Life with Sam

This just in

2011-10-21T15:12:00.002-04:00

I received some samples yesterday of stickers made with my In The Kitchen collection from Momenta. Cute!

Sketchbook Project - In 10 Minutes

2011-10-05T17:13:00.001-04:00

Here are pages 2 and 3...with lots more to come!

Sketchbook Project - page 1

2011-08-18T12:09:00.002-04:00

Finally. Last night I started working on the Sketchbook Project 2012. My theme is "In 10 Minutes". I want to tell a story, and have planned out a bit what I would like to happen, but for the most part I want my sketchbook to be organic and if it goes in an unexpected direction, thats ok. I want to play - with pencil, with color, with images..... so here is the beginning.

new collection : Violet Fields

2011-08-03T12:31:00.003-04:00

A sneak peek of my latest.... something a bit more sophisticated.

What am I doing?!

2011-07-05T13:35:00.002-04:00

I'm afraid I might be crazy. I've signed up for the 2012 Sketchbook Project, and my sketchbook arrived in the mail last week. I chose the theme "In 10 Minutes". Oh god I'm scared. I think I need to let it sit for a little bit, while I brainstorm what to do.....auughh!

illustration friday - Launch

2011-06-21T22:43:00.002-04:00

We have lift off!

Portsmouth Open Market

2011-06-19T19:17:00.004-04:00

This summer my friend Jane and I have taken on a new adventure - like I've mentioned before on my blog, we are selling some art at the Portsmouth Open Market in Strawbery Banke. Our first day was last Sunday, and it POURED all weekend... I sold a few things, but not a lot, and the foot traffic was light, though the rain did let up for several hours in the afternoon.... still pretty much a washout. A few days ago I saw that the weather report for today (Father's Day!) was gorgeous so I decided to try my luck again, this time by myself because Jane had other commitments. What a day! Here are some photos from today - beautifully sunny, though windy. Several friends stopped by (thank you Bashaw Family, and thank you Cathleen & Brian!) The market is exciting and vibrant, with great energy. Lots of kids and families, and lots of dogs. I sold a few things today, though really not much more than last week, surprisingly. I was hearing that from other vendors as well... maybe people don't feel like spending on Father's Day. Ahh well... soon my etsy shop will be up and running, and I will be taking over the world! Jane and I have our next date July 24th. See you there!

Space!

2011-05-31T22:23:00.002-04:00

Here's one my new collections that debuted at Surtex a few weeks ago... Space! It was inspired by my friend Benny who commissioned me to do an alphabet space poster for a young friend of his... I'm told it was a hit. Coming up with the A-B-C's was challenging but also a lot of fun, and the rest of the collection came easily after that. Can't you just see this in a little boy's room? hmmm maybe this is the beginning of more boy art for me.....

Portsmouth Open Market

2011-05-28T17:23:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone! I'm back from Surtex and NYC (which went great and was very exciting! Fingers crossed that good things happen from it!). Now the weather is warm and its time to focus on my next adventure : I'm participating in the Portsmouth Open Market! I've never done anything like this before, and I'm a mixture of excited and terrified. I'll be sharing a booth with my illustrator friend Jane Tentas and I'll be selling lots and lots of art - digital prints, screen prints, block prints, and these great little wooden tiles I've been making. The P.O.M. is every Sunday from June to October , 10 am to 4 pm, in Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, NH... come for a visit! Jane and I will be there for four dates : June 12, July 24, August 14, and September 25th. There's a farmers market as well, plus a million things to do downtown. Let's pray for sunny skies, because its rain or shine. Here's my banner I'll be displaying at my booth - look for me there!

Surtex 2011 here I come!

2011-05-15T07:48:00.002-04:00

Today marks the first day of Surtex, the biggest, funnest, and greatest art licensing show of the year! If you are in the biz, stop on by booth 321, Artists of Kolea, and check out my newest work. Fun times will be had by all!

Surtex is coming!

2011-05-10T21:23:00.002-04:00

Surtex 2011 is just days away, and my preparations are complete! As always, Surtex is run in conjunction with the National Stationery Show, and is May 15-17 at the Javit's Center. If you're going to the show, come check out the Artists of Kolea, booth 321-323, and see my latest collections.... here's a sneak peek....

Lunchtime!

2011-04-21T20:40:00.002-04:00

Just a little something I've been working on, which was inspired by an Illustration Friday from several weeks ago entitled "Stir".

Invitations are coming!

