Wild and Wondrous: Wolf

The next request in the Wild and Wondrous illustration series is a wolf:

He looks a little fearsome I think. Steer clear of this fella!

Wild and Wondrous: Cougar

Here is how that cougar turned out in the end:

Here's a fun little fact: mountain lions, pumas, and cougars are all different names for the same creature. And speaking of cougars, I met one on a night hike with my sister this week! I still have my face and a healthy fear for wild creatures, but what an experience! I shall have to share more about that one!

Color This Bear Coloring Contest!

I'm hosting a coloring contest right now on Instagram, and I'd love you to join in! Coloring pages for grownups are a great way to customize your own piece of artwork perfectly for your space, and you can color this grolar bear however you'd like:

Here are the details:

1. Download the bear coloring page for an amazing introductory rate before it goes up to full price April 15. Pricing rewards for loyalty, guys. That's how I roll.
2. Print it up and color like there's no tomorrow! I have some fun treatments to show you and can't wait to see what you can come up with too.
3. Post your creation all over Instagram using #colorthisbear.
4. You get a bonus entry for each post using the hashtag #colorthisbear and for each person you tag in those posts!
5. A winner will be randomly picked from the entries. Will you be the lucky person?
6. If you win, you get to pick your favorite animal to be turned into a similarly-styled coloring page! How neat is that?

This contest runs through March and into April. A winner will be selected April 15. Coloring takes time, right? I can't wait to see what lovely things you have in store for this little guy!

Cougar Illustration Process Shot

It's not very often I have a piece that shows all the process steps at one time, but here's a quick look at what steps I went through to create this cougar illustration as part of my Wild and Wondrous series:

1) Sketch in pencil
2) Trace in pen (erase pencil)
3) Step out pattern placement
4) Fill in pattern
5) Finish and define outline

Wild and Wondrous: Monkey

Here's the next in the Wild and Wondrous series:

This silly little monkey has been up to mischief, I'm pretty sure. You can see the previous illustrations from this year-long series here and here. There are some additions in the works, too!

Wild and Wondrous: Lion

Here's the next wild beast I've been working on as part of my Wild and Wondrous illustration series:

His puffy hairdo is a fitting crown. You can see the first illustration here. I've been asking my loved ones what their favorite wild beast is, and I've been surprised at the variety. I can't wait to share more as they are completed.

Wild and Wondrous: Grolar Bear

I'm working on an illustration series this year of wild beasts. I'm calling it my Wild and Wondrous series and you can see more throughout the year on my Instagram account. The first one I finished this year was this crazy grolar bear, a mix between a polar and a grizzly:

This one seems serious, but don't be fooled by the calm expression. The fierceness is just under the surface. I'm pretty happy about how it turned out, and I'm looking forward to adding more to this series. It's such a fun illustration style!

Mess Ups

Guys, I'm not always proud of the art I create. Sometimes I make big errors where nothing can salvage the art, so I usually chuck them in the trash and don't post such nonsense. Then from my frustration I find the energy to keep moving forward, whether it be in the form of another project or taking a second (or third or forth!) stab at a piece of art until I like where it lands. It's a matter of resiliency. Lest you think art always comes easy to me, ta-da:

I think the moose has such a sad look on his face because he knew I would mess up royally on the watercolor after spending too long on the stipple illustration detail. Sorry, big fella! #momentoftruth #shechosepoorly

Alphabet Birds Part VI

These are the last 6 illustrations of the alphabet bird series I showcased on Instagram last month:

Upland Sandpiper, Vulture, Woodpecker, Xantus's Hummingbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Zone-tailed Hawk

I loved sharing a little fact along with each illustration because I think when we know more about something, we understand it better and care more. The same goes with people, too. The more we know and understand someone, the more we can care for and love that person. Let's all try to be a little better at understanding the living people and animals around us, shall we?

Alphabet Birds Part V

As tribute to the fantastic fowls of North America, I worked on an alphabet series of bird illustrations last month. I drew one bird for every letter of the alphabet. Here are illustrations Q-T:

Quail, Red-tailed Hawk, Scrub Jay, Thrush

I loved the variety of birds in this alphabet series, but I think it's totally possible to do a similar set of shore birds, birds of prey, mountain birds, or even prairie birds. Loved it!

Alphabet Birds Part III

As part of my focus on birds for the month of October, I've been sharing a series of North American birds for every letter of the alphabet on my Instagram account. It's been exciting to learn about each type of bird, and I couldn't help but share a fact along with each illustration. Sharing the fascination, guys. Sharing the fascination.

These next four are Ibis, Jay, Killdeer, and the Long-eared Owl:

Stay tuned for the next set of four, and spread the fascination for nature!

