Outfit Inspiration: Audrey Enjoys Her Cup of Tea

Yesterday I decided that it would be fun to get some drawing practice in while pulling together a fashionable look post for today. A sweet little fox ended up emerging from my page with cozy mug of tea in hand, and I'm so glad she did. It seems that Audrey is rather fashion-forward for a fox, so I just might have to ask her back again to share more of her outfit inspirations with us. Perhaps some of her friends will join us too! What do you think?! xo Ez

Audrey wears: Gold Pom Pom Flower | Gold Flower Embellished Tee | Spare Stripe Mug | Pencil Skirl with Frill | Pointed Court Toe Shoes with Straps

P.S. Prints of Audrey Enjoys Her Cup of Tea are available in my shop! If you use the link here to buy any art prints of mine between now and October 14th you'll receive free shipping on your order! Offer excludes framed art prints and stretched canvases.

Illustrated Prints Available Now

Hi friends! I'm sorry for my late posting today. After sharing the snapshot of my little elephant sketch yesterday I became completely distracted by the process of editing him in Photoshop, and put all other work aside (bad)...but the great news is that I've now made two finished versions available for sale in my Society6 shop! Meet William and Margaux! They are available as art prints, framed prints and stretched canvases. I hope you'll like them. I'm planing to add more prints soon, so I hope you'll bookmark my wee shop and check back in for updates from time to time.

Also, before I go and attempt to get caught up on all of my neglected work, I just wanted to say thank you to each one of you who has been so kind and encouraging (both here and on Instagram) of my new adventures in art. I've always been so shy about sharing anything art related of mine, but you've made me feel braver...and because of your support I am too inspired and motivated to feel afraid any more. Thank you!!!

Lastly, I promised to share a few process shots yesterday...so here those are. xo Ez

Deciding on a color palette is one of the most fun parts of the design process...and also one of the trickiest! There are just so many amazing colors to choose from! As you can see, my final palette ended up looking a bit different than the one I first chose to work with.

Next I paint in all the layers. If you're curious about the technique I use, I can't recommend the book Heather Ross Prints enough.

The technique I follow (from Heather's book) allows you to quickly and easily change any color in your piece. Phew!

After all the layers are set where they need to be it's fairly easy to create additional versions using different color palettes. After several test prints I finally uploaded both completed designs to my shop! Hooray!

In My Studio: An Elephant on a Bicycle

So I've gotten into a bad habit recently of starting a movie on Netflix and then becoming completely immersed in something else while it plays. I probably only glance at the film (usually hidden in some forgotten tab) once or twice. Isn't that terrible! My best guess for this new vice is that the sound of the movie playing helps to distract the part of my mind that would otherwise be taken up with worry, doubt, or idle thought. Because of that I can then focus much more clearly on what it is that I really want to do. Maybe I should give podcasts and audio books a try too (any recommendations?)!

Anyhow in my case the thing I've been wanting do so more often than not lately is to draw. The other night I popped on an episode of Mad Men thoroughly planning to watch it, but then the theme song queued and immediately a bow-tie clad elephant riding a bicycle popped into my head and I had to start drawing him right away. I thought I'd show him to you today in his unfinished state, then I'll post again soon with some process photos that I will take as I work to give him some additional character using color and texture.

On a somewhat related side note...I have the toughest time drawing anything unless it is facing left or face-forward. Isn't that odd?! Just last night I discovered that they make little posable wooden models for 4-legged animals (like the wooden ones they make of humans) so I might have to pick up one of those. At least it would give me something to go off of while working on my sketches, since there aren't exactly bicycle-riding elephant resource photos floating around for me to practice with. Anyhow, my goal is to start doodling poses in my sketchbook every day until it becomes second-nature to draw an elephant (or llama, bear, etc.) at a 3/4, or some other currently challenging angle. Wish me luck!

Heather Ross Prints

Several weeks ago I ordered a copy of the new Heather Ross Prints book. I eagerly awaited its arrival and no sooner had it hit my doorstep than it was unwrapped from its box and voraciously flipped through. The book features an extensive number of awesome DIY projects using Heather Ross' patterns in applications from wallpaper, and sewn crafts, to printables (yes there is a disc included with all the patterns and printables she uses). It's truly worth its weight in gold!. But what truly sold me was the portion of the book where Heather shares her design process, and gives a thorough Photoshop tutorial for those who are interested in learning. I literally could not wait to try!

Here's what I made. I first decided on a magic show theme, and after sketching up some ideas I followed each step in the book carefully (from raw sketching to Photoshop editing) until finally by the end of the day I had created my very own print!

I sent it off to Spoonflower to be printed onto fabric, and then just last week it arrived! Of course I had to make another print to go along with it since the first one was so fun!

I enjoyed the print making process so much and I hope I have a lot more time to work on learning the craft in the coming months.

Note: There were horrible lighting conditions when I took this photo. The actual fabric is much more vibrant and true to the original design colors.

If you'd like to see more of what you'll find inside Heather Ross' book, you can find a post about it on her blog.

Photo Friday: A Quiet Hum

Something has been abuzz beneath my skin for the past few months. I'm not really sure where the feeling came from or when it started precisely, but it's almost like an itch that can't be scratched...an unsettling that won't be stilled. It isn't an altogether unpleasant sensation, but none the less I've begun to half-jokingly refer to it as my "early mid-life crisis." Truth is, that would be writing it off too simply.

Over the years I've struggled from time to time with letting my inner voice speak loud enough to be heard. More recently I have found myself pushing it aside with late nights working...and just the other day, with the hasty decisions to cut off all my hair. But even with a constant stream of activity to distract; softly yet more persistently than I'd like, there remains a humming that won't go away. Through past experiences, I know that this means that I'm at a crossroads of some sort, and I need to allow myself the time and space to sort things out.

So, I've decided that it's time for me to listen. Today (and this weekend too) feels like the right moment to finally pay attention to whatever that little hum is trying to say to me. I know this all sounds incredibly serious, and I hope I'm not bumming you out on this lovely Friday...but really, I'm looking forward to what's in store. There are so many possibilities! Once the noise has been made sense of, I know I will be feeling world's better about the next steps I want to take on this little journey called life. I'm ready!

Does any of this sound familiar to any of you? I would love to hear what ways you have of making it through "crossroads" moments in life with clarity and without losing too much sleep (or sanity). I am sure you have wonderfully inspiring and insightful things to share. You always do! xox Ez

P.S. I recently came across this wonderful post on Verily titled Propelled by Discomfort & Fear. It's a quick and easy read, and something that will be sticking with me for a long while. Highly recommended.

Photograph by me (Ez Pudewa)