Illustrated Cityscapes: Chicago

The Chicago skyline stands tall in this black and white illustration, commissioned for a save the date. I've never been to there, but it's on the "to visit" list right below Boston, only because Boston is  driving distance from me.  Done in the usual fashion: India ink on watercolor paper.

I like the skylines the best when they include boats.

Happy Father's Day!

A happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Ink on watercolor. With rocks.

Map Illustration: Reading Terminal Market

Maps are awesome and I love them. Now you know. So when commissioned to do a map illustration for Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market, where you can apparently have weddings, I was suffice to say, pumped. If you've never been there, it's a seemingly endless hall of food vendors selling delicious and mostly decadent foods. To be honest I'm not sure how it works when you hold a wedding reception there, but I was tasked with helping the out-of-towners and towners alike navigate the events of the celebration in a fun and easy way. 

Not to scale.

Each vendor is marked by a little illustration showing the kind of food they have, and there are illustrations for the dance floor, seating, desserts, and of course the bathrooms.  The map was included in the invitation, which would get anyone excited for a belt-loosening cocktail hour.  Here are some close ups.  

Sushi and a Thanksgiving turkey: world's collide

You'll know where to bring your song requests before you even get there.

Here's an overhead of the whole thing:

To Market!

I'd like to continue some map explorations, especially one of my trip out west, and incorporate some of those deep reds and blues.  I smell a summer project...

Want to chat about a customized map? Email me at info@studiohearttohand.com.

Ink and watercolor flowers

Last week with Mother's day approaching, I decided to experiment with a new style for card, and it turned out to be one of my favorite pieces that's I've done a while.  It works well as a single flat card that doubles as a frameable illustration, and I'm going to tell you how I did it. A little inspiration from my Pinterest flower board, a print I have at home, and all the ink illustrations I've been doing lately, I set to work sketching out these blossoms.

Free style sketching

I wanted to keep the style feeling loose and organic, so I didn't strive for exact replicas but instead used the images as a guide for the movement of the lines. If you're recreating at home, just a reminder you can do some major damage with an eraser, so you want to sketch as lightly and as little as possible. I'm using some pretty heavy 120lb stock watercolor paper and a 2H pencil which helps a little.

Next I drew over the lines with India ink, adding some variation in thickness. I am in desperate need of a new bottle of ink if anyone is looking for a for-no-reason gift for me. It starts to gunk once it gets to a certain age and I can't seem to find a replacement anywhere. 

Now you can actually see it.

Unlike watercolors, India ink is permanent once it is dried so I was able to do the watercolor last.  You could of course add your color first and ink second if you prefer. It did start to smudge if I pressed too hard with the paintbrush. When I started I wasn't sure if and how much color I would use so that's why I added mine afterwards. To avoid looking hippie psychedelic, I stuck with a 4 color palette of sherbert-y colors. 

Yum

I was so pumped, I even did a second one. 

Definitely going to use this style more in the future.  They didn't even take that long, only a few hours!

Watercolor wishes

This watercolor illustration has been a long time in the making. I hesitated on it for a while because I couldn't find the right words and wanted to use my own instead of a quote. It was, however, inspired by a meditation/prayer which I learned on my spiritual journey, but was unable to trace the origin of, "May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you live with ease."  You're supposed to say it to yourself when someone has pissed you off or has caused some deep therapy-necessitating emotional damage.  This one is more suited for a new home or marriage.

It's like, my version of an Irish wedding blessing

While technically I "hand drew" the letters, I did pretty much copy actual fonts while adding embellishments.

Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater. Wait those aren't the words.

The colors aren't playing nice together and I don't like what's going on with the wind illustrations here. So those are changes that I'll be addressing in the next round.

You can even still see pencil marks--someone's lazy!

I do like the sunshine!

So there's the beta version, a happy wish for friends and enemies alike.

Bridge illustration no. 2

Not too long ago I posted an illustration of the Manayunk Bridge, and I'm here to post another illustrated river crossing in Philadelphia.  I'll be spending a few weekends there this spring, and I look forward to exploring this city that I'm coming to like more and more with each visit.  Maybe I have a soft spot for old Ben, being an F&M alum, or maybe it's the fact that the mortgage payment on a 3-br house is as much as the rent for my studio apartment.

Anyway, I'm not actually sure what the name of this bridge is so if anyone does, please post in the comments. 

And as always a close up.

You can tell the lights are on from the light bursts.

Happy first day of Spring!  Although the forecast tomorrow calls for snow.  We might as well be living in Canada!

O is for Owl

The last letter in the series of initials for my goddaughter is finally done! The "O" for her last name has a friendly little owl perched in the center. Heavy watercolors in pinks and purples are perfect for a little princess, and of course, match the other two.

Manayunk Bridge Illustration

Bridges are cool, huh? I recently did this illustration for a save the date of the Manayunk Bridge in Philadelphia.  It was a challenge to figure out what to do with the water, but I thought a reflection was necessary so it didn't look like a floating bridge. Don't they have those in Mario Bros?

A modern marval 

I'm working on a few more in the same style right now so they'll be up later this month.  As always this is india ink on watercolor paper.  I'm really liking this style and getting in the groove with it for sure!

Impromptu watercolors on a Tuesday night

With the craziness of the holidays, moving, and wedding invitations, I didn't get to do much freestyle creative.  On Sunday night, I promised myself to do something creative this week that was just for myself, and for no reason.  So here's a little watercolor design inspired by my coasters and a book on historical pattern design, just for fun.

