Crazy Cat Lady!

One of the really cool things about social media is it allows people to connect who might not have otherwise had a chance to meet or know each other. My instagram friend, Anke van der Meer, aka Anke Panke (@ankepanke), is a very talented dutch designer and illustrator. She is creating a Crazy Cat Lady Planner with cat illustrations from over 50 artists around the world. I feel really honored to be a participant in this amazing book. Here's what my spread will look like:

She is taking pre-orders now, so if you are a crazy cat fiend check it out here and sign-up for your copy! I can't wait to see all the kitty awesomeness in person...

An Ode to Coffee - MATS Bootcamp Month 5

For the final assignment in Lilla Rogers' Bootcamp, she instructed us to create a piece of art, for ourselves or a friend, that showcased our favorite beverage. She wanted it to be a personal piece, something we would hang in our homes. She encouraged any (and every) medium.

I'm not going to lie. This was tough for me. I love coffee, but would I hang a coffee painting in my house? This got me thinking about vintage posters—I would definitely hang a vintage beverage poster in my house. So that became my inspiration.

I love the way coffee smells when it's brewing. I love it really, really hot. I love holding a warm mug in my hands, especially in the winter. I love the feel, color and shape of those little roasted beans. Burlap bags, clinking spoons, tall mugs...

I settled on the image above for the gallery, but made a couple of other simple compositions as well. And below are snapshots of some of my explorations along the way.

So cheers to Lilla for another amazing class! I raise my coffee cup to you and all my talented classmates!

New Minted Challenge

I'm back at it with another Minted challenge. Kids Art Prints. I had so many ideas I wanted to execute, but once again I was pressed for time—family visiting for the holiday. I did manage to sneak a few designs in under the deadline, so pop on over and vote for me and all the other creative submissions!

Vote for rise & shine here

Vote for up, up & away here

Vote for I love you here

Lions & Tigers & Bears! Oh My!

I've got a new collection with a couple of ferocious cuties… No tin man, however.

Bootcamp Assignment 4 - Wall Art

This month's Lilla Rogers Make Art That Sells Bootcamp couldn't have been more fun. Nautical inspired wall art. Boy do I love the sea and all it's creatures! Maybe because I am an aquarius….?

Anyway, I knew right away I wanted to design children's wall art. And, for a while I've had the idea of creating a piece based around the tongue-twister "She sell sea shells by the seashore." This seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it out—with an octopus of course.

And who wouldn't want his and her wall art? So I created a little sailor-themed piece for the boys.

I thought the navy blue octopus looked strongest at thumbnail size, so I uploaded that one to Lilla's web site. Once again, I was amazed at all the gorgeous art coming out of this class. If you haven't seen the Bootcamp gallery, you can check it out here.

Here are a couple of my sketches with a similar theme that I've recently posted on my instagram year-long daily doodle. Are you following me? @shindigstudio

Bring On Summer...

Sunny. Breezy. Warm.  It's a flowery kind of day today…

Summer Meadow

This time of year I'm so inspired by all the flowers popping up everywhere. So simple and beautiful. Here are a few of the floral patterns I've been working on this week—in between all my sneezing from the grass pollen….