get your paint on 2012

I have to tell you about something that I'm really, no REALLY EXCITED about. I'm taking an online painting class (Get Your Paint On), per a recommendation via my friend Nicole (also, another illustrator - Sloe Gin Fizz). The class isn't just any ol' painting class, it's taught by the super talented and cool illustrators Lisa Congdon and Mati McDonough. If you haven't heard of them, check 'em out! I love their work!

Okay, so some people may wonder, why are you taking a painting class? You know how to paint. Yes, I do know how to paint, but I feel like continuing education is always a good thing. I'm hoping to open myself up to new ideas and gain some artistic freedom from this course. I love the whimsical styles of both of the instructors so I'm hoping a little of that will rub off on me. :)

Yesterday I went to the art supplies store and picked up a few items that I needed for class. Our first class starts tomorrow. Each week we're given a bit of a reading assignment and inspiration then we paint and post our paintings to a private Flickr site for everyone in the class to critique. I'll post my paintings here though, so you can see them. It reminds me of art school again and I just loved being in art school.

More to come on this soon!

custom lil' portrait paintings : the t family

Thanks very much to the "T" family, and Paisley Place Designs for giving me the opportunity to do their portraits in my illustrative painting style. I had a great time creating them and I hope they enjoy them in their home for years to come!

The process:

First, the photo is emailed to me from the family, then I work on each individual sketch, and after the sketch is approved, I begin work on the painting!

Mom gave me a little direction on the sketches. She wanted her son's hair a little curlier than his photo, because she said he typically has pretty curly hair. She also wanted her hair color and her son's hair color the same, strawberry blonde because she had that hair color too as a child. Mom wanted a cute, pink bow in her hair as well! She picked grass green for her son's background, berry for hers and her husband got lake.

A couple close-up photos of the ribbon hangers & fabric covered buttons.

If you're interested in portraits too, please contact me via email at: cheryloz@wideopenwest.com

a commissioned painting : Barbie : acrylic on canvas

About a month ago, an Etsy shopper's daughter found my Barbie watercolor paintings in my Etsy store and wanted to know if I would do a larger commissioned painting of Barbie. It was a very exciting offer since normally, I do not work that large in my paintings. I have done several large paintings in the past, in fact one hangs in our living room, but never have I done a large commissioned painting. I accepted her offer and begun working on the initial stages.

My client's inspiration was something similar to Andy Warhol's Barbie painting that is hanging in the real-life Malibu Barbie Dream House in California. So, while copying the Warhol painting is not allowed, I can certainly do my rendition with her requests. She wanted something bright and vibrant, similar to the Pop Art style. She was very specific on colors and some details to the painting. I like a client that knows exactly what she wants, it make the initial steps much easier. I knew because of the size & vibrancy in color she was interested in that I should create the painting in acrylic on canvas. I researched a few canvas sizes and we decided upon the 30x30."

It all starts with a sketch. I pulled several images for reference

to begin work on my initial drawing.

I used a projector to transfer my sketch to the canvas. Just after I started I remembered that I wanted to take photos of transformation, so before I really got into the painting I stopped to take a few photos.

At this point, this would wrap up the first day of painting.

The next day I worked on a second coat of the background and some details in

the hair and face. I wanted the background to be very opaque so in order to achieve that I had to do three coats of the fuchsia paint.

The last day was all about the details and one final coat to the background. I let the painting cure for a week before I packed it up. Let me tell you, I was very nervous to ship such a big painting. I wrapped it in plenty of corrugated cardboard, protecting the corners and the canvas overall. I said a little prayer and taped it up. After six days of waiting, the painting finally arrived to my client. I was happy that it arrived in one piece. Then when I heard from my client's daughter how happy her mom was with the finished product, I was so relieved. She loved it!

inspiration : "sprinkles" cupcake painting

I'm not sure what it is but I'm enthralled with cupcakes. Not so much the eating of them, but just how cute they are. From the perfectly piped frosting, to the detailed decorations, even the ones with a big plop of homemade frosting that a grandma might make. It could be the scalloped-edge wrappers in all their fanciness too. Maybe it's because they are a delicious treat made specifically for one. Could it be the sparkly sugars, silver-glistening non-pareils or colored sprinkle balls? Whatever the case may be, they are too cute and they have inspired me to paint. I can see more cupcake paintings coming soon, because this one was just too much fun. Let me introduce you to "Sprinkles."

All of the merchandise you see in the above photo is now available in my Cafepress shop. Items are located in the following sections: Baby & Kids, Apparel, and lastly the Stickers, Buttons & Magnets section.

The "Sprinkles" cupcake print is now available in my Etsy shop and the original will be available for purchase soon! Stay tuned.

daisy bucket : watercolor painting

Sometimes procrastination pays off. It typically results in many projects that I start and never get done. In the end it's really kind of disheartening to see a stack of unfinished projects laying around, but I think it's more about the excitement of new ideas and wanting to be able to do everything all at once. At least that's how I'd like to think about it.

