character design
Buy art for Christmas!
Whew, this year is gonna be a liiiiiittle different for Christmas shopping, amiright?? Or maybe you already did all your shopping online, so no change for you.
Either way, it’s my artist duty to remind you that art makes a nice gift! I have a bunch of my original illustrations and poster designs up for sale on my Etsy shop. I sign every print, and include a handwritten note with every purchase as well. Because I love seeing written notes on paper – it’s so rare these days!
I just added this sunflower illustration I did recently, but if you are looking for Christmas-related prints, I also added my “A Christmas Story” character designs as well.
My biggest seller so far is my minimalist poster design for the film “Carol” (2015). As far as LGBTQ films with amazing acting go – it’s pretty high on the list!
Popsicles.
Last week the heat was surprisingly tenacious here in BC. My kids and I gathered on a beach towel in our backyard after they had jumped in their kiddie pool for the 76th time. I brought out popsicles for them and smiled as they dripped gleefully all over themselves, reminded that even though 2020 has been so strange and hard – they’ve had a pretty great summer. (Granted, life is easier at 2 and 4 years old.)
I drew this, trying to capture that moment. It took some tries and erasing of many layers and perseverance to get this out of my head properly. It’s not exactly what I envisioned, but it will do. 🙂 ❤
Schitt’s Creek fanart
I know I am late to the fanart train for this show, but I have loved this clearly Canadian classic since it started airing here – well before it got wider acclaim!
I grew up in Winnipeg watching Eugene Levy & Catherine O’Hara and their amazingly brilliant antics on SCTV. I would curl up at the foot of my parents bed and laugh, even though I’m sure I had no idea what most of the skits were about. The costumes and funny voices were enough for me! I was in awe – they were like Canadian Carol Burnett’s!
“Schitt’s Creek” is genius, hilarious, heartwarming and groundbreaking. I want to do so SO much more fanart for it, but SIGH, I am overloaded with projects. So here is one sketch for now – available on my Etsy store if you want to buy a signed print. 🙂 I am filled with glee whenever I can get back to drawing on paper, so I hope to do more soon.
My “Stranger Things” sketch series
One of the best shows Netflix has put out – especially if you are a child of the 80s – has been “Stranger Things”! I just HAD to draw these guys!
Can’t wait for season 2!! Barb….are you out there….????!!
“Downside Up” book is for sale NOW!
This is exciting news for me! The book that my friend Peter Walker wrote, “Downside Up”, and I have illustrated for almost two years is for sale on Amazon NOW! It is also available in Barnes & Noble bookstores in the States! You can buy it Amazon.com or Amazon.ca 🙂 And if you like it, please feel free to leave a review!
This is the first project that I have worked on that I have fully been able to combine my art and my faith, and I am so excited it is available for purchase! It’s also the first published book I have illustrated 🙂
Feel free to like the Facebook page for more updates! Here is a synopsis of the book: “A picture book for grown-ups! Satire and humor in rhyme and verse about Jesus, the church, and what’s gone wrong! Is there any reason for hope?”
A couple teaser illustrations:
The front and back covers:
Last sketches of 2015
This October – December was the busiest on record, what with starting a new show at the studio, piles of freelance, and selling and buying a house…… so sadly my sketches took a backseat. I managed to squeak out a few, here they are!
For Inktober 2015:
A couple sketches in time for “Back to the Future” Day! [Brush pen on Moleskine sketchbook.]
A couple sketches of some of the regular dogs that frequent our studio 🙂 [Brush pen on Moleskine sketchbook.]
And of course a sketch of our cat Mowgli in his favourite position.
I managed to fit in two commissions done as Christmas gifts for clients. The first one was for a couple who had just gotten married and loved trees, hence the background. The second was for someone who is a composer. Both digital.
I’m gonna be a Mom. :D
We announced our big news on the social medias today, and I did this little illustration for the occasion.
Our hearts are dancing, and we breathe in these moments of joy after a long journey. 😀 😀
Winery-inspired commission
A friend contacted me to do a commission for her and her hubby who were going to celebrate an anniversary. They share a love of visiting wineries, so she told me that she would love to have that incorporated somehow into it.
She also said that their phrase they always say to each other is “That’s amore!”, so I wanted to make sure I included that somewhere.
Here is what I came up with!
Rough sketch [digital]:
Final colour version [digital]:
Character designs for unnamed project
I was asked to do a few exploratory character designs for a project, and here is what I came up with! I tried a few different styles, and it was fun just to draw a few different versions of the character I had in my head.
Brush pen and pencil crayon:
Watercolour:
Digital:
Brush pen & pencil crayon:
Brush pen & colerase pencil:
Brush pen & pencil crayon:
Painting a Norma
In doing my own sketch series for “Orange is the New Black”, I thought I would do Norma in a bit of a different media – watercolour. I need to get back into the real paints!! Here is how she turned out, step-by-step:
1 – Rough sketch:
2 – Blocking in the skin colour:
3 – Adding hair and shirt colour
4 – Final details with brush pen and pigma liner
