Category Archives for illustration

Flower Child

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Feeling inspired by floral crowns and the general feeling of spring in the air lately… I have a lot of miscellaneous work to do for some commissions and goodies for my next craft show–which is only a week away now! Eeeep. If you’re a St. Louis local, make sure to check out the Spring Fling! It’s going to be the most fun day. How many shows can boast not only tons of cute vintage, delicious food, live music, and a super cute location, but also a Super Nintendo game lounge?! Um, yeah. It’s going to be rad as hell.

May is a busy busy month for me! I’m trying to keep up and stay productive. Wish me luck. xo

May 3, 2013 by Michelle
Categories: illustration | 13 Comments

Etsy Shop Update + Coupon

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Happy Saturday, everyone! Just popping in today to announce a long overdue update to my Etsy shop with two new prints and a postcard set! The glasses print above was created especially for my last craft show and I never actually shared the illustration on the blog yet! Check it out here.

All prints in my shop are professionally printed on recycled, textured paper or lightly freckled cardstock at 8×10″–perfect for easy framing! They come safely packaged in plastic slips with stiff backing boards and plenty of love.

All 8 x10″ prints are $10 and that includes shipping! International shipping is only $1 extra.

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Buy a set of all four of my current postcard designs here!

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As a thank you to all my lovely blog readers, I’m offering a coupon for 20% all orders from my Etsy shop! Use the code “BLOGLOVE” at check out! xo

April 20, 2013 by Michelle
Categories: handmade community, illustration | 4 Comments

LGAL Artist Interview / Last Chance for Tattoos

tattoos_bannerJust a friendly reminder that tomorrow is the last day you’ll be able to order my sheet of temporary tattoos from Light Grey Art Lab’s Beautiful Forever show! Not to mention all the other awesome tattoos from other artists. Proceeds from each sale go towards helping tattoo artist Tom Strom’s recovery from a recent biking accident.

Beautiful artwork you can wear and all for a good cause? Best ever!

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Also, my artist’s interview was published on the LGAL blog this week! I talk about the inspiration for my tattoo set, what I listen to while working, and my dreams for future tattoos for myself! Alphonse Mucha full-sleeve, you may one day be mine. You can read the interview here! :)

 

April 11, 2013 by Michelle
Categories: handmade community, illustration | Leave a comment

Sketchbook pt. 2

Happy Monday, everyone! I wanted to share some peeks into my sketchbooks as of late. I did this once before a few months ago here. I looove seeing sketches and progress work from other artists. You get inside their brains a bit and there’s a part of me that always loves the raw energy and expressive lines of a sketch more than the final product.

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March 25, 2013 by Michelle
Categories: illustration | 17 Comments

Beautiful Forever: Temporary Tattoos For A Good Cause!

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This Friday is the opening for yet another kick-ass gallery show at Light Grey Art Lab! Because I participated in the RESOLVE TO MAKE 2013 Workshop at Light Grey in January, I was automatically invited to contribute to their Message In A Bottle show. That was awesome and exciting, but I still had a burning desire to get into a show there on my own merit. I was beyond happy when I was accepted for the Beautiful Forever show! It’s a show of temporary tattoo designs! That people can actually buy and use! How cool is that?! I could barely imagine a show I’d be more excited about contributing to!

Beautiful Forever isn’t the only show opening on the 22nd. The other side of the gallery will house Blowout–a show featuring the personal artwork of some amazing professional tattoo artists. Curated by Uptown Tattoo, this is a gallery exhibition and benefit show for Minneapolis tattoo artist Tom Strom. Tom was recently involved in a bad biking accident, and is in need of back surgery. Proceeds from the exhibition will go towards Tom and his recovery. The show is not just about the artwork, but the unbelievable sense of family and community within the tattoo world.

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Ta-da! Here’s the sheet of tattoos I designed!

I had a blast working on these and definitely want to explore making more temporary tattoo designs in the future! Later this week, I’ll share the interview I did with Light Grey about my thought process behind my designs and some of my current inspirations and creative processes! :)

tattoos_bannerThe awesome news is that you don’t have to attend the show to buy the tattoos! Each artist’s sheet is available for sale at LGAL’s online shop! $1 from each $10 purchase goes to help out Tom Strom and his recovery. I think this is such a fantastic fundraiser idea! I invite any and all readers to share their favorite tattoos from this exhibition–there are some GORGEOUS contributions! Go check them all out and consider buying a sheet or two to not only help an artist in need, but to decorate yourself with rad artwork! :) xo

March 18, 2013 by Michelle
Categories: handmade community, illustration | 13 Comments

Green With Indie Sneak Peek

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This is the messy, busy situation my apartment has been in this week. Organizing prints, rushing to try and get some more printed, working on my display–and most exciting for me–hand-painting rings and brooches! I’m having fun making these cute little guys and hope a few find good homes this weekend! I’ll have the rest available on my Etsy soon as well as in a giveaway of goodies next week! :) xo

March 7, 2013 by Michelle
Categories: handmade community, illustration | 12 Comments

Message In a Bottle

I honestly just realized that I never ended up sharing the piece I made for Light Grey Art Lab’s Message In A Bottle show! Oops! I’m the worst!