2011-04-20T15:37:00.003-04:00

Hi Everyone! For the past several months (well maybe more) I've been working with a new invitation company, creating birth announcements, party invitations, wedding invitations, and everything in-between, called Look Love Send. It has been an exciting process and I've learned a lot, and had a great time using my art - and they are almost ready to go live! Our launch date is May 1st, but if you go to our website now and sign up for the mailing list, you'll get 20% off your first order... what a deal! Go now! What are you waiting for?! You can also read about the designers involved, and see whats coming soon. Yep, thats one of my baby collections thats on the splash page.

Here are a few sneak peeks of some of my baby stuff.

Reduction print

2011-04-04T14:18:00.002-04:00

Here's the efforts from my first reduction print. The flowers look familiar (ie: see the header above, and also my last collection). This was so much fun, I'm having a really good time in the class. I'm not the greatest at it, but I'm learning a lot and having a good time. With a reduction print, one block is used, and the prints you create are a limited edition, with the one block being carved and printed with each color. For this print, I used 7 colors - a bit ambitious for my first one, but I think it turned out really cute, and using the easy-cut block was just what the name claims - it was easy!

Bird - final

2011-03-23T10:38:00.003-04:00

I finished my first print several weeks ago, but have been busy with other things, so now I'm finally getting around to putting up my efforts here. As I mentioned before, this is a linoleum block, and when printing, I tried using one color (shown here) and 2 colors - not shown because I didn't like the way it turned out. My favorite one color attempt was much lighter than the brown shown here - it was a neutral beige, but something happened while printing and a large unattractive dark spot showed up on the paper when it dried...probably another color ink that got on the roller... too bad. The class continues and right now I'm finishing up a reduction print - my first attempt! And because I can't make anything easy for myself, it has 7 or 8 colors. Yikes. I'll post pictures when its done.

Printmaking!

2011-02-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

I am taking a continuing education class at the New Hampshire Institute of Art, and trying my hand at printmaking. Here's the first relief that I've done, carved out of linoleum, and on Friday's class I printed with it! Its a lot of fun, and my first real exposure to printmaking, outside of high school and elementary school art classes.... why didn't I take this in college?! This first print was done in black ink (oil based) and during the class I printed several more, and tried my hand at a 2 color print with this bird - one color background printed solid on the paper, and next week I'll print the 2nd color on top, of the bird and worm. I also want to try water based inks (they are supposed to clean up easier). Now I need to start thinking of what my next piece will be...hmmm....

Here's the linoleum block, ready to be printed.

First print!

back from NYC!

2011-02-03T15:10:00.005-05:00

For several days I had some fun in NYC, though I had to cut my trip short by a day to get home before all the snow and ice hit, and stopped all travel. New York has way more snow than we do up here in Portsmouth, and I gotta say NYC is really bad about plowing... they have no idea what they're doing. Check out a couple pics ... remember this was BEFORE the snow and ice that came this week.

NYIGF 2011 was busy busy this year, though us in the Licensing Gallery were shuffled around quite a bit before the show, ending up in a location that was weird and really not good for us, when it came to traffic flow of the kind of people we wanted to meet. Oh well. Though a couple good contacts were made and fingers crossed that some great stuff comes out of this! It was great to catch up with some friends I haven't seen in awhile, meet new people, and not be sitting in front of the computer for a few days!

My section of the Artists of Kolea booth.

I came across these letters in Anthropologie... oh man I wanted them but couldn't justify the cost.... maybe I can try some sewing with MY OWN fabrics!

NYIGF 2011

2011-01-27T08:12:00.002-05:00

I've been working my little fingers to the bone for the past couple months, preparing for this weekend! Saturday starts the beginning of the New York International Gift Fair, and this is the 2nd year my agent and I are participating. If you are attending, please come on over to the Licensing Gallery and visit the Artists of Kolea booth to see my latest collections. This year I had pins made for giveaways, and oh my god they are the cutest things. I'll definitely be doing this again for Surtex in May (with new art of course!). Hooray for a few days in NYC! I'm making sure they'll be time for a little shopping, a little dining, and a whole lotta visiting with friends.

Illustration Friday - Chicken

2011-01-18T21:45:00.001-05:00

Cluck cluck cluck.

More Fabric, of course!

2011-01-05T09:47:00.002-05:00

I posted some more photos over at Smells Like Crayons, the illustrator's group I belong to, full of lovely and talented ladies. You can check them out here.

Illustration Friday - winter

2010-12-29T15:50:00.002-05:00

Things Made With My Fabric

2010-12-21T22:30:00.003-05:00

I made a case with my fabric for my new ipod touch (...greatest ipod EVER). The outside fabric is from my Felicity collection, and inside is lined with purple felt. It matches my purple gel ipod case, naturally. I used an iron-on fusing material to fuse the cotton and the 2 layers of felt together, so it protects the ipod. It came out well, but I think I'm going to have to try a new one, since there is no room for my headphones. I'm thinking I should add a front pocked for them. Hmmmm....

