endless eyeballs

i was a little stumped this morning on what to draw. i have a fun little series of beachy drawings i'm starting for a friend to give as a gift & i just couldn't get started with it. (i think i may need to go to the beach to get a little inspiration, ya know?)
so i flipped through my sketchbook and saw i started just doodling owl eyes. i think i could do a whole page each one different from the other! it may also make a great surface design pattern. oh, the possibilities!

for the love of scrapbooking

yes, its true. 
I love to scrapbook. 
It started recently even though my love for all things paper and patterned goes way back. We have two going right now.. one for the disney trip, the second for all the other photos that have been accumulating. more shots can be found on my flickr under the crafted set!!


this one is from westmoreland virginia where matt & his family go every year. it's so much fun to walk trails, stay in a cabin, and find sharks teeth!

our pirate themed room at disney's caribbean beach resort!

hollywood tower of terror. probably one of our favorite rides!

a lesson in lift

my newest just for fun drawing. 
the balloon is like the tiny banner in the yay! owl piece, it is a "pop-up". i've been considering using this as a new promo postcard, but i really don't like how it looks in a 4x6 box (with and without type!) that's a bit of a problem, huh? i have some other ideas brewing... i'm long overdue for a postcard mailer!

"so makes me want to paint" commercial

just saw this lovely sherwin-williams commcercial on HGTV & it makes me want to run out to home depot and load up on paint swatches (you know, just because). oooh the colors! oooh the animation!! enjoy!

a must have

just spotted these gorgeous watercolor poppy plates over at  anthropologie and i am absolutely in love with them.

 they remind me of these snapshots i took in march at longwood gardens

start to finish

here's a peek into my goings about a drawing like this! this is actually my second version so things are a bit tidier :) I light boxed all of the fishy sea creatures from the first version (with a few tweaks!) and inked them. then i start on the bubble/barnacle background



i tend not to work in just one spot for fear of overworking the area. i tend to jump around and let the shape form itself. if you look closely in these in progress shots.. you can still see some pencil lines!

 


pencil lines gone! few details added to some fish! now onto color!







and voila! the finished piece.
the original size is 11x8.5 and i think i may be using this piece for my drawgasmic (aka massive art show/coffee table book of 1,000 artists, illustrators, designers) submission. i believe there's still room to sign up so go on, check it out!

yay! owl

i couldn't resist doodling & painting this little owl for my friend manda's graduation present. owls= wise (& super cute.) so it was totally appropriate for the occasion. i did drew the banner separate and cut it out with my trusty xacto and steady hand. i used little adhesive "pop up" stickies to give it a bit of dimension. i loved the result and although i was sad to see it go, mister owl was certainly going to a good home! happy graduation manda way to goooo! 


it was a fun process, different than the usual, so i promise you will be seeing more of these!

shiny new banners

for this dear ol' blog


& etsy shop that I am determined to get up and running!