A 2016 Success - Tea Towels

Hi there. How are you?

It's the week between Christmas and New Years and I'm in a contemplative mood. I'm thinking about my progress in 2016 and what I can do better in 2017.

After doing my year end accounting, I was feeling pretty blue, pretty defeated. Monetarily, 2016 was pretty pathetic for my art biz.

Then, I started thinking back at all of the new things I made this year. The new connections I've made, the wholesale accounts I've gained and the successes I've had. I DID make some progress.

Over the next few posts, I'm going to celebrate my successes in 2016 and look back at what I've made. Sound good?

First up: Tea Towels

This year, I introduced 2 new tea towel designs, both of which started as drawings in my sketchbook. Let me show you the process.

Veggies are a hit!

I introduced my veggie print tea towel at a holiday craft sale I did earlier this month. I'm happy to report that it sold like gangbusters! They went over big as gifts for mom and grandma. I've just got a handful of these left.

The origin story

In January of 2016, I took part in a 31 day drawing challenge with Creative Bug. (See all of my drawings here.)  Each day, participants were given something to draw. The Day 17 prompt was root vegetables and man did I have fun with that.

My Day 17 drawings turned into a pattern for a tea towel.

My Day 17 drawings turned into a pattern for a tea towel.

The magic

I scanned in my drawings, and with some Photoshop and Illustrator magic, I turned them into a pattern. Then, my friends at Merchop screen printed them for me. This is my favorite tea towel design to date!

The detail

I'm so impressed with the detail in this print. Merchop has got this tea towel printing down!

My tea towels have sold so well in 2016 that I am excited to make add a few more designs to the collection in 2017.

Have a tea towel design idea for me?

I'd love to hear from you.

Leave a comment or send me an email. 

Until next time. Ciao!

2017 Coloring Calendars Are Here!

Hi there. How are you?

The 2017 Coloring Calendar is here. Click to purchase!

The 2017 Coloring Calendar is here. Click to purchase!

2017 Coloring Calendars are Here!

After many months in the making, I've got 12 new hand drawn calendar pages for you to color and enjoy. I'm so pleased with how these turned out and am excited to send them out into the world.

Printed on a nice thick cardstock, you can color with sharpies or any other marker on this 2017 coloring calendar.

Printed on a nice thick cardstock, you can color with sharpies or any other marker on this 2017 coloring calendar.

Color with any Media

Each page in this spiral bound calendar measures 5.5" x 8.5" and are single sided so that you can easily share or hang your colored creations. The calendar was professionally printed right here in Carbondale on a nice heavy card-stock, so feel free to coloring with any tool of your choice. I've colored here with Sharpies and other permanent markers, and there was just a tiny bit of bleed through onto the back side of the page.

The spiral bound calendar comes with a small hole in each page so it's easy to hang.

The spiral bound calendar comes with a small hole in each page so it's easy to hang.

Ready to hang. Easy to gift.

Believe it or not, the holiday season is almost upon us. At just $17.00, these calendars make a great gift to keep on hand for any creative on your list.

With a small hole at the bottom of each page, this calendar is easy to hang in your home or office. I hung mine on the wall just above my computer so I can easily refer to it.

The calendar illustrations look cool colored and uncolored.

The calendar illustrations look cool colored and uncolored.

Looks cool uncolored

Not into coloring? The 12 hand drawn illustrations can stand on their own without color. I most likely won't color my own calendar.......I honestly don't have the patience for coloring. (Crazy, but true.)

Act fast. These won't last!

If you enjoy my artwork and blog, please share this post and my sale with your friends.

Ciao!

Ready to Go Big!

Hi there. How are you?

After weeks of directing all of my attention to my soon to be released coloring calendar, I was itching to make some original works. I had a stack of small 4"x4" cradled hardboard panels in my studio and decided to use 'em up.

Here's what I made:

Small, abstract pen drawings on colored paper. All are now for sale in my shop. Click to purchase!

Small, abstract pen drawings on colored paper. All are now for sale in my shop. Click to purchase!

The first 4 featured black ink on colored paper.

Very quickly, I could see a new style emerging in this collection. The focus on negative space that permeated my work for a time was gone. This new work is reminiscent of plaits or woven strands. I liked where this was heading.

Small ballpoint pen drawings on paper, each in a different color of ink. Click through to purchase!

Small ballpoint pen drawings on paper, each in a different color of ink. Click through to purchase!

Then I got a set of assorted colored ballpoint pens.

It was "Back to School" time, and I picked up a set of 8 assorted ballpoints for $1.50. I don't know why I'd never used anything other than black ink in my years of ballpoint pen drawing. I do know that I'm hooked and can't wait to do more drawing with my expanded color palette!

My newest sketchbook drawing got me thinking big. I'm ready supersize these drawings!

Now, I'm itching to "Go Big."

I really enjoyed working on this full page spread in my Moleskine the other day.  This drawing measures just 8" x 10", but it feels expansive in comparison to the tiny 4" x 4" squares I've been making. There's room to move and experiment and I liked that. I've come to the conclusion that It's time to go big!

I'm thinking my next piece will be made with same royal blue ink. Or maybe red? All I know is that I'm going to work larger, and I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!

That's all for now. Ciao!

P.S. All of the pieces shown in this post are now for sale in my shop. At $50 with free shipping these ready to hang beauties make a lovely gift. Want more than one? I'll give you a discount. Get in touch!