Happy Holidays

2010-12-16T21:26:00.004-05:00

Christmas is about a week away, and I've done nothing to prepare, except for my Christmas card. I submitted an illustration to They Draw And Cook's holiday recipe contest, and my fingers are crossed! I like it so much, that I used this for my card this Christmas... and yes, that's really my grandma, and yes, she's really said those things to me - several times :) I showed her the illustration and got her blessing before submitting it, and now she keeps asking when I'm going to win. Love you Gram!

UPDATE: What timing! Today my recipe was on They Draw And Cook. You can see it here.

More fabric shots

2010-12-15T15:15:00.005-05:00

Here's a few more photos of the assortment of fabric that arrived recently.

Ladies Night - cotton

Bauble - cotton

Felicity - cotton

Sugar Pop - flannel

Grandpa

2010-12-10T08:16:00.001-05:00

Rest in peace, Grandpa. I love you and I will miss you so much.

New header!

2010-12-08T22:31:00.002-05:00

Its FREEZING here in NH this week, so I'm calling it - its winter! (Yes I know I'm a bit early, but really, its COLD.) Life with Sam needed a new header to celebrate.

Look what came in the mail....

2010-12-03T14:54:00.003-05:00

Hooray! Sample yardage of my fabric arrived today - thank you UPS guy! For the past year I've been working with Eugene Textiles who has been making my artwork in to beautiful beautiful fabric, thats sold in JoAnn's and Hancock Fabrics, to name a couple places. Here's a sneak peak of just a few things that came - there's a lot of different collections, and it will take me awhile to photograph it all. I'll post more later. Yippeee! What a lovely birthday! (Yep, its my birthday today! Speaking of Eugene Textiles, the great people there that I've been working with called and sang me happy birthday - in English AND in French. I was impressed.)

Time to get sewing....

Fresh - cotton

On The Farm - flannel

In The Doghouse - cotton

Bloom - cotton

And here's the color version

2010-11-29T19:59:00.002-05:00

My newest collection - Halloween Night. I like it! I hope other people do too :)

New Collection for Halloween

2010-11-17T10:32:00.003-05:00

Sure, its a little late for Halloween, but I've been working on this one for awhile and I'm almost done. It was time for a new fun spooky collection, and here's a sneak peak.....

Poor Sam

2010-11-14T20:49:00.003-05:00

This isn't art related, but it does have to do with Sam.... he's got fleas, poor buddy. Here's a shot of his 3rd bath in the past 5 days. Thankfully, I think we're starting to win the battle against the fleas.

This pencil is confused.

2010-11-07T09:25:00.002-05:00

I recently bought some colored pencils for an after-school art class I'm teaching for elementary school kids, and found that one of the pencils is having an identity crisis. Poor buddy.

Time for a new header!

2010-10-03T20:07:00.001-04:00

It was way overdue... the header needed some color, not just a white background anymore. Welcome to autumn, Sam!

They Draw And Cook

2010-10-01T12:32:00.002-04:00

Here's my submission for the blog They Draw And Cook. Now that its fall, I can't wait to go apple picking and make this again.

The Yellow Dog's Barn

2010-09-20T22:11:00.004-04:00

I recently did some signs for The Yellow Dog's Barn, a fantastic dog daycare in Barrington, NH with a newly expanded retail space. My own Sam goes here, and loves the gals who own it, Holly and JoAnne. Each time we pull into the parking lot he starts whining, urging me to open the door faster so he can get to his friends, and when I pick him up in the evening, he is happy and exhausted. The Yellow Dog's Barn store now includes a great selection of dog and cat food, toys, supplies, clothes and everything in between. Stop by and say hi, and check out the pretty new signs!

Illustration Friday - dessert

2010-09-09T12:26:00.001-04:00

Yum.

What I'm working on....

2010-08-17T16:43:00.002-04:00

I've been creating a new collection for licensing - Woodland Creatures. Its a cute little thing, geared for baby/toddler, and is still a work in progress.... I'm loving the colors though. Its a nice change from my usual brights.

Illustration Friday - artificial

2010-08-05T15:53:00.001-04:00

Robot love.

Birthday Wishes Scrapbooking Materials

2010-07-13T14:25:00.003-04:00

Look what I got last week - lots of beautiful samples of my Birthday Wishes collection of scrapbooking materials, made by Momenta Inc. Its in stores now, and you buy online here.

illustration Friday - giant

2010-07-04T10:25:00.002-04:00

Giant bird, little worm.... this is an oldie, but a goodie...

