CD cover design

This is a CD cover I recently designed - I'd love to do more!

a portal and regret

I designed the movie poster in Photoshop, and the bottom image in Photoshop and Illustrator.

disorder awareness poster

(Click on it to see it bigger.)

I designed this for one of my graphic design classes. The assignment was to create an awareness poster for a mental disorder. I blurred out the organization I used as a "sponsor," since this is not a real poster for them. :)

Made in Adobe Photoshop

digital self-portrait

A digital collage of my essence.

Photoshop.

two useful sites for graphic designers

I'd like to share a couple of great sites for graphic designers:

1. GoMediaZine:

This fun site offers free tutorials, vector freebies, tips, and plenty of other useful information. There are several free vector samples to choose from, and they all look very professional.

There are also tutorials for Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, After Effects, typography, and web design.

2. dafont:

Look no further in your search for that perfect font. This site offers thousands of free downloadable fonts, and you're sure to find what you're looking for. This is my "go to" site for fonts, and I've never been disappointed. 

There are several categories to choose from with thousands of unique fonts.

two big cats

"Snow Leopard" : Oil on canvas : 28"x22"

"Cheetah" : Oil on canvas : 28"x22"

the tiger who sparked a fire

"Tiger" : Oil on canvas. 28"x22"

I believe this is the beginning of a new series of paintings. I painted this tiger as part of my final for school, and it has inspired me to start an entire series of animal face close-ups. I'm currently working on two others for school due next week, so I will post them when they're finished.

My intention for this series is to focus on the abstract quality of the markings, shapes, and colors of the faces. Only when they are viewed up close can that abstract quality be fully appreciated. The close-ups also provide a stunning composition and allow the viewer to see the animal in a different light.

Prints of this painting are available in my Cafepress shop!

a new discovery

I just found this really cool site called cafepress.com where you can sell poster prints, magnets, buttons, etc... of your artwork. I've been looking for a low-cost way to sell prints of some of my paintings, and this seems to be pretty ideal for me right now. Basically, I don't have to worry about shipping or having enough prints on hand. The posters and accessories are printed and shipped by Cafepress, and all I have to do is promote.

I just set up my free shop, and I sell posters, tote bags, magnets, postcards, and buttons featuring some of my artwork. Eventually, I will list some of my original paintings in my Etsy shop, so I wanted to find a way to offer prints as a low-cost option.

So, if there are any artists reading this post who are looking for a way to sell low-cost prints of their artwork - Check out Cafepress! You can set up a basic shop for free, so it can't hurt to try it. The prints are posters, not giclee prints, but it's a free way to make prints of your work available.

Now, I will say that in the free basic shop, you can only have one of each type of product (ex: one totebag, one 3.5" button, one 11"x17" poster print), but that hasn't stopped me from having a decent shop :)

It will do for now.

UPDATE: My Premium Cafepress shop: cafepress.com/animalartshop
After having a free shop for a while, I decided to go premium to give me more options. The free shop was great to get me started, but I later wanted to sell more items.

the lioness and her mask

*The lioness was an exceptional huntress. Always searching for a better way to hunt, she practiced daily, striving to find the perfect strategy. She experimented endlessly with much trial and error, until one day, she discovered the ultimate strategy. She realized that the best way to catch her prey was to simply blend in among them. This way, they would never suspect a thing, and she could catch them by surprise.*

The Lioness and Her Mask

Oil on canvas. 28"x22"

can an elephant fly?

A very talented writer by the name of Brenda Bryant has written a wonderful story inspired by my illustration "The Journey." Her blog is rinklyrimes.blogspot.com (titled BryAntics) where she posts "original verses, parodies, comic rhymes, [and] childrens' poems."

You can read the story here.

It is sure to keep you smiling!

dragonfly and sparrow

I just listed these two new silver necklaces in my shop!

I had to get a little creative with these, as I was low on supplies. I was looking for something to attach to the back of the dragonfly and sparrow pendants and was thinking I would have to wait and order more supplies before I could make them. I just started fiddling around with some washers and watch parts in my supply stash and was pleased to find that the washers fit perfectly inside the number rings! Problem solved. I'm so pleased with how they came out!

I actually made another dragonfly one for myself. Wearing your own jewelry is the best advertisement! :)

I'd like to give a special thank you to Shadow Landon for promoting my shop on his blog.

new painting: the living tree

New painting -  "The Living Tree"  :   Oil on canvas  :  30"x22"

I just finished this one today, and it's due tomorrow for my painting class! I wanted to paint a piece with a dark fantasy feel. I was aiming to keep the colors fairly monochromatic yet complex to give the painting an eerie, moody feel.

A much more vibrant picture of this painting can be seen on Flickr.

the journey

Alright, it's finished! I'm really getting into this whole surrealism thing with my paintings. It was fun to paint. This one has a really light-hearted feel, and it looks like a children's illustration to me. I wouldn't mind being a children's book illustrator one day! 

I used oils on canvas, just like my previous painting "The Lion's Mouth," and it is 30"x20". It's entitled "The Journey," by the way.

One day, I'd like to start selling my fine art on Etsy, but that's way down the road.

an owl and two keys

I just listed 4 new necklaces this weekend in my shop. 

I spent most of my time making these necklaces rather than working on my painting that's due Monday :). It's almost done, though, and hopefully I'll finish before sundown tomorrow so I can take it outside to get a good picture of it to post.

Oh, and I made my first sale a couple of days ago!

a lion and a locket

A new painting and a new necklace...

I'm experimenting with a little surrealism in painting class right now and this one, entitled "The Lion's Mouth," was finished a few days ago. I'm currently working on a new one, which I will post in a few days. More of my artwork can be seen on my Flickr page.

The necklace an antique brass chain necklace featuring an antique silver locket, sparrow pendant, and ruby glass bead.