The process of pet portraits

I just got done with a series of 4 pet portraits-2 were of dogs, 2 were of horses. Anyways, on the last one I decided to scan in every step just for funsies.

The beautiful mare is Stormy...and the kitty is Charlie.

Original Photo:

Lightened up in Photoshop:

First rough sketch:

Ink details added:



Shading and more details:
(realized I've drawn Stormy's muzzle a bit large..will fix in Photoshop)



Final Version:
(Color done in Photoshop. Customer wanted all in black and white except cat)

And that's that.

Holiday update time!

Okay, it's been a while...
Sorry, I've been busy. My calendars did EXTREMELY well and I was even lucky enough to get a mention on Apartment Therapy's site. I never would have ever dreamed I'd have something of mine on their wonderful design blog. It's almost Christmas now and the things are still selling! I'm so thrilled about that.

CCAD Art sale went great, best yet. Even though I had a crummy spot. Bleh. There's a few pics from the sale...mostly showing off my how pretty my table was.

I'm working on a set of pet portraits that will hopefully be done next week...and aside from that I'm just keeping up on orders and preparing for the holidays. However, it's Festivus for the rest of us. ;)

Lee posing with my table.

5-0-0

Okay, this might get wordy...

I hit 500 sales on Etsy the other day.
(Well, now I'm up to 504)
When I sold my first item back in December 2007-literally right after listing it, I got soooooo excited that someone wanted to pay their hard earned money for something I MADE. Over 500 sales later and I still feel that way. The people who have bought my work helped me believe I could one day reach the dream of living off art (and quit my day job, for that matter)...they helped me pay bills, put gas into my car, and buy Christmas presents-which I wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise.
Because of money being so tight now for me, I've literally got no extra money each month after paying bills, loan debt, and my car payment. My Etsy sales have helped me save a little money for emergencies, put money back into my artwork, buy supplies when I need it, and be able to afford to go shopping with my best friend.
Sometimes there are bad months, slow months...or craft shows that don't do well...
Then, there are the weeks where my shop explodes in sales and give me hope again.
Thank you to all the nice people who bought my artwork, who blogged about my artwork, or who simply complemented it.

Thank YOU. Here's to another 500 sales. :)

Shop of the Day! Art Sale Ahead too!

Yes, I'm Shop of the Day over at the Papernstitch Blog. Yay! Good way to start my Friday. Check it out if ya got a second. :)

This weekend I plan on doing more printing in preparing for the CCAD art sale on Dec. 4th (see little promo below). I'm gonna try and sell a lot more than I have in the past. I'd also like to whip up some notecard designs to sell. Maybe some other new goodies too.

Besides that, I might be cutting all my hair off tonight after work. I need a change. Then it's time for beer and relaxing til Monday.

Time to think about the New Year...

Something I've been meaning to do the past oh, three years is make a calendar to sell in my shop. I made one a couple years ago for my parents, but it never made it to my online shelves.
After working on it off and on for the past month or so, I've completed my 2011 Calendar. I'm very excited, I love it. I don't do anything besides prints often, so this is a nice little change for me. It's in the shop!Also, these times, they are a changin'. So I am really thinking of the New Year and what I really want to accomplish. One being moving out of our duplex (especially since the neighbors we love are moving next year). And there's some other things as well that will inevitably be coming my way shortly after the new year begins. It's a situation that came as a shock to me, but also something all too common in this economy. I hope to turn it around and make it better.
Well, I can't elaborate on that just yet, though.

Alright, good weeks to all, I hope.

Happy Halloween and Fridays to all!

I don't have any new work to post yet. I have some sketches done but I have yet to get motivated enough to go scan them in and work on them... bleh, I blame the sudden change in weather here in Ohio.

But anyways, I had a print featured in a cute little blog today, Imagination in Flight, my 'We're Happy Here in the Woods' camping print. :)

Have a terrifically awesome halloween, all.

You can also find my art here...

I have a established a little shop over at Paper n' Stitch. I was a part of it when they first opened it's 'doors' a while ago, but have re-established in hopes it will help sales for the Christmas season. It's a great little site and the owner, Brittni, is wonderful to work with. If you're looking for something to do and don't want to be 'overwhelmed' by Etsy, I highly suggest taking a look.
O'Reilly Ink Illustration at papernstitch.com

I don't have anything new to post, so here's something that made me smile.

Another consecutive post, woot.

I filled up another sketchbook, so before putting her into the pile of other old sketchbooks, here's some randomness from in between her pages.






