A few months ago, I opened an email from Marie at Colour Hive asking if I would allow the use one of my designs in a report she was preparing. I know Colour Hive is a trend forecasting company (they have AMAZING resources for designers) and naturally I said YES! I just received the screen… Continue reading As seen in MIX Magazine from Colour Hive!
I thought we'd switch it up a bit and talk about the business side of art. I've invested countless sleepless nights trying to decide what direction to take my art in, but the truth is when I sit down to design I really am inspired more by my imagination than by a certain aesthetic. I… Continue reading How to know what sells for you
Inspired by my new art class - Aaron Blaise's Hidden Creatures of the Forest - I have become obsessed with creating little creatures and putting them into forest environments I photographed. It's bad...like wakes me up at 4:00 a.m. bad. Like gave me an art-related arm injury bad. No kidding, I had to sleep with… Continue reading My new obsession – forest creatures
Every summer I try to take an art class that is different from what I do every day as a pattern designer. Recently, I've been looking a lot at illustration, and I have a few illustrators whose work I adore - but I am so not an illustrator. I am a painter - and I… Continue reading My Summer Art Class
I like to design in collections - it brings cohesion to my portfolio and allows me to fully explore a concept or technique before I move on to a new project. Collections give me multiple options for my customers and allows me the freedom to experiment with colors and layouts without reinventing the wheel. But… Continue reading Cleaning up my “orphan” print files
I'm stupidly excited that I managed to create my first Instagram puzzle. I've seen the accounts that use these and I think they're so cool - but I thought it would be super hard to do it, so I just let it slide until tonight. I saw someone posting that they'd sell you the templates… Continue reading How to create an Instagram Puzzle
At this point in my art career, I'm not yet ready to work with an agent or studio to license my designs. But I have been creating some new designs for different markets - like these cute bunnies for the gift bag market. I was hanging on to my designs, building my portfolio with the… Continue reading New Art Licensing Options
I've spent years nailing down my "signature style" - most intensely this past summer which ultimately led to months of not being able to produce anything. Obsessing over my "style" and trying to be consistent with it sucked all the joy out of creating. It took me a long time to get back to working… Continue reading Filling your artistic bag of tricks
Sand Dog Designs 