Wednesday WrapUp Into the New Year

Welcome

On most Wednesdays, check this blog for a strategy, process, or reflection for illustration with the iPad app ProCreate or Affinity Designer. The last two weeks I’ve created illustration for several holiday prompts done in various styles, completed three Spoonflower Challenges [since November], and enjoyed drawing a hermit thrush in five different styles. Take a look. If you have questions, please ask!

Spoonflower Challenges

Vintage Florals Design Challenge:

Vintage Wild Rose Nostalgia in Dusty Magentas

Romantic trailing vines of painterly wild-rose-like florals from heritage prairie lands in dusty, faded pinks and magenta with aged, textured background; heirloom blooms climbing with memories of first encounters.

This patter was a winner for me as I earned 438th place in the thousands that were submitted. I love the subtle details in the flowers and buds as well as the palette. The trailing pattern is one of my favorites and works so well for a table runner.

Delft Tiles Design Challenge

This was so fun to illustrate. I drew patterns in Procreate and vectorized them to more easily create the tile-look pattern in Affinity Designer. First I created a pattern that tiled nicely.

Then I moved the pattern into the four corners so the tiles were “whole” and not bisected on the edges. That would show me where the tiles fit as a nice pattern, no matter what tiles I use. I could just substitute tiles as needed for future patterns.

Then I just substituted with the pattern for the challenge, which included two rabbits:

And here’s the pattern in wallpaper for the challenge:

Delft Cobalt Blue Rabbits in Florals

Cobalt blue hand-painted florals and bunnies for modern, creative motifs from classic Delft designs that add structure and softness when nature is the inspiration. 

Craft Maximalism Design Challenge

I actually tried out two designs for this challenge. The first one is from a Jennifer Nichols class [affiliate link] where we learned abstract painting with mark making. I added gold details for my mark making:

I did not like the way the leaves looked, but I did like the hand painted look of the gold detailed florals. So I decided to illustrate another flower I like, the dogwood.

Craft Max Dogwood in Bold Pink 

Energize projects with bold maximalist dogwood blossoms hand painted with a touch of gold detailed petals, like an artist’s sketchbook come to life. 

The theme asked for bold florals and artisanal hand-crafted eclectic feel with abstract shapes. The leaves add the abstract and in the repeat of the pattern fill the background. The gold detail is slight, but the dogwood flowers are big and bold.

Hermit Thrush in Five Styles

This little hermit thrush was so cute, I wanted to keep drawing it. So decided to redraw and paint this little fellow in five styles. I hope you enjoy them. Styles from left to right, Watercolor Wabi Sabi, Folk Art, Splash Grid, Midcentury, and Silk Painting. I love the lower two — they were definitely the most fun to create.

Last of the December Prompts, Plus a few extra

Enjoy this gallery of the last of the December prompts and a couple cards made. Enjoy. I hope they brighten your day.

Thanks for stopping by!

I hope your holidays were filled with joy! Make some art to spread some joy!

You can find many helpful artists teachers on my Artist Resources  page. Take a look at their IG and YouTube. Find one that fits your learning and art preferences and stick with them a while to develop your skills. If you have any questions, just ask!

You’re welcome to follow this blog for art inspiration. We can share with #warmup4art to enjoy our work together! I look forward to your sharing and find me at @42Sheri, on Mastodon Sheri42, on Flickr teach.eagle Sheri 42. And, I’m so thankful you’ve been joining me with art this year! Take care!