| Pakistani Matryoshka Color Proofs A, C, D |
Hi! Today I've been working on my Japanese Geisha Matryoshka! I can't wait to show her to my Mom. My Mom and her family lived in Japan when she was a little girl (my Grandpa was in the military and they lived in many different countries). From their house they had a beautiful view of Mount Fuji. My Mother has very fond memories of living in Japan. She tells me and my daughter stories about her very kind neighbors and her girl friend Miyako.
I hope you like my latest drawing, a Korean Girl Matryoshka! My last two drawings, the Cambodian and Pakistani drawings, were so detailed with all the gold that I was really looking forward to doing this one with it's simple lines. I think there is a calm serenity in the traditional hanbok dress, and they are so pretty. I hope I did it justice.
When working on an illustration I have gotten much better at not wasting paper and ink by usually only printing 1 or 2 proofs (to proof color) near the end of my creative process. The differences between color on the screen versus printed color, being what they are. The Pakistani Matryoshka was an exception to this rule. I experimented with different skin tones, dress color etc. before coming up with the final piece. I don't want these prints to go to waste though so I am offering them as a set of 4 one of a kind prints at a discounted price! I hope someone would want to frame them and group them together or give them to friends as gifts. If this is a success I will offer more of my proofing prints in my shop in the future. :)
I have updated my shop to include the 3 most recent matryoshka drawings as magnets. So now my Bahia Brazilian, Cambodian and Pakistani illustrations are magnets too! :)
This is my latest drawing, a Pakistani Girl Matryoshka! I was so pleased with the Cambodian Matryoshka and all its gold detail that it inspired me to draw from another culture that has beautiful jewelry. Also inspirational was my cousin who wore a gold bridal ensemble that was quite beautiful and I've been getting allot of requests for pink or purple. So, I went somewhere in the middle with a magenta/fuchsia color and lots of gold. I also continued with the white jasmine flowers in her hair to further tie it together with the Cambodian Matryoshka drawing. I hope you like her! :)
This is my latest drawing a Bahia, Brazilian Matryoshka. I have had requests for a Brazilian Matryoshka. I found the Bahia traditional dress very inspiring. I may do more Brazilian matryoshkas. If you have any particular culture or style of traditional dress you would like me to draw please let me know. Your suggestions are very welcome. :)
"Skunk with Flower" is the second in my new black and white animal series. The first is a "Panda with Bamboo" that I wrote about in my last post. This series of drawings is inspired by infants and their liking high contrast black and white. I hope these animals will grace the walls of some newborns and make them very happy. Not that I'm being picky. I hope people enjoy them regardless of their age. :)
I was thinking about infants and how they see things and decided a black and white animal series would be fun. My Mother has always told me that she had a wall art piece that was white seashells in the shape of flowers on a black background when I was a baby. She said I loved to stare at it as she rocked me. I hope some little babies will enjoy looking at this panda and its high contrast. Love to the babies and all the panda lovers. :)
I'm taking part in a collective Etsy shop named "HelpTheGulfCoast". I am donating my Owl in the Box Pop Up DIY PDF toy to the shop. Kate of FlapperDoodle opened the shop and you can read about how the BP oil spill in the Gulf inspired her ( her blog ) to want to help out. I was eager to contribute to the shop when I read Kate's blog post . We believe in conservation and my daughter LOVES animals so much I knew if nothing else I should do it for her.
How do you like my Gnomette? Okay, so I couldn't resist drawing a female version of a gnome. She was really fun to draw! :) I kept with the same color scheme as the male gnome so they can be paired together. If you are familiar with my work you may also notice I gave her a Portuguese inspired embroidered apron. Again, I just couldn't resist! So this isn't true to any particular culture but a mix of some favorite elements from different ones. 
I am very excited to announce that I've joined the Globalweave Textiles open design community! The first design they will be offering is my Aqua Indian Girl Matryoshka. I hope it is a successful design and they ask me for more designs in the future. Learn about Global Weave Textiles, their personalized textiles, and rugs, at global-weave.com or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr. 
Introducing my latest greatest shop items (drum roll please): Sheri the Diner Waitress pinback button, Owl pinback button (back by popular demand), and Spring Breeze pinback button (taken from the drawings for my spring blog and shop banners). Do you think maybe I've turned a corner in photography? These and my last post with the Spring pocket mirrors seem to be turning out better than my older product photos. Whew! I sure hope so. ;)
I'm so excited about these new pocket mirrors featuring my Spring Petals Russian Doll illustration! Don't they look pretty in the organza pouches? I think they would make great bridesmaids gifts or party favors too. I hope you like. :)
I've been working on some new item ideas for the illustrations in my shop!! This is the first idea - Russian Doll Magnets! They are printed with my inkjet printer on magnet sheets. I've also printed out some beehive hairdo promo magnets in hopes they will attract more customers! he he :)
This is the second in my Russian Doll Seasons Series- "Summer Butterfly"! I've been toying with the idea of doing a set of the 4 seasons for a while now. Last year I did the Little Red Riding Hood drawings. This year I wanted to do just girls or women. They turned out to be matryoshka. Who knew? Ha ha. I hope you like her! I have a thing for the color combo light blue and yellow. I love it whenever I see it! Peace to you all. :)
Hi! Kim Baise did a fabulous job hand embroidering my Sweet Escape embroidery pattern on this kitchen towel!! You can read her blog post about it here. Kim is a fabulous artist and a very sweet person. Also, I am now the proud owner of one of her gorgeous prints. This is the one I have Partridges in a Pear Bee-Hive. I LOVE it!!! Check out her fabulous shop and blog Jikits! :)
In celebration of the maternal bonds between mothers and daughters I have created these 3 families of matryoshka- Indian, classic Russian doll, and Tuareg family. Paying homage to these beautiful women and their cultures from around the world. They are now available in my shop! :)
