"My favourite part, and the final thing I added, is the little bumble bee butts. I didn’t initially plan anything in this space, but it felt a little empty as I put things together. I started making purple flowers and then thought about these little bee butts - I was cracking myself up adding them in. "
"Watercolours can feel very organic, but markers gave me more control over the intensity of colour and allowed for sharper contrasts."
"One new technique I’ve been experimenting with, and tried in this illustration, is adding pencil crayon over watercolours. I used them in a few spots to enhance the vibrancy and add depth. Similar to what I like to do with a big pen, I found I enjoyed feathering the layers as a shadow. "
"With the details roughtly outlined in pencil. I always like to mark the different sections of a circular piece - 45 degrees, 90 degrees and so on. It makes it a lot easier to decide where to place things later on, especially if I’m trying to mirror the same pattern on both sides of the design. "
"I had created a rough outline with the watercolours, but then needed to fill in the details. The result is a little more on the abstract side, but I really enjoyed the process. "
"A bic pen is just the opposite - You have fine control over the line weight, and it enables subtle gradients. You can adjust the pressure or layer to range tones from from dark to light."
"The colour palette used here is reminiscent of the colours found going along red cliffs and blue waterways along them. "
"I used Sakura Microns in varying widths - and I felt very wary of the overall shape of the fox being lost in this. To overcome the challenge and risk of losing the fox’s shape, I used thicker pens and made thicker lines for some of the most important outlining parts. "
This was the Summer that reassured me in my choice to go part time. So filled with Summer joy, and less of the hustle and bustle of the Season.
Read about the path to doing artwork full time, and backtracking right back down that same path to a more enjoyable spot.
One of my all time favourite commissions, "The Fox On The Cove" - Read on to see how I created this piece.
“Matata” is one of my mixed media pieces- It’s a combination of watercolours and archival ink. I’ve said it before- This process will sort of ruin a micron pen and it’s felt tip- But I love the outcome so much that I generally forfeit a pen to complete a piece.
“Phase I” is the original moon illustration that I worked on. I created it in 2018, when I was really ready for a break from super complex pieces. I had begun thinking about super minimalist and simple black and white art that I would like for my own room.
"It began in pencil as I worked out the shape of the mother and baby whale, and decided on a few of the patterns that I wanted to incorporate in the watercolour portion of the work. You can see below that I penciled in a lot of the rounded shapes on the fins especially."
"Slowly and steadily, I eventually finished this piece. To be honest, using these pens over watercolour is a bit of an uphill battle, and I remember truly destroying one pen on this piece. I think the finished product was well worth it!"
"I began with a pencil outline of Prince Edward Island. I really like to simply use the shape from Google Maps. I began penciling in the different birds I wanted to include, and a rough idea of a branch that I wanted to make across the Province. My idea was to give a perching space for the birds. "
"I wanted to include very floral and natural patterns within the border, without getting into specific plants. Lots of petals, berries, leaves, full flowers and branches."
"Some of them were easy- Tuna, lobster and mussels were the first to come to mind. Some of the things that reminded me of Summers on Fortune Beach as well- Hermit crabs, shrimp and jellyfish. They’re all very much childhood memories for me."
"There are instances when I can look back at my progress and pinpoint where I really gained traction with daily practice. This illustration is a clear cut one for me."
"I was looking for any excuse to use these colours together, and often I keep a running mental list of things I’ve wanted to draw in the near future..."
