Find Joy in the Journey

Joy in the Journey

I have been sketching this bear for a while. 

Not sure why. 

Then I came across some words: find joy in the journey. They went together! 

It is not that all illustrations need copy. but it was a nice fit.

Chasing Away the Gray Days of Winter

Do All Things with Love

Here is a new piece to brighten up the gray skies of winter.

I brought back my blue bird from the recent letter design: B is for Bird and Birdcage to set him free so to speak with his pals. This time he is surrounded with flowers while perched on a tea cup. 

Now it is just counting the days till spring!

Review and Update: B for Birdcage

B is for Bird and Birdcage

Yep, I am at it again!

Maybe I just can't help myself.

But looking at my old design below, I just felt the need to update.

Of course on second look I thought the background needed to make a more BLUE statement.

And of course the bird needed to be more BLUE.

It needed more. Maybe more B words, so I added BLOSSOMS to the background as well as two BEETLES to add a bit more fun.

I guess this is like looking at the paint on the walls of your home. After a while you think a change of color and moving the furniture around, plus changing out the drapes gives a new look to a tired setting.

Review and Update: Looking at the Letter F

F is for Fetching Feline and Flowers

Yes, I am still in review of many of my designs, the letter F being one of them.

Below is my first stab at the letter F as a Feline that I illustrated years ago when trying to finish my first alphabet collection of illustrated letters.

Looking at the original at art fairs I have participated in for the past couple years, I kept thinking this little feline needed some sprucing up. 

The umbrella needed to go and replace it with another object that would connect with the letter F. Of course flowers came to mind. She seemed drab, even though she sported red. However red does not begin with the letter F, but fuchsia does.

Of course I went back to warm up her face enlarging the eyes and giving a bit more detail. After changing the border to be more floral, I finally thought to and a few fireflies to connect again with the letter F. I hope she is more fun and will sport more appeal.  

R is for Robot!

R is for Robot

Here is the latest for the Letter R.  Brand spanking new for 2017.

R is for Robot, but what is his name? Rusty or Randy, Rick, or Ray? His name is the same as the color he bares which is Red as you can see. Red has a creation stamp as well as a place. Check the zip code he bares Rocky River as his place of birth. 

His friend is a Raven named Rebel who occasionally shows up on Red's Radar. 

2016 Review: Updating Designs of the Past

R is for Rabbit

2016 has been a year of review of some of my earlier designs as you can see from some of my earlier posts. It comes from sitting in my tent at art festivals and watching people looking at my art.

The design below became a candidate for a softer look as well as giving the rabbit character better eye contact with the butterfly.

N is for Nessie

N for Nessie also became another candidate.

As I looked at N for Nessie, the sailboat looked a bit foreign. It was the color! Once I started, I got caught up in giving more detail to the background. It made it, in my mind, a bit more juicier.

That is the nice thing about working digitally. They are easier to fix and update.

H A P P Y   N E W   Y E A R !