Counting Sheep

Sketched some lettering and this little sheep about a year ago (when I was going through some stuff and feeling like a "little lost sheep" actually) Anyway, always kind of liked it, so finally dug it out of an old sketchbook, did a lino cut of the sheep & printed it on a textured board, scanned it all and have been playing with it, adding texture and color digitally. Here's 2 of them.
I'm realizing with just a couple elements I can make endless little pieces of art and have hours of fun!! So, I think I'll continue with this....maybe make a new sheep every day! (or at least week!) I'm interested also in starting to explore some new venues for my artwork. Maybe packaging/products/licensing, etc. Also playing with the idea of opening an etsy.com shop where I could sell handmade books and notecards, etc.--so I feel like this type of project can be a good segway into that realm....

unexpected exposure...

So I happened to find my work posted on some random blogs. Kind of cool, though some of them are foreign & I have no idea what they say!! Ha! But I can see there are links and images from other illustrators I really like, so I suppose it's a good thing....Not sure how I feel about my work being that easy to rip off my website, but then again at this point, I am ok with the exposure, and all the images are too low res for anyone to use them in print.

http://www.multimedial.com.ar/blog/index.php?entry=entry080728-102539

http://recogedor.blogspot.com/2008/07/jeanine-henderson-ilustraciones.html

http://williamvandegrift.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html

just interesting to see what's out there and who's actually looking at my work :)

Baby Announcement (project!)

I just got a small freelance job for an illustration for a baby announcement--a woman who lives in my friend's building hired me--and she had a definite concept in mind. Her and her husband are big runners, apparently, and thought this would be pretty funny.

(I sort of think a baby in running shoes looks a little silly, but maybe that's just me!)

YES! LETTERPRESS!

Baby Book samples

A few months ago, my Art Director suggested me as an artist for a book assignment--a novelty/gift type to be published by an adult division of Penguin, that would be geared toward expecting parents with a child who is not particularly looking forward to that new sibling. It was meant to be funny, sarcastic and quirky, and I submitted these samples to be considered for the project:

I didn't get chosen to do the book, but I was up against some really great and experienced illustrators. So I was happy to even be considered, and the editor and my art director both had positive reactions to this work, so I may try to develop some more portfolio pieces in this style, and geared toward this kind of market.

The Big One

My most recent work was a large painting commissioned by a friend's husband to surprise her. This was super-exciting to me, as I'd never really painted very large scale but always had wanted to try. Also, I was flattered that he liked the work on my website so much he wanted an original, and that it was something I could do for a friend.

He wanted it based on a photo from their Florida-beach wedding. But, I don't do much portrait work, so likenesses are a bit challenging for me, and I didn't want it to come off cheesy. But I had alot of fun working out the composition-I worked full size. This is how it started:

But I wasn't happy with the shapes and layout, so I did a second sketch:



And basically combined elements I liked in both.


I played with the texture/swirly design in the background as a way to tie it together and add something to the empty space, but it made everything look much too busy once I got into adding color, so I took them out.

And, this is the final outcome:

It's interesting to me how much things changed in the course of the painting.

And, there were some challenges overall being the first time I worked this large scale. The logistics of getting the materials, rearranging my small space to work, and packing/shipping such a large box down to Florida--they were definitely all learning experiences!

BUT- my friend totally really loves how it came out. So, he's a happy client! :)
I actually have another commission from the same friend--but I am keeping it a little smaller (24 x 24) and am going to take a more graphic approach, as all he told me he wanted was some kind of "heart-theme). So, I am starting to get some sketches going for that one and hope to be able to finish that one up much more quickly than this one.