My Favorite Part of Neverland

I know I have a problem. Okay, an obsession.

But when I was recently asked to create a new piece for a Disney Fine Art event a few weeks ago, the mermaid lagoon scene from Peter Pan was all I could think about. I thought it would probably be best to go ahead and get it out of my system before things got out of hand.

10" x 24" paper collage and gouache

I have been keeping busy working on several projects and getting ready for CTN-X next week! If you happen to be going to the show, you can find me at Table 56 right next to my good friend and fellow mermaid enthusiast, Liana Hee! I should have more updates before the show, but until then have a lovely week!

Lagoon Love

Ah, yes - the return of the mermaids:) I have been working on this piece in my spare moments for quite some time now, so I'm happy to finally be able to share it! I will have prints of this piece with me at CTN-X this weekend and they will also go up in the shop early next week.

This weekend's show is going to be completely packed with incredible talent, so if you can make it I highly recommend it! You can find me at Table 13 in the main hall, but if you are there you should go say hi to all of the other animation legends first. I will be around all weekend:)

I hope to see you there!

Bookworm

Here is a little peak at a commission piece I worked on last month. The recipient of this paper sculpt apparently loves mermaids and LOVES reading, so I thought I would combine the two into one piece. Mermaids can be bookworms, right?

Detail: paper, cardstock, and gouache.

Full detail of the final framed piece.

In other news, I'm back from Pennsylvania and am jumping right into prep for APE! Bill and I will be back for more this year, so I will have lots of things to post as the show gets closer. I will also be exhibiting at CTN-X in November, so mark your calendars and come say hi if you can! Have a great weekend everybody!

Lionfish

After spending last week unwinding from the whirlwind trip that was Comic Con, I spent the weekend working on a new piece for an upcoming Girls Drawing Girls gallery show at Meltdown in LA! Its been a while since I have 1. drawn mermaids and 2. made paper sculptures, so I decided to combine them here. Here is a bit of process:

The initial sketch in my sketchbook.

Early construction.

A few mermaid close-ups

Final (minus glass)

The show opens on August 15th and runs through the 30th. If you are in LA and get a chance, you should stop by! There will be plenty of goodies there from some very talented ladies.

I also just added my Girls of Summer print to the Etsy store, so if you couldn't make it to San Diego you can snag one there:) I have a few weeks of relative down-time before my annual trip home, so hopefully that means I will be posting regularly for a while. Have a great week everybody!

Sea Dragons!

Dave and I joined some friends last weekend at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and we had a blast! One of my favorite parts of the aquarium was the Sea Dragon tank. These things are crazy! So crazy, in fact, that they needed to be painted. So here they are. And wouldn't you know it? One of them has a crush on the mer-girl, so he's giving her a flower. Sea dragons are so sweet:)

I'm going to do something a little different with this and turn it into a limited edition print. I'm not sure how limited the run will be yet, but probably no more than 50. I will have this with me at Wondercon next weekend, and any left over will go up in the shop after that. I can't believe it is so soon! I certainly have my work cut out for me. There will be more updates on Wondercon things coming your way this week, but until then I leave you with this commercial that was stuck in my head throughout our trip to Monterey and also the entire time I was working on this painting. Enjoy!

Dance!

The first mermaids of the New Year. Actually, I think I started sketching her way back in August, but I haven't had a chance to finish painting her until today. I would love to do two more in this series of flamenco-ish sirens, so stay tuned for that. These three, along with my other original mermaid paintings will be coming with me to Wondercon in February if anyone is interested. The goal is to have at least 20-25 of these small originals with me at Wondercon, wo we will see how that goes.

And what the heck, I'll post 'em to IF this week. These watercolors are pretty tiny (about 5x6 inches), so I'd say she is quite contained. Contained, perhaps, but not tame. This one has got some fire in her for sure.

Action Shots!

Caught in the act! Back in late July or early August, David was a bit sneaky and took some pictures of me while I was working. Cheeky monkey. Anyway, the paintings I am seen working on are a series of five watercolors featuring a pink-tailed, anemone-headed mermaid. My goal was to have between 20 and 30 of these little paintings (all of different mermaids) ready for APE, but the Hawaiian Gods and goddesses ended up taking priority. I have still have my list of different themed mermaids that I will get around to sometime in the near future, but for now I will just post these. I realized that I had only posted two of the five when I finished them, so now here are the rest. I hope you enjoy them! And I promise, promise, promise to post new artwork soon.


Oh - I have also posted these in the Etsy shop for anyone interested! Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Ku and All Things APE

Ku is the god of the East and the rising sun, while Hina is the god of the West and the setting sun. It is said that they pass the sun to one another as it makes its way through the sky. Ku completes my series of six Hawaiian gods and goddesses. Just in time!

APE starts tomorrow! Bill Robinson and I will be at table #283 with all sorts of goodies. Here is a map of the hall so you can get an idea of our location:


I will have 13x19 prints of all of the following:



and possibly even a few of this one:

I will also be selling these two mini-prints:


And all of the proceeds from the kitty min-print will go to the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society!

I will have ten small original mermaid paintings available, and two different sets of mermaid greeting cards (see previous posts). On top of all of that, I have bookmarks and buttons, so come by and say hello and grab some stuff!

Oh, and Bill and I will also have some books by the oh-so-talented Stephanie Laberis, so now there is just absolutely no excuse not to stop at our table. Hope to see you all there!

A Few of My Favorite Things...

Mermaids, small happy fish, and blue paper packages tied up with strings :)

Since this illustration features a present wrapped in strings, and since it is a Holiday card and holidays are some of my favorite things, I think it is an appropriate entry for this week's Illustration Friday. It really is much too early to be thinking about Christmas, but after working on these cards for a week I just can't help it. Now that they are finished, though, I need to focus on more pressing matters...

like what to be for Halloween?!

This is my second and final Holiday card for APE! Off to the printer they go! Have a great week!

Holiday Card #1

Yep, its another mermaid. Surprised?

Ok, break time is over. Back to work. Happy weekend!

Singing, Sailing, and Swimming

I spent the weekend doing another five in the series, this bunch being a little different from the last. I've never worked with ink on a brush before, so I wanted to try it out and focus on line quality. These five are also slightly different from the last in that together they create a story. This mermaid is a siren ( are all mermaids supposed to be sirens?) and she lures a sailor into the sea and steals his hat. Hope you enjoy - Have a great week!

Return of the Mermaids

I've been very good and have not drawn mermaids in a very long time. We're talking months. I'm starting to work on a little project now, however, and it just could not be avoided any longer. So those of you who are angered by the sight of mermaids, I'm sorry. Actually, I think I have to let you know that you are just in the wrong place. Mermaids are (and will continue to be) a pretty regular occurrence 'round here.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy these watercolors. It was nice to pick up real paint again for a little bit. Shown are two of five paintings I was able to finish this weekend, and I plan to do more. If you like them a lot, there is a possibility that they will be available for purchase sometime in the not-too-distant future. I will post more details about that later. For now, have a lovely Monday!