illustration friday~winter

ok...i'm so biased here. but this week's i.f. theme might be my favorite! I LOVE WINTER..LOVE IT!!! this illustration was meant to be made into a rubber stamp, but time did not allow for it. oh well, there's always next year:) i sketched it first in pencil and then hand-inked it with my good ole' rapidograph pens...the BEST!:) i am hoping to turn it into a full-blown color painting SOON!
below are a few other sketches and designs i felt fit the topic of "winter". did mention it's my favorite season...?;)

tobias family portrait

okay...here is the finished piece!:) let me start by saying that if there appears to be a line going down the painting, it's because i suck at stitiching scans together in photoshop. it didn't fit on my scanner in one piece. hence the fact that i had to do some "stitching". definitely not one of my many talents;)
i am so happy to have beeen given the opportunity by my friend laura to paint her sweet little family in my illustration style. right down to the 2 dogs;) i anxiously await seeing a photo of this hung on their wall!

next up...LOTS of sketching for some new ideas and some more custom nursery art is on the way. looking at doing some hand-painted wooden growth charts...as soon as i can get some decent wood from home depot and/or lowes...

illustration friday~mail

here is my contribution to this week's i.f. theme of 'mail'. i painted it last year so that i could use the image for my 'contact page' of my website.
http://www.theenchantedeasel.com/
it's me...in my uggs;)
btw, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all my friends out there! thank you for traveling with me on the road to becoming a successful children's illustrator:)
can't wait for lots of new endeavors in 2011...

yes, i do fine arts too...

here is something a little different (from my children's art). i just finished it and wanted to post it here...until i get the time to put another blog together for my fine arts. i am trained in fine arts so this is another side of me that i love just as much as my children's art. i thank God for the ability to do both and consider myself extremely blessed!
this is entitled "whispering amongst the tree...the melodious song of love". and no, it's not for sale (sorry). it is done on 2 16x20 canvases and uses acrylics as well as collage material. i had lots of fun using a palette knife to paint the tree:) i hope to be able to do more fine arts in 2011...that i will be selling.
stay tuned for yet another blog devoted just to my fine arts...

tobias family~custom portrait

here is one of the things i am currently working on for a christmas gift. it is a family portrait of my dear friend laura, her husband adam and their GORGEOUS littel girl mia. AND, can't forget the other members of their family...murphy and oliver, the cocker spaniels:) this will be an 11x14 and will be done by the week after christmas...due to the custom orders ahead of laura's. i can't wait to get this done for them. they are such a lovely little family and i am so happy to count laura as one of my friends:)

lila~the lilac petal pixie

here is my final fairy for the 'petal pixie' series i designed. lila is a sweet little fairy who loves the heady fragrance of lilacs....and so does her little bumblebee friend;)
lila can be found FOR SALE as a REPRODUCTION here http://www.etsy.com/listing/63938868/lila-petal-pixie-reproduction
in my etsy shop. also available in my shop are the rest of the series of 'petal pixies'...



now, onto making some christmas gifts...

sakura~the japanese cherry blossom pixie

here is another addition to my 'petal pixie' series...and undoubtedly my absolute favorite one! anyone who knows me knows i am obsessed with all things japanese/chinese...seriously! and i am crazy, crazy, crazy about cherry blossom trees. especially the japanese sakura trees...they are just gorgeous and the smell is intoxicating. one day i hope to be able to travel to japan. it has always been my dream destination place. the culture, the beauty, the simplicty...i am fascinated by all of it. so little sakura here is my homage to those lovely trees/flowers. oh, and it's also the only perfume i wear;)
next up is my final 'petal pixie' for a while...lila.

then it's time to make a few special christmas gifts...one being a large, mixed media canvas which i am excited to do!