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I was automatically invited to participate in the Message In A Bottle show because I attended the Resolve To Make workshop with Kali Ciesemier, so I really tried to take the opportunity to step outside my comfort zone and experiment. The concept of the show itself–creating an illustration with some hidden meaning or story that would make the viewer look twice–already pushed me into uncomfortable waters. My pieces are usually pretty decorative rather than conceptual, so I knew I wanted to try a scene with a clear setting that tried to tell a story.

I went with a mischievous teen girl building a secret in her bedroom and used references from different movies to allude to what she might be working on… any ideas?? :) 

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Image from Kali’s blog

During the workshop, Kali introduced us to the process of informal subdivision. In short, you divide your composition with a horizontal line, then a vertical, then draw a diagonal through their intersection point. You continue to divide the space up with lines through intersection points and finally use the tangled web as guidelines for your sketch! This is a way to force you to mix up the way you think about compositions and a fun little challenge.

To see Kali’s way more interesting and informative posts on using informal subdivision, visit her blog here and here!

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We were all lucky enough to watch Kali’s work process and during her demonstration, she said she usually will sketch, finalize, and clean up her drawing in black and white and add color last. This really interested me because you can really work out your value scale before you even think about color. I feel like that’s something I often struggle with. I worry so much about getting the colors right as I’m drawing, it distracts from the drawing process and things end up muddy.

So these were my goals with this illustration:

- Try informal subdivision to guide my composition
- Finalize drawing in black and white first, add colors last
- Focus on creating a clear warm vs cool color scheme
- Flesh out a background and atmosphere

So really, I accomplished all my goals and I’m proud of myself, but I’m not super duper thrilled with the final piece. There are parts I really love, but I mostly wish I was able to think of a cooler concept/story. That’s certainly my weakness!

I have a lot of art-related goals for 2013. I hope to experiment more, grow as an illustrator, and build a stronger, more professional portfolio. Goals! I’m afraid to share too much about them and jinx myself or look naive, but I’ll probably share a little recap before 2014. :)

February 26, 2013 by Michelle
Categories: illustration | 6 Comments

Be Mine.

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Have a lovely Valentine’s Day, everyone! Whether your greatest love comes from yourself, your significant other, or your cat, revel in it! xo

February 14, 2013 by Michelle
Categories: holidays, illustration | 14 Comments

I ♥ Bloggers: Mermaidens

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Hi everyone! It’s been far too long since I shared a portrait of one of my favorite bloggers! Today, I present the adorable Kailey from Mermaidens! Her sugar sweetness and pastel dreamy-ness are a perfect way to kick-off Valentine’s week, don’t you think?

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Everything about Kailey just brings a smile to my face! I love her sweet style, kind personality, and her refreshing “quality over quantity” blogging. She doesn’t post daily like many other bloggers, but when a new post pops into my queue from Mermaidens, it’s always a real treat! The fact that she has such a confident, but experimental style and way of expressing herself at her young age is really inspiring! Plus, she could not be nicer. Seriously. xo

February 11, 2013 by Michelle
Categories: illustration, project: i ♥ bloggers | 29 Comments

Light Grey Art Lab’s “Message in a Bottle” Exhibition

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Tomorrow, Friday, January 25th, is the opening reception for Light Grey Art Lab’s Message in a Bottle show! I (and all the other talented participants from the Resolve to Make 2013 workshop) have a piece in the show!

Here’s the event summary from their site:

Message In A Bottle is all about cryptic messages, hidden secrets, ancient illusions! Curated by Light Grey Art Lab’s own Lindsay Nohl, it’s a show where the artwork is on display to be poured over, studied and deciphered. 

The opening reception for Message In A Bottle is from 7-10 PM on Friday, January 25th. You’ll definitely want to be there! The exhibit includes several pieces of interactive artwork, including a piece that consists of coordinates and an inkpad. Visitors are invited to use their fingerprint to make a mark on a gridded canvas. Slowly, a message will appear, and a secret will be revealed!

The exhibition will feature a limited edition print for those people that are the first to find the hidden images in the pieces, an interactive decoding piece, and walls and walls of art containing intimate secrets and mesmerizing detail!

Jackie Batey will also be joining us as a featured artist for this exhibition, as well as a collection of work from Kali Ciesemier’s MAKE 2013 workshop.

RSVP via the Facebook Event Page!

Remember, the Opening Reception is Friday, January 25th from 7- 10pm! We’re located on the corner of Stevens Ave and 26th Street – right across from the Minneapolis College of Art & Design. Street parking is available on Stevens, 26th and 1st Ave.

See you there!

Sounds amazing, right?! Light Grey always has the most fabulous exhibitions with pieces from such fabulous young illustrators and I’m so honored and lucky to have my work displayed among them! Hopefully this isn’t the last time you get to see my work there. :) Here’s a little sneak peek of my illustration…

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I’ll reveal the whole piece next week! Our pieces each have letter clues that spell out a secret message! Oooo, so mysterious and awesome! I won’t spoil the whole piece until after the opening.

If you live in or around the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, GO! Especially if you’ve never been to a Light Grey opening. They are the sweetest, most passionate group of folks and I know you’ll have a blast! I wish I could make it back up there! :(

January 24, 2013 by Michelle
Categories: illustration, personal | 3 Comments

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