A Secret: Mine

 
When seeking a unique gift for our engaged friends over the summer I turned to Etsy (of course). The couple loves art so I decided to purchase a custom watercolor portrait from Yasmine Molavi's shop: Mine. After sending over a photo, she did a custom watercolor complete with wedding date. We gave them the gift last weekend and the newlyweds were thrilled with this wonderful work of art.

Yasmine also sells custom watercolor cards and I've ordered a few of those too. Her work is sweet + whimsical and every piece I've gifted has gotten rave reviews. If you are in need of a fun and original present, be sure to check out her shop.

Treasury Treasures

I made my first (and then second) Etsy treasuries yesterday. It was so much fun and I might have to do it more often. My inspiration came from the season hence my themes of sunshine and the beach.
Take a peek at my treasury page here and please leave me a comment so I know you dropped by!

In other Etsy news: I've made it my personal goal to reach 50 sales in my shop by August 15th. In an effort to jump start sales I'm offering FREE SHIPPING through tomorrow at midnight. Please stop by!

Beachy Keen

If I had a home on the sea (and I hope one day to fulfill this dream), it would be imperative to have a painting from Melissa Barbieri. Her ocean inspired works are too lovely for words. Actually now that I think about it, perhaps having one in my non-beachhouse would be a way for me to infuse each day with a spray of sea air. Now who wants to invest in one of these paintings for me?

Illustrator Love: Lorelay Bove

Back in March we went to NOMA to check out the Dreams Come True: The Art of the Classic Fairy Tales From the Walt Disney Catalogue (see more about the trip here). There was so much amazing art work to be seen and I learned of some new and amazing talents. One of which is Lorelay Bove. This young lady interned at Pixar and as since gone on to become a visual development artist at Disney. She worked on The Princess and the Frog and takes inspiration from another one of my favorite illustrators Mary Blair.

I've been holding off on introducing you guys to her amazing work because her Etsy store was a bit sparse. But now it is stocked with some new work so I thought today was the perfect day! I especially love the Laduree print (which probably comes as NO suprise).

Status Symbols

Loving the "facebook statuses tumblr." Jess, a graphic designer/illustrator hybrid takes facebook statuses of friends and those submitted by readers and turns them into works of art. I love the designs and reading the funny things people say. She's opening a shop to sell shirts soon too--exciting!

A Poster Reminder

First I'd like to thank you guys for the sweet comments about my last post. It means a lot to know I've touched a few people with my words. I did lose a follower today and it actually didn't bother me too much, I think because I was scared it would have been more!

Moving on...
I want this poster to hang in my office. I just love it so. Keep Calm Gallery has so many great prints!

BEST Burgers

My dad makes the best burgers in town...the best burgers around really! Summer time is the perfect time to fire up his grill and I love to reap the benefits. I found this cute print by Kelly Lasserre and thought it was too cute not to share. Besides being cute it is a perfect reminder that the little things can really make each day!

They Draw and Cook: I Love!

So glad I found the They Draw and Cook blog. Artists submit their illustrations/drawings + recipes. It is such an amazing collaboration. I'm hooked!

Illustrator Love: Mary Blair

A few weeks ago my sister, my hubs and I headed to New Orleans for the day to view the much anticipated exhibit Dreams Come True: The Art of the Classic Fairy Tales From the Walt Disney Catalogue at NOMA. Being a huge fan of illustration and admittedly a lover of all things Disney it seemed a must-see.

While there was I introduced to several Disney artists/illustrators whose work awed me. My favorite part of the exhibit was looking at preliminary sketches and character developments. A few of the illustrators really stood out to me for their whimsical + unique styles and I thought I'd share them with you guys.



First up, Mary Blair. This beloved designer worked for Walt Disney beginning in 1940 (continuing until her death in 1978) and they collaborated on such projects like Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. Disney loved her work so, that he asked her to assist with the design of It's A Small World (my favorite ride!).



I'm sure that one look at her amazing handiwork and you'll see why I love her work. Believe me when I say how grateful I am for computers but I have to also say that hand-drawn and painted illustrations are just so amazing! It was really neat to see all of these works up close and to read about the work and detail that goes into producing feature films.

Fun fact: Disney's The Princess and The Frog used hand drawn animation! I LOVE to see traditional 2D media back in the forefront.

Stay tuned for another fabulous artist I learned about on my trip...

Watery Wonders

On my to- do-in-this-lifetime list is "learn to watercolor." I've dabbled for a while but have yet to perfect the watery, wonderful medium. Caroline from "Looks Good To Me" on the other hand has it down. I love how her works looks so liquid and fluid. Beautiful right?

Giveaway: Laura Su

In honor of my "birthday month" I've decided to have a little giveaway here. The incredible designer Laura Su has just launched her second series of fashion illustrations. You know how I am about fashion illustration! The artist has enjoyed watercolors since art school and still uses them to express her love of color. The new series is aptly named in hues: Scarlet, Cadmium, Emerald, Cobalt and Coral. And now series one is available in a set of post cars too! These beauties would be lovely displayed in a set of crisp white frames--in your office, bathroom, child's room, the options are endless!

So back to the giveaway! Laura Su has generously donated a set of (12) postcards to one lucky winner. All you have to do to be entered to win is leave a comment on this post by March 18, 2010 at midnight (CST). One winner will be randomly chosen and announced on March 20, 2010. Good luck!

Side Show

My parents always used to laugh at my memory--they said I was like an elephant, I remembered everything! One of my earliest memories was going to the circus. Now a days my memory is not the same as it used to be that's for sure! And I haven't been to the circus in years and years but the memories of it are magical to me. I'd kind of like to have this little side show in my house...

I love MissBrigette's Etsy Shop. Each and every piece of art she sells has a whimsy I can appreciate. Her style kind of reminds me a bit of the cartoon intro at the beginning of "I Dream of Genie." A little retro and a lot fantastic, I'm like a kid in a candy store when admiring her work.

What's your earliest memory? Is there a work of art that reminds you of it?

Flying To The Dream

Contained in a tiny 3 x 2.5" book, Flying To The Dream are 35 adorable illustrations from behappynow. Itty bitty illos make me happy! Portable pretties, so cute right?

12 Months of Pretty

Orange Beautiful just reintroduced their 12 Books In A Box yesterday. Aren't they lovely (everything OB sells is!) and perfect for so, so many things? Gratitude journals, food diaries, sketchbooks, the possibilities are endless. If you want to put these pretties to use, hurry they are made in a limited edition of only 30--rare and beautiful, a perfect combo!

BalletArt

It is no secret that I love the art of ballet (exhibits a and b) so when BalletArt made its way across my computer monitor I swooned. The movement captured in these illustrations is amazing. Artist Lousine Hogtanian uses color in her drawings too but my favorites are the black and white done with graphite. The texture of this material has always appealed to me. Currently I'm scouting a location in my home for one of these beauties.