Surtex 2010

2010-05-22T14:35:00.005-04:00

Back to life.. back to reality... everyone sing it with me!

I am back from Surtex 2010 and the National Stationery Show, and I am inspired and invigorated, and I have the fantastic feeling once again that THIS is what I'm supposed to be doing with my life - being an illustrator! I think with a creative career, heck maybe with any career, you go through ups and downs and periods of self doubt. But going to the show, and taking a couple great seminars and hearing other people's stories, made me connect once again with what I know to be true - this is my path. I was able to catch up with people in the industry that I know, and meet a bunch of others that I didn't. I saw some friends from school, some former colleagues, and some artists that I highly admire, and of course I spent some time with my lovely agent Kolea and her lovely assistant Lynette.

Artists of Kolea booth:

Here's my agent, Kolea Baker. She was being interviewed by a Surtex guy and was on camera at the time.

This year I took a couple of the seminars that Surtex offers - Core Basics Part II - this was an introduction to the world of art licensing, how it works, some tips and tricks for those just starting out. It wasn't anything I hadn't heard before, but it was a great reminder of how the industry works and it was very good to hear some things that made me say "yeah, I should be doing that" about several things that were talked about. I also attended The Art of Success, which was a panel of 3 well known and respected artists - Beth Logan, Kate McRostie, and Dena Fishbein - talking about their careers, how they started out, what they do to become and remain successful. I am so glad I went to this one - what made this particular seminar so good for me, was hearing Beth Logan talk about her first several years exhibiting at Surtex, and how everyone loved her art when they saw it, but not getting any calls or emails returned month after month, and doing it all again the next year, and nothing happening, and so on and so forth for awhile. I feel like that is MY story, and I hope against hope that I can achieve even a part of the success that Beth has. Yes, things have picked up in the last year for me, but only a little. Hearing these ladies speak made me feel much better about my art and my career choices, and excited to get back home to my studio.

At the M.Middleton booth at the Stationery show - they are a division of DesignDesign - I saw the purse pads that I created last fall - YAY! They looked so good and I was so excited to see that some of my flowers were used on the wall display of the booth, along with what I think is the talented Jess Volinski's butterfly. I did two of the purse pads that they had, and when I asked someone in the booth if it was ok if I took a photo, I unknowingly asked Anna Post - granddaughter of Emily Post - Anna has a line of wedding stationery produced by DesignDesign. Wow a famous person! Sort of! :) She was super nice and found someone for me to ask about taking pics.

These two are mine:

The wall display:

Anna Post & me:

Now I'm home again, and will get to work on the post-show "to do" items... ie: sending lots of emails. It was good to get away, but its even better to be home again.

Headed to NY

2010-05-14T21:24:00.002-04:00

I'm leaving in the morning for Surtex - whoo hoo the work is done! I will take a seminar or two while I'm there, catch up with some friends, and with some clients, and soak in the inspiration. Here are some of the magnet giveaways I made, and will have in the booth for all to take. Sorry the color is crappy - its late and I have yet to pack. Gotta get off the computer! Good luck to the SLC ladies at the NESCBWI conference this weekend - I can't wait to hear about it!

Illustration Friday - fearless

2010-05-11T19:19:00.003-04:00

I did this one a couple years ago... and thought it fit this week's theme....

Getting Ready for Surtex 2010

2010-05-08T12:46:00.003-04:00

Just one week to go until I leave for Surtex - as always its held at the Javit's Center in NYC. I've been locked in my home, work work working my fingers to the bone - and there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Yahoooo! I've finished up my final collection before the show - titled "Back to School" and you can get a sneak peek here, including one of the handouts I've designed. What I have left to do is print out all my artwork and get my portfolio books ready, and finish up the handouts and giveaways as well, and get myself over to FedEx in a timely manner! I think I've decided not to make any mock-ups of products featuring my art this time, because I have a lot of stuff already from January. But.... I do have a week left, so maybe I'll change my mind :)

So if you're coming to Surtex and the National Stationery Show, stop on by booth 321-323 Artists of Kolea to see my work.

Also, I got a lovely shout-out this week from Bowie at print&pattern! Click here to see. She's been featuring exhibitors in her blog, so I sent her some stuff and I guess she liked it! Thanks Bowie!

Bugs!

2010-04-26T13:54:00.002-04:00

Here's a sneak peek at the latest collection I'm working on - Bugs! I'm on a toddler kick now that my niece has turned 2.

Check out my updated website!

2010-04-02T09:12:00.004-04:00

Hey hey everyone! I've updated my online portfolio - to take a look click here. There's new illustration pieces and a whole lotta new available art for licensing. Need an illustrator? Look no further!

