Finding My Style in Illustrator

I admit to feeling frustrated lately with finding my style in Illustrator.  It's a flat vector based computer program and sometimes I just don't like that look.  My artwork is usually created with lots of layers of paint and paper.  I decided to play around and see what I could come up with.  I went with my favorite subject matter and here is what I created.

These are the icons I started with. I tried some texture with my brush strokes to give the foxes depth.

I played around with the background to add more interest.

Then I tried out some patterns.

Then I played with textures I made with a very cool app from Adobe called Adobe Shape as well as the watercolor brush and I came up with this fox.

I love how he turned out.  He's much closer to my painting style and I think the texture I created is nice.  It's still a work in progress but I know I'm headed in the right direction.

Thanks for stopping by!

Etsy Sale All Weekend

Black Friday through Sunday Night I am having a sale in my Etsy Shop! I have lowered the prices on all my prints.

8x10's are $15.00 this weekend instead of $20.00

 

I also have my first originals available in the shop. I did a series of foxes on 4x6 Strathmore Mixed Media Paper. Each fox is different and I varied the mediums used as well.

 

This weekend only they are $12 each!

 

They are original paintings ready to be matted and framed. This is my first Christmas with a shop so, I thought I'd kick it off with a very fun opportunity to own or give an original piece of art. I love foxes and these were so fun to create. I truly hope they all find good homes!

 

Happy Holidays!

 

Lynda

 

Etsy Shop Preview for Black Friday

I've got the holiday tunes blaring (Brian Setzer Orchestra Holiday Channel on Pandora) and I'm ready for the holidays to begin.  I decided to have a sale in my Etsy shop starting Friday with specially priced original paintings of foxes.  Here is a sneak peek.  They are 4x6 paintings using various mediums on Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media Paper and are ready to matted and framed.  These are great for fox fanatics (like me) or a kid's room with a woodland theme.

Other items in my shop will be priced lower this weekend only!  So, check out my shop and see if there are any prints you would like.  These foxes won't be listed until Friday.  I had a great time painting them and I hope they will live happily in someone's home soon.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

P.S. I will be announcing on Instagram, Twitter and my Facebook page when the sale begins.  Check out my links above in my link bar and follow me for updates!

Diary of a "Make Art That Sells" Student: Week 2 of Part B

Well, it was another long, fun and hard working week for MATS!  Week 2 was all about Children's Apparel.  I have been shopping in the baby and children's departments for about 6 years now so, I was very excited for this week.  The theme was camping.  I really, really wanted to nail this one with a beautiful presentation.  That didn't happen.  I like my icons, especially the animal ones but I just can't get the arranging down to make it super pretty.  Getting the icons right is the most important thing though.  If those aren't strong I won't have a strong piece in the end.  Here is what I came up with.

This is the collections of icons I created.  I had to do woodland critters of course!  I drew the line work and the painting separately and put them together using Photoshop and Illustrator.  I used Illustrator for the line work then pasted it into Photoshop.

Coming up with arrangements was difficult.  I decided to create a scene with my icons and then I attempted a repeat like pattern with the critters.  It wasn't the success I hoped.  I also created a repeat with a painted mushroom which I think came out cute.

I am happy with the items I have to work with.  I really enjoyed this assignment and want to play more and more with it.  Here is the presentation sheet that I posted for review.

I'm going to get this eventually.  It's a big learning curve.  I am confident I can do this though! 

Week 3 is Scrapbooking!  I hope to continue improving!

Thanks for stopping by!