R is for Raccoon and Rake

 R is for Raccoon and Rake

Will escaping the cold of winter it was fun coming up with yet another letter R for my whimsical letter collection called Alphabet Soup.

R is not only for the raccoon and red rake but robin as well.

You can fine this illustration and many others on my Fine Art America site.

P is for Panda and Parasol

 P is for Panda and Parasol

Returning to creating more illustrated letters for my alphabet series called Alphabet Soup.

This past summer a mother confided to me how her son loves pandas and his name started with the letter P.  So here it is finally! Was fun creating it as an escape from these past gray January days.

You can also find it on Fine America

Here it is as a pillow!

J is for Jack Russell

 J is for Jack Russell

J is for Jack Russell is new addition to my collection of alphabet letter illustrations called Alphabet Soup.

 J for the Jack Russell Terrier which forms the letter J includes other elements that begin with the letter J such as the jug with the Jack Rabbit on it, Jasmine blossoms and the Blue Jay, the journal book, and finally the color background of jade green.

Have to say J is a challenge. A fun one at that!

 Makes a great pillow too for all you dog lovers out there! 

Check it on on Fine Art America!

C is for Cat on a Cup with a Canary

C is for Cat in a Cup with a Canary

Periodically I look at older pieces that I have created and get inspired to create a new version as you see above.

Below is the older version with a cat in a cup.

I liked this as well, but it is old habits to go back and create a new versions live on. Besides, I like cats and birds.

D is for Dinosaur

D is for Dinosaur and Disaster

Finally got around to illustrating another letter D.

I think my grandson had a lot to do with it and his love of dinosaurs.

Threw in a couple of dragonflies to connect with the letter D.

Hope to see if this is a hit with the kids.

O is for Ocelot

O is for Ocelot

Started to look at the letter O again, and thought it was time for a new design. Ocelot came to mind, not to mention Oriole. This quarantine is keeping me busy...lol! 

S is for Swan: New Look

S is for Swan

When I would sit in my both at art festivals, I become my worse critic. I start to pick candidates for updates and revisions.

I started to look at my original below thinking it could be better, juicier, tweaked to look better. I use to do this as a designer when I lived in greeting card world. It is an old habit. 

Better? I hope so! 

Check out the new look on pillows and tote bags!

Check them out on by clicking on this link:

https://valerie-drake-lesiak.pixels.com/featured/s-is-for-swan-valerie-drake-lesiak.html

Have a Beautiful Day!

V is for Vase of Various Flowers (update)

V is for Vase of Various Flowers

It is not uncommon to review and update a piece when it comes to digital art. I think that is why before painting digitally many artists would do several paintings of a subject before they were satisfied.

Here is the original:

I decided to redesign the main flowers and add a few more leaves while  simplifying the background suggested foliage. 

That is the beauty of working in a digital medium unlike watercolor that is cast in cement. You can keep on playing.

Revisiting and Tweaking an Illustration

C is for Cat & Cockatoo

Still go back from time to time to revisit and tweak an illustration I created. 

I went back to change the background to a more pronounced check, tweak proportions, and a touch more green, and add more contrast.  

The beauty of working digitally is I can always go back to change it up.

Q is for Quail and Queen Anne's Lace

Q is for Quail and Queen Anne's Lace

Here is the newest illustration for the letter Q to start the new year! 

Q is not easy to come up with ideas, but finally after several sketches, using a quail finally started to work. 

I think using Queen Anne's Lace helped to make the Q shape a reality. 

T is for Terrier and Teddy

T is for Terrier and Teddy

Here is one more for the letter T! 

One of the things I pick up from my customers is there is a lot of dog lovers out there! So in looking at my collection of the designs that I have done for the letter T, why not a terrier?

So here is the letter T for Terry the Terrier who stands on a Tile floor with his cute Toy Teddy bear holding a Trumpet in a Teal or Turquoise color scheme.

O is for Otter with an Oh so Delicious Doughnut!

O is for Otter with an Oh so Delicious Doughnut

I illustrated a Doughnut for my first letter O as scene below.

I was not thinking of tying into the letter at the time, but just using the doughnut for the shape of an O. What I discovered later is that there are many fans of doughnuts including children.

So to make it more whimsical and to tie into the letter O, an otter would make it far more fun than a simple still life with a cup of coffee. 

I even added more sprinkles to the doughnut to sweeten it up!

U is for Unicorn

U is for Unicorn

I have been busy doing shows now that it is spring, which means doing very little illustration.

One of the things I noticed are some people are now looking for Unicorns in my offering. As I design some of these letters, I design some of them so one may or may not see the letter especially if it is pulled out of the collection of letters. That was my intent with the unicorn above. One can see the U shape or just the unicorn.

For all that like a little whimsy in the bath, you may find this as a shower curtain on my Fine Art America link.

D is for Duck and Daffodils

D is for Duck and Daffodils

As January is coming to a close, I am definitely looking forward to spring!

The idea of this design came to me early this morning. 

While trying to think of a new letter E, D using a duck came to mind. Maybe it is the memory of the cute duck that lived next door when I was a kid. Her name was Clownie and she was the watch duck of the neighborhood. So when thinking of her fondly, I created a new letter D.

You can also find this delightful letter D on a T...t-shirt that is!

Just click on the t-shirt for a link to my Fine Art America site.

A is for Alligator

A is for Alligator

Trying to come up with new letters is not getting any easier. With a new grandson, I had to come up with another illustrated letter A.

So here is A for Alligator, as well as Angel Fish, and Albatross. 

I thinks there is a little Amore with the Alligator and the Angel fish. 

You can also find this whimsical monogram as a pillow on my Fine Art America page.