A celebration of wines and spirits in cool blue tones with a mixture of patterns and textures help elevate this new self promo piece for my portfolio…Cheers!
Whooooo Stole My Heart?
To kick off the new year, I created this new illustration inspired by my passion for mid century and vintage 60’s and 70’s iconography from screen prints, and advertising design, combined with my own illustration style. It seems this little festive raccoon is attempting to steal either the the owl or dove’s heart in hopes that he (or she) will have a valentine this year?
Conquer the Season in Chanel!
Become the Empress of your own forest and claim your victory while wearing long layers of tweed and sheer silk chiffon in a celebration of cut out appliqued Autumn leaves as only Karl Lagerfeld can deliver as the creative force and maestro of Chanel!
Are you ready to feel the "Autumn Vibes" ?
It’s almost that time of the year again! Are you ready for “Pumpkin Spice Latte” season? Even though it’s still August, I am ready for Fall and cooler weather and already feeling the Autumn Vibes! I can’t wait for cool crisp fall days, sweater weather, Halloween decor, and watching all the beautiful fall foliage paint the treetops in a sea of warm vibrant colors! Until then I can only imagine and illustrate a few of the things I love about Autumn with this new personal piece I added to my portfolio in anticipation of my favorite fleeting season.
Feeling the Summer Vibes!
Are you feeling the Summer Vibes yet? I recently added a couple of new pieces to my book and also used the images for a direct mail post card. I wanted to capture a few of the fun things that I and others might enjoy about Summer ( until Fall, my personal favorite season, returns in September). Until then, I will make the best of it ( admittedly staying mostly indoors in the cool AC and out of the hot sun) enjoying cold juicy watermelon, lazy summer evenings, frozen margaritas, catching up on some good books, grilling good food and enjoying the fruits of Summer. Until Fall arrives, I hope everyone who are big fans of Summer takes time to enjoy this sunny season and have fun on their vacays, weekend getaways, catching up on some Summer reading, and sitting poolside while sipping lots of Rosé all day! #Summervibes
Take time to relax...Spring has arrived!
Spring is finally here and I recently completed a few new Spring themed pieces for my portfolio. I am continuing with my bird and nature series and experimenting with patterns and textures with a lighter Spring palette. It's time to relax and breath deep and inhale the delicious scents and benefits of aromatherapy with essential oils to help you chill out and take in the beauty of this fleeting Spring season!
Bon Appetit...Baby!
Here's a new illustration featuring gourmet foods, wines, and hand lettering I just completed for my portfolio. I wanted to experiment with a companion piece to the food illustration I did a few months ago that also featured food and rose wine. But I wanted to use more winter type foods and have it on a dark black background. It's also got a chalkboard type of vibe to it with the background in a charcoal almost black color and the hand lettering in white. I can see this a packaging or mural inspirations for stores like Whole Foods, Publix, Trader Joes, Central Market, Williams Sonoma, Crate and Barrel, Sur la Table, etc... Now I have Katy Perry's song with the same title stuck in my head! Bon Appetit Baby!
"Santa Clause has arrived at Neiman Marcus!!!"
I was honored to be commissioned by Neiman Marcus again to design their annual snow globe featured in this year's 2017 Christmas Book! This year's theme was a classic santa with a regal twist. I came up with his ornate outfit with lots of glittering gold and red trim and details, and a hat with a crown like royal feeling to it. The base I came up with is to appear as if two fancy wrapped gifts are stacked on top of each other with rich looking red and gold trim with rhinestones scattered on them. Neiman's also used the santa image to be imprinted on a red serving platter, and a small porcelain box that captures lots of the original detail from the original artwork I sent them to use. I have always loved designing these magical snow globes over the years and it's always such a thrill to see them in the catalogs, stores, and online every Holiday!
As seen in the2017 Neiman Marcus Christmas Book
New Portfolio Presentation Boxes!
I am excited to announce I have all new hand made portfolio presentation boxes for my portfolio showings with www.those3reps.com . I love how they turned out! They are made of Iris cloth in charcoal gray and kiwi green and made to fit my loose portfolio sheets in heavy card stock archival paper and ink in a clam shell box. A shout out to Bridget at www.bellafortedesigns.com for doing such a beautiful job! Check it out!
"The Art of Gift Giving"
Here's a little sneak peek of some detail shots for a new self promo mailer I have been working on and almost ready to mail out. I am super excited at how it's turning out! I wanted to create an editorial fashion magazine to focus on the theme of "The Art of Gift Giving" featuring fashion illustrations in different seasons and environments. They are all either giving or receiving beautifully wrapped gifts ( or shopping for them!) and interacting with whimsical animals that are all fashionably accessorized as well! I illustrated all the figures with designer fashions from some of my favorite fashion designers from their Fall/Winter 2017 collections. I especially love the designs from a talented designer named Jonathan Simkhai and featured 3 of his designs in this new magazine style piece. I will be posting more soon once I get them mailed out to clients.
"The Nutcracker Suite Returns"
I designed several more nutcrackers for Pier 1 Imports again this year, including a couple that they re issued from previous designs. I love the large "Father Christmas" in a long velvet robe holding a furry owl and wreath along with a squirrel. I also did a gold and red velvet King that was new. They made a composite of a "shopping diva" from the original Shopping Lady I did for them several years back, along with the Park Avenue Princess in the winter white fur hat. They combined the two shopping diva design concepts into one for this year's wearing a white fur hat and skirt with a red bag. They also re issued the large "Queen of Hearts" that I did a couple of years ago.
