tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59328306116601726222008-08-14T20:13:17.015-05:00artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-20010576643893484692008-08-07T18:57:00.006-05:002008-08-07T19:20:03.276-05:00

Come into the garden for a moment and enjoy the complex, yet simple beauty of a beloved heirloom flower. Lose yourself in the majestic, towering stems, the satin-soft petals and the geometrically fascinating seed heads. Appreciate for just a moment something beyond the scope of your normal day and when you leave, take with you a renewed desire to slow down and enjoy every little moment. I am

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-42626101124937586332008-06-25T10:57:00.004-05:002008-06-25T11:16:09.401-05:00

This illustration started off as most of my finished artwork does - a series of pencil sketches in vastly different styles. In the end, I decided to go with "simplicity" and let a collection of multi-sized dots create the illusion of the fish. But, as often happens with art, the end result started to take on a life of it's own - similar and yet very different from what I had originally

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-10558207547935957252008-06-07T20:24:00.003-05:002008-06-07T20:34:54.267-05:00

Isn't this how everyone remembers the neighborhood where they grew up? Houses decorated in bright floral fabric patterns, pink-trimmed trees, huge blooming flowers everywhere and inviting front porches which led to doors that were never locked. And of course all our friends were always waiting in their backyards where we would spend whole summer days in another world, occassionally refreshed by

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-86907557840309533992008-05-27T23:03:00.005-05:002008-05-27T23:12:39.262-05:00

This is part 2 in my Happy Day series for children. One of my favorite books of all time, is The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton, which fantastically illustrates the changing seasons. Although, my artistic style is quite different, I have always held a child-like fascination with the wonders that each new season brings. With my Happy Day art prints, I hope to highlight some of my favorite

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-58158211755266865432008-05-08T18:01:00.003-05:002008-05-08T18:16:15.425-05:00

I am so excited to be able to offer this new line of Mini Dahlia Notebooks. They were created in response to a customer who requested my original regular-sized Dahlia notebook (the pink one) in different colors and smaller. I had not thought to experiment with the colors or the size until she contacted me, but I am so happy with the results. I love when someone tosses me an idea out of the blue

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-22170540461995491892008-04-16T15:13:00.002-05:002008-04-16T15:17:24.963-05:00

Just think about exactly what that means . . . On that first really warm, sunny day coming out of long and dreary winter (like today!), it is SO rejuvenating to just step outside, close your eyes with your face to the sun, and breeeeeeathe in. Try it. You'll like it.

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-38899622802674328192008-04-09T14:44:00.003-05:002008-04-09T14:49:54.288-05:00

And now, the culmination of my 21-sketches brainstorming session on oranges (see 2 posts ago). I really do love everything Orange: the color, the fruit, the taste, the smell. So, appropriately titled, I think. This one has actually sparked an idea for a whole new kitchen re-design . . . someday.

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-17112331651039887562008-04-07T15:26:00.004-05:002008-04-07T17:36:50.502-05:00

Continuing with my bookmark series ... The message behind the bookmark I designed here is simple enough. It's important to balance out the craziness of our lives with "down time". We are only human after all and can only go so long or push ourselves so far before we must unplug and give our minds and bodies a rest from the responsibilities of life. If we don't, we risk serious emotional and

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-23443347088322888732008-04-04T14:58:00.004-05:002008-04-04T17:21:21.174-05:00

Apparently a lot, in this case. I counted 21 individual oranges or slices sketched (not including the 2 page thumbs at the bottom) before I tore the page out of my sketchbook to scan in. Why am I doing this, you ask? Well, I have this inkling of an idea, a vague sort of blurry vision bouncing around in my brain for a digital design depicting fruit - specifically oranges - and this is how I am

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-3161838283525765732008-04-02T12:00:00.004-05:002008-04-02T12:31:09.847-05:00

I recently designed a line of bookmarks with little inspirational messages that I made up and I thought it would be interesting to explore the meaning behind each of them. If you are like me, you get a little thrill up your spine when you see a piece of art or good graphic design paired with the perfect written message. I love to collect samples like that and leave them all over my house to

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-76716981142174887802008-03-31T01:26:00.004-05:002008-03-31T01:29:56.801-05:00