Camera 1:

The apartment has great windowsills

Camera 2:

Yes, this could be a coaster

An illustrated carousel

Here's an illustration that I recently did as a commission for Paper Rock Scissors. It is actually a very specific carousel which is on display at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia.  As such I felt it was necessary to include some of these unique elements, like the rabbit and goat in the second tier.  As you can see it is very detailed (maybe you noticed the dozens of lightbulbs), and was painted with india ink on watercolor paper.

Click to enlarge for a closer look.

Rustic Fall Invitations

A few months back, I did this watercolor email save the date for Joel and Jazmine, my most country friends.  This organic handmade style carried through to their invitations, but with colors shifting from spring to fall.  Their wedding came just on the cusp of superstorm Sandy, and was the last beautiful weekend in the area, with leaves bursting with every color.  Their invitation fit right in!

Save the date: Handmade meets email

When a close friend told me he'd proposed to his longtime girlfriend, my congratulations was immediately followed by an offer to do their custom invitations. This fun-loving, outdoorsy couple wanted something natural to fit their laid back country lifestyle, and a personalized watercolor illustration was the best way to go. And although their save the date was emailed, it was still able to have an organic, handmade feel.

French tea bridal shower invites

These bridal shower invitations combine watercolor painting with digital printing to fit the girly, French-inspired theme.  No poodles, pink stripes, or baguettes here.

A Busy May

This month has been so much non-stop creative action that I haven't been able to post the hot little pieces I've been working on.  Here's a snapshot of what's been going on around the studio this past month.

From the top: A carousel sketch waiting to for ink to be applied,
a succulent I struggle to keep alive, Mother's Day card from
Hello! Lucky, a watercolor save the date illustration

Hopefully I'm able to put up the full posts later this week! 

Cityscapes are just shapes

It's been a very busy month, and I've spent many evenings crouched over the tiny desk.  But the second shift has produced some great work, starting with 5 city skyline illustrations made for the Philadelphia based stationary and event planning company Paper Rock Scissors.

Even as I heard myself say, "I can have them done in a week," I was simultaneously thinking, "Am I really saying this?"  But it's amazing how much you can get done when you stop watching reruns of Law & Order: SVU and get down to business.  And after extensive researching, sketching, and mistake making, I ended up pretty happy with the results, as did the client!  It was a challenge to reduce everything to simple lines and shapes—I swear I'll never look at buildings the same again.  The raw illustrations are below, the technique is India ink on watercolor paper.

Manhattan from the East River

Manhattan from the Hudson River

Philadelphia

Annapolis—my personal favorite

Washington, D.C.

Some close ups are available here.  Can't wait to see how they'll be used!

Watercolor bridal shower invitations

When given the task of sending out the bridal shower invitations for a good friend, I couldn't just go with store bought ones and miss an opportunity to showboat.  But not only that, it was a chance to design something without a client; I had free reign to do whatever I liked.  

Since I'm in the midst of several wedding related projects right now, I've been hitting the blogs hard, and came across this excellent tutorial from Oh So Beautiful Paper and put my own twist on it.  I loved the idea of doing something two sided.  It added so much style to what could have just been a simple card.  After painting the watercolor flowers (check the tutorial for how to), I grabbed a few of them from the back in Photoshop, and used them to adorn the front.  Using old typewriter font went along with the vintage feel of the whole thing, and the delicacy of the flowers was partnered with a simple script.  One learning was not to make the watercolor too light, or the scanner won't pick it up.  

They were printed out on Neenah 110lb Natural White Classic Crest paper, which is tough to cut by hand, fyi.  The envelopes are Laid Continental Blue, picked up from Paper Presentation.  Beautiful and classy, much like the bride before she is corrupted at the bachelorette party.  More pics below!

Philadelphia International Flower Show

The Philadelphia International Flower Show is totally where it's at for people who like literally anything flower related.  One part expo, one part county fair, and one part market, this event is a cocktail of color and inspiration.  Held in the enormous Philadelphia Convention Center, there seems to be an endless stretch of things to see, from 1000 square foot displays to tabletop flower arrangements.  20 year old prize winning cacti mingle with front yard gardens and botanical illustrations.  Unfortunately you're not allowed to walk into any of the displays, which takes a pretty high level of restraint. To say you're overstimulated is an understatement.    

Enough with the clever prose, it's time to get to the pictures.  I apologize upfront for the low quality; all the "mood lighting" actually makes the room fairly dark and it's incredibly crowded.  This is only a small sampling, click the link at the end to view the full album.  Feast your eyes...

A store window display in an old card catalog

A jungle scene composed entirely of pressed flowers!

Botanical illustration of an orchid puts my water colors to shame. 

I love this color palette of white, pink, and peach.

Indoor waterfall.  Probably the largest display in the show.

Magenta and orange orchids

Down the isle.

 See the rest of the photos here.

Taken by the Hand is turns 1 today!

Birthday cupcake watercolor

One year ago today Taken by the Hand was born! Conceived out of the desire to motivate myself to get back to my roots in fine arts and crafts, I'm happy to say that it's been more successful that I'd hoped.  It's also given me the chance to share what I've been working on, whether it be a quick sketch,  a 3 month long woodblock print, or a seasonal decorating project.  Putting yourself out there can be a little scary no matter how many times you do it, so I thank you, my readers, for all your support.  Look at me, pouring my heart out.  Check back often as I make my way through the list of projects I have in my head, and remember to create, always, in whatever way you choose!

S is for Squirrels

It's also for Stella, which is the middle name of baby Paige (of P is for Peacock fame) and this illustration was her Christmas present.  This one was much easier to do, since I already had a style based on the first version there wasn't quite as much experimenting necessary.

Like the peacock illustration, this was done using watercolor (with minimal water) on watercolor paper.  The S was hand drawn in Adobe Illustrator.  More pics below...

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!