Goodbye January!

That first month of 2018 just whizzed by …
Looking back with some January faves from my Instagram feed:

Happy February everybody!

P.s.: For those who might like to follow me on Instagram, here's my account: https://www.instagram.com/evamarion_art/

Figure and Room

"Here again so softly" – roomset courtesy of Minted

There's a new art contest on at Minted, the Minted Make A Statement Large Format Art Challenge. Art prints sourced through this contest will be available at sizes up to 48" x 70" (= ca. 122 x 178 cm), so really big! 

I had been a bit intimidated by the large formats at first, and decided that this contest wasn't for me. But then I became very inspired by the contest's special "Figures & Form Award". Minted is looking for the most interesting artwork featuring a human figure in large scale. I imagined my fashion/ figure drawings in large size in a room, and felt that this might look intriguing …

Today I'll show you a selection of my submissions, a mix of older and new drawings/ paintings.

"Here again so softly", watercolor and gouache on paper.

"Here again so softly" – the abstracted painting above was inspired by a walk in autumn fog, observing other walkers emerging like ghosts out of the white nothing. I aimed to express this ethereal feeling, painting a figure that could be here, there or elsewhere, or just a fantasy …

"Homage to Rahvis" – roomset courtesy of Minted

"Homage to Rahvis", watercolor and ink on paper

My watercolor and ink drawing "Homage to Rahvis" above leads us back to the 1940ties and was inspired by Clifford Coffin’s photograph of an iconic Rahvis evening dress. I aimed to weave my own story around it and created a reduced, delicate and dreamy drawing, imagening this young lady being in anticipation of a glamorous ball.

"I will dance through the Fire" – roomset courtesy of Minted

"I will dance through the Fire", mixed media (gouache, ink and crayon) on paper.

These two paintings above and below are part of a series of 4, featuring the various strengths of women. I aimed to create expressive female characters that would be open to merge with the viewer’s own stories. The series is inspired by heroines from literature, theatre and film, by fashion and by astrology too.

"I will dance through the Fire", as seen above, is related to the astrological fire signs and symbolizes power, spirit, passion, resistance and initiative.
Whereas "She Who Knows" as seen below, is linked to the earth signs. This lady is an old soul, a strong, earthbound and wise character.

"She who knows" – roomset is courtesy of Minted.

"She who knows", gouache and ink on paper.

The reduced "Elegance" drawing below features a woman in a ball dress, highlighting the lightness and soft drape of her gown as well as the elegant lines of her pose. I drew her with just a few quick lines and some watercolor accents.

"Elegance" – roomset courtesy to Minted

"Elegance", ink and watercolor on paper

 

"Swift", as seen below, is a bit of a throwback into the 1980ties. Drawn with just some sweeping lines the drawing showcases the figure's elegant 80ties silhouette and the rich drape of the garments. A fab print for fashion enthousiasts as well as a good option for those who aim to add a softer vibe and an expressive touch to minimalistic interiors.

"Swift" – roomset is courtesy to Minted

"Swift", ink on paper.

That's my selection for today! To see all of my submissions, please just hop over to my "Voting now" page!

If you would like to support me in this contest, please just click on the images. That'll lead you directly to my submissions on the Minted page and you'll be able to place your votes. Thank you so much! A certain amount of winning art will be sourced through public voting, so through your votes! The rest will be chosen by the Minted Editorial Council.

Voting is now open and will close on Wednesday, January 24th at 10am PST. 
(Please note: If you are not a Minted customer or a Minted artist yet, you'd need to set up an account on Minted to be able to vote.)

The Time Between

Hello everybody, happy 2018!

Count's Castle during a short snowy moment in December 2017

It's been a long time since my last post … sorry for being so quiet! I definitely plan to go on with my blogging, but sometimes life takes over and there's simply no time. Or the time doesn't seem right. I'll explain in a minute!

For 2018 I plan to update my blog regularly again, aiming at studio-news (and sometimes life-news too) once a month. Let's hope for the best!

River Lahn in snow, again from December 2017

Ok, and what happend in the time between?

For the first half of 2017 I had been pretty busy, designing and painting, and taking part in various design and art competitions. All the while I was caring for my 90 years old parents and looking after two households, theirs and ours. By the end of August, I felt that I couldn't go on this way. I was running on empty. I didn't realize how the time was passing, I hadn't even really noticed that it was summer and beautiful outside, and that was at a point when summer was almost over …

So I decided to take some time off from artmaking. I planned on a month, but finally it added up to September AND October.

By November, I felt I was ready again. I had managed to get some of the most important things done that had been shoveled from one "to do" list to the next for too long. I had enjoyed a bit more of freetime. And – I guess most creative people will understand – I had seriously missed painting and designing. I've had more time, but became all cranky without creating.

A fantasy forest branch, painted last weekend

But then, when trying to start with my art practice again, I felt all rusty and somehow couldn't get into it again. Like I lost the connection. Or missed the bus. I started to question everything I had done before, and wasn't sure at all how to go on. Like a kind of creative block. I've never had anything like that before! And it took a long long time and lots of patience with myself to get into it again …

I am pretty happy that it's way better now, and that I am creating again. Mainly painting, right now. There's a new art contest on at Minted, so there's lots of art to show. I will post my submissions in the next days!