So, I came up with this idea that there MUST be some correlation between how an artist drinks their coffee and the type of art they produce (since, logically, one's artwork is an extension of one's personality). But I couldn't prove it, so I decided to do a little survey. The results were as varied as the artists themselves who participated, but I did get an interesting window into one essential

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-26847595875064077662008-03-29T01:28:00.005-05:002008-03-30T19:49:15.490-05:00

"For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?", Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen Truly, sometimes the best response to any of life's less-than-stellar moments (or in this case, accomplishments) is to laugh, thereby gaining the most useful thing we can out of it, since laughter is good for us. I took up this project several months ago

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-83523625288681038832008-03-26T14:07:00.006-05:002008-03-29T02:44:56.211-05:00

Continuing with the Spring theme . . . I just polished off this little girl (it's definitely a girl) at approximately 4am this morning. The tree was part of an old graphic I had done for my website a while back and it's been kind of sitting in the back of my mind for a while, poking at me now and then to do something with it. So I sat down last night, intending only to "play" with it a bit. 4

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-74138659670873664352008-03-25T18:26:00.007-05:002008-03-29T02:46:06.117-05:00

In the absence of anything truly relevant to share with you, artwise (too many other necessities of life have gotten in the way of my creativity lately, filing taxes, a really dirty house, Easter activities), I thought I'd show an old favorite of mine. I painted this with watercolors a few years ago as a gift to a friend who was going through a difficult time. She has the original and I will

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-28963903069624103252008-03-21T18:35:00.005-05:002008-03-29T02:31:16.124-05:00

I just couldn't resist doing a little bragging today! I just finished this design today at 3am and I am so proud of it. To me it represents a new milestone on my journey as a digital artist - I feel I have embarked on an exciting new path with the style of this piece. When you are a relatively "new" artist and are working on developing your own style (one that you are totally in love with and

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-44772404177656209822008-03-20T22:59:00.017-05:002008-03-29T02:36:33.875-05:00

(Photo courtsey of freefoto.com) "Life is a journey", they always say. So why do we only see how far away our next "destination" is? I'm as guilty of this as anyone, so I thought I'd come up with a list of little ways to recognize what makes up the "journey"; since probably 90% of our lives are spent on the trail to the next big thing and only 10% of them actually enjoying our accomplishments.

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-76425107457041147472008-03-18T00:24:00.006-05:002008-03-29T02:37:41.823-05:00

I run into all sorts of interesting responses when I tell people that I specialize in "digital art", ranging from "What's that?" to "Oh, so the computer does all the work for you." I much prefer the former, because it gives me a chance to open someone's eyes to the wonderful world of graphic design as an art form. The latter response I usually just try to ignore, because anyone that will look

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-27136056807749577122008-03-13T21:15:00.003-05:002008-03-29T02:39:57.695-05:00

Ever been flipping through a magazine or just minding your own business somewhere and have one of those “mind bursts” where an awesome idea pops up and you just have to jot it down before you forget? That happens to me all the time and for years, I had notes in dozens of magazines scattered all over the house and drawings in various notebooks that might have or might not have been the main one

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-66424593331381367802008-03-11T02:05:00.005-05:002008-03-29T02:43:29.175-05:00

It's after 2am and I feel like I'm just getting started. All day long I rush around doing everything that is necessary to run a house and fufill my obligation to others, so that by the time normal people would be pillowing their heads, I'm itching to go into my office and have a long rendezvous with my computer. I kiss my husband and dogs goodnight, pour what's left of this morning's coffee into

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-1274069044905017932008-03-07T22:22:00.004-06:002008-03-07T23:09:01.764-06:00

I feel it - even though everything outide is still brown and the air is chilly and I'm wearing socks and sweaters constantly - an inner sense that the earth is changing. As someone who hates winter and cold with a passion (even though I live in the midwest and should be used to it by now), I always look for the earliest signs of spring, long before most other people would: tiny brownish-red buds

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932830611660172622.post-24976402878548575282008-01-19T21:36:00.000-06:002008-01-19T22:02:13.213-06:00

Hi there everybody! This is my first time blogging - ever. I'm not sure how many people will even see this, but I hope that if you do stop by, you will leave a comment and I'll be sure to do the same for you. After reading over and over in various forums how useful blogs were, I finally decided to start one of my own. I'm developing a new online business (http://shalomscottagehome.com/) and have

artistscs28http://www.blogger.com/profile/02821321275069252914noreply@blogger.com