I am SO thrilled to be preparing like crazy for my first art fair! It’s this Friday night and I think I’m just about to be fully prepared. I’ll be showcasing printouts of my favorite pet portraits, art prints of works like “Garden in the Shade”, “Owl Always Watch Over You”, “Sing” and more, and be selling Christmas ornaments like these:
“Christmas Cheer”
“Joy to the World”
“Merry Christmas Tree”
“Adore Him”
These have been so fun to make and practice my penmanship with! I actually got the idea from walking through the Days of Christmas shop at Downtown Disney (I know it’s “Disney Springs” now, but I will always be old school on that one). A lady was sitting at a table with a black container of DecoColor markers, penning personalizations on ornaments customers had bought from the shop. Looking at the prices, I thought Sheesh, I could do that! And so I am…
Please stop by if you’re in the Orlando area and say hello! I’d love to hear your thoughts on my booth and see if there’s anything I can create for you! Find out more at baldwinparkevents.com.
It’s been a long time coming, but I feel like I’m finally having my own post-birth art renaissance. My little one just turned a year and a half (yikes!), and she’s finally gotten to a great point where she can sit and do her own Jackson Pollocks while I do my thing. It’s so lovely. I also have my first real art show coming up at the beginning of next month! My brain has been on a constant kick to come up with a fabulous but inexpensive table layout while also contemplating and completing new pieces to paint, print, and show.
This is one of those pieces. It’s refreshing to jump back into my work after being gone and truly enjoy and appreciate the work that comes about. There’s nothing that will send me back into my artistic hermitage more than spending long-lost emotional intensity on something that, in my opinion, ends up crappy. But I really like this one…
(The GLA logo is just a watermark)
The Psalms are stuffed full of musical images since they are songs in themselves. Reading them always sends my soul into an artistic mood. This one popped in my mind a couple days ago, so I doodled a sketch and went to town. Can you tell I’m in love with gradients? ;o)
I love thinking about the way the Israelites sang these Psalms, or were at least instructed to. My husband and I were talking about it the other day. We’re so static in church these days (at least at my very Caucasian Baptist/Grace Brethren/Presbyterian churches), I heard a friend confess she’d love to clap but doesn’t cause it would seem out of place and make too much noise. What happened to passages like “You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing” (Psalm 30:11) and “Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!” (Psalm 100:1). Dunno about you, but ain’t nobody shoutin’ in my church unless they have a hearing problem…
By the way, I’m hoping to take a dose of this joyful medication myself. I’m normally pretty reserved, but I think it’s just a sign that I don’t fully understand what Jesus has done for me. If I really grasped the Gospel, I wouldn’t be able to shut up about it!
Here’s my challenge to you (and me!): if you’re the church-going sort, loosen up just a little this week during worship. Stop thinking about what people are thinking of you and think about what you’re singing to God. There are some awesome truths in those songs you might have missed for years.
I can’t believe all my illustrations for the surprise project are finished! I’m so excited to see the final product and share it all with you. Until then, I’ll revisit some old projects I haven’t blogged about yet.
First up, I wanted to archive the commissions I’ve done so far for children’s rooms. I love doing art for kids since cartoons (especially Disney characters) are my favorite things to draw.
My first mural commission ever was for a couple from our church. They had picked out the bedding set they loved for their son’s room, but wanted to add some related flair to the walls. Unfortunately they’ve since moved, so I assume these have been painted over, but I’m glad I still have pictures! I first researched the bedding set they told me about and found the owl and fox pictures you could buy to go with the set, then drew them myself and added the tree and stump. I borrowed a projector from church and projected my image onto their wall, traced it, and started painting. It was SO fun, and I’d love to try one again.
Owl and Fox Originals
Mr. Fox Projection
Mr. Fox Closeup
Mr. Fox and Stump
Mr. Owl Closeup
Mr. Owl and Tree
These puppy pics are a commission I did a couple years ago for my friend Crystal. She and her husband wanted to deck out their son’s nursery with puppies. She has an amazing eye for decoration (hint: she even has her own business), so she gave me great directions for what she was picturing in her mind and I happily dove into the challenge of making it come alive for her.
Puppy Nursery
Dog Outlines 2
Canines
I’ve already done a full blog post on my commission for my friend’s son’s room here (part 1) and here (part 2), but I’ll post a couple here for the sake of revisiting them.
“Remy”
“Peter and Tink”
“Jaq and Gus”
And finally, the paintings I did for my own daughter’s nursery. I worked on these all through my first trimester to keep myself busy. Can you tell the theme?