These are always fun to work on!
"Hark the Herald Angels Sing!"
I have been fortunate to have been commissioned again to create the artwork and design for the annual snow globe for Neiman Marcus this year. This year's theme is "all that glitters" and features an Angel. It is available in their annual 2016 Christmas Book and also online at both NeimanMarcus.com and Horchow.com. This was especially bittersweet because my Mom , who unfortunately passed away in 2000, would have LOVED this project. She loved decorating for the holidays and collected all kinds of angel figures and ornaments and lovingly displayed them every year throughout her home. I created a glittering gold and silver angel with a jeweled encrusted base. They also used the image on a large gold platter and porcelain limoges type of box. I always enjoy the design process in developing these snow globes. I'm currently working on next years snow globe for NM, and it will be really festive and glittery as well!
As seen in the 2016 Neiman Marcus Christmas book
"Let's get Crafty"
I created a new self promo piece featuring urban hipsters exploring the hand crafted, micro brewery trend that is currently sweeping the USA in hip cities like Portland, Austin, and Brooklyn NYC.
Summertime in Rio!
Summertime is here! Is lounging by the pool and lifting a refreshing cocktail considered an official Olympic Summer sport? With the Summer olympics coming up soon in Rio, it should be! I created this new personal piece for my book in lots of soothing blue tones to help beat the heat during this hotter than normal Summer. Here’s to everyone having a super fun and cool Summer and safe and fun travels where ever you venture!
detail
Le Patisserie
Inspired by the artistry of how most Parisian pastry shops display their gorgeous cakes, macarons, tarts, and other baked goodies that are almost too pretty to eat, I created " Le Patisserie" for my portfolio. I wanted to create a illustration that explored a softer pastel color palette with whimsical hand lettering with layers of textures and would appeal to gourmet foodies and home decor aficionados. These are not "angry birds" at this table, but pretty dapper and nice happy birds!
From the Archives: Tabletop and Giftware designs for Neiman Marcus
I added several new galleries in the product design section from my archives of tabletop and giftware designs I have created for Neiman Marcus over the past 15 years. If you click on each thumbnail picture for each category, you can see more images for each group of designs. It all started with a set of whimsical dishes I designed for them in 2000. it was called "sienna" and I created the unique shapes and patterns and colors for a dinnerware set. After that I've had the pleasure of creating over 200 exclusive products over the years. I never know what they are going to throw at me to design, and it's always exciting and fun to work with the product development team and buyers to come up with all the unique and special products and see them come to life from my first rough sketches, to color final art and then the actual finished items in the stores and catalogs.
I included just a few of my favorites of the many products I designed over the years. I have designed everything from collectable holiday gifts, flatware, dinnerware, cake stands, fireplace screens, to ceiling fans. All with unique details and exclusive to Neiman Marcus and Horchow.
This was the first design I created for NM
"La Vie Boheme"
Here is the final art for a new personal piece I completed for my portfolio to celebrate the arrival of Spring.
"La Vie Boheme" sneak peek
Here's a little sneak peek teaser with a few close up details of a new personal piece I am working on for my book. Now that Spring is finally almost in full bloom, I wanted to create a new piece that reflected the " Boho Chic" trend that is happening in fashion and home decor now. " La Vie Boheme" is the french phrase for " the Bohemian Life" and I have been inspired by romantic folk prints and whimsical florals and the fashion designs of "Alice and Olivia, by Stacey Bendet ". I love her use of boho prints, unique colors and textures, and layers of lace,embroidery, sheer fabrics, and cut out details. I Imagined a fashion muse in a fantastical garden on lush green hills near the ocean, excited that Spring is almost here, and tending to her whimsical exotic flowers with birds and a fashionable cat to keep her company.
Let's go shopping!
I was recently asked to create a fun map for Sundance Square Plaza in Fort Worth,Texas. They wanted to feature lots of fashion illustrations and icons that related to the numerous retail stores that are featured in this shopping destination including a new H&M store, Ann Taylor, White House Black Market, and several other stores. It was a fun project and I think the final map turned out really nice. They also plan on using some of the fashion figures in future ads throughout the year.
It's a Gift Wrap Wonderland!!!
I'm excited to announce I was selected to be the artist to create The Container Store's first ever line of exclusive gift wrapping paper and products this year! I worked for months on them about this same time last year and it was a super fun and big project! They had me do a test art of several holiday themed icons along with other artists. I was thrilled to be the artist they chose to create their "signature collection" of gift wraps. I ended up illustrating over 78 illustrations and patterns that were used by their in house team to come up with dozens of cool gift wrapping items for their Gift Wrap Wonderland campaign. They also featured a cool behind the scenes article in their " Container Stories" blog on their website.
I had a blast creating these fun images that are both modern yet nostalgic and reminded me of fun childhood Christmas memories as I was drawing them. Here are just a few of the wrapping paper illustrations and photos of some of the items they made using my illustrations. I also included a few photos of the design process that they took for their blog.