Alphabet Birds Part II

Here are the next four birds (E-H) of the alphabet bird series I'm doing in the month of October:

Eagle, Flicker, Great-horned Owl, Heron.

I've enjoyed drawing these illustrations in my sketchbook and sharing a little fact about each kind of bird along the way. Nature is so fascinating! Stay tuned for the upcoming illustrations or check out my Instagram account for the daily updates, where you can request to see an illustration of your favorite bird.

Alphabet Birds

As a tribute to the amazing bird migration (and for Feather & Fir's namesake--birds are the best!) I've been drawing a North American bird for every letter of the alphabet. During the month of October I'm posting them on Instagram along with a quick fact about each highlighted bird, so be sure to check them out here on the daily.

Birds are so marvelous to me! It's fascinating how as a group they can seem so similar, but once they're examined a little more closely their distinct personalities and unique features shine. Each little species contains a wonder all its own!

Here is a recap of the first four illustrations, just in case you missed them:

Thanks for stopping by today! If you'd also like to see what our family is up to, you can follow our tomfoolery on my personal blog, here.

Fracture Watercolors

I've been working on these patterned watercolor pieces:

I loved the pattern and color variance so much, that I decided to do these in three different colors. I think I like the teal the best, although the green is a close runner up.

Feather Contour and Watercolor

I've been fiddling about a lot lately with watercolors and contour illustrations, and tried a new way of combining the two:

I wanted to try out a new watercolor approach that wasn't as layered or detailed, and a little more abstract and free flowing. I really like the way it all turned out! I'm definitely going to be doing this some more!

What new things have you tried lately?

Patterns Round-up

One of my favorite creative explorations this last year was playing around with patterns. Here is a sampling of what I've done:

Some of these will be available at the Beehive Bazaar in just a few short weeks. Is there anything that you'd like to see more of?

Watercolors Round-up

Here is a handful of pieces from some of my favorite watercolor series this last year:

Good news: these will be hanging out at the Beehive Bazaar at the beginning of May if you're interested in picking any of them up to adorn your space. Which ones do you like best? What would you like to see more of?

Decorated Pots Round-up

Here's another little sampling of some pots and planters I hand-decorated:

These will also be making an appearance at the Beehive Bazaar the first full weekend in May. Which ones would you like to see more of at the show?

Behind the Scenes: Mistakes

So, we all know the internet tells lies all day long. It fibs about people and their lifestyles and it has this knack for making people feel less than they are. It proposes ridiculous expectations and stretches the reality of actual real life by showing only the sparkliest of sparkles. One reason for such glittery goodness, though, is to project professionalism, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Being selective about the content and making it more beautiful (or highlighting the found beauty) isn't anything to be ashamed of.

However, I was pondering this very topic the other night and as I was flipping through my sketchbook realized that it might be interesting to see the all-too-truthful context regarding an  Instagram post from a few weeks ago.

And this is what that sketchbook page looks like in its entirety:

(I threw in the messy counter as a little peek into my reality. You're welcome, extra bonus. Obviously I have better things to do with my life than keep that huge counter spotless all the livelong day.)

As you can see, the little doodle I posted was not my first attempt. And, it also wasn't a finished piece of artwork by any means. It was even doctored up a little to increase the contrast. And it still wasn't perfect. I mean, take a close look at that "N", would you?

However, it was still the best out of the few attempts I took at doodling this phrase. The other two took a skiwampus turn for the worse and had to be abandoned. So, mistakes. They happen. You can either get dejected and turn it into a huge deal or you can study it and improve the next time. What I'm trying to say is that all those effortless photos that are plastered all over the internet may not be that effortless after all. More likely, hours of work as well as trial and error went into the production (and post-production, let's be real) of something beautiful, and you shouldn't expect immediate perfection from yourself or others without first encountering a few mistakes.

I'm not one to become easily discouraged when I make a mistake. Sure, it's embarrassing (darn typos!) but by golly, I'm human, so I do what I can and get over the rest. It's more of an means and less of an end, you know? Also, I feel relieved and trust people easier when they are real about their little lives. I always feel more at ease when I know someone is just a regular person after all.

Do you feel the same way? What do you think the difference is between editing + curating and living a life full of lies?

Grid Practice

I've been working on deliberate practice even more this last week:

I started out with the red one and randomly painted in squares until they were all filled in, much like the forest animals in the last post. With the gold and teal pieces, though, I wanted an ombre effect, so I painted more methodically, in a specific order and pattern. I think the second method worked better because then I knew for sure that the adjacent paint wasn't going to be wet and bleed.