Make Art That Sells (MATS) Week 5 - Gift

This past week was all about the gift market in my Make Art That Sells (MATS) class. Our assignment was to create a hyper-lush zipper case.  The image should also be a reflection.

We were prompted this week to examine our personal collections.  I started off sketching my collections of stuffed penguins and polar bears (mostly gifts from friends).

I tried making a design with these icons for a zipper case, but it didn't seem lush enough to me.  I deccided to go along with my Hawaiian collection.  I have a bedspread, bean bag, shopping bag, and more that are Hawaiian themed.  I knew I could get hyper lush with this theme.

A picture of my Hawaiian bedspread.

This week I pushed myself also trying a few new things.  I decided to try using a limited color palette with lots of pink (a color I don't use very much).  I also added gradients in my work and decided to play around with textures as well.  It definitely was a struggle at times, but I think the final product is worth it.  I am very happy with it and grew very much this week by pushing myself.

My initial sketch

The final products

Brooklyn Wayfarer's Ransom Show Opening

Last night, November 9th, I went to Brooklyn Wayfarer's Ransom show opening.  I have a piece in the show and it was exciting to see everyone's work.  Here is my past blog post about the show.

Every artist was given a word in a 300 word story.  They could render it however they wanted to as long as it was hangable on a wall and no larger than 8.5" x 11.  At the show all 300 words are placed on the wall in order and the note is revealed.

I don't want to give away the story that the words spelled, but I will say it's about a stolen Hawaiian orchid.  It was really exciting to see how everyone interpreted their word.  The wall of words was neat to see together as well.  Here are some photos of the opening.

One section of the ransom note.

More words.

My word was right in the middle, number 150 out of 300 words.

My piece was between the words "death" and "marriage".

Me and my word!  I can now say I've been part of an art show in New York!

The show is running through December 1st.  If you're in the area you should go see it!

Friday Phrase

Happy Friday! Today's Friday Phrase is a reminder to be confident that you can reach your dreams. Prints available in my society 6 store. Feel free to share this post (just make sure it links back here).

Childhood Christmas Cards Revisted

I decided to revisit my old Christmas cards I created when I was a child.  Every year since I was seven years old I created an original Christmas card drawing for my family.  I wanted to see how I would approach the same subject matter now that I am an experienced artist.

I did this piece when I was seven.

My new interpretation, this time the squirrel is skating. 

Available in my Etsy shop.

I don't remember how old I was when I made this card.

My new interpretation. This time the bells are more visible with color. 

Also available in my Etsy shop.

Make Art That Sells (MATS) Week 4 - Wall Art

This past week was wall art week in my Make Art That Sells (MATS) class.  We were assigned two colors, mine were orange and green.  Our assignment was to create a piece of collage wall art that had at least one word and one flower.

I started off the assignment focusing on a phrase, but I didn't feel like it was working.

I think I will revisit this piece again for one of my Friday Phrases.

I wasn't happy with the direction my piece was going so I decided to play around in Illustrator and drew an abstract cactus.

One thing lead to the next and before I knew it I had my final piece.

Prints available in my Society6 store.

This week is the gift market.  I'm really excited and can't wait to get my assignment tomorrow.

New Items in my Etsy Shop

I just added some new items in my Etsy shop just in time to start your holiday shopping.

I added three more Christmas cards to my Holiday collection.

Cute Sea Otter with Bell Kelp Card

Skating Squirrel Card

Need to take some notes? Why not pick up a cute notebook with my camping fox or an illustrated map of San Francisco.

As always I take custom orders as well, just message me on Etsy or send me an email.

Friday Phrase

Happy Friday! Today's Friday Phrase is a piece of wall art I created for my Make Art That Sells (MATS) Class. It's a reminder that even in adversity there is hope.

I will post in a few days more about this week's MATS class assignment.

Make Art That Sells (MATS) Week 3 - Children's Books

This week in my Make Art That Sells class we were working on children's books.  Our assignment was to design a cover or spread to the Russian folktale The Language of the Birds.  I decided to adapt the story for a New Zealand audience and have the birds in the story be kiwi birds.

This was the sketch I started with.

I quickly decided that the outfits I had planned for the birds did not match the aesthetic of the Maori inspired blanket nest.

I decided to add a border to the piece as well.

The finished illustration

If I were to do this again I would do it in a more stylized manner.  For next week's assignment I am going to push myself to work less realistic.

Friday Phrase

Today's Friday Phrase is inspired by Katy Perry's new song "Roar". I thought it would be fun to draw a lion roaring for a children's room. Feel free to share this post (just make sure it links back here).

Prints and products available in my society 6 store.

New Items In My Etsy Shop

I just added a bunch of items to my Etsy shop just in time for the holidays.  There are prints (in two sizes) of my illustrated maps as well as my Illustrated NYC Dogs.

If you need a different size for a print or would like to custom order something I'd be more than happy, just send me an e-mail.