In My Kitchen

2010-03-25T17:26:00.002-04:00

I can't believe that Surtex is less than two months away. How did that happen?! Where is the time going? I've just finished my latest collection - In My Kitchen - and here's a sneak peak.

DIY Home Repair

2010-03-03T20:56:00.003-05:00

Ok, this isn't artsy or anything, but it IS a form of painting... I've refinished my bathtub! My poor tub was in desperate need of recaulking, and when I removed the old caulk, so much of the paint had chipped away around the edges (the drain had been chipping for quite awhile), I knew it was time to just do the whole thing! So I got a tub painting kit from Home Depot and fixed it up all nice... not as perfect as a professional, but not too shabby. I painted the tub first (its a one part epoxy spray paint), and it took 3 days to cure. So I've been showering at the yoga studio every day. And just now I finished the caulking, so by tomorrow morning I'll be able to use my shower again. Wahoo!

Work in Progress

2010-02-25T19:24:00.003-05:00

I've been thinking that I don't have much black and white art in my portfolio, and what I do have is in pen and ink, not the computer like all my other work, so I need to remedy this. I'm working on a few vignettes, that I think would work well for a tween chapter book, or something like that, and I'm using the same nerdy-girl character from one of my pieces which you can find here. I like her a lot, and even though I didn't have braces or glasses in middle school, I kinda identify with her. So here are a few sketches I've come up with.

illustration Friday - adrift

2010-02-17T20:37:00.001-05:00

A rubber ducky...adrift in the bath....

NYIGF 2010

2010-02-02T10:00:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone! I just got back late last night from NYC (oh how I hate 95 in NY/CT....) and I've had a good night's sleep and I'm ready to share a few pics with you all. As I've mentioned, this was my first time walking the Gift Fair, and also exhibiting there as well, since this is the first time the organizers of the show have included a Licensing Gallery, of which I'm a part of, and it was a great experience. The show itself its ENORMOUS, much bigger than the National Stationery Show, and the types of exhibitors are all over the board. There were a few paper-related booths (greeting cards, stationery), but I didn't see any scrapbooking. What I did see was everything else you could think of, plus a whole lot more. Bedding, rugs, pillows, candles, fragrances, jewelry, trinkets, signs, clocks, frames, baby clothes, kitchen items, handbags... the list goes on and on. Companies range from big designer names that we all recognize (ie: Jonathan Adler) to tiny mom & pop businesses. I saw one famous person - the Barefoot Contessa! She was at the Stonewall Kitchen booth, signing autographs - the line was pretty long so I didn't get one, but I did say hello to the worker bees at the booth, since Stonewall Kitchen itself is just across the river from me in Maine, and when you meet someone from your home area when traveling, you have that instant connection, so of course I had to say "I live in Portsmouth!". The BC herself looks just like she does on tv. And she was very smiley to all the people surrounding her.

My corner of the booth. There were 4 of us who do licensing that Kolea represents, and we share the booth. The first 3 panels are my work, with my mockups at the bottom.

This is the backside of the little wall - I've got another panel here as well.

The Licensing Gallery itself was very small - maybe around 8 or 10 booths, most of which I recognized from Surtex, but the traffic seemed to be really great. I only walked the whole show on Sunday, the first day of the Licensing Gallery, and Kolea was very happy with the amount of people stopping by. I don't hang out too long at my own booth during these shows, since Kolea is usually very busy with potential clients. What I spend most of my time doing is walking the show, and handing out samples of my work to the companies that say they use licensed art and look like they'd be a good fit with me, and collect their business cards in return. I met a lot of people and companies I never would have without this tradeshow, so hopefully some things come out of this. I try to get 2 business cards from them all (one for me, one for Kolea), though K walks the show herself, doing the same thing.

Here's my handout:

The Gift Fair ends tomorrow, so if you're in the NY area, come on by to the Javit's center, booth 7775, Artists of Kolea, and see all of my work.

Now its back to reality, and hopefully a little relaxation :)

Off to the show!

2010-01-28T09:35:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone! Tomorrow I'm leaving for New York to see some friends and to attend NYIGF. Here's a sneak peak at some of the collections that I'm debuting.... I like to make some goodies with my art to decorate the booth, and this is what I've come up with this year. Wish me luck!

Frame and clipboard with art from Sugar Pop.

Binder with paper and pencils and pencil cup with art from Make Believe.
Frame and key holder with art from Fresh.
Lamp, tissue box and plaques for a kid's room with art from Circus.

This is what I've been up to....

