Bee's Knees Industries

The Prize

Since I painted a little piece for Illustration Friday last week, I decided I want to keep up with it a little better. The prompts gave me tons of portfolio pieces when I first started working in illustration, about ten years ago, and I thought it would be fun to start that up again.

I couldn't think of what to do for this week's word, prize, so I just sat down with a blank sheet of paper and no ideas whatsoever. Eventually, the little prize ribbon materialized, and I was set. But not before ruining the drawing entirely and having to start over, of course.

I'm looking forward to next week's prompt!

Purrmaid

I've been working on a series of "Fantasticats," so when I saw that this week's Illustration Friday topic was mermaid, I just had to add in a feline element. I have three more kitties to draw to finish up the project I have in mind, but now all I want to draw are purrmaids.

This little gal is available in my shop both as an original painting and as a print.

Embroidery Pattern: Stumpwork Ghost & Tombstone

This month, the crew over at &Stitches have been working with the theme of stumpwork. If you're not familiar, stumpwork is a collection of embroidery techniques that produce some really fun three-dimensional results.

Since my project is for the end of the month, I figured it was late enough to get started on Halloween-themed crafting, so I created this wired ghost popping out of a tombstone. The PDF has a tutorial for the stumpwork technique you'll need, but you can also check the stumpwork tag on &Stitches to see more great tutorials. Head over to the blog to get the pattern to create your own!

Files:
• Download the Stumpwork Ghost at the &Stitches blog (PDF) - prints on 8.5" x 11" paper

Promotional Postcards for Illustrators

Do you ever have one of those situations where the same idea keeps popping up in a bunch of different parts of your life and you figure you should probably pay attention? I had never heard of the practice of sending promotional postcards for illustrators a couple of months ago, but I'm suddenly finding lots of pushes to send them out. When Lilla recommended it in the Make Art That Sells course, I knew it was time to get moving. It's funny how that kind of information comes to you when you need it.

I chose my most recent favorite illustration for the front of the card and did a little hand lettering for the back. (The inspiration for the design came from these two links.) I'm casting a wide net with this first mailing and sending to lots of different types of companies. I spent the past month collecting addresses from lots of good resources. My favorite place to "research" (OK, so I'm actually just having fun shopping) is Powell's, since there are plenty of great books, magazines, and gift items. Lots of these items even have the address printed right on the package, which makes it so easy to collect the information I need.

We'll see if these go anywhere for me, but I'm really glad to have taken such a great step in the right direction.

Pillow Dolls

I'm working to get ready for BlytheCon this weekend, and I've been trying to think of some non-Blythe items that Blythe enthusiasts might enjoy. My first thought was pillow dolls, so I took a few illustrations I have made and had them printed at Spoonflower to make into little pillows.

My favorite is definitely the cat fairy, and she's going to get scaled up soon to make a full-size throw pillow. I have a few other Fantasticats that I may work into little dolls, too. They're just so much cuter when you can snuggle them!

Right now, these are all headed to Vancouver for BlytheCon, but I'll add some to the shop when I get back next week.

I hope to see some of you in Canada! Please stop by and say hi if you're there!

MATS Home Décor Class: Week Five

I made it through the last week of Make Art That Sells class! Woo hoo!

This past week was a bit of a blur, and I don't really have any extra images to share, but I wanted to make sure I did a post for each week. The substrate this week was wood, and I really enjoyed thinking about products that use this material.

I also started to figure out this week that I could use imagery I'd created for previous weeks, and it was a fun challenge to pull out my icons and use them in different ways. I didn't have very much time to work on this board (most of my time last week went to wedding invitations and other planning), so this was a great trick to learn.

As relieved as I am to be finished with such an intense course, I'm already looking forward to the next class. Lilla is running a deal right now for the next round of MATS courses until the end of the month, so it's a good time to sign up if you've been thinking about it. I'd love to see you guys in my next class!

Wedding Invitations

I'm very excited to share with you my latest DIY project: my wedding invitations! These were quite the labor of love for me. I was completely stuck on ideas until last week, when we started working on hand lettering in the MATS class. I made a T that I really liked, and it all rolled from there.

(Sorry for the blur, but, you know, privacy and stuff.)

Other than the hand-lettered details, all the text was created using Poetica, my go-to super-fancy font. It's a great font for this sort of project because it has about 20 variations, with different swash capitals, ligatures, and ampersands to customize the look to your liking.

The invitations and RSVP cards were printed at Vistaprint. Their service and quality was really great for the price, and I was happy that they do very short runs of cards, since I really don't need 250 invitations.

The rest of the presentation came from Paper Source. I remember being a young art student, wandering that store in downtown Chicago, pretending to buy supplies for class while daydreaming about my future wedding. And yesterday I finally had the chance to fulfill the daydream! They have a tremendous selection of envelopes to match any size or color you have in mind, and I was completely smitten by these mossy green lovelies.

The gold seals are punched using my trusty Martha Stewart punch and Paper Source's gold label sheets. I like this option since it leaves me with plenty of extra gold to decorate the event.

I thought about printing address labels for the envelopes, but in the end, this tutorial inspired me to try my hand at some calligraphy. I've been playing around with a Noodler's Creaper flex nib pen lately, so I used that to letter the envelopes.

I hope you enjoy this little peek into my wedding planning process. I'm hoping to share more about it as we get closer to the date. It's fun to use all my new skills for such a personal project that I get to share with my loved ones.