Okay, okay. Breathe. Don’t freak out. Sometimes, change is good. Really! ;o) I’ve been meaning for ages to update this blog’s Theme, but haven’t gotten to it until now. And I LOVE it! Hopefully, you do too. I find it much easier on the eyes, it fits my artistic personality much better.
Not only does this blog look different, but my body sure does, too. Thank the Lord pregnancy (normally) takes a full 9 months, or this would be way more painful. I’m in the middle of week 38, and I’m so ready to meet our little lady. But I have to say, I’ve really enjoyed pregnancy. Despite the swelling, the fatigue, the weight gain, the acid reflux, and a slew of other fun changes, it really is all SO worth it. To feel those precious little kicks and rolls inside, knowing there’s a little me in there… it’s awe-inspiring.
I do have to say, though, that a huge part of my success during this pregnancy has to be attributed to my husband and his unconditional love for me and my transforming physique. I don’t know how any woman could mentally sustain 9 months of constant change without a man like mine loving her just as she is and reminding her how beautiful every pound is for the purpose.
“Just the Three of Us” by Natalie Grace
I drew this pic a couple weeks ago while being overwhelmed by this feeling of immense contentment and gratitude for my husband. (Neither of these characters look like me or my husband, by the way.) I was also inspired by the sweetness in the art of Brittney Lee‘s work, like in this picture. There’s such an indescribable beauty about this time when all the pieces fit just right and you know that God is weaving your family’s story together for His glory.
Whatever phase of life you find yourself in right now, I hope you’ll take the time to slow down and cultivate a spirit of gratitude each day. It makes any major (or minor) life change look completely different and doable, especially for people like me who are a little hesitant to accept change. Try it out. I think you’ll like it.
Gosh, God is doing some really fun things lately! So Koda’s owner, Jeff, is a Team Captain for his area’s Relay for Life event coming up at the end of this month. Since he liked his Koda pic so much, he asked if I would be at all willing to draw up a piece that they could sell through a silent auction to benefit Relay. This is just the thing I would love to give my time and talents to, so I told him I was all in. My only hesitation was time, since I knew there would be a deadline for this kind of thing and Little Lady could want out whenever. But I’m pleased to say that after about two weeks of dedication to this project, I sent it out to Jeff today, and I’m thrilled to be able to be part of this!
I’m sure by now you’re asking “So… Where’s the Art?” Before this turns into an artistic Wendy’s ad and Clara Peller comes knocking on my door, I’ll show you. Here are the three reference pics Jeff sent.
“Twin Falls” Original
“Twin Falls from Side” Original
“Snake River” Original
I had a terrible time choosing the right one to work from. I loved the idea of recreating the Falls, but I thought the pic of the River would maybe be easier to get done in time and a little more defined. So I took that one to Black and White for my charcoal work.
“Snake River” Black and White
Finally, I was ready to get started. Here are the pics of the whole process. It’s fun to look back on it step-by-step. And maybe someday I’ll learn, especially with charcoals, that I need to start on the right side of the picture since I’m left-handed. It would be SO much easier that way…
“Snake River” Outline
“Snake River” Trees
“Snake River” Water
“Snake River” Bridge
“Snake River” Clouds
“Snake River” Rocks
“Snake River” More Rocks
“Snake River”
I’ve been really critical of my work on this piece since I’m not REALLY a landscape artist. It’s definitely not my forte or passion. But I certainly had fun trying and I hope it reels in a good amount of cash for the Relay team!
I also had a great time learning about this area. I got started on this project, then finally wondered what I was actually drawing. I know next to nothing about Idaho other than that its potatoes are tasty. Jeff told me this is the Perrine Bridge spanning across Snake River. Of course, I had to look them up right away, and I learned that the Perrine Bridge is famous within the BASE and bungee jumping crowds because it hangs 486 feet above the river. How thrilling! I think I’ll keep my feet on the ground, but art is a great way to “dive” into learning about a place like this!
I just HAVE to share this exciting development with you all! I promise I won’t use this blog to plug products often, but when something this good and uplifting comes along, it must be shared. As I’ve mentioned, my husband and I are expecting our first little bundle of giggling joy very soon. Being the researcher I am, I’ve been doing lots of investigations on all things baby, including the great diapering debates: disposable or cloth? Thankfully, both my husband and I are very middle-of-the-road people. On pretty much every issue, I can see the pros and cons to either side and don’t feel that anyone has the right to tell another person what they have to do with their kid in order to be a good parent. It’s ridiculous how angry, self-righteous, and judgmental anyone can get about parenting methods (even if they’ve never been a parent!)… but I digress. The short of it is that diapering-wise, we’ve chosen to do a little of both.
