The Evolution of a New Illustration

 

Hi There. How are you?

I had a very successful weekend in the studio and created this lovely little Red-Breasted Nuthatch illustration. I thought it would be fun to share some of the pics I snapped as I worked on this piece,  and walk you through my process.

First off I made a simple drawing of the bird on aqua paper. I worked from a photograph.....I am not one of those artists who can work out of their head! I applied a sheet of sticker paper to the back of the drawing, and then cut the whole thing out and adhered it to the graph paper.

The first bit of ink I add to my bird illustrations is always the eyes. That very quickly brings a drawing to life. I used a black Bic ballpoint pen, a white Prismacolor pencil and a dash of white Sakura Gelly Roll ink in the highlight of the eye. 

I continued to add detail with the ballpoint pen and Prismacolors. I added a little bit of a golden brown to give this cutie his "red belly."

After a spell, (I have no idea how long this took.....I don't really pay attention to the clock when I'm in the art zone) the bird was fully formed. I drew in a branch to have him perch on. 

Once all of the inking is complete, I started playing around with my signature collage elements. As I've mentioned before, this is sometimes the most difficult part of the process for me. I tense up and worry about overworking things. Even now, I second guess...This was kind of cute like this....Why did I change it? 

And voila! All that is left to do now is give the whole thing a few coats of a satin varnish to seal and protect it. This original 8"x8" is available for sale in my etsy shop.

Have a great week friends. Until next time. Ta-ta!

New Directions. New Ideas.

Hi again! 2 posts today....Can you believe it? 

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about my art, my business, and the direction I want to take things.  I'm sensing an evolution and I want to share it with you!

My favorite part of the day lately is working on my "Month of the Moleskine" project. I just adore the looseness of these works. I don't have to do much planning, but just go for it with pen in hand.  Best of all, I really like the way most of these sketchbook drawings turn out. 

So here's the new idea.....

I'd like to turn these drawings into saleable products, that I could work into both my Etsy shoppe and art fair inventory. I would complete these drawings on loose paper that could then be framed or mounted on panels (like shown here). Size-wise, I would keep them small to begin - say 4"x6" - comparable to the pages of my Moleskine.  Unframed/unmounted original drawings would start at under $50.00. 

Here's where you come in...I need your feedback friends!

• Does this new direction interest you? 
• Would you purchase an original abstract drawing? 
• Does the size and price point seem right? 
• Would you prefer the drawings unmounted or mounted and ready to hang? 

Your feedback would be so greatly appreciated! Feel free to leave comments here or email me directly. I can't wait to hear what you have to say!

Ta-ta for now.