AVA's name panels are DONE!!!

well this project moved along a lot quicker than i thought it would....and that's a good thing bec i have LOTS of back work to catch up on! so there were some changes made to the initials sketches posted below (approved by the client, of course). and also today, i changed the what was supposed to be brown satin ribbon to the raspberry/dark pink color in the paintings. i thought it looked better with the finished pieces.



next up are 2 large 16x20s for the same family/baby to coordinate with the name panels...and the bedding. those sketches are posted below as well.



also, i am presently working on my little 'thank you' gift/painting for my neurosurgeon that i CAN'T WAIT to give him this coming wednesday at my follow up...LOVE LOVE LOVE this man!!!!



and last night i just finished up another custom piece comissioned by my step-mom for her nephew, his wife and their new baby boy cameron. i will post that soon:)
wow...i've been busy this week!!!

2 down, 1 more left to go...

here is the V for baby ava's name i have been working on this week. (the first A is below). one more A left to go then i can attach the ribbons and ship them out to the customer! then it's on to another project for that same family/baby. 2 large 16x20s following the same design as the name panels...just w/o the lettering.
the final A will follow...

A is for AVA

due to the surgery, i have many custom orders to fill that are/were on back order. this one is a big one! 3 name panels for a sweet baby girl named AVA and 2 more larger pieces (16x20) to coordinate with name panels. A is complete and now V and A are left to go. below are the original sketches with some alterations made by myself and the customer. as you can see the finished A differs from my original sketch, as we decided on the 2 A's having the striped border and the V having the polka dots. also, we eliminated all the butterflies except for the one i will be placing on the right side of the V.
below is the bedding. all i was told was flowers and some butterflies...and to pick up the striped pattern in the crib bedding as well as the polka dots. this lady has been great to work with! she even sent me actual swatches of the colors! and thank God because the colors of the bedding below must have photographed differently. i would have followed the bubble-gum pinks in the pics. however, they are really more like a mauve-y pink in the finished painting above. whew...glad i let her send me the swatches!


V is to follow...SOON....:)

thank you dr. freese!!!

as many of my friends know, i just recently had surgery to remove a very large and painful herniated disk in my neck. the month and a half before the surgery were unbearable for me! i couldn't paint or draw or even remotely pick up a pencil without shooting, agonizing pain from the back of neck all the way down my drawing arm and through my hand...making even my last 2 fingers practically numb. all of this was due to that disk that took a month and a half to diagnose (thanks to waiting for an approval from my ins. company for an MRI).
so, next step, finding a neurosurgeon to tell me my options. it seemed due to the size of the disk and possible future permanent nerve damage, the best option was a surgery called an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. scared? you can't even imagine! however, the neurosurgeon i was blessed enough to find was the GREATEST doctor i have ever come across in my life! his qualifications can only be outshined by his sweet demeanor and unbelievable bedside manner! the last words i remember before going under were "i promise, i'm going to take really good care of you sweetie"...and that he did! next thing i knew, i woke up in the recovery room to find him next to me, making sure i was ok:)
this man gave me back my life as i know it and love it! and although i am still in the depths of recovery, i know the worst is over...and it's all because of dr. freese! this sketch is for a painting i intend to give him at my follow up in a couple of weeks. i wouldn't be drawing or painting again if it weren't for him. his hands have truly been touched by God!
http://andrewfreese.com

illustration friday 8/13/10~star gazing

print available at http://enchantedeasel.etsy.com/


well, here is my contribution to this week's illustration friday theme of 'star gazing'. it is an older piece entitled 'alistair and the spy glass', but as some of you may already know (who follow me on facebook), i just had major neck surgery not even 2 weeks ago. so, needless to say, i am SLOWLY getting myself beck into the groove. it hasn't been easy, but i'm getting there and can't wait to finish up some pieces i had started before the surgery...and do a few new ones also.
stay tuned...i'll be back in the loop SOONER than later...;)

cameron's nursery art...REVISED!

ok...so c is no longer for cameron or castle...or crab! why?! because my step-mom had the wrong bedding...oops;) there is no crab or castle in the bedding (as i got the frantic phone call the other night to "stop the painting...there is no crab in this bedding!) but...there is an owl. so i thought it would be cute to have the owl in the tree watching over little cameron as he read's his abc's and 123's underneath the tree! and of course...a little birdy is keeping a close eye on him as well...;)
i actually like this soon-to-be painting better than the castele and crab one...not a big fan of the beach anyway;)
oh...and i have no photo to post of the bedding because it has become known as the "mystery bedding" be it that we can't seem to locate it anywhere. hmmm...
but...i know there's an owl in it and that's enoughh for me!

C is for Cameron...

and Crab and Castle! this is my next piece in the works...another custom nursery art piece to match My First ABC'S bedding by kidlsinehttp://kidslineinc.com/products/infant/first_abcs.php. my step-mom's nephew and his wife just welcomed a baby boy named cameron to their family. so, she wanted me to do a custom piece to match the bedding that had cameron's name on it (i also did carter's giraffe for her niece this past week).
i look forward to doing this one for baby cameron as well:)