Anyway, I started this painting last Summer, but never finished it. I've always loved Gerber Daisies. Cheerful. Bright & Colorful. What's not to like, really? While we were up at the cottage I finished it and now I have a print available in my shop for sale.  Check it out "Daisy Bucket" in my Etsy store. The painting is printed on 8 1/2 x 11" bright white matte, acid-free, 100% cotton rag Epson Archival Velvet Fine Art Paper on an Epson Stylus Photo R1900 printer using Epson UltraChrome inks. The print size is 8 x 10".

spring opener

We're back... This was our first trip up to the cottage since Fall, and I'm always a little nervous to see if anything has happened while we were away. Everything was perfect though, just how we left it.

For some reason, at Spring opener on the island, the house is always loaded with flies and they get into every nook and cranny. Basically we spent the weekend sucking up every last buzzing bugger that we could find. It's annoying and some might find it gross to have all of these flies, but I must admit I derive some pleasure from the act of vacuuming. 

There was still a lot of snow, but mostly mounds here and there, nothing completely covering the grass. We got lucky and the weather, although cooler in the 40's was sunny everyday. We still got to spend quite a bit of our trip outdoors. We did a lot of walking, Jeff planted a few maple trees and I tried my hand at some nature photography, and of course the dogs enjoyed themselves frolicking about the property. (I'll be posting some photos soon.)

On Easter morning, we took a long walk together and I took photos along the way. When we came back Jeff planted his trees, and I finished up my second Dogwood bloom watercolor painting for my series. I have one more to go. Later on Jeff grilled our ham on the Weber and the two of us had a quiet dinner. It was pretty much a perfect end to our getaway.

working : felting : painting : fun

It's been a busy week and since Tuesday and I haven't had too much time for creating anything new. I worked at my freelance gig Wed-Thurs and with sitting in a cubicle all day, the long commute home and trying to figure out something for us for dinner, it makes for a tired evening, especially in the winter.

All the while I'm sitting in my cubicle at the office, dreaming of painting. Creamy, squishy paint, or translucent, perfectly pigmented watercolors. Even though I've been enjoying felting I feel like paint is calling me back. That's what is nice about having many mediums that you enjoy working in, is that you can always switch around when you have an idea or get bored with it (as I do a lot). I find that working with different mediums helps me stay inspired. Not only mediums though, just getting out and seeing new things.

Next weekend my husband and I are going to Chicago. This is our delayed anniversary trip. We had a huge snowstorm in December and our anniversary trip got post-poned. What I'm looking forward to the most, is just hangin' out with my husband and walking around the city. We always have a great time together, no matter what we're doing.

aspiration : lil' chef series continued...

I've done seven paintings now for my lil' chef series, and I still have 2 more that I may do, but right now I'm kind of tired of painting lil' chefs. I have some other paintings/projects that I've been itching to start, so I may come back to them later. I've taken a few quick photos this evening to show the series as a whole and this weekend I plan on taking photos and getting ready to post them to Etsy to sell.

As excited as I am to post them to Etsy, I'm also kinda sad that soon they may be gone. As I have completed each one, starting with "bobby", I placed them on the window ledge in my studio room. Every morning when I check my email their cute, rosy cheeks & cheerful faces are there to greet me. It's really hard for me to part with my art sometimes, but I also love when someone else who likes my work, is excited to hang some of my art on their wall. In the end, it's all about happiness, and if my art makes someone happy, it makes me happy too!

observation : painting + posting

So, it's pretty crystal clear to me that in order to be truly happy I need to be doing something creative that "I" want to be doing creatively. And was I ever happy today! I started two new paintings to go along with my Lil' Chef Series... and those would be Alton and Ina a.k.a The Barefoot Contessa. Right now I have the backgrounds painted of both and I think they will fit the series nicely. It's seriously not a sales pitch, but I think the paintings would be so cute, in a vibrant, colored kitchen of someone who loves the Food Network chefs as much as I do.

I also played around with my lighting set up and digital camera today for my Etsy store. I posted a new painting today. Well, not new to some people who know my work, but new to my shop. Here's a sneak peek!

I'm headed off to downtown Detroit, Mexican town, with my family and some friends for some dinner!

inspiration : tyler + giada

I'm in the process of new additions to my chef series of paintings. I have two going at once this time. Here's a couple of pics in progress. I'm working on Giada & Tyler. I have a few more to go after this... I was thinking how cute it would be if someone bought the entire set and hung them in a horizontal row on a long wall in their kitchen. CUTE! I'll post the finished paintings when done!

On a side note, I purchased a lighting set-up to start shooting the work I already have for Etsy and it's supposed to arrive in the mail today! Last week, I bought a table at Ikea to set everything up and make a nice shooting area that can be semi-permanent, so I don't have to keep taking it down. Now... to find a place in the basement to set it up and put together the table.

inspiration : lil' bobby

I started a new painting yesterday, based off of a drawing from my sketchbook a few weeks ago. There will be a series of 3 children. The first is called, "lil' bobby." He reminds me of one of my favorite food network chefs, Bobby Flay. The canvas is 5x5", painted with acrylic. The image I'm posting is "in progress."