Spring Sketches
A random assortment of sketchbook things as of late. Yes, that is 110% my dog holding the flag. Unfortunately, she’s not nearly disciplined enough to carry a banner into war. Yet. Hope springs eternal.
Assorted odds and ends:
The Printed Peanut has a Spoonflower shop now (!) and I’m itching to sew a shirt in this print.
The Forager’s Pantry is a fascinating look at cooking with all manner of wild plants.
Most of what I’m listening to at the moment.
Anne’s Tragical Tea Party is on the Tundra Top Ten list for March (alongside some other splendid titles).
I binged all the episodes of Atlantic in one go and it’s so good. A sad tale, told well, that’ll leave you thinking about the story of the man who called himself Peter Bergmann long, long after you’ve finished.
I’ve taken to mending socks lately, because I’d rather save my dispensable income for coffee, books and the ever-elusive dream of a house (in this market, oof). But what started as an attempt at thriftiness has become a bit of a hobby — I’ve found this is a great resource for getting started at mending, with lots of creative examples.
Aos sí
I was reading an article about a proposed Irish highway that got rerouted to appease the fairies, so of course, had to draw this.
Cornflower Blue
If you’re an UPPERCASE magazine reader, this seed packet that I illustrated pops up in issue number 53 (minus the spring time blooms).
Speaking of gardening, Frances Tophill’s new book, The Modern Gardener, is on my to read list — it looks splendid and has me ready to start digging and planting, ASAP.
Cans and Tins
A new-ish pattern design, inspired by vintage cans and backyard blooms. And just for kicks, an apron mockup.
Back To School: Continuing Education Resources for Illustrators
Every once in awhile I get an email or a DM about drawing classes, surface design education, book illustration how to’s, etc. And because the writer is generally at the mercy of a) how much coffee I’ve had or b) whether I’m in the throes of a deadline, it seemed easier to write a post about this and keep all of the information in one place.
That said, here’s a few learning resources I’ve used or can recommend:
If you’re interested in surface design:
Elizabeth Olwen’s classes on Skillshare: I took Elizabeth’s Pattern Design: Bring Your Artwork to Life on Products class a few years back and it was terrific. Based on that, I’d heartily recommend any of her courses. Elizabeth is enthusiastic, provides a huge amount of information succinctly and really, really knows her stuff. The above home collections mockup is one I created after taking her class.
Lilla Roger’s Bootcamp: If you need a monthly kick in the pants to make art for your portfolio, while learning about a range of different forms of illustration, I’d recommend this one. I took Bootcamp in 2014 and really appreciated the way the course focused on understanding and working with trends, color palettes and assessing the needs of individual markets. And where the assignments were monthly, it felt like just enough to keep me motivated, but not too weighty to cause a meltdown. It doesn’t look like Bootcamp is scheduled at the moment, but keep an eye out for when it does run again. Lilla also offers classes in picture book illustration, which I’ve heard great things about.
Spoonflower offers loads of free tutorials and resources, if you’re interested in learning how to create patterns.
If you’re interested in typography:
I can’t rave enough about Mary Kate McDevitt’s teaching. Seriously. When I took her class awhile back, life had kicked off and I unfortunately wasn’t able to finish her Vintage Hand-Lettering class (but I fully intend to at some point). Her explanation of the research process when exploring letterforms is top notch.
Get your hands on the Speedball Textbook (the older the better, in my opinion). While it’s still being published, I have a soft spot for the vintage editions and own a couple. Study, copy, make it your own: it’s a great way to get comfortable working with letterforms.
If you’re interested in illustrating or writing for children:
Harold Underdown’s website is a treasure-trove of information. When I was first getting started, I poured over his site, which offers a clear explanation of how publishing works and what’s expected of illustrators and authors in the book-making process.
Writing With Pictures: How To Write and Illustrate Children’s Books by Uri Shulevitz: I’ve had a copy for years and years and it’s well-worth the read.
Go to your library — seriously. Check out everything and anything written for children. Figure out what works and analyze what doesn’t. Understand how story is told both in words and images. And best yet: it’s free.
If you’re interested in drawing:
I haven’t personally taken any of the drawing classes on Craftsy, but have been told there’s some good courses over there. Ranging in subject, covering everything from sketchbooks, portraits, wildlife and more, there’s a bit of something for everyone there.
I started taking Stephen Bauman’s drawing classes last November and give them an enthusiastic five stars. My background is in graphic design, so I don’t have any kind of focused art education (aside from one college drawing class). I don’t think a lack of formal education is necessarily an impediment to professionally working in the arts, but at a certain point, it can only take you so far. Frustrated by repeated shortcomings I saw in my own work, I realized I needed to go back to basics and work on some foundational things. I’m four months in and I’m beginning to see a shift in the way I view form, light and line. I have a long way to go, but I’m really glad to have signed up for these.
Marchness
March, in a nutshell:
I sewed the Tova dress from Wiksten, using a print from my Cozy Up fabric line. This was my third time sewing this dress - it’s a great everyday garment and a thorough, well-written pattern. The shawl is this free pattern on Ravelry.com and the book matched it all (and let’s be honest, is hiding a less-than-stellar bang trim).
I gave up donuts for Lent (womp, womp). But, St. Joseph’s Day was Saturday, which meant a break for zeppole, so off to Enzo Benzo donuts. If you’re in southern Maine or seacoast New Hampshire, run, don’t walk in the direction of these delights.
This Flannery O’Connor documentary is stupendous - I saw it last year and just noticed it’s popped up for viewing on Amazon. This one’s worth it alone for the illustrated A Good Man is Hard to Find segment.
I’m going full-tilt on sketches for a new installment in the Anne of Green Gables series and finishing endpapers for Mouseboat at the moment. And I’m giving myself a deadline of June to hammer out a picture book dummy outline. Send coffee. And donuts, but after Easter.
Rethinking the Situation
It had seemed like a good idea, at the time. But after reading the owner’s manual, Hugh regretted his purchase, immensely. He packed the box away in the attic, went off to make a mug of Horlicks and promptly forgot about the kit for the next fifty or so years.
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In non-apocalyptic matters: if you’re on Instagram, I had the pleasure of posting last Thursday over on the Tundra Books account, sharing all about process, painting and house plants, amongst other things.
