Luchas and night lights oh my!!!!! Petit Reve and Common Rebels!

Peep these gorgeous Lucha coasters illustrated by my husband Colin Walsh and produced by CommonRebels available on Fab.com. Bright, bold and full of punch ;) Behind the scenes they also have awesome names and interesting back stories as well. Hot Dog Frank and Falcon Trout to name a few.....I dont' know where he comes up with this stuff :) But I love it. Petit Reve also has a slew of night lights available with CommonRebels that are sure to keep your little one feeling safe and boogyman free when the sun goes down :) We heart CR. They are a great company on the up and up.

Make Art That Sells-Assignment #3 Children's Picture Books

So this week was kiddo time. And I loved it. ONCE....I got over the moody snail. Lilla had us focus on the Hans Christian Andersen tale of "The Snail and the Rose". Maybe it's because I'm 6.5 months pregnant, maybe it's because the snail is a party pooper..but the story was a little depressing and I wasn't in the mood to draw a bratty snail. Maybe because I'm feeling bratty :) and don't want to admit it! Raging hormones and sugar cravings like you wouldn't believe! Anyway, Lilla said we could interpret the story anyway we liked and I was very thankful. Hopefully if we couldn't have changed it I would've gone into professional mode and done my best bratty snail ever. That said, down below is my take. And also some sketches and doodles that got me there. I liked the idea of the snail having a unique shell and a purpose. Han's snail is sad and has no purpose. He also tries to make the Rose tree feel bad about blooming gorgeous flowers year after year- jealous....:) So I thought, Why not have his purpose be to HELP the tree bloom to a lovely melody he wrote?! What I thought was extra cool about this assignment? Lilla chose a snail because it's a simple character that everyone can draw no matter what their skill level. Also, the story is laid out for us and ready to be told-with our help. Just like a real book assignment. She certainly knows what she's doing, that one. :)

Make Art that Sells-Assignment #2 Home Decor

This week it was Home Decor. The focus of the assignment zeroed in on dish ware. LOVE!!!

Lilla gave us a mini-assignmnet of doodling seed pods and unusual flowers. I had done some rough sketches of some groovy flowers awhile back and decided to revisit them. This gave me a chance to really expand on the little spark I thought might be there. I added to the array of shapes and sizes, texture....etc. I got into a zone and it was sooooo therapeutic. . It just goes to show that we should never throw ANYTHING we draw away. Well, maybe some things. I've been known to tear out a sheet of paper from my sketchbook if it brings me any sort of grief. That said, if you did something you like but don't have time to explore it at that moment, hold onto it...

We could only submit one plate but we had to do 4 designs. Lilla and her crew are so good at pushing you in the right direction. Now I have a complete collection for a future product line :) I also tried some different color combos and got lost in the color matrix for a bit and the folks on the MATS1 FB page  along with my keen eyed hubs, really helped push the color out to the level it should be. This process does not take place in a bubble and we need supportive talent around us sometimes!!!

I also included the color experiments. The one directly below is what I submitted to the class.

Sketchy lett-rin'

A sketch for a card I did for Treat and Hallmark's online card shop. I FREAKING LOVE to hand letter!

Here's the finished product on Hallmark.com

Make Art that Sells-Assignment #1 Bolt Fabric

Hi! So it's the second week of Lilla's Make Art That Sells class. We have a new assignment this week and I'm so stoked to go home and doodle my little heart out. But I wanted to share my finished piece with you for the first assignment last week. It was Bolt Fabric. YAY! I LOVE fabric. I HOARD fabric. Anyway, Lilla gave us a mini assignment to warm up on Monday.We were to doodle vintage pyrex dishes and mushrooms. Count me in..so fun. So natural. Then wednesday the official assignment was to do a bolt fabric pattern in the tone of vintage kitchen using some of our sketches and whatever else we wanted to add. very open. very fun. Here are my b & w sketches and then the finished piece down below. People, if you are at all intrigued by this class but you feel intimidated so you didn't sign up then you ARE the perfect candidate. The info Lilla shares is "invaluable" as a classmate of mine put it. Thanks Meems.  She is a great great teacher.  Her support is amazing. Lilla is nurturing but firm. That lovely balance is so rare. She might be the Mary Poppins of the art world. Coming from me that's a compliment. I love me some MP. ALSO, the new friends you meet....the support, the community...it's good stuff and it feeds your creative soul. There is another round in October. You should check it out!!!! This class is the real deal folks.

http://lillarogers.com/make-art-that-sells/