Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Holiday Flair!!

 



Holiday Flair, my Christmas class will open for registration on Monday, November 2nd.

Patreon folks look for your special registration link for $20 off that posted today.

Saturday, October 24, 2020

monchichhi, toy box, bee, mr. Maurice

 I've been playing with my journal lately and doing some kid-like drawings all sprinkled in with doodles of things I love and that inspire me. 


Remember Monchicchi?


Also I am having a big SALE on all originals in my Big Cartel shop. (prices already marked down)



Tuesday, October 20, 2020

hopscotch happy

            


Hopscotch happy is a painting I created with my new Art Foamie Stamps. I love how you can change up the hair and add bodies. They are so easy to adapt and so versatile! The hopscotch is another stamp I designed taking us back to simpler times. I hope you are hopscotch happy today.



Lil Happy is inspired by Arai Ryoji. He is a Japanese artist I discovered recently through pinterest and for a while I was sure of his name. Then as I was searching on Hobonichi for a new notebook, I saw that he designed a cover and some folders and stuff. His stuff is so playful and childlike. Lots of childlike marks and scribbles. head over to pinterest to see some of his incredible work!

This is a journal spread I've been working on after being inspired by several different Japanese artists.


Coming up next month over on Patreon, we will be celebrating Japanese art by getting inspired by different artists creations. Mainly childlike and flat. Not necessarily anime style. more scribbly and raw. that is my favorite.





Monday, October 19, 2020

Cozy book and Mary Blair

 Are you ready for the Holiday season? I am already dreaming about making Christmas and winter art. 


Cozy book original is now available in my Big Cartel shop!

inspired by Mary Blair's work in her Up and Down book.

I am learning so much through an extensive study of her work. When I first saw her personal work and book illustrations I wasn't directly aware of the amazing line work with gouache to create such stunning texture. It isn't "in your face". It's such a subtle and brilliant (deceptively simple) design work. I keep discovering more and I love incorporating some of the figure postures into my work.

This is the piece that inspired the cute girl above:

You can check out more about Mary over on a website that her nieces created to honor and celebrate Mary's incredible legacy.


Sunday, October 18, 2020

live free


Live Free available

Live free from toxicity

from fear

from the gremlins that lie to you.

that tell you, you are less than.

that tell you, you are imperfect.

that tell you, you come from brokenness and "you are weak"

Live free from perfection

from procrastination

from being alone.

Because in your brokenness, you are strong. From your weakness, you have strength. 

And in your imperfectness, you are Perfect.

yes, I shall Live Free.



-Mindy Lacefield




Inspired by scripture:

NIV

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Friday, October 16, 2020

MY HUGE news REVEAL!!!

 I have been anxiously waiting to reveal what I've been working on this summer. I am kind of beside myself at the moment at how beautiful these stamps turned out. Kae Pea has done an incredible job of creating these beauties. I have not a few stamps, but a whole collection that can be layered upon one another. Kae Pea has let me in on a little (BIG) secret....about using these with watercolor. What the....?!? watercolor with stamps? Yes indeed. you could also use these with acrylic paint and ink but the watercolor look has it's imperfections and it really doesn't look like you stamped something on the page. These kind of stamps really fit my style of creating beautifully. I just imagine you adapting and changing these to add your own colors you love as well as altering as you go. Adding more hair for example or different eyes. Changing up the house is really fun. That house could be my favorite one. 

The 3rd photo is an example of the first layering of the stamps. And the others have been added to with watercolor. I am also excited to use them in conjunction with oil pastel at some point. I am just beginning to play and experiment with these.

I have a video for you to check out my process and you can purchase them from Art Foamies website Now!



 
















Thursday, October 15, 2020

HUGE news coming tomorrow!

 Get.ready. Big big news is coming tomorrow. 

I don't think I've had big news in a while. But I've been waiting with anticipation to share what I've been working on these last several weeks. I think you'll love it. Stop by here tomorrow afternoon. Better yet, subscribe to my blog to get it delivered to your inbox.

