Rose Petal Fairy iPad Case

My daughter surprised me with this lovely iPad case featuring my rose petal fairy yesterday. She ordered it from CafePress. I like that the image is a full bleed and that it’s printed on both sides of the case. If you’re not familiar with CafePress, hop on over there and check it out. You can have your artwork produced on hundreds of items like business cards, thank you notes, coffee mugs, household goods, apparel, computer accessories, jewelry, and lots more.

You can create a private shop and purchase items for yourself or open a public shop (similar to an Etsy shop) and sell products featuring your artwork to anyone wishing to purchase them. I spent the evening creating a shop, now I have to get busy and fill it full of goodies.

Baby Fairy in Watercolor

I painted this baby fairy during our last mother-daughter painting session. She was a quick study on darker skin tones . I’m particularly pleased with her curly hair, which I painted with quick strokes and in a much looser style than I normally paint. This painting is based on a tutorial in Barbara Lanza’s book, “Enchanting Fairies: How to Paint Charming Fairies and Flowers.”

Miltonia Orchids in Watercolor

My daughter painted these gorgeous miltonia orchids during a recent late night mother-daughter painting session. I love the bits of white she left on the edges of the petals and the one bright white flower to the left of the center of the painting she chose as her focal point. And of course I love the bright, highly saturated colors.

This painting was based on a tutorial in Ann Mortimer’s newly released book, “Orchids in Watercolor.”

New Addition to My Artist’s Toolkit

I can’t wait to use the latest addition to my artist’s toolkit–Mijello’s Fusion Leakproof Watercolor Palette–a gift from my sister. This palette can be used for either oil paints or watercolor paints. It has removable trays for easy cleaning and the container is airtight, so my watercolor paints will say fresh and free of debris like dust, bugs, and dog hair (a big problem since I share my home and studio with five dogs). You can purchase this handy watercolor palette at dickblick.com. Thank you, sissy, for such an awesome gift.

Santa Cruz Waldorf School May Faire

Bryce Eberhart, Director of Advancement at the Santa Cruz Waldorf School created these gorgeous posters for his school’s upcoming May Faire using my rose petal fairy watercolor painting. I can’t wait to frame these as poster-sized prints and hang them in my home. You can follow Bryce Eberhart on Pinterest. If you would like to use my images on your school’s posters, flyers, or other items, contact me for licensing information at afternoonartist@gmail.com.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day

Top of the morning to you. I hope everyone is enjoying their Saint Patrick’s Day weekend. I will be spending the day with two of my favorite people–my daughter and my mother. How will you be celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day?

Rainbow Dragon

I couldn’t wait to share this rainbow dragon that my daughter painted today. I love the colorful scales paired with the neutral gray tones; it creates a wonderful balance of cool and warm colors that helps guide viewers’ eyes around the painting. This painting is an interesting play of contrasts: its whimsical and sophisticated, colorful and subdued, patterned and random. What’s not to love?

Sometimes You Just Have to Stop and Smell the Flowers

Little Stevie, our Yorkshire Terrier is such a curious boy. He just couldn’t wait to check out this bouquet of pink tulips–a Valentine’s gift from my sweet sister. Aren’t they lovely? Thank you, sissy. I snapped dozens of photos of Steve and my flowers in hopes of recreating them in a watercolor painting.