2010-01-20T22:09:00.002-05:00

I've spent the last I don't know how many weeks getting ready for NYIGF, and this evening finds me painting, glueing, and sewing a whole lotta fun stuff with my artwork on it, to decorate my booth. I just finished this tissue box cover, with artwork from my new Circus collection, and I think its darling :) I used iron-on transfer paper and my ol' reliable Epson Photo 1280 printer, and ironed on the art to white cotton fabric, and put this little guy together. Forgive the photo... I know its kinda dark, but I'm dead on my feet tired and I'm about to go to bed. I'll post more and nicer photos of all my booth mock-ups when they're all finished. Whoo hoo!

Check this out!

2010-01-18T07:00:00.001-05:00

My illustrator's critique group has joined the online world and we have a shiny brand-new blog which you can see at Smells Like Crayons. I'm so proud to be a member of this talented group of women. Go on over and check out my introductory post and see the full color version of this sketch here.

Go team go!

Losing my mind...

2010-01-13T20:51:00.002-05:00

hello all you out in blog-land,

I've been working what feels like nonstop, getting all my artwork ready for my next tradeshow, the New York International Gift Fair, in a few weeks. And oh my lord I'm cracking already :) Here's a peak at my newest collection - Circus - debuting at the show. This will be my first time at NYIGF.... it starts January 30th, in NYC, at the Javit's.... wish me luck!

After Christmas

2009-12-29T11:14:00.000-05:00

This came in the mail a couple days ago.... my new illustration in the January issue of St. Anthony's Messenger. This was my first time working with them, and I did a full page illustration of a fiction piece. The story is about a family's stress during Christmastime, and learning how to appreciate the little things and letting that stress go. Good lessons to learn for next year! :)

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T12:35:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you have a wonderful warm and loving holiday with friends and family - I know I will! If you're not in the spirit enough, maybe these scrapbooking materials featuring my Christmas collection "Under The Tree" will make you a bit more merry and bright...

Bunny Cubes

2009-12-02T10:24:00.004-05:00

Shhhhh don't tell... I made these felt guys for my baby niece for Christmas. She'll be 3 and a half months by then, and hopefully she'll like them. I saw the pattern on howaboutorange, and couldn't resist. http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2009/11/tutorials-small-soft-cute-edition.html

ZOMBIE!!!!

2009-11-01T19:15:00.002-05:00

Here's a couple pics, as promised to my SNHIG gals, of me in my zombie finest just before I went out to the parade...

Spooky!!!!

2009-10-31T08:35:00.002-04:00

What are you dressing up as? I'll be a zombie flight attendant...... muah ahahah haha ha haaa......

Where has the summer gone?

2009-09-18T15:19:00.001-04:00

Wow time has flown by.... I've been working on a new collection for little girls - called Make Believe. Here's a snippet....

more playing around

2009-06-15T11:27:00.001-04:00

just playing around

2009-06-01T21:00:00.002-04:00

This one could fit last weeks illustration friday theme of "cracked"... I was just playing around today with texture and patterns... any thoughts?

sketchin'

2009-06-01T13:37:00.001-04:00

just doodling today....

Illustration Friday - subtract

2009-03-21T16:54:00.002-04:00

When I was in school I was a whizz at math..... I wonder what happened......

Illustration Friday - legendary

2009-03-18T11:02:00.004-04:00

This may be stretching it a bit, but legendary..... the cute boy at school? Eh, works for me!

I worked at bit more on this one - adding some more details since the last time I posted it... I think I can call it finished now.

Disappointment

2009-02-13T15:05:00.003-05:00

When you were a kid it was pretty said not to get the snow day you were hoping for....

Boys - cute and/or sick

2009-02-10T11:08:00.001-05:00

Now in color!

7 things that I love

2009-02-10T11:01:00.002-05:00

My friend Gina, over at ginaperry.typepad.com, tagged me with this little doozy - list the 7 things that you love.... here we go, in no particular order!

1. My dog Sam - of course. The unconditional love goes both ways in this relationship :)
2. Peanut butter. Darn you, stupid recall! Thank goodness the jarred stuff is still ok.
3. My 9 month old niece Sofia. 'nuff said.
4. Lost. One of the 2 tv shows I regularly watch. OMG did you see last weeks episode?!!? I screamed "NO WAY!" at the end.
5. Avacados. I eat this almost everyday.
6. Bikram yoga.
7. My Mac. sigh...its so pretty...

Ok, I've got a thousand more - my amazing family, and fantastic friends, the sound of the birdies chirping in the morning - telling me spring is on the way even though it certainly doesn't feel like it, warm socks, fresh sheets just out of the dryer.... I love a lot of things :)

sketches!

2009-01-26T17:04:00.002-05:00

Just a couple of things I'm working on now.... these will be digital I think....

