Sweet Tooth Illustration

A Sweet Tooth Princess....

2011-11-21T00:12:00.000-05:00

Lately, I have been working on a series of princesses that are inspired by different candies: lollipops, chocolates, gumdrops, bubblegum, and peppermints/candy canes for the upcoming holidays. This is a sketch of the Lollipop Princess and I hope to have her in color by the end of the week. I hope to combine this with crafting and paint them on some glass Christmas ornaments.

I am also working on a Thanksgiving sketch to get into the holiday spirit this week. I hope that everyone enjoys a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

The Saturday Evening Sketch: Inspiration From Grimm's Fairy Tales

2011-11-05T22:46:00.000-04:00

Currently, I am reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. Fairy tales is a subject repeated throughout this book thus far, so naturally I have also returned to reading Grimm's Fairy Tales. A classic "go to" collection of stories for most if not all illustrators, the original fairy tales are gruesome and very inspiring for sketches or more detailed illustrations. These sketches are of gnomes that perhaps live in the forest of a faraway distant land. They are good at storytelling, cooking, and most importantly....keeping secrets. These gnomes guard the location to a very important item, and they will only share their secret with the fairest princess in all of the land. For she is the only one who can break the wicked curse that has swept over the forest and beyond.

The Saturday Evening Sketch

2011-10-22T16:15:00.001-04:00

After being absent from my website and blog for far too long, I am finally introducing The Saturday Evening Sketch. The purpose of this post is to not only share new ideas that I am working on, but also to hold myself accountable for at least one weekly blog post! I admire those in the arts who can wear all of the hats, but I find myself still having trouble balancing the time to create and the time to market for exposure of my work.

The Saturday Evening Sketch is inspired by the magazine covers of The Saturday Evening Post by the illustrator Norman Rockwell. The ultimate goal is to continue pushing forward drawing with my own personal style. While realism is a passion, it is shared with a larger one which includes writing and illustrating art for children. I enjoy creating characters that can inspire others.

While my current portfolio is very one-sided to the fine arts, I am very excited to start sharing this side of my work. As with realism at a point in time, being a perfectionist has kept this part of my work hidden. I have finally reached that point of moving beyond the opinions of others and truly listening to my own voice.

So stay tuned for The Saturday Evening Sketch!

Rockford ArtCapsule

2010-08-13T10:46:00.002-04:00

"I Love Rockford in the Summer"

In honor of Rockford's 75th Anniversary, the Rockford Area Arts Commission has developed ArtCapsule. The competition will run from August 13th through August 16 and will be similar to Grand Rapids ArtPrize. The public will be voting for their favorite artists, and awards will be given in the following categories: Best in Show, Best 2d Design, and Best 3d Design.

With only a few weeks to spare, artists were asked to create a new piece that best represents their view of the City of Rockford. If possible, the artists were asked to work out in the public view aka plein air. If a new piece is not possible, work completed within the last year is acceptable.

There are 29 artists participating in this year's ArtCapsule, and I am proud to be one of them. My piece, "I Love Rockford in the Summer" is brand new and has been my life since news of the ArtCapsule competition showed up on Facebook. The drawing is a mix of colored pencil and graphite on Bristol, and it is 14" x 14".

My idea for this drawing was to re-create the identity of the downtown businesses as a collectible sticker for children who visited their locations. I also wanted to showcase my skills as a designer and an illustrative style all my own. Most of my current work is commission-based or for competition and holds a fine art quality. My goal when I created this piece was to show a different side of my artistic ability combined with the fine art of drawing a portrait.

If you are in the Rockford area this weekend, my piece is located inside the Frame & Mat Shop at 65 Courtland Street in downtown. Voting will take place tomorrow, August 14 from 12pm to 6pm. Stop by and take a look at all of the wonderful pieces of art on display. We would all love your vote.

A Childhood Collection

2010-04-27T23:45:00.000-04:00

This is a colored pencil study of some paua/abalone shells I recently completed. As a child, I collected all sorts of random things from nature: shells, leaves, rocks, etc. Nature has always been a huge inspiration to me.

These particular types of shells always caught my eye due to their different shades of vibrant color and their unique organic shapes. They are still a favorite of mine when I walk into any bead shop or craft store.

The drawing is 10" x 15" on Bristol. Comments are welcome!

A Family Portrait

2010-03-02T15:27:00.002-05:00

This is a family portrait I recently completed for a client using her photographs as references. It is 11" x 14", drawn in colored pencil on Bristol. Sometimes it is difficult to get a smile from every person in one photograph, so in this case I used poses from three different pictures to create the final drawing.

Photography is a great tool I use often when drawing, but it does have its drawbacks. In this case, I missed some crucial details and had to make some corrections after the client had received it. It can be frustrating for artists when a commission does not turn out "right" the first time, but there is always a lesson to be learned with every mistake.

Clients should never be afraid to contact the artist if something is wrong with a commission. You are paying for the piece, and it is my job to get it right.

Happy Clients = Happy Artists & Illustrators

Creative Pay It Forward: "The Boys"

2010-01-06T01:16:00.007-05:00

Back in March 2009, I sent out a Facebook note called Creative Pay It Forward. The idea is similar to a chain letter with the exception that the first five people to respond would get something created by me in the year 2009. Those same five people would also copy and send the note on to others, and so on.

I only had one response to this note, so I decided to make something special for this person. She is a wonderful friend, a loving wife, and a devoted mother to her three little boys.

"The Boys" portrait is 11" x 14" and is drawn in graphite pencil on bristol. In the bottom picture, it is shown matted in a 16" x 20" black frame.

Drawing of the Red Barn........

2009-10-17T16:21:00.003-04:00

This is a commission I worked on in the summer of a barn located in northwest Indiana. The place holds a great deal of personal meaning to the family, and the drawing was a surprise gift.

I really enjoyed working on this piece because of my love for barns (both old and new) and also the truck, a green 1947 International. This particular photograph of the drawing is slightly skewed and may not be the best representation, but it did capture the correct colors I used in the drawing process.

The piece was created using colored pencils, but it was not rendered as tightly as I normally work. I have been experimenting with the medium over the last few months and found I enjoy leaving some areas with more of a sketch-like quality.

Overall, I am pleased with the drawing and the client was happy with the final result. At the end of the day, the client's reaction is all that matters.

~Amanda

My Desk....

2009-05-28T21:55:00.002-04:00

Ahhh....the drafting desk. This is where I like to spend most of day. Unfortunately, I need to spend more time there. Sometimes I feel like there are not enough hours in the day.

I am working on my inspiration wall and hope to have pics posted soon. I used to have a dry-erase board, but it was not big enough....so I turned one entire wall in my home studio into a giant chalkboard with a few small bulletin boards on the far side to tack up misc. objects as I find them.

In this photo, (yes that's a sketch of me :) is a drawing that's now finished, my practice note card, small beach painting for a client, and a small pic of my "kids", Arley & Samson.

I love viewing artist's studios to see where they work and perhaps get a glimpse of their inspiration. Fun.

17th Annual CPSA International Exhibition

2009-05-12T22:33:00.003-04:00

I am excited to announce that my illustration, "I Want That One...", has been accepted in the 17th Annual CPSA (Colored Pencil Society of America) International Exhibition in Atlanta, GA. http://www.cpsa.org/EXHIBITION/17thEXHIBITION/2009invited3.2.htm

My goal this year was to branch out and get my work seen, and I am glad to see results!