Art at Purringtons Cat Lounge

Local Portlanders: Have you been to Purringtons Cat Lounge yet? That place is way too cute! They've quickly become my favorite client, since I get to hang out with cats and cat ladies every time I drop off my products.

The owner recently added a space to hang cat art and she asked me to make a few pieces for her. How could I resist? I split my work between famous internet cats and imaginary cats, to keep things balanced, of course.

If you're in the area, I'd recommend poking your head in. They have a steadily growing cat-themed shop area with some great work, including three illustrations by my friend, Jesiey (Portland cats, in the lower right corner).

And in case you're not in the area, I added a faery and a genie to my Etsy shop, too!

MATS Home Décor Class: Week Four

The MATSies have made it through week four. Just one more week to go, and the topic is wood. I'm exhausted by this marathon of creation, but I'm also so pleased with everything I've learned. I feel so much more confident in my skills, and I can't wait to use my new knowledge for a few other projects I have up my sleeve. (I'm coming for you, Land of Nod kids' home decor collection!)

I have another hand-lettered quote for you guys today, too. This time, it's Thoreau. As usual, you can grab the printable file at the bottom of the post. I have another one to share later this week, and I'm working on a few cat quotes, as well. Mark Twain is quite the gold mine for those, as is Christopher Walken, surprisingly.

Files:
•  Download "Wild and Free" here (PDF) - prints on 8.5" x 11" paper
• Set your printer to photo quality for best printing
• Use regular printer paper or high-quality matte photo paper, depending on your preference

Print: Lovely, Dark, & Deep

This week's MATS theme is hand-lettering, something I've never really tried before. Normally, by this point in the week, I'd have finished products to show, but I'm taking my time to practice this new-to-me skill. As I work, I thought it would be fun to share some of my hand-lettering projects as free printables on the blog (the download link is at the bottom of the post).

First up is my favorite line of Robert Frost poetry. I wanted to convey the fairy tale feeling I get when I read these words, so I played around with some fancy Gothic fonts. At first, I was frustrated that I couldn't get them to look like the fonts I'm familiar with, but as I continued, I found that all those little handmade imperfections added up to something I really enjoyed.

It turns out, I really like hand-lettering. It combines my graphic design roots with my illustration passion in a perfect way. I have plenty more quotes in mind, so I'll be back next week to share a couple more prints. If anyone has any quotes you'd like to see from me, just let me know, and I'll see what I can do!

Files:
• Download "Lovely, Dark, & Deep" here (PDF) - prints on 8.5" x 11" paper
• Set your printer to photo quality for best printing
• Use regular printer paper or high-quality matte photo paper, depending on your preference

Impossible Sketches

As I work to grow my illustration business, I'm working to grow my illustration skill, too. I've spent the past few months drawing from life to help improve my abilities, but I started to find it a bit limiting. Whenever I couldn't find an image that matched my ideas, I'd feel I had hit a bit of a block.

So I decided to change up my regular practice. Each month, I'm choosing a different theme for daily drawing, and this month's theme is "Impossible". As long as it's something I can't draw from life, it counts. This is forcing me to be a bit more adventurous with my illustration, and it's making me realize that all that life drawing has really improved my ability to draw from memory and imagination.

So far, these two images are my favorite impossible drawings. Cathulhu and a slug jouster.

Do you have any daily creative exercises you enjoy?

MATS Home Décor Class: Week Three

This week's class felt a little tough to me. We worked in glass, and I just couldn't seem to get the designing part of my mind on board with the material. Maybe it's because Tony is a glassblower, and I was thinking of things in terms of being able to hand make them, or maybe I'm just getting a little worn out from working so hard. Either way, these aren't my favorite items, but I'm still proud of them.

One of Lilla's best tips is to create products that we would like to buy. When she says it like that, it feels so simple. I thought about that a lot when working this week, and I think it really helped. For instance, I've always liked plain dark glass lampshades, but they just don't feel "me" enough to buy one. So I added stars. Well, it was a step up, but still not quite my style, so I made them into constellations (which you can see at the top of the post). It was a fun way for a project to evolve; just keep thinking about what would make you have to have it when you saw it at the store.

Once again, my fellow students were hugely helpful as I worked on my designs, so I made a little motivational hand-lettering. Go, MATSies, go!

Madame Mushroom

Just a quick little illustration I cooked up when I was supposed to be drawing florals for the MATS class. I find that I'm really drawn to images that have no outlines for the shapes, so I'm trying to practice that style.

Birthday Shenanigans

Yesterday was my 33rd birthday, so Tony took me to one of my favorite Oregon attractions, the Enchanted Forest. I love this place for two reasons. First, it's adorably whimsical and full of fun things to see and do.

And second, it's a great example of what you can accomplish if you set your mind to it. The creator of the park, Roger Tofte, decided one day to build a theme park, and then he did. He's worked on it continuously since its beginning, always upgrading and refining his vision. Such an inspiration!

I was inspired so much, I decided to do some plein air painting out there and made my own version of Humpty Dumpty. It was my first time actually doing an on-site painting, and I loved it. Now I just need to find a few more equally silly spots to sit and paint.

Siren Nation: Paint Your Art Out

This year, I had the opportunity to take part in the Siren Nation Paint Your Art Out event. I showed my work in the same venue the first year I lived in Portland, seven years ago, and it was so nice to be included again.

If you're in the Portland area, feel free to visit the show at the Olympic Mills Building, at 107 SE Washington St. between now and August 8th. There's a wonderful variety of art to see, including these two flower-themed watercolors from me.