new season. new week. new SALE!
10 STRAIGHT DAYS...EVERYTHING IN MY SHOP...HALF OFF!!!
{so,
click on over and help me clean up my studio a bit...}
another peek into my step by step creative process....this one for the painting entitled, "the lucky one". done to commentate 2016's year of the monkey, this little cutie was lots of fun to paint.
for a look at the
album and explanation of the step by step process, take a click over to my
Facebook page and maybe give it a "like" if you already haven't...and would be so kind. :)
speaking of PRINTS, i'm in the middle of opening up a
S6 (Society 6) shop which will feature my paintings on cool products from tote bags to tapestries, clocks to (duvet) covers. i'll post the link as soon as i get around to finishing setting up shop. meanwhile, click on over to the
S6 homepage and check out some other really wonderful artists. always awesome to see hard working, talented people have their masterpieces transformed onto products we can buy for ourselves to give away as gifts.
{been working on a few things at once...hence my lack of blogging in almost 14 days}
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beginnings of a new painting.... |
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new things coming to my etsy shop soon.... |
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busy day in the studio, multitasking like a boss... |
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nursery art commission beginnings.... |
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quick little brainstorming session.... |
got around to curating my first little treasury on
etsy late last night (yay me!)....inspired by one of my favorite flowers (and recent paintings), the delicate and graceful snowdrop.
click on over and take a look at the exquisite handmade items i found in my search. they are simply stunning in their own right.
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silence of the snowdrops 8x10 acrylic oncanvas ©the enchanted easel 2016 |
the other inspiration for this lovely treasury, my painting entitled "silence of the snowdrops". prints
here and other goodies
here.
I thought they might be a fun Valentine-y gift.
I like to carry around pocket-sized art decks, don't you?
Because don't we all carry words on the go?
Who doesn't like a little
fun on a ring?
Or words on a string?
perfect word surprises
for your small people -
or your pocket card collectors.
Local buyers can enter the code: LOCALPICKUP
on my shop to waive shipping fees
and arrange a delivery option.
Here's to the small, the tiny, the mini,
the little bits of love and beauty in this big world
that make life sweet and good.
Tiny book favorites:
Enormous Smallness by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Eric DiGiacomo
The Tiny King by Taro Miura
Tiny's Big Adventure by Martin Waddell, illustrated by John Lawrence
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes - by Mem Fox, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Nora and George.
I drew Nora maybe three years ago. George is much more recent. I always wanted a companion for Nora and a couple of weeks ago I brought George to life. Both were based on two well known fascinating characters in the history of tattoo art. Nora Hildebrandt was considered the first tattooed lady and toured with the Barnum & Bailey circus whilst George Burchett had an equally amazing life and went on to become a world famous tattoo artist who even tattooed royalty.
It's been just over a year now, since I went full time as an illustrator and I won't lie, it's been tough. Great, and the best decision I've ever made, but it's been really tough financially speaking. So if 2015 was the year of transition, then 2016 has to be the year where I try to turn my illustration into a business. But that's really hard, right? Thinking of your art in those terms. But I need to eat and I need to pay bills and I need to keep a roof over my head. And, I'll do anything that means that I can draw for a living. Well, not quite anything...
I made both of these drawings with the upside down technique. Nora took me a while and quite a few attempts to get 'right' (or how I wanted her). I got George first time - but then I have had a LOT of practice with this technique as you can see in this sketchbook project. So Nora had a companion at last. I love both of these drawings. George and Nora are actually very dear to me. I never ever saw myself making Valentines cards. I've never really done anything for a particular market or an occasion. Recently my sales in my Etsy shop have plummeted. I'm part of a local Etsy team and this seems to be something of a trend and not exclusive to me. There has been a huge amount of discussion on forums as to why this is but that's a whole blog post of it's own. I've spoken to people who have weathered that storm and asked them what they've been doing to keep afloat. A lot of those people have a good range of products at different price ranges. They also take holidays and markets seriously.
I couldn't though. I couldn't make something for a market. Not me. But Valentines day was coming up. Could I? Could I really? Surely it would be selling out. Surely it would mean I'd have to dilute my work and make something with hearts and roses and oh no. It was already making me cringe. But also, in another part of my brain, it became a kind of challenge. And then it made sense. I didn't have to do anything I felt uncomfortable about. I had the perfect pair for my Valentines cards. So George and Nora went to print.
I printed them on both white and cream card. I also made a sheet of different messages (see above), based on vintage tattoo designs, to put inside the cards and printed those off too. Then I hand cut them all out (this is where my great ideas always become very complicated and end up taking ridiculous amounts of time to create). Yes, I decided I wanted them to have almost a pop-up feel to them, so I cut around George and Nora and all the tattoos.
Then I bought some smart white and cream blank greetings cards and envelopes and hand stuck, with a little of that sticky foam, the romantic pair onto either side of the card and stuck the message on the inside. Finished them off with some cellophane bags and handmade labels and, hey presto, I had Valentines cards. Just like that.