More items will be added soon including some more Christmas/Holiday cards!

Make Art That Sells (MATS) Week 2 - Bromeliad Plate Collection

This week my assignment in Lilla Rogers' Make Art That Sells course was a challenge for me.  We needed to make a collection of 2-4 plates with the theme of bromeliads.  I don't usually draw flowers or plants so this was a personal stretch.

I approached this assignment knowing that I wanted to do a profile of individual plants using their scientific names.  The background colors would be bright and bold to go along the nature of the bright flowers.

Overall I am pleased with my assignment.  Next time I think I would try stylizing the plants more.

This class has been fun interacting with the other students.  We are able to give feedback, critique, and support each other along the way.

Here are some of my classmates' take on the assignment:

Jennifer Appel
Dreaming on a Star
Larisa Hernández
Victoria Johnson
Aisha Khan
Jordan Vinograd Kim
Nic Squirrel
Vivayne

Friday Phrase

Today's Friday Phrase is a saying applicable to art as well as life. Feel free to share this post (just make sure it links back here!)

Available on a variety of products in my Society6 store.

Custom Name Portraits

A while ago I decided I wanted to make some paintings for my roommates for their birthday gifts.  I wanted each painting to be personal and relate back to the recipient. I also wanted their name typography to reflect their style as well.

Each friend loved their canvas and that it was personal to them.  Now they are hanging up in our living room.

I have been thinking about opening comissions for custom name paintings as well on my Etsy store (square canvases or boards though, I no longer have any triangles).

Make Art That Sells (MATS) Week 1

I just finished my first week of the online course Make Art That Sells (MATS) Part A.  I'm learning so much and can't wait to start this week's prompt.

Our assignment this week was to create bolt fabric that incorporated berries and vintage pyrex casserole dishes.  Below is some of my brainstorming efforts- preliminary sketches, both digital and traditional.

I decided to have my icons have their own personalities and be very happy.  I am a happy person, and wanted to embrace creating cute, happy things in my work.  This week I pushed myself to see where I could go, and I am pretty pleased with the final results.

What do you think of my final patterns?  Are there any items from my sketchbook you think should have been incorporated into my final?  Which kitchen item or berry is your favorite?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Friday Phrase

Today's Friday Phrase is something I'm always reminding myself. Feel free to share this post (just make sure it links back here!)

Canon Pixma Pro-100 Printer Review

A few weeks ago I bought a Canon Pixma Pro-100.  I did alot of research into finding a good, quality printer to suit my needs as a designer.  My criteria for looking was:

• Large print size
• Print borderless
• Multiple inks that could be replaced individually
• Wireless capability
• Great color
• Less than $400
• Trusted company

I decided to go with Canon's Pixma Pro-100 for a number of reasons:

• Can print up to 13" x 19" borderless
• 8 ink cartridges that can be individually replaced
• Wireless capability
• Great color
• Was less than $200 after rebate (now it's less than $100 after rebate until 12/31/13)
• I have multiple Canon cameras and am very pleased with the company and quality of items
• My printer came with a free pack of 50 sheets of 13" x 19" paper 

My first impressions of the Canon Pixma Pro-100 was how large it was.  I ordered it online and took advantage of free shipping.  I almost went to the store to pick it up and am glad I did not because it is so large and heavy.  This is a large printer!  It also weighs about 50 pounds. I originally was going to place the printer next to my computer, but because of the needed clearance on the back for the paper tray (which I did not account for) I placed it across the room.

The wireless capability is nice, but I had issues setting it up.  I called Canon support, and they were very friendly and helped me set up my printer wirelessly. I can print wirelessly from it sometimes, but my internet router sometimes forgets it on the network.  I will either buy a new router or a long USB cord so it will not become a headache.

A 8.5" x 11" art print. Great color!

The color is absolutely amazing!! As an artist, who works mostly digital, one of the biggest headaches is trying to get colors from the computer screen to match what prints. I have never been so amazed with the color from a printer. I didn't even need to calibrate it (I made sure I used the right print settings though). The quality and depth of the color is amazing as well. The images are clear and sharp, especially on the Canon papers.

A 13" x 19" photograph.  The color and detail are amazing!

I also print on 100% recycled matte paper for my Etsy greeting cards and was apprehensive about a professional "photo" printer printing on matte paper.  In the past with other printers I've had issues with the colors looking faded on matte paper.  When I set my Canon Pixma Pro-100 printer settings to matte paper and the colors turn out beautiful! I even had a friend said that it almost looked like gouache!

The only negative (besides my internet router having issues with the wireless setup) is that I haven't figured out yet how to print borderless on my greeting cards. I print from Photoshop and use a custom size paper.  I will play around with the settings some more and if I figure out how to print borderlessly on a custom size paper I will post here.

Overall I am very pleased with my new printer! I can't wait to keep bringing more of my designs, photos, and illustrations to life!

Edit:
Here are my specific printer settings.