Happy New Year!

2009-01-14T14:36:00.003-05:00

Welcome back to Life With Sam, and let me start out the new year by saying it's good to be here! I spent A LOT of time over the past few months doing freelance work - not related to illustration, which makes me so sad - but its a brand new year and a great time to refocus and kick some illustration booty! With that, I give you a glimpse of my latest collection for winter - and baby its cold outside!

Mother's Day art

2008-10-24T11:00:00.003-04:00

yep, I realize it's close to Halloween... but in my studio it's Mother's Day!

ha!

2008-09-24T11:11:00.004-04:00

I'm so immature :)

Family Collection

2008-09-12T11:40:00.002-04:00

I've been busy lately working on new collections... here's my latest family theme.... its more sophisticated than my other work, and I'm liking that.

Clutter!

2008-09-08T08:45:00.002-04:00

Here's my entry for this weeks Illustration Friday - clutter! And this poor kid really does know the meaning of the word. :)

I've been a very bad blogger this summer - other work commitments have kept me away, but I'm back and ready to finish the 21 day challenge I stopped doing back in June - shame on me! I'm ready baby! Here we go!

Day 10 Rain rain go away

2008-06-22T18:50:00.002-04:00

Its rainy here today, so I had plenty of inspiration for this one. I like her! I think I'll take this one further and go for some pen and ink... and maybe some color.

Day 9

2008-06-21T17:44:00.003-04:00

This one is from yesterday, at the coffee shop downtown. The display case was full of beautiful cakes.

Day 8

2008-06-17T21:51:00.002-04:00

I recently finished up a project having to do with a little girl and birds - and I find I can't get them out of my head! This little sketch isn't related to that project, but I'm liking the birdcage... maybe I'll have to do more.

Day 7

2008-06-15T18:52:00.001-04:00

Phew, its been awhile! I did these random doodles a few days ago, but between having a friend from out of town here, and having lots of prior commitments, I hadn't the chance to post anything.

Day 6

2008-06-10T20:06:00.000-04:00

Elephant! I thought it was time to draw an animal.

Day 5

2008-06-09T21:40:00.002-04:00

Day 3 and 4

2008-06-07T11:12:00.002-04:00

Day 2 of 21

2008-06-05T19:32:00.004-04:00

I've been listening to a lot of books on cd lately, and felt I needed a music day.

The 21 Day Challenge - Day 1

2008-06-04T17:04:00.002-04:00

When I went to the NESCBWI conference a couple months ago, the keynote speaker challenged us to find 15 minutes a day to practice our craft, in the hopes that after 21 days, we will have developed a new habit. Well now I am up to the challenge! My friend Gina started this awhile ago, and has gotten a boat load of artists to join her - in fact she's onto her second round already - and now that I've got Surtex behind me and have finished up some pressing illustration assignments, I am ready to begin. I thought about what kind of theme I'd like to have for my challenge - concentrating on people or animals? black and white work only? color studies? no computer illustrations, only hand? - but in the end I've decided not to limit myself - I want to be able to do whatever comes to mind - so here's Day 1, though I think I will avoid the computer. And after drawing ALL day today to finish up an assignment, my wrist and hand are exhausted, so I only spent 15 minutes on this one, but I hope to spend longer times on upcoming days.

Illustration Friday - baby

2008-05-30T15:18:00.002-04:00

New Hampshire Healthy Kids

2008-05-28T14:43:00.003-04:00

A couple months ago I got to do a great illustration project - the annual report of a fantastic non-profit group here in NH, New Hampshire Healthy Kids. They provide health coverage for kids and mom's and do a lot of good around these parts. Their annual report is very colorful and looks like a children's book, its got so many illustrations. This year's theme is an amusement park (its a different theme every year) and this year I was lucky enough to be chosen to work my magic. Here's the cover, and few inside spots.

Tagged!

2008-05-27T21:37:00.002-04:00

Ok Miss Gina P. - Here is my tagged efforts:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.*
3. Find the fifth sentence.**
4. Post the next three sentences, so if my math is correct that’d be sentences six, seven and eight.
5. Tag five people and post a comment to the blogger who tagged you.

Currently I am reading "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" by C.S. Lewis (OMG I love the Chronicles of Narnia!) I saw the Prince Caspian movie last week, and of course had to run home and reread it, and now I'm onto the Dawn Treader...

"Narnian, too, by the look of it," said Caspian, as they all crowded around. "I'm sitting on something too," said Lucy, "Something hard." It turned out to be the remains of a mail shirt.

:) Don't you wish you knew what happens next?! Three sentences are just not enough!!!

Back from Surtex!

