Happy Halloween!!

My final INKTOBER for 2017 and super excited that I made it through the entire month without missing one! (insert big grin) It may not seem like a lot of work but it definitely is. Coming up with something new every day is incredibly challenging but worth it, as I feel my art has grown even more and....I've added a new artistic tool to my skillset!

OK, I'm off to finalize the book cover for my next children's book. Have a SPOOKY fun day!

More Inktober illustrations...

Yep, that's me...catching up with sharing my inktober illustrations again. But here they are, each one special and cute in their own way. It's hard to believe that it's down to the last 2 days of INKTOBER. Crazy but am proud of myself for actually sketching something every single day of October! :)

With that said, since I already doodle something every day to warm up before doing actual work for clients, I'm going to do a theme for November of sketching English robins in hats/scarves. What do you think? If you have some ideas or a hat, scarf you'd like me to include in the illustration, leave me a comment and let me know.

Scribble Picnic: A Little Woodland....BOO!

This isn't what I'd hoped in the end but it's done and that's what matters. I pushed through this ALL day today, being quite sick. Swollen throat, ears and head hurt, sneezing my head off....alas, I made it to the picnic....but please....don't get too close or I fear you'll catch my cold! 🎃

With that said, I promise to visit everyone over the next few days - and I'll also catch up with last week's picnic events as well. It's been a longgggg week of various things.

More inktobers and more FAB news!

Every time I illustrate hedgehogs, I fall in love with them more and more. I follow a few Instagram accounts that focus on educating and protecting these curious but adorable little woodland creatures. Is it me, or do they seem to have a sweet, innocent personality about them? Also, take a spin over to my Facebook illustration page here, and you can have a peek at me illustrating this artwork.

In other fabulous news, I've been working on illustrations to print on onesies for a local clothing shop, Kansas City Kitty, who recently launched "baby clothing" in their store. We introduced this special line over the weekend during their 15 year anniversary and it well very well! I'm super excited to be a part of this collaboration and am looking forward to our future endeavors together. If you're interested in purchasing one...(or more as I do make a profit on each one sold!), please follow the Kansas City Link and leave a message via the CONTACT tab to the owner, Christie. She'll be more than happy to ship to you.

UK Artist Feature with Manuscript Pen Co

As promised, here's the first write-up with the UK dip pen company, Manuscript Pen Co. It's a fabulous article and features all of my daily inktobers thus far. Check it out and leave a comment with your thoughts!

Again, thank YOU for your constant love/support of my work, as well as encouraging me through some pretty life-challenging events over the past several years. I wouldn't be here without friends like you...and my incredible husband, Michael James.

Scribble Picnic: Fill In the Blank

Last week our Scribble Picnic gathering was postponed but thankfully, this week, we're back and ready to roll. I'm ready for some pumpkin pie with lots of whipped cream....but first, tea! My days are not complete without a perfect cup of tea and one of my favorite magazines, such as, Breathe.  Others are Flow and Frankie....each are packed with ideas and creative inspiration to last you all month long!

Now, can you spot the various places where I "filled in the blank"?

For more picnickers and delicious food, make sure to hop on over to Michael's cozy home.

Catching Up & Special Announcement

I'm behind posting...imagine that! But here are my latest inktobers. They're coming along quite well and it's been a great experience overall learning to sketch with a dip pen. I've been challenging myself to be more creative in detailing my illustrations and so far, I'm enjoying the results.

With that, some very exciting news to share! You'll notice in some of pictures I take, I share the Manuscript Co. dip pen and Winsor & Newton India ink I'm using. A few days ago, I was approached from the Marketing Director at Manuscript Company located in the UK as they love the work I've been posting and want to feature me and my art! Eek! I'll share more in the coming weeks in regards to my collaboration with them. Until then, happy drawing!!

Inktober Days 7 & 8

I've had to really push through these last few days of Inktober. Today was especially challenging, trying to figure out how to illustrate a tree/grass/dirt/roots above and through my fox hole. In the end, both illustrations were finished and off we go to day 9!

Speaking of day 9, we've had lovely weather the past two days but tomorrow, we're expecting a foot of snow! Uh huh My thoughts exactly! :)

Inktober Day 6: Bear Hugs

Here's a little bear hug for anyone who may need it today or in the future. I struggled with this one for a bit. I sketched my initial idea out first and then used my manuscript dip pen to draw it out on watercolor paper.

Mr. Puggles' sweater alone took me almost an hour to illustrate but am very pleased with it. And who wouldn't want a hug from a great big, fuzzy bear?

More Inktober Illos

It's crazy how quickly this week has flown by. Tomorrow is Friday and I'm just now catching up with posting my day 3, 4, and 5 for Inktober. It's fun to see where each day takes me. Most of the time, I've no idea what I'm going to do for a particular day until after I've had my early morning walk, taking in the fresh Autumn air and playful little creatures along the way.

My goal in doing this is to (hopefully) grow in the area of detailing a bit better than what I currently do. When reflecting back on my work to just last year during this time, I can already see an incredible difference with my wok - style and painting. It excites me to think where I'll be when the end of October arrives.

I really hope to share my 2017 inktobers daily, as it seems utterly overwhelming to post multiple illustrations all at once. What do you think? :)

Scribble Picnic: Sleep Tight

Shhhh.....it's late here at Scribble Picnic and I fear little Thomas has already fallen asleep. He had his piece of pumpkin pie that Wanda brought and a cup of tea. He's now curled up in bed under the blankets with his stuffed teddy, sleeping away and dreaming of his favorite Autumn days at his grandma's house.

Here's to hoping each of you had a wonderful afternoon at Michael's picnic this week. I'm hoping next week, I can join everyone a bit earlier than today. 

Inktober & New Artistic Tools

Michael and I are giving our hand to Inktober 2017 this year. Each of us have our own personal themes and goals. For me, I'm challenging myself to use a new artistic tool while creating more detail with my woodland creatures. It's slowly coming along....ink smudges, bleeds, and all! Of course, it's only day 2. Ha!

Above are my first two manuscript dip pen sketches. I'm looking forward to seeing how I grow within my illustrations by the end of October as that's when Inktober ends, for those of you who aren't familiar with it.