Also, new print. This blue bike. I made another version too with type, but it's not listed for sale...so if there's interest, I'll put it up. The top one is in the shop.


Time to watch a rerun of Glee. G'night.

I must admit....

I'm feeling very down lately. I've been sick over a week and haven't been able to get on Ruby (my bike, my new love) and go riding. It really clears my head and helps me sort life out and get inspired. I think that's a lot of whey I feel so low. Sigh. Being boxed up on the couch while I hack and cough and pop Mucinex DM does not do well for my creative side.
I am trying to market my art more and get my name out, but it's really hard in a world full of so many talented illustrators and crafters. But it's the dream, to live off that talent have that I paid soooo much money to fine tune in school. Oh, I have a major case of the Mondays.
Sorry for the personal bit, I just need to get that out there to the people.

Adventures with Cherry

This isn't at all art related, but I've been sick all week and haven't felt well enough to ride my bike, so Cherry and I went on a walk in some fields that haven't been turned into housing developments yet.






Also here's a picture of our place decked out for Halloween. :)

And here's my new bike!! I named her Ruby.

I've taken ill, but here is some art.

Yes, I'm suffering from a lousy cold...itchy eyes, sore throat, coughing... UGH. I took off work early to eat chicken noodle soup, take meds, and then pass out on the couch, which just SUCKED because it was such a pretty day. Sigh. So, after some napping I huddled up in my studio and got some prints in the shop. Oh, also I redid my blog..but it might change again, I'm not dedicated to the new layout.



I'd like feedback for the Rise & Shine print. I don't usually do type-based prints, yet I work with typography all day at my day job. Any thoughts would be nice.
Hope everyone is doing better than I am!

A Fox and a Cabin

...two new prints in thy shoppe.

I think foxes are making a comeback. Foxes might be the new owl.
Also, I came home to a paddywagon in front of my house thanks to my always amusing neighbors. I can't wait to move someday, but I will miss their tangles with the Columbus Police.
What else? I kind of want a Dumbo Rat. They have babies at the pet store...and I have a soft spot for their big dopey ears. I might do a rat print soon...though I'm sure there's not much call for that.
Also, I bought a bicycle. But it's being shipped so, I'll have to post it's picture later. Yay, bikes.
Alright enough...I'm tired and cranky and morning traffic lately has been awful so I better go to bed to get up earlier than usual.
Gah.

Autumn Leaf Prints

Well.
Fall seems to finally be on it's way to Ohio. Of course, that means six months of winter will follow...what a drag.
But in the meantime, here's a set of prints for a little bit of autumn goodness. Let's just focus on the lovely scents of fall, Friday night football games, and returning seasons of favorite tv shows. :)
All are now for sale in the shop.

Hello Wednesday

I received yet another photo of my prints all hung up from one of my lovely buyers. She bought these three for her nursery and it looks fantastic. It makes me happy that one of the first memories her little one may have will be of my art on the wall. :)



Secondly, there are a few new prints in the shop. I did another print in the style of my recent deer antler print. I hope it's as well liked.And this one, which I spent a ton of time on and really like the outcome. I'm slightly obsessed with hearts lately.Hope everyone's well! I've been a little bit 'off' this week, so I tried to turn it around by getting into the good ol' creative stuff. It usually helps. :)

Happy Labor Day!

Well, it's happy for those who are getting a paid day off. Or, in my husband's case, time and a half.
I've got a handful of framed prints hanging (and for sale) at Crimson & Clover Salon in Westerville. The owner, Cindy, hangs art all over the place and the salon is in a neat old house that she's made into her business.

I also had one of my buyers send me a picture of my prints hanging up in her new apartment. :) I love getting those.

And finally, I have work for sale on a consignment basis at Rare Device, a boutique in San Francisco. It's co-owned by Lisa Congdon, an illustrator I've always been a big fan of and am obviously a little inspired by if you look at her bright, wonderful work.
And that's that for today! Now to hit some stores for new beers I need to try.

A little change of how I do things.

Here's a brand new print I'm excited about. As cliche as it may sound, the layout for this was in a dream I had. I really like it, I hope everyone does too. I plan on doing a lot more in this way.
It's in the shop. Meanwhile, I'm working on a couple projects...one being an updated logo for the lovely Laura of Pansy Maiden Handbags. And it involves drawing an owl so I'm always game for that. :)
Hope the week starts off okay for everyone!

My Prints in Action!

My wonderful friend, Becky, bought these and was nice enough to send me a pic of them all hung up. They look great! :)

And here are a couple new prints that are newly listed...

Hope everyone is having a lovely week!