My Instagram: evamarion_art

As a last point for today, in November I've finally started an Instagram account! Sometimes it is easier to post just pictures … I post almost daily over at Instagram, and would like to invite you to follow me there! Here's the link:
www.instagram.com/evamarion_art

Anyway, I hope to connect with you soon again!

Snowy Count's Castle, again from December 2017

Hello pattern, hello fabric!

It's nice to look at this part of my work again! It's been quite a while … The reason for revisiting pattern design is another contest, the Minted "Fabric Frenzy" challenge. Minted is looking for a wide range of designs for homedecor (both kids and adult) and kid's clothing. 
I'll be featuring a small selection of my submissions here in this blogpost. If you'd like to see all of them, feel free to look at my "Voting now!" page, I've listed everything over there (18 patterns in the whole).

Like always with Minted competitions, the selection of designs goes by public votes or by editor picks. So if you see something you like, please just quickly click on the image! That'll lead you directly to my submissions on the Minted page. Thank you so much! Voting is extended until Monday, October 2! (Please note: If you are not a Minted customer already, you'd need to set up an account on Minted to be able to vote.)

"Ocean Garden"

As I love anything that has to do with the sea, and especially the amazing beauty of underwater flora and fauna, designing these two patterns was very much my cup of tea. Both pattern were done for homedecor. "Ocean Garden" above is a handpainted watercolour pattern, whereas the elements of "Ocean life" below were done with papercuts. Both patterns would work especially well in maritime/ beach house style homes.

"Ocean Life"

"Soul Food"

My "Soul Food" pattern inspired by all kinds of root vegetables is pretty much mixed media: papercut, monotype printing and crayon textures are all in the mix, and finally I edited everything digitally. A fab pattern for for the kitchen or for table linens.




And here's some designs for children!

"The Tale of Little Red"

The first design up features a classic, the fairytale of "Little Red Riding Hood". I had lots of fun drawing the characters and all the lush nature elements. This pattern is aimed mainly at children's homedecor, but would work for kid's clothing as well.

"Knights and Dragons"

"Submarines Ahoy!"

Same goes for the two boy's patterns above, they work for kid's home decor as well as for kid's apparel. Both are quirky and handdrawn and had lots of fun doing them. I especially like my busy little submarine rescue boats, I hope kids will love them too!

That's my selection for today. To see more of my patterns, please hop over to my "Voting now" page!
To see all of the submissions to this compettition (4541!), click here!

New Wall Art for Kids and Teens

Here's some new art or young people! Inspired by the Minted + Pottery Barn contest for kid's and teen's wallart I made a small selection including painting/ illustration and photography.

(Like always with Minted comps votes and likes are very welcome! Voting already ends tomorrow evening, Monday July 31 (Mid European time). So if you see something you like and want to help me to get it selected for the Minted and/ or Pottery Barn stores, please just quickly click on the image! That'll lead you directly to my submissions on the Minted page. Thank you so much! 
Please note: If you are not a Minted customer already, you'd need to set up an account on Minted to be able to vote.)

"Quick as a Bunny said the Beetle"

"Hello World said MissTurtle"

Here's some more info about my art:

For both illustrative pieces above I did the main characters with papercut and collage. Then I added the "scene" with crayon and put it all together digitally. A fun way of working!
As you might see by the choice of my titles I aimed for storytelling prints that prompt the viewer to weave  their own stories around the characters.
The sporty hare will be fab for any young athlete or sports fan. Whereas the turtle conveys confidence and curiosity and will be a great print for any child that is keen to discover and explore the world.

"A little Fantasy about Flying"

And here's two "airborn" prints. My "Little Fantasy about Flying" above is inspired by my love of airships and hot-air-balloons and shows some steampunk influences as well as a decent dose of whimsy.  It's another mixed media piece combining pen and ink drawings with gouache paint and a little bit of collage.
The photograph below was done in Zeebrugge, Belgium, one of the best spots for kite surfing/ surfing on the North Sea coast. I love the feeling of space, freedom and movement in it and think it would be a great print for a young person's room.

"Testing the Winds"

"The Evening Bath"

"The Evening Bath" above was bravely taken by a group of schoolchildren on the coast of the Isle of Wight, England. Bravely because the North Sea was very very cold on that day … (I'd tested it out myself before!)
I love this photograph because it evokes the carefree summer holiday feeling of childhood. And as well because of the contrast of that small hub of human energy against the huge turquoise and blue surface of the North Sea.

"The Midnight Flock"

"Nighttime Tidelands Gleaming Sea"

"The Sorbet Tide"

Speaking of the North Sea – the series of 3 photographs above was done on the North Sea coast of Belgium, and is called "North Sea Nocturne". We took a trip there in June, and I was fascinated with the bright nights of the Summer Solstice. The gleaming light was just amazing! I really didn't expect this, usually you only get these bright Summer Solstice nights a bit more up north. Probably it's the surface of the sea reflecting the light that leads to a similar effect like in Scandinavia. Anyway, I was intrigued, and took several long walks along the beaches late in the evening. These photographs all were taken close to midnight … I hope I managed to capture a bit of that dreamy and peaceful atmosphere.