2008-05-27T21:28:00.002-04:00

I've been back home for about a week from Surtex, and I think I'm still pooped! The show was great - it was lovely to walk around and talk to some veteran artists - some of whom I already knew, and some who's work I was only familiar with. A big thanks to Martha Collins for some great advice. The stationery show, as always, was HUGE and inspiring, and my feet were KILLING me when I was done, and I wore sneakers! Surtex for me was great - there was a lot of response to my work and many requests for art - which I've been busy since I got home working on this, and hopefully will lead to some contracts! Yay! Here are a few of the panels of my art which were in my agent's booth. Yay for being an artist! I can't imagine doing anything else.

Start Spreading the News

2008-05-16T08:19:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow I am off to NYC and Surtex! I'm so glad the day is finally here, I am pooped! I'm looking forward to seeing some new art and trends, shopping in the city, and of course, food. :) And a couple days of R&R and seeing my friends. Here are a few collections I am debuting at the show. Come visit my art at Artists of Kolea, Hall 1E, booth 2408, and I'll be wandering around. Fingers crossed!

Getting ready for Surtex

2008-05-07T11:53:00.002-04:00

Only a couple more weeks until Surtex and I've been busy with last minute preparations - including making mockups for my booth. I've put together items with art from 3 of my new collections (1) Love, (2) Having a Baby, and (3) PB&J. My fingers are crossed for a good show this year!

Feel like spring

2008-02-25T09:33:00.002-05:00

I know I know, its been much too long since my last post.... sometimes I get wrapped up in other freelance work to pay the bills and I lose track of what I really want to do. So here's a little diddy I've just finished, having fun with almost a comic-like layout.

Love, schmuv

2008-01-28T20:57:00.003-05:00

Valentine's Day is around the corner (at least according to the stores) and I've been working on a new collection.

Illustration Friday - plain

2008-01-18T16:54:00.000-05:00

Plain white bread.

Quiet!

2008-01-14T20:52:00.000-05:00

This is a new piece that I just finished up for my portfolio - maybe good enough to use on a postcard? We'll see.

For Gina

2008-01-08T21:26:00.000-05:00

I have been working my little drawing fingers to the bone, day and night, for quite awhile now in preparation for the Printsource show next week in NYC. (My work will be at my agent's booth, Artists of Kolea, for anyone who is going). I've been banging out the art big time these days, and this little diddy I just finished, and knew that my friend Gina would love, so G, this one's for you! Cluck cluck! Can you tell I need a day off!

Illustration Friday : soar

2008-01-02T15:28:00.000-05:00

This one might be a stretch, but superheroes can fly, right? This is a piece that I did last year, but I though it fit this week's theme.

Enough with the snow already!

2008-01-02T13:51:00.001-05:00

Up here in the northeast we keep getting pounded with snow - and I've recently decided that its been too much. I would love to experience just a week without a fresh snowfall - is that too much to ask?! So here's a little something I drew with the Printsource show in mind - just a couple weeks away!

Happy New Year! A couple thoughts / resolutions : make MONEY, more yoga, less stress (doing pretty good I must say), get more work (please oh please), keep going on the path I've been trying to follow of concentrating on my career and my health - hopefully those two aren't related! And practice more patience. More reflection and more action. And of course continue the postive thinking - this year will be amazing!

Wrapping Paper!

2007-12-19T12:49:00.000-05:00

I found more of my art in Target this season - in the holiday gift wrap isle. This year I found these two prints - though the pink one is a repeat from last year. I created the art several years ago under my old representatives. With them I sold all the rights to the art (hey you gotta start somewhere) so I never know where it will pop up.

Let it snow!

2007-12-19T12:45:00.000-05:00

We've had so much snow lately here in the northeast, that I've been inspired! Here's a print of snowmen I've been working on - and I like them so much I used one of them for my holiday card this year - thats the blue one.

Lookie what I found

2007-12-03T09:52:00.000-05:00

I was cleaning out my spare closet yesterday and came across some old old artwork from college. Good lord. So I thought I'd share with all the world. The three color illustrations are from my junior year, and are done in cut paper. They are a series of illustrations from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. (Love that book). I used my roommate as the model for Lucy, and a friend for the white witch. The third picture is the castle of the witch. I went through a big cut-paper phase in school (Syracuse University) and I think I kinda miss it. I like cutting out tiny pieces of paper. But looking at these works - wow I am cringing a bit- I think the shapes are still beautiful, but really they are quite stiff illustrations. Hopefully I've come a long way!

birds

2007-11-12T15:18:00.000-05:00

I've got birds on the brain! Here's a couple more prints I've been working on for Printsource.