green glasses

This is a quick piece of myself. Had fun painting with color and loose sketching. Have to mention that I love my glasses! I received them recently from Warby Parker, who I can not recommend enough. They run around $95 for a frames + lenses, and if that isn't enough they also donate a pair to someone in need. So amazing.

 

I also needed a new profile pic on facebook.

Betta love

A friend of mine started a new blog chronicling her betta fish family. She asked me to design a header image, and I went a little crazy and ended up creating a whole layout. It was lots of fun and I wanted to keep it cheerful and bright - to showcase the colorful fish.

I pulled out my tablet and sketched a betta for her custom logo. It was fun discovering a process to create the scales and it turned out really well. I sketched the banner and the text as well. My first idea was 'vintage nautical', but I realized that betta are tropical so I moved toward a more vibrant palette. This was a refreshing project, so thank you Roxy for the opportunity!

Visit her blog at bettabonkers.com

Bebal

Energized by my sister's success in her online art classes I'm motivated to dive back in to creating art. I believe design is art too, but it is a different kind of animal. Spreading my time creating around multiple mediums allows me to grow and be inspired in new ways, It's so easy to become stagnant and work yourself into a rut. Artist's block. So I'm challenging myself to keep working on new things and fostering a healthy process, whether it's for a job or myself.

 This piece might not look like much but it took around 6 hours. I restarted 3 times. I am discovering how to begin and sustain work. It was more about enjoying the act of painting and loosening up my mind than wanting to finish a specific idea.

This was my first sketch with my (new!) wacom tablet a few months ago. I have a lot to learn but it's enjoyable. Hopefully more sketches to come.

Peasant Lunch

Is there anything better than sausage, crackers, cheese, & an apple for lunch?

Open-face Smoked Trout Sandwich

A completely random craving happened when out walking last week. Smoked fish. Salmon is the obvious choice, but there is a local trout pond (Eat My Fish) that provides fresh smoked trout to the co-op. A simple sandwich was born: cream cheese, green onion, smoked trout, and crusty bread. Any loaf of hearty bread will work, I chose simple Italian Peasant bread.