the makers

themakers

team everyday love will be at maker faire in san mateo this weekend! also, as a fun collaboration, zazzle asked me to create some coloring book pages and they will be available at their booth (as well as some fun prizes)! this print will be available at my booth in the bazaar bizarre tent. ^_^ hope to see you there!

print sale today

The print sale is up! From 11a today, May 15 until 11a tomorrow May 16 (PST) this print is available for you to choose your price. ^_^

savannah

special print sale

Recently, I watched Amanda Palmer from the Dresden Dolls give a TED talk and I was deeply inspired. I love how musicians have made their music accessible by simply asking their listeners to give. I want to apply the principles that have worked in the music business to my own work. Prints are a physical item therefore the costs are different than a digital download (I will not offer my art as a digital download).

For 24 hours (from 11a PST tomorrow, May 15th until 11am May 16th) the print below will be available to give what you want.

savannah

(Shipping charges still apply, limited to 1 print per person).

snacks + shows

zebrahweb

Team Everyday Love will be all over California this weekend! I will be at Unique LA, at T30, come by and say hello! Donna will also be at Patchwork Oakland on Sunday! We will both have tons of new prints and cards, hope to see you there ^_^

Happy weekend!

studio sale today ^_^

betthesky

today is the studio sale on my etsy shop. this is one of the original watercolors that will be available! the sale will be live at 11am PST. thanks for checking it out ^_^

have a lovely monday!

spring cleaning

 

studiosale

it’s time to clean out the studio! on monday i will be releasing a wood burning, a few post-its from the giant robot show as well as a few framed and unframed original watercolors through my etsy shop. these are all one-of-a-kind pieces, once sold, that’s it! ^_^ its a perfect time to grab an original as i will most likely not do this again for awhile ^_^

have a lovely day!

snack time + tree hugger tote

snacktime

I’m super excited to announce the Tree Hugger Tote! The limited edition tote will be sold exclusively in San Francisco by Urban Bazaar. Join me at Urban Bazaar on Thursday March 28th from 7-8pm to celebrate the launch! The first 15 people to buy a tote will receive a free mini-print.

If you can’t make it to San Francisco, the tote is also available (in five colors!) through my online shop ^_^

Have a great Monday!

beautybagcolors1

 

find your path

Many things have contributed to finding my path as an artist. From an incredibly supportive husband, fabulous friends, to a love of storytelling… I receive questions every week about how I got here, what tools I use, what inspires me… so, I thought it might be helpful to write a bit about how I got here.

After college I had a host of jobs. Most of them weren’t right for me. In fact, I quit one job by placing my office keys on the desk, submitting my resignation via email and simply walking out, never to return again. Because the job wasn’t just making me miserable, it made me hate life. Another job I held for one single day. I learned that I am headstrong, I take action and think about the consequences later. I don’t recommend it, but it has mostly worked for me. Of all my jobs before art, the only job I enjoyed was working at the library. I was an assistant but I never felt like one. There was a level of respect, playfulness and curiosity that I loved there. (My ideal world is one full of art and books.) I worked at a cafe and and the library, took out massive loans (which I’m still paying off) and enrolled in art school at the age of 27. I was often the oldest person in my classes, and believe me when I say that I was AWFUL in comparison to the students 8 years younger than me. Being older, my one advantage was that I was clear about what I wanted to do – I wanted to create illustrations to make people happy and I wanted to write books.

Returning to my headstrong self, I learned what I felt like was enough and dropped out of art school. I began drawing everyday. I am now 3 years and 500+ illustrations deep into running my own show. I admit I am distracted by shiny, new, well-paid opportunities. Many of the artists I know work at animation or game studios. I was recruited by one of the big animation companies last year and turned down their request for an interview. I have to keep clear on my goals even when it’s easy to be swayed by big names. I am a full-time artist and business. Anyone who has started their own business knows the painful truth that YOU are the only way that your business earns and moves forward. I realize the path I chose is harder. Much, much harder than I had imagined. The majority of my income comes from my personal work and a small percentage from commercial work. I work weekends, nights, and sometimes I am disheartened by the lack of opportunities I have simply because I’m not associated with X, Y, or Z company. That’s the reality of any industry. But I truly prefer working for myself. I prefer creating artwork that I feel passionate about and working on projects that speak to me.

I don’t see myself as an authority on much of anything except my own experience. I can tell you what software I use to create my digital illustrations, what wood burning tool I use and what watercolors and pens. I believe in the beginning of any creative pursuit the idea that knowing the tools of your favorite artist will help you reach your goal is an easy trap. No one can create artwork like me because its not about my tools. My history, my experiences, feelings and thoughts inform my work. I use flash and photoshop, but you could find that you hate those tools. Then where will you be? In the end you have to find what works for you and go toward that. I battle a lot of insecurity and doubt, every week, every day, and recently that’s lead me to try new things… which is good and bad. Good because I get bored and trying new things keeps me excited and fresh. Bad because sometimes I fall into the same trap. I look at what others are doing and try to BE them. I have to constantly remind myself that although I might be good at a small amount of things, it is those things that I must focus on. I must go towards the things I’m good at, develop those and keep focused.

If I have arrived at a place that is admirable to others, I did that by being true to myself and working hard. I am not talented. I have no secret formula to create my illustrations or wood burnings. There is no magic button that makes shops carry my work or blogs write about my work. It comes from a constant pursuit of independence. I wanted to be free to create what I want, work where I want, with whom I want and make people happy.

Before beginning any path, creative or not, I think its important to be clear and focused. That is what will propel you forward. So… do you truly know what you want to do?

marching + emerald city comicon

marching

team everyday love will be hitting the road tomorrow, sf to seattle. we’re super excited! if you want to follow along with our adventure, i will be twittering and instagraming ^_^ and if you’re around, hope to see you at emerald city comicon i’ll be in artist alley table n-16 ^_^

back sometime next week!