Pouring more energy into this blog space feels so good as I am spending less and less time on social media. . Cozy writing on my blog and sharing more for my readers feels more fun and even more inspiring. I WILL share more here. I will share often. I feel like if you are here, then you are my people. So hello people! thank you for joining me. 

As we (im)patiently wait for tomorrow, I have more art to share with you. Below are a few examples of what my Patrons receive when they first sign up for the Messy Inner child tier on Patreon.

I'm focusing more on watercolor at the moment because it such a quick prep process. Acrylic takes more time as you squeeze out all the colors you need. Here you just spritz your palette and go.

See y'all tomorrow!







Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Fried Rice illustration

The craving is real. Yak and Yeti and Disney's Animal kingdom has THE.best fried rice. (get the house with shrimp and chicken). After much mouth watering debate....as you see I am not a cook....but after watching Ratatouille again.... it urged me to at least try. Because, come on "Anyone can cook!" - Chef Gusteaux.

I googled Yak and Yeti fried rice and landed here. This blogger, Carrie obviously knows when the craving hits, ya gotta do somethin....and quick. Thankful for her recipe and easy instructions. Listen. I even put an egg in mine. I know, how do you even do that?! Well, not that hard apparently if you know what you're doing. (of which I didn't but the instruction was on point).

So my obsession with fried rice, spilled over into my journal. The ingredients and the Mary Blair inspired ice cream girl was in my mind as I created this. I wanted a childlike imperfection in my lettering. Try using your non-dominant hand and gouache on a brush. Believe me, it will guide you to a place where magic only lies in a different hand :-) Not too fussy. Not too "pretty" and certainly not beautiful, cursive, curly cue lettering. But it's definitely more me and fits my style much better.

So what have you been cooking lately?

What will you cook? Because "Anyone can cook". Even me.



Mary Blair inspiration:

thanks to Magic of Mary Blair via Pinterest






Monday, October 12, 2020

Student work from stay curious

 Just look at all the amazing work created by students in the Stay Curious class. There are a few spots open if you want to join in and the zoom live portion begins tomorrow. Registration will close after tomorrow. Artwork by Jenny Messerle, Brittany McLarney, Jill Fromelius, Cheryl Ann, Tammy Koolbeck and April Gleason. wow, just wow!! 

And this is just a random sampling of all the fantastic work in the class.


April Gleason

                                              Iwona Tilley



Brittany McLarney


Jenny Messerle




Cheryl Ann

Saturday, October 10, 2020

Rejection, Pinterest rabbit hole, and new work

I have fallen down a rabbit-hole again on Pinterest. Sometimes it's a Mary Blair obsession that leads to other artists I've never discovered. The "more like this" is a lovely way to get lost in art that peaks your interest. 

The other day, I ran onto some Japanese artists work and have such admiration at the child-like quality to their work. It may look easy and "oh I can do that"....but I assure you it is not. Take a peek at my illustration Pinterest board and get ready. It's a fun, beautiful ride.

One of my favorite artists that I found is Tamagawa Sakura. (ps. I am not sure all these are Japanese artists but I found them through that Pinterest lead)

Not all of the artists can I find much out about them. I found one illustrator whose work is so amazing....perfectly childlike yet sophisticated. They have the most interesting looking picture books on Amazon Japan and I tried ordering and it stated that they aren't shipped to U.S.


Book worm boy is a journal page that is inspired by Mary Blair (more specifically her Up and Down book) and we'll be creating this piece on Patreon in November - Messy Inner Child $20 tier along with this cute girl inspired by a Japanese artist...



On another note, don't you just love a good rejection blog post?! I applied to be a brand ambassador for a wonderful art supply company and was sent a very kind rejection letter.  I don't know of anyone who likes to get rejection letters and the feeling that comes along with it. And can they accept everyone that applies? Of course not.

But if I stop for a minute and really absorb and embrace this rejection....then I think what else could be coming my way in the future. Could it be another opportunity? Something even more amazing? And then I get excited all over again. I love Wayne Dyer's quote about being fired from a job. Something like ....Congratulations on being fired, a better opportunity is headed your way.

