what Myrtie and her friends are up to. This delightful store stars Myrtie, a doe-eyed labrador, Bubba and Moses and all of their friends dressed up in cute costumes and ready to make you smile.

Veterinarian's Poster by myrtieshuman

What a wonderful gift this would make for a vet, a doctor or nurse. It is also available on several different items like a tote and mousepad. Checkup reminders and business cards are available too.

MEOWry Christmas! by myrtieshuman

Meowry Christmas to you. I am sorry, perhaps it is just the silly in me that just loves animals in costumes (even though I do not dare to dress mine for fear of being shredded) All the Christmas cards and gifts in Myrtie's store are precious and the look on the cat's face is priceless

Get Well Soon! by myrtieshuman

This is my favorite. Cindy's (the human that helps Myrtie) imagination is way out there and I am glad it is. Who would have ever thought of this? I know it would cheer me up if I were sick.

Open your heart by myrtieshuman

I think perhaps the most important thing about Cindy's and Myrtie's store is the underlying message. Many of their products call attention to adopting animals and 30% of the profits go to ChildFund for clean water.

Take some time out and visit Myrtie, Bubba, Moses, Cindy and friends and put a smile on your face too.



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The Twelve Days Of Christmas Coupon Codes at Zazzle

The Twelve Days Of Christmas
Coupon Codes at Zazzle

Check out the link above everyday for great deals on Zazzle

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How to Illustration

I thought perhaps you would like to see one of my illustrations broken down from concept to completion so I chose the newest one I just finished this morning. It is called Sleigh Ride and it came about because I was thinking of my two favorite comic strips, Peanuts and Calvin And Hobbes and remembering two seperate moments in time, one with my family and one with someone who is still very dear to me.

(I would like to appologize about the quality of the photos, My camera battery was dead and I used my cell phone)

While talking to a friend I began to doodle on a scrap piece of paper in ink. Originally I had them on a sleigh, flat along the ground but I was thinking of Calvin's wonderfully imaginatve situations he would put his snow people in (sans decapitated heads) and I began to draw two snowmen hanging on for dear life while riding down a snowy hill. The third one came about as I glanced at a photo of my family. In it was my sister, my mother, my father and me on Splash Mountain in Disney World (it happens to be the last photo we all took together before my parents passed away) My sister and mother had their eyes squeezed shut in slight terror while my dad and I had the biggest grins on our faces. So in went the snowman, arms up, having the time of his life. It needed a little bit more though and as a kid I always laughed when Snoopy took Linus' blanket away and he would go flying in the air or when Charlie Brown would kick the football and miss (though I never found that funny and Lucy has never been a favorite of mine) So in went this poor little fellow that had the unlucky spot of the back of the sleigh, hats flying and everything.

Next step was to lightly sketch it on watercolor paper and ink in the lines with a Sakura pen

Now came in laying down the blue. I chose Cerulean Blue as it has a bit of green to it and makes a perfect shadow color. One of the most frequent mistakes people make is using black for shadows. If you look at snow or most things in general they cast a shadow and sort of reflect the sky and sometimes perhaps the trees. I am not saying that shadows can never be black however it really depends on what is around your subjects




Next step was to start laying down color, What I like to do on occasion is to draw in the shadow areas and bleed them out. This works well for illustrations and I do not always paint this way.




After that I went in and began bleeding the paint with a light wash of color.

I then added detail and here you have the final illustration. I hope it makes you smile, there are quite a bit of memories in here, maybe you can see some of your own as well. Oh and to my friend, now you know what I am doing when I am talking to you then suddenly go silent for a moment, I am sketching away with tongue slightly hanging out the side of my mouth.


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