cinque terre

cinqueterre

this year we used points and savings to take a dream trip to italy. the hubbahubba’s family traces back there. the highlight of the trip was our week in cinque terre – enjoying limoncello and the beautiful views. we went to a small town in the region that was his great grandmother’s home and i watched him have the experience of belonging that i had when i went to india as an adult. since then life has been busy but i’ve wanted to draw this for months. i’m so happy that i could complete this before the year’s end!

happy, happy new year ^_^

cocoa and cookies

cooaandcookies happy holidays, everyday lovers!

fight to love

fighttolove

I had the pleasure of creating this wood burning for a couple who met while protesting. I’m rarely happy with what I create but as I finished this piece (my first commissioned wood burning!) I fell in love with it! I ALMOST kept it for myself^_^ I love commissions because they push me to create new things with new stories.

Part of the reason I didn’t want to give this up is that their story was so sweet – so to you two, happy anniversary! May you keep loving and keep fighting! <3

p.s.today is the last day toorder‬and receive it before xmas (US orders)! select priority‪‎mail‬on check out!

warmly

warmly

 

This is an older illustration but it makes me feel warm (it’s so cold today)! The holidays have been very busy around here ^_^ I will be doing my last live drawing at our Stonestown Galleriapop-up this Sunday from 12p-4pm. If you’re in San Francisco, come by for a custom piece – slots fill up fast, so come early!

Happy Thursday!

in search of snow

insearchofsnow

i’ve been swamped with holiday commissions, ourmall pop upandpashminapages! but i wanted to share this older illustration that i love – i remember as i drew, thinking about climbing on the roof of our car and waiting for snow… with penguins (of course).
hope you’re having a happy week ^_^

happy people

livedrawing I had the pleasure of drawing some happy people over the weekend. It was my first time attempting live drawing and I’m so happy it was a success! We openedour holiday pop up at Stonestown Galleriaon Monday! Our kiosk will be open until December 27th and I will be there this Saturday live drawing!

For online ordering, please order by December 15th to receive your packageby Christmas with standard shipping. For priority mail, the deadline is Dec 21st. Also, we’ve reduced the price on our necklaces!

Happy Wednesday!

ray of light

rayoflight

fly with me + etsy craft show

flywithmeWe will be vending at the Etsy Indie Emporium this weekend at Pier 35 in San Francisco. If you’re around come by to shop over 150 local artists for your holiday season.

I hope you have a happy holiday week!

it takes love

whatittakes1

i rarelytalk about it but i had a traumatic childhood. my family was dysfunctional and i was buried beneath layers of abuse. i blamed them, i blamed myself and i blamed the world.i was angry. i carried my anger with me everywhere and fought my way through my young adult life.

and then i found love.

it wasn’t easy. i was accustomedto fighting, so i fought the love. my love then (who is my love now) kept strong for years and showed me that our love was better. better than anger, better than pain, and full of brightness. i forgave my family. i stopped carrying that darkness with me and ever since my life has been lighter, warmer and simpler.

i am overwhelmed by the violence, fear and hate raging through our world. it would be easy for us to continue down the path of anger. retaliation. ragefeeds rage. the problems we have are not simple and the path to love isn’t easy. change isn’t easy. i knowfrom my own experience that love can heal. it can be as little as a kind gesture during your morning commute or volunteering your time. if we took a moment everyday to add love into our world maybe we could chip away at the anger. it won’t be easy all the time and it may take years.

but i believe a world full of love is worth the work and the wait.

night duel + urban epicurean festival

dueldeux duel1 Very early in my career my hard drive crashed and I lost the full resolution files of my illustrations. Duel was one of them – and as my work has been featured on different websites I’ve been asked for it as a print. Sadly I cannot recreate it – but I did revisit it! It was so much fun – it gave me a chance to truly see where I’ve grown. I understand anatomy and character weight better, but also light and shadow. I still have a long way to go but I know from years of experience my best route to improvement is to keep drawing. ^_^

Meanwhile, this weekend I will be at the Urban Epicurean Fest in San Francisco selling prints, cards and calendars with the wonderful Lyla Warren ofLittle Brigade. She’s coming from Portland to share her lovelySeedlingswith you all! Littlebrigade_seeds_of_love If you’re around please come by and say hello!