Monday, December 21, 2015

A Special Secret Santa

At work we were told that we'd all be taking part in a workplace Secret Santa. When it came time to choose a name from the hat, I was thrilled to get Jo, our gardener.

She and I share a love of birds and animals and nature in general. We are always sharing stories about the silly antics that some animals and some birds get up to! So I knew exactly what I would create for her as a Secret Santa gift.

This little painting (only about 25cm x 25cm) was created with acrylic, and includes a piece of old sheet music in the background. It was an absolute pleasure to paint - and I think I will have to paint some more birds in the New Year.

When it came time to finish the painting and varnish it, I suddenly realised that this would not be such a 'secret' Secret Santa after all - as I would have to sign it! Oh well... But she was certainly thrilled with it - and that's the one thing that matters most to me when it comes to art: that it makes a positive impact on those around me. I hope my art brings a smile to you today. 

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Advent - Day One - And Dragon's Christmas!

As part of the 52 Week Illustration Challenge, a bonus challenge has been issued to create one illustration a day during Advent!

As I am currently working on a book illustration project, I probably won't be able to do one per day (it is day four after all!), but I did want to pictorially illustrate Dragon's Christmas.

Here's Day One - and it looks like it's just started snowing...

This illustration is created by scanning in my pencil sketch and then colouring it in Photoshop CC, a technique that I rather enjoy.

Hope you're having a great Advent so far!

Christmas Designs!


 My two new Australian Christmas Card Designs are now available through Indikat Designs.

These were created using pen and watercolour - and a shading technique called stippling (also known as pointillism). 

Stippling is quite time consuming! I usually find myself, as I am making hundreds of tiny dots with the tip of my pen, thinking, "Why?! Why did I do this?!" But the results are always so fantastic that I just can't stop. Try it!

And while we're at it, click here to head to my Facebook page where you'll find a free Facebook Christmas Cover image. :) Enjoy!