THANK YOU FOR…

Happy Thanksgiving, USA!

As a way to pay tribute to this very special holiday I will be sharing with you what I am thankful for by way of drawing! It's a little rough around the edges, but I want to share it anyway.

It's a lot, so get ready!

In no particular order:
Minnesota, Michigan, my hunky husband, Trader Joe's cookie butter and plantain chips, a strong wifi signal, my studio, Podcasts, yoga, Tombow dual markers, family and friends that are near and far, the grocery store, restaurant, AND coffee shop across the street from our apartment, LUSH bath bombs, GPS, air travel, hot tea, cold beer, the Whole30, kayaks, walks in the park, internet videos about baby animals, the new Star Wars movie (the anticipation!), sweat pants, the netti pot, floss, smartwool socks, all of my apples (iPhone, iPad mini, iMac and MacBook Pro) and the crock pot.

I hope you, yes you! are enjoying your holiday immensely. Give some extra love today.

BEHIND THE STUDIO

There is no question that I love to see the projects that creators are proud of. I also love to see these projects, when they are photographed in a stylized photoshoot. There's not much better than looking at these works in an idyllic set-up with perfect natural light, simple white backgrounds and cozy details like plants (always with the plants!) because those take a hell of a lot of effort! But I think there is something even better to look at; That is bursting the bubble of designers/artists/craftsmen etc. and having a look behind the scenes.

I find it interesting that when work is created it leaves behind a wake, one that is invisible to the audience. The conditions of which the work was created are a total mystery to all except the creator. Maybe that's why I find it so fascinating when people do share these views. I feel like I somehow understand the work more and then form a deeper connection with it. 

So that's what I'm doing now! I'm lifting the veil of my studio. Showing the work AND the madness that it takes to create the work. It's not galm, but it's real and that is what is valuable to me.

Enjoy this unconventional show-and-tell!

I've recently become infatuated with using cut paper as a tool for lettering. I like the way it mimics the effect of vector forms that are common with computer generated graphics, such as type itself.

Layering paper, measuring, cutting out shapes, moving things around again and again and then applying glue has been my rhythm for these projects. It looks like a tornado of paper at times. I then set up a very small photo studio to shoot this project on. Having a minimal background IS way less distracting (even though it can be a bit cliche to use these days). But yeah, mine is tucked in a corner and has easy set up and tear down. The flat surface is a piece from the IKEA as-is section and the paper is just a large piece of watercolor paper that I attached to the wall with blue painters tape.

This small color explosion comes from my Daily Intentions series that I post to Instagram. I used bright colors in a very stabile looking san serif type for the word 'challenge'. The contrast of type forms and color were interesting to me. I used oil pastel crayons instead of ink for a different texture. This proved to be a difficult to keep everything tight. A little bit of wobble around the edges was fun though.

Anyway, in order to keep the colors true and saturated I used a combination of the oil pastel crayons, a blending stick, and a paper towel (see above). That paper towel was used to clean off each crayon before and after each use to make sure each crayon was going to be clean. I also used a straight edge to make sure my baselines were anchored. Keeping this colorful medium under control was a huge challenge that went with my message better than I intended.

Here is another project form my Daily Intentions series that is also based on cut paper. This time the scale at which I was working was much larger. I cut my pieces at my table and then basically sat on the floor moving things around for maybe 30 minutes to get it in place in a way that challenged the color palette and the shapes. Just when I thought I had it right, I would take a photo and notice something that should change. A lot of back and forth with this one!

I took my lettering game to a new level last weekend when I was asked to make wedding signs! Before this, I had not worked with chalkboard art at all. I was excited to give it a go though! I was given the boards, what they should say and the pens, but the artistic direction was up to me. 

I did rough draft drawings for the larger signs on paper. When I had my plan I then drew on the boards with pencil and made edits before using the markers. The markers were permanent so the pencil lines were crucial! With the help of my rulers the baselines were all straight. Using a ruler is really the best way to get hand lettering to look professional. Once I inked the pencil lines I used my eraser to remove any visible pencil marks and then used a large paint brush to gently remove the eraser dust. I did two coats of everything written in white because the white would fade a little too much when it was fully dry. All in all I would say this took me about 4 hours to complete, maybe 5 with breaks.

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Hope you enjoyed this post and a little more talk about to 'how' of these pieces!

sidenote:
a few work essentials I always keep within arms reach away are…

  1. A glass of water
    I do this to remind myself to drink more water. When I'm working I tend to forget about everything else which is no good. Having water near by means I'll come up for air (and water) occasionally.
  2. H2 pencil & Pentel Click Eraser
    H2 is my favorite lead for pencils when it comes to illustration and lettering. It creates a very light line and it's easy to erase. The click eraser is just so easy to use. I've had the one I have now since high school, possibly middle school! I just buy refills and keep on truckin'.
  3. Chap stick
    To be honest, chap stick is almost always an arms reach away from me.
  4. Chocolate
    I'd say it's for an emergency supply of energy, but really it's because I like it!

DRAWN & DELIVERED ROUND-UP 2

Hello, card lovers! I thought I would take the time to do another Drawn & Delivered card round up since I've made quite a few more since I shared my first batch.

COLORING CARDS

The concept for this mini set of cards came from coloring books. These cards were made for two young brothers and because of that I wanted to make the cards fun and interactive. I remember getting cards as a kid and being very underwhelmed by the experience unless it was covered in glitter or had money inside. Ha!

To take advantage of this coloring book concept I used both the front and back of the cards to create the scene. I wanted to give them as much room to color as possible! To create the textured contour lines I used my trusty Pentel Duopoint brush pen.

The older of the two boys was sent the bird card which involved more detail and smaller shapes. This was to encourage the use of MANY colors because using all of the colors in the box of crayons is the goal, right? ;) 

The younger boy was sent the dinosaur card which has less detail and large shapes, perfect for kids who are still getting the hang of their fine motor skills. Their facial expressions are way goofy but dinosaurs are just goofy in general so, I'm okay with it.

THE MAC DADDY

This card was one for a good friend of mine and fellow macaroni and cheese lover. As I was drawing some rough drafts of this card I drew a huge macaroni noodle and the absurdity of it make me laugh. Before I knew it, I was cutting out the shape from the card form and drew on some sun glasses and before my eyes the Mac Daddy of Cheese was born!

The base color came from a Crayola crayon, color: macaroni and cheese (of course). The outlines were done with a Faber Castell fine point black marker. Sunglasses were painted on using Speedball black calligraphy ink. That rad chain? It was also painted using Speedball calligraphy ink, this time featuring the color gold in all of its fancy schmancy glory. The inside was written with a Tombow dual brush pen.

LIKE PEAS & CARROTS

When the recipient of this card requested something that focused on love and marriage I noticed that the delivery date was scheduled for right around the time they were to be getting married! I was so surprised that the scheduling worked out like that. Couldn't have planned that better!

I oped to take an alternative route to the traditional imagery associated with love and looked for pairs that went well together. Peas and carrots stuck out right away. I love the colors and drawing them in a way that used their form to spell out the words was so much fun. The final was a result of using colored pencils, a black Micron pen, and green calligraphy ink.

So that wraps up this round up of cards!

I continue to have so much fun drawing and sending these guys in the mail. Each card is exciting to make as I come up with new ideas and techniques to practice. To everyone who signed-up, I can't thank you enough. The privilege has been all mine!