Trick or Treat

Fall Palettes

It's finally starting to cool down here in the Northeast and we're finally getting to experience my favorite thing about fall: the colors.  So while at a garden center this weekend (ok, it was really a pumpkin patch), I found myself lost in a sea of mums, the flower that flanks everybody's doorway.  It was a beautiful sight, and an inspiration for seasonal 2 color palettes.

The first picture, they almost look like heads of cauliflower.

The palette, warm and comforting shades.

Squashes and cranberries

This image is a little sharper and lighter.

As a result, the palette is a little cooler and brighter. 

Crisp and cheery

You can incorporate all the shades of the season into your wardrobe, decorating, and cooking!  Once November hits, things start to get depressing, so get out and enjoy all the beautiful Fall colors while you can!

Halloween is approaching

A few years ago I made these Halloween cards and recently came across them in the closet while switching out my summer clothes. They are collaged out of patterned scrapbook paper, as I am surprisingly not into scrapbooking but I love those big tear off books of paper. Maybe this year I'll actually send them!

P is for Peacock

It's also for Paige, the adorable little daughter of my best friend.  I've been busy the last 2 weeks making a gift for her Christening in Colorado this past weekend.  And of course I couldn't ruin the surprise by posting it.

I knew I wanted to give her very personal gift, and though I don't really think of myself as an illustrator, a cute and whimsical illustration was definitely the way to go.  After looking at most of the peacock creations that google images has to offer and drawing a dozen different versions, I finally liked this guy:

After recreating him with pastels didn't work (there was too much detail for how soft and big they are) I turned to watercolor and got this one.  

The art deco inspired "P" was created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator, but something just didn't feel right about the colors.  A lot of this had to do with the blue being so dark and my trying to get away with using drawing paper, which just could not hold up to the minimal amount of water I was using.  A quick look at Kobayashi's Book of Colors and I ended up sticking a little closer to peacock colors, but of course with some pink thrown in there.  

It's framed in Ikea's white RIBBA shadow box frame, because the shadow box gives it some depth and presence and nobody seems to sell square frames except Ikea.  Here is is in Paige's pink room.

I was so happy when her parents liked it (she just blew some spit bubbles), and they've asked me to do her other two initials, S and O, for Christmas!