Tag Archives: illustration

Ravelry Indie Designers Gift-Along 2015

Posted on November 17, 2015 by | Comments Off on Ravelry Indie Designers Gift-Along 2015
I can't believe it's November! And, this means it's time for Ravelry's most amazing time of the year for independently published knitting patterns.  This year is no different, and I'm participating as a designer with 14 patterns on sale for 25% off their usual price...



AND, I'm offering a physical prize, too!  I'm offering a giclee (fancy term for high-quality inkjet) print of my knitterly illustration "6 Fabulous English Sheep Breeds".  So, if you're interested in winning it and/or hundreds of other prizes, check out the Ravelry Indie Design Gift-Along page full of information on the super-fun events to come.

  • Prizes
  • Games
  • Contests
  • Knit-alongs
  • Crochet-alongs
  • Machine-Knitalongs

All the details are on the Ravelry Gift-Along page and the magical gift code in order to make your 25% off of my knitting pattern dreams come true is there too!  Have a great time, and I'll see you there!

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Santa Barbara Map

Posted on November 16, 2015 by | Comments Off on Santa Barbara Map
I'm still very new to this town, but here's my visual impression of the place so far...

Lots of people doing stuff out in the open all the time.  Bright sunny days, beautiful vistas, lots to do with your family or on your own. Oh, and lots of great cycling.  Have you been to Santa Barbara? What were your impressions?

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Scrapbooking: Greetings from the Lido Deck!

Posted on November 11, 2015 by | Comments Off on Scrapbooking: Greetings from the Lido Deck!
I am so happy with this one!  I couldn't believe I got it done on time to be considered for the Make Art That Sells weekly review either.  Our things finally arrived from Germany and it meant we were in super-unpack-cardboard-box-processing mode!  But, I was also in a "making mode" as well as "where the heck is my scanner mode"... and so I made and found my scanner at last.

Here is my work resulting from the theme we were given: vintage cruise ship correspondence.  It's a bit of a mash-up but I think between the chosen color palette and my brush pen illustrations which have a late 50's early 60's vibe in them, that it's enough to cover the vintage aspect.   I really wanted a Piña colada after drawing this... love those so much.


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A Group of Charming Cuties

Posted on November 4, 2015 by | Comments Off on A Group of Charming Cuties
Last week, I had something very interesting happen.  I had a kind of cute-splosion.  I started illustrating for the children's apparel market so I can begin to pitch my work.  I did some short research by looking at my son's clothes and picking out my super-top favorites.... and then it all just flowed.

It was remarkable.  I just worked on Illustrator and out came these characters and their back-stories and little lives.  I kept wanting (and still do) to keep on drawing them and their accessories and interactions...


Next, I want to develop each character on their own!  What do you think?

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A Group of Charming Cuties

Posted on November 4, 2015 by | Comments Off on A Group of Charming Cuties
Last week, I had something very interesting happen.  I had a kind of cute-splosion.  I started illustrating for the children's apparel market so I can begin to pitch my work.  I did some short research by looking at my son's clothes and picking out my super-top favorites.... and then it all just flowed.

It was remarkable.  I just worked on Illustrator and out came these characters and their back-stories and little lives.  I kept wanting (and still do) to keep on drawing them and their accessories and interactions...


Next, I want to develop each character on their own!  What do you think?

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Looks Like We Made It

Posted on October 14, 2015 by | Comments Off on Looks Like We Made It
We did it!  We made it to California, the baby and I, and all in one piece thankfully!  The first flight was a real doozy with lots of crying, squirming, and screeching, but the second flight went very smoothly.  It's our third day here and we're living amongst cardboard boxes and half-empty rooms, but it's really cozy nonetheless.

Our new place is a cottage.  It's the first time we've lived in a house-type dwelling with a yard as a family.  Before now, we've only ever lived in apartments.  It's very nice having a back yard.  And this yard has a beautiful towering avocado tree that's full of Hass avocados.  There are also a few citrus trees alongside it - one's a blood orange, but I'm not sure of the others... must study them.

Today we received a lighter/smaller kitchen table and chairs than the ones that are coming from Germany and so we finally have a place to sit.  We also had our gas turned on so we can bathe with hot water!  Yay hot water! So, things are looking up.



So what's with the rose finch? I've been working really hard on getting my art collective Finch & Foxglove off the ground, and so far we're off to a good start.  There are 8 of us from around the world and we've banded together in order to exhibit as a group at Surtex 2016.  I'm so very excited.  We are very supportive of one another's work, and we also give each other feedback and push our work so that we're showing our best.  It's nice to feel like you're not "going it alone" in the world.

I've uploaded some new work to the Finch & Foxglove site and will be updating my site too!  Here's a sample...




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Summer School Illustrations

Posted on July 22, 2015 by | Comments Off on Summer School Illustrations
We're in the thick of summer here in Munich and it's been non-stop illustration, sewing, and knitting... okay, not so much the knitting because my current knit-along includes very warm yarn, lots of cables, and a steek, so I tend to wait for the weekend for that.

But I've been painting and illustrating and printing and working on building up my portfolio in preparation for Surtex 2016.  I enrolled in the Make It in Design course The Ultimate Portfolio Builder, and also their Summer School course.  These are much more self-directed than the Make Art That Sells courses, but I'm determined!  And, I've really appreciated the personalized feedback that the UPB course offered.  I got to hear directly from Khristian A. Howell herself about her thoughts on my work and website.  That was probably the most valuable 15 minutes of my career.  I found her feedback so helpful and it really makes me want to push my work to the next level!