And they went on sale. In
my Etsy shop and at local galleries and art cafes. So, it is possible to make things for a specific occasion or market without compromising your art. When it comes to the amount of money I laid out and time put into each one I probably won't make my fortune on this range but I made something I'm proud of.
And, on another note, this is the kind of attention to detail and care that you buy into when you make a purchase from an independent maker. Products made with love and passion, where every single sale is appreciated. Now, I'm off to come up with my next money making world domination art project.
George and Nora. Made with love.
thanks for a very productive year and an even bigger THANK YOU to everyone who purchased my art, as i am constantly humbled each and every time.
looking forward to new paintings, drawings and just a super creative 2016! oh, and if i could get SNOW in there....;)
MANY BLESSINGS TO ALL FOR A VERY HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!
Merry Christmas Eve from this little fire starter! 30% off
Serafina all day long!
2 days til the DECEMBER DISCOUNT DAYS come to an end. which means 2 days left til Christmas! how the heck did that happen?! wow! talk about time flying by like Santa and his reindeer....geez.
on that note, my tribute (for a lack of a better word) to my favorite musical maven,
Tori Amos is today's
FEATURED PRINT. it was inspired by one of my favorite songs of her entitled "ribbons undone" (same title as the print). Love Tori. Love red hair. Love bows. Love ribbons...(you get the point).
and now the song that inspired the painting...enjoy, friends!
first things first...is it really only 4 days til Christmas?! wow. ok, i digress...
today's
FEATURED PAINTING is this sweet little bluebird. reminiscent of spring? i'm sure. fitting, considering this Christmas will not be white (thanks, global warming. you stink). so, little Blue Rhapsody here is trying to make it easier on me...the warm temps in DECEMBER. :(
a green eyed, lily loving beauty is this twentieth day of December's
FEATURED PRINT!
{"green eyes, yeah the spotlight shines upon you..."~Coldplay}
today's
FEATURED PRINT...a little piece of Halloween in December. the sweet and shy Sally from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (my favorite).
hard to believe we are already 18 days into December....and it's not feeling one teeny tiny little bit like winter here on the east coast (very upset about this). on that note, today's
FEATURED ORIGINAL DRAWING has more of a spring vibe to her (fitting for 65 degrees...in December). beautiful little Blossom is 40% off today.
{thinking winter thoughts....:)}
{perhaps he's dreaming of SNOW. God knows i sure am....}
today's
FEATURED PRINT...her royal highness, Cinderella. or, as the adorable little mice liked to call her, "Cinderelly Cinderelly". :)
day 15 featuring this guy....40% off this
ORIGINAL PAINTING of the adorable little bow tie wearing penguin, Apsen.
this fourteenth day of December features a playfully smirky little beauty named Flora....40% off this
ORIGINAL DRAWING!
{flowers in December? why yes. here in PA we have yet to see a temperature dip past 60 degrees. and i am not happy about that...WHERE'S MY SNOW?! :( }
30% off this
PRINT of a commission i did earlier this year...of a boy and his pocket protecting little buddy. perhaps frogs love cookies too....;)
{happy weekend, friends! :)}
and it's a big one! not one, not two, not even three...but FOUR tiny little treasures are the
FEATURED PRINTS on this eleventh day of December.
(Akai-red, Midori-green, Aoi-blue and Kiiro-yellow)
{NOTE-ORIGINAL PAINTINGS ARE FOR SALE
HERE. AKAI HAS ALREADY BEEN SOLD.}
Everything since mid-November has been a bit of a blur, but I think that's true for most of the general public at present. I haven't even managed to haul out the Christmas ornaments, but am hoping to rectify that situation this weekend. Aside from that, what's what?
* I'm finishing up a free holiday gift tag downloadable. I'll have that up here next week.
* I'm completely obsessed with the
Limetown podcast and literally squealed with delight when I realized
Serial launched its second season yesterday.
* I have a
Christmas card downloadable in the shop. Speaking of the shop, I'll have calendar tea towels up tomorrow, Saturday. And the Cyrillic alphabet illustration above is a print I finished up ages ago, but forgot to show here. Head desk.
And that seems to be it, so back to the drafting table. If this was the year 2100 I'd offer you virtual egg nog and sugar cookies, but technology hasn't caught up with my internet dreams yet. Someday.
those who know me know that i am a sucker for little kids. healthy ones, sick ones, underprivileged ones....all little kids. perhaps it comes from spending 16 years of my life as a preschool teacher, which is much more than just "teaching"...it's an almost maternal-like *job* (and i use the word "job" very loosely-as it never was anything of the sort for me).
ok, before i get too sappy here (happens with stories like this), if you could please take a moment and send this precious little angel a Christmas card, i have a feeling it would make the entire rest of her year! and please, feel free to share this link with everyone you know. the more, the merrier! :)
{one of the joys of painting for children....hope she loves them!}
{proof indeed that winter is wonderful! :)}
I have some lovely new posters in my shop, folks. Professionally printed wall art for great prices. Check them out
HERE.
Thanks for stopping by. More inspiration soon.