So in sharing my bit of "bad news" so to speak, I want to shine a light on rejection. Rejection may be the best thing that ever happened to you/me. We always see the good news, right?! All the achievements and celebrations in picture form on instagram. I'm not gonna lie, I do this as well. But I wanted to share this rejection with you to remind you (and myself) that art doesn't come without its pain, rejection, and fear.....but to do it anyway is the power we all hold. To go ahead and keep making art if that gallery turns you down....if you don't win the art show competition....if you are turned down by a client or agent.

I wish I could list all my rejections here on this blog post, but it would be too boring and long so I will end it here. Thank you for reading and go out there and make art anyway.

Monday, October 5, 2020

New collage sheets

 Dance your cares away. Worries for another day. Let the music play. Down in Fraggle Rock!  You got the song in your head now don't you. It's a good one to have stuck and a great way to start the week. My ritual as a kid used to be getting up early and watching Fraggle Rock during breakfast while waiting on the bus.

hey and happy Monday morning! Fall is here and it's absolutely my favorite time of year. 

I have been drawing and drawing and I feel my muscle memory expanding. I think when we gather references and draw from that, our vocabulary widens. And then after a while, you don't need to rely on using reference photos as much. Although, using photographs or google search for what a caterpillar looks like certainly strengthened the drawing of my caterpillar below. Does it look like the photo? A little bit. Not the face. Certainly not the face. I looked at color and how the curvature climbing a leaf. I wanted that much. But the face, I chose to keep childlike. I've been using mainly tombow markers, col-erase pencils, and regular colored pencils for these. Such a refreshing time in my life and art journey to only use a few materials. It doesn't take many supplies to create magic!

I think I'll start adding a bit more watercolor in for my new creations.

Out of these recent drawings and paintings I created two collage sheets that are available as a download in my Etsy Shop.

If you registered for Stay Curious then you'll receive the 2nd one with the girl in the hot air ballon as a freebie for class.

*please note, the collage sheets you purchase will NOT have the watermarks on them.





Dance your Cares Away - original 9x12 drawing


Sunday, October 4, 2020

Stay Curious begins tomorrow!

 

Stay Curious illustration class begins tomorrow! Here are a couple examples of projects we'll be doing.

Come stay curious with me!! This is a hybrid recorded video class mixed with 2 LIVE ZOOM art sessions with me!

NOTE: This class is limited to only 35 students to keep the class small for the zoom parties. I want to be able to attend to questions and it feel more like an intimate retreat experience. I may offer this up as a replay later on this fall. stay tuned!!

There are a few spots left if you want to join us!






Saturday, October 3, 2020

Stay Curious begins Monday!!

 The recorded portion of Stay curious virtual retreat begins Monday! There’s a handful of spots available and registration will close on October 13th. We will be doing collage, color choices, lettering, drawings and gathering lots of fertile inspiration for our journals. To me, careful planning and perfection is absolutely stressful and not enjoyable. but staying curious and not trying so hard is much healthier for my mental state as well as room for play and magic. So here’s to doing less and creating more.



or

$39.50 per month for 2 months



Here is a bit of a visual of things we'll cover in the class:

9 recorded videos
collage work
blind color choice and curated
2 live zoom meetings
flowers
lettering
drawing girls of course!





Friday, October 2, 2020

Unicorn star video

 Drawing has taken over my creative time lately ! And using the tombows for rich color in my drawings has just makes them pop even more. I combine tombow dual brush markers with watercolors and watercolor pencils. 

The initial sketch of this cutie was created with a purple col-erase pencil. I have been strictly using these pencils for sketching instead of graphite. The reason being is that graphite can sometimes create a slight dullness when mixed with water. The col-erase are also amazing because sketching lightly, you can see the pencil marks as you make edits and then as you get the drawing the way you like it, you can start making the marks darker. they are a great addition for really "feeling out a drawing". Plus added bonus, you can erase. Granted, they are not as color rich as regular colored pencil but they serve the purpose of initial sketching so beautifully.

I created a short video on how I use some of the Tombow markers.





*I earn a small affiliate % with art supply links via Amazon