Here is some of my most recent work...

(Mind you, these are mock-ups and none of my work is actually in production yet... YET!)






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Summer School Illustrations

Posted on July 22, 2015 by | Comments Off on Summer School Illustrations
We're in the thick of summer here in Munich and it's been non-stop illustration, sewing, and knitting... okay, not so much the knitting because my current knit-along includes very warm yarn, lots of cables, and a steek, so I tend to wait for the weekend for that.

But I've been painting and illustrating and printing and working on building up my portfolio in preparation for Surtex 2016.  I enrolled in the Make It in Design course The Ultimate Portfolio Builder, and also their Summer School course.  These are much more self-directed than the Make Art That Sells courses, but I'm determined!  And, I've really appreciated the personalized feedback that the UPB course offered.  I got to hear directly from Khristian A. Howell herself about her thoughts on my work and website.  That was probably the most valuable 15 minutes of my career.  I found her feedback so helpful and it really makes me want to push my work to the next level!

Here is some of my most recent work...

(Mind you, these are mock-ups and none of my work is actually in production yet... YET!)






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MATS Bootcamp Recap

Posted on June 27, 2015 by | Comments Off on MATS Bootcamp Recap
Another recap!  It's the end of the MATS Assignment Bootcamp unfortunately, and our last assignment was an editorial illustration.  We were given an article about digital nomad-ism and it felt pretty close to home.

I am definitely a digital nomad.  I spend lots of my time traveling back and forth from Germany to the U.S., but also to other parts of the European continent while still maintaining contact with clients and working on personal projects.  I related so much to the advice in the article... it's all about wi-fi and connectivity.

Traveling has been a constant in our lives, but now we're looking at repatriation as a reality.  We'll be moving back to the U.S. in the autumn and I simultaneously eagerly await the next chapter in our lives while mourning the separation from my long-time friends.  It's not our first goodbye to Munich (remember that Amsterdam 6 month dream sequence back in 2011?), and hopefully it won't be goodbye forever.

So where are we headed?  We're going to sunny California!  Don't worry, I'll be writing when I get there, but I'll first be stopping by my mom's place in Florida while we figure out where we'll be living in California.
- - -

Back to the MATS Bootcamp re-cap!

May brought us the crustacean sensation theme as I called it...
I was really pleased with the background pattern and came out with a stoneware plate or tray that I'd buy.


April was the Global Art Gathering poster.  I'm so glad I got to see Brighton in real life... I'd draw the dome differently now that I've seen it in person.  At the moment, it looks a bit like our American capitol buildings. I am still happy I did some painting, though.  The loose style came very naturally to me when used paint and collage.



March we worked on MATS Part A so Bootcamp was on  hiatus.

February we painted on wood.  We were riffing off of Lilla's plate collection and I had been drawn to a central character with foliage.  I'm loving the ladybug character, but I think I could push the whole thing a bit further in one painterly direction with more texture.  Something's missing and I don't know if it's just the mock-up or what.


I took February's assignment further and mocked up some plates too with some of my preliminary designs...


And January we worked on a journal cover. I feel like I've come a long way since our first assignment.  I was so nervous, and I clearly overworked the design now that I can see it with a fresh eye.  I enjoyed every minute of it, though!



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MATS Bootcamp Recap

Posted on June 27, 2015 by | Comments Off on MATS Bootcamp Recap
Another recap!  It's the end of the MATS Assignment Bootcamp unfortunately, and our last assignment was an editorial illustration.  We were given an article about digital nomad-ism and it felt pretty close to home.

I am definitely a digital nomad.  I spend lots of my time traveling back and forth from Germany to the U.S., but also to other parts of the European continent while still maintaining contact with clients and working on personal projects.  I related so much to the advice in the article... it's all about wi-fi and connectivity.

Traveling has been a constant in our lives, but now we're looking at repatriation as a reality.  We'll be moving back to the U.S. in the autumn and I simultaneously eagerly await the next chapter in our lives while mourning the separation from my long-time friends.  It's not our first goodbye to Munich (remember that Amsterdam 6 month dream sequence back in 2011?), and hopefully it won't be goodbye forever.

So where are we headed?  We're going to sunny California!  Don't worry, I'll be writing when I get there, but I'll first be stopping by my mom's place in Florida while we figure out where we'll be living in California.
- - -

Back to the MATS Bootcamp re-cap!

May brought us the crustacean sensation theme as I called it...
I was really pleased with the background pattern and came out with a stoneware plate or tray that I'd buy.


April was the Global Art Gathering poster.  I'm so glad I got to see Brighton in real life... I'd draw the dome differently now that I've seen it in person.  At the moment, it looks a bit like our American capitol buildings. I am still happy I did some painting, though.  The loose style came very naturally to me when used paint and collage.



March we worked on MATS Part A so Bootcamp was on  hiatus.

February we painted on wood.  We were riffing off of Lilla's plate collection and I had been drawn to a central character with foliage.  I'm loving the ladybug character, but I think I could push the whole thing a bit further in one painterly direction with more texture.  Something's missing and I don't know if it's just the mock-up or what.


I took February's assignment further and mocked up some plates too with some of my preliminary designs...


And January we worked on a journal cover. I feel like I've come a long way since our first assignment.  I was so nervous, and I clearly overworked the design now that I can see it with a fresh eye.  I enjoyed every minute of it, though!



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