In my search for the best cloth diaper brands, I came across a boat-load of information. It’s overwhelming how many brands are out there and even more confusing trying to figure out if you should buy microfiber, hemp, bamboo. I mean, there are cloth diaper glossaries out there because the process truly has its own language. But in the midst of trying to sift through all the info, I discovered a product and a mission that I can totally get behind.
Enter The Little Bee Co. Just one visit to their website and I was hooked. Not only do they make cloth diapers, which are obviously environmentally friendly, but here’s the kicker: for EVERY diaper I buy from them, a second diaper is shipped to an orphan in need. They’ve partnered with orphanages all over the world, and once they get enough orders to provide a diaper for each orphan within a given orphanage, they do a “diaper drop” for those precious children.
So here’s where I got even more stoked about all of this. After finishing “Rocky Boy” and turning him over to my friend who had commissioned him, I realized I never really set a price for the painting. Really, I am an artist and not a businesswoman. I told her I’d lower the price for her since I handled the situation poorly and she was a good friend and all, but she replied and said she’d actually been expecting to pay about twice as much, the original price I had wanted for him. So I came up with what I think was a pretty sweet solution. If she was willing to pay the full amount she offered, I would promise to devote all of that money to getting the Little Bee Co. diapers I had been looking to buy. That way, she knew that her money was going to not only cover my precious bambino’s buns, but she would also be using her money to cover precious little buns around the world! I don’t think it gets better than that. She was thrilled with the idea, and that plan is just what happened.
The Little Bee Co. Package
After receiving her check, I put in my order. I just received my package of The Little Bee Co. diapers today, and I was SO thrilled to open the box!
The Little Bee Co. Diapers
These things are dang cute. Not only are the colors really pretty, but each color is selected to represent a group of needy orphans around the world. Check out this page of their website that describes the significance of each one. How cool is that?
All in all, I’m really excited to have been able to use the money for my art in this way, and I want to keep finding ways to do this. Of course, I can’t just keep buying diapers with everything I make. One kid can only make so much mess. 😉 But this is definitely an awesome start. If anyone has other ideas of companies that I could partner with like this one, please leave me a reply and let me know!
Sitting on the couch last night feeling Little Lady move, I was suddenly inspired to doodle.
“Little Feet”
I haven’t seen quite this much distinction from her yet, but I’ve heard tell of some rather Alien-like activity brewing in the womb. Even though that sounds terrifying, I absolutely love drawing these little moments and imagining seeing something similar soon. As a parent, I already know how easy it is to have your body in one place while your mind is already frantically trying to organize the future, and I’ve only been in this game for 30 weeks! I can’t imagine what it’ll be like once she shows her face. But here’s just a little reminder to take in every little moment as it happens. Don’t while away the hours, because they’ll be gone before you know it.
I feel silly posting this two days into November, but I have to because I love how it turned out! I wasn’t much motivated by Halloween this year until I sat to watch “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” on ABC. Of course, watching cartoons most often gets my creativity flowing, so I finally got the urge to pick up my sketchbook (thank goodness it was on the table in front of me) and doodle. Without further ado, here’s what came of it:
“The Big Boo”
I discovered two really important things: how to smooth out my lines after scanning and how to use gradients on small portions in Gimp. These are probably things I should have known long ago, but… you live and you learn, and I’m glad I finally did!
Now to think of something cute for Thanksgiving before it actually gets here…
I wanted to take a quick moment to thank you all so much for your support! I’m so glad to see so many people enjoying my art and giving me great ideas for future projects! Whether you’re a subscriber, a visitor, or you like to stop by now and then when my Facebook page says there’s a new post, your interest means the world to me!
Next order of business: Christmas Time is drawing nigh! Have you thought of the perfect gift for your loved ones yet? I know I get tired of just picking out another restaurant gift card, wasting time driving from store to store to find that the thing I’m looking for is sold out, or searching for hours online only to realize my perfect idea doesn’t exist.
However, the most consistently satisfying gifts that I’ve ever given have been pieces of my artwork. I take some time to think about something that is really precious to my loved ones and build a work out of my knowledge of what makes their hearts happy. I’d love to be able to create something similar for you to give away to your loved one(s) this Christmas. I’m totally open to crafting something around your ideas or personalizing a finished piece that would be perfect for your friend. Please look around at other posts on this blog or head over to the GLA Website to get some ideas!
Already have an idea? Don’t know where to start, but think this is a good idea? Please leave a comment or email me at gracelinearts@gmail.com to get something going!
And feel free to check out some of the gifts I’ve posted here to see the kinds of gifts I’ve given my friends in the past.
Grace Line Arts 