"The Dreamy Palace"

The "Dreamy Palace" was painted with watercolour and gouache. It's inspired by the tales of 1001 nights.

"Rainforest Rythms"

The photograph above follows the current interior trend for tropical and green wallart. It's a close up of a palm leaf. I aimed to captured the leaf’s abstract organic forms and found two different rhythms that characterize the rainforest: sunlit, fresh and almost electric green on the front, dark, gloomy and intriguing on the backside …

That's it for today! I hope you like my selection. Fingers crossed … and thank you so much for any votes and likes!

How to have winter fun in June:

Well … all you have to do is to design for stationary! I am slowly getting used to the "design schedule" for Holiday cards. This year I didn't feel as much disconnected with the rest of the world as I did last year. And all that snow even had a cooling effect on some very hot June days :-)

The designs shown here are submissions to the current Minted Challenge for Holiday Cards. Like always with Minted comps votes and likes are very welcome! Please just click on the images, that'll lead you directly to my submissions on the Minted page. Thank you so much! Voting ends on Friday evening, July 7 … already … it's almost too late for vote asking … 

And here's a bit more about my designs:  

" A Holiday Stroll 1"

 

" A Holiday Stroll 2"

The two cards above both feature details of one of my watercolour paintings.

"Angel Duo"

Whereas the sketchy pen + ink and crayon angels were done as part of an advent challenge a while ago.

"Anatomy of a Snowflake"

The snowflake design is for a corporate Holiday card. It was inspired by old anatomical/ botanical  drawings and provides a lot of room to add the company highlights of the year and a thank you + holiday message to the clients.

"Wish upon a Winter Star"

The inspiration for the two snow bunnies wasn't forest animals, but my own cat. I watched him observing and admiring the first snow of winter through the studio windows, obviously planning some mischief (he just loves snow!).
I painted this little winter scene with gouache and silver gouache.

"Christmas Ballet All Stars"

And finally a Christmas Ballet card that is just a bit silly :-)

I hope you'll like my card designs. And now, back to summer!!!

New stationary designs

Lately I haven't had much time for creating due to family health issues … but somehow, in between things, I managed to do some work for the "Better Together Minted Greeting Card Design Challenge". Would have loved to do more … Oh well ok, I think in times like these the most important thing is to somehow just keep working – in order to keep one's creative muscles relatively fit and healthy.

Today I'll show you some of my submissions to this challenge. It is a contest for both copy and design. One could either work with own copy, or choose copy submitted by another artist and create for that. Something that I loved to do!
Votes and likes would be very welcome! Voting already ends on Monday evening, 15th of May (mid european time) – sorry for the rush! I simply didn't manage to post my designs earlier … Thank you so much for voting and liking!

Lovely Day Flowers

"Lovely Day Flowers" – watercolour floral design  for a birthday card with copy by Jennifer Lew: "Front: Make today lovely/ Inside: Happy Birthday".

"Walk in Flowers"

"Walk in Flowers" is a 21st birthday card featuring a shower of watercolour petals based on my own copy. Front: "May you walk in flowers and dance in the rain." Inside: "With lots of love on your 21st birthday!"

"Sunny Road"

"Sunny Road" is a another 21st birthday card based on my own copy: Front: "Wishing you … wind in your hair, joy in your heart and a sunny road to life's adventures." Inside: "Happy 21st Birthday!"

"Entwine"

"Entwine" is a wedding card design based on a copy by Lisa Sunday Rinella. Front: "Lifes entwine, dreams melt into one another, joy is on the wind." Inside: So happy you found each other." I immediately fell in love with Lisa's words and together with my watercolour details this card makes one of my fave submissions.

"Emerald Isle Blessing"

"Emerals Isle Blessing" – this one is special to me because the copywriter, Mariecor Agravante, chose my photographic art print out of the bounty of designs that are already for sale on Minted and wrote a copy for it specifically to go on a card together. Front: "Emerald Isle Blessing", Inside (excerpt):  "May the mists of the Eirinn isle, bring a glow to your dimpled smile, … And may the wings of Irish laughter, Uplift you now and ever after." Thank you so much, Mariecor!

"My own kind"

"My own kind" – here's a mixed media botanical design that I used for a mother's birthday card featuring copy by Kate Ross. Front: "You've always taught me to be my own kind of beautiful." Inside: "I'm so grateful for you, Mom. I celebrate you on your birthday and always."

"Always Love"

 "Always Love" – this sympathy card features my own photography. The copy is by Courtney Crane. Front: "Though there is loss …, Inside: "love always remains. Thinking of you with heartfelt sympathy."

"Galactical"

Finally this is a card to send to a loved one: "Galactical". It is based on a copy by Frooted Design. Front: "The moon is way too close." Inside: "Love you to the furthest galaxy and back!"

Want to see more? You can have a look at ALL submissions (3752!) to this challenge over here.
And you can find ALL OF MY submissions using the filter "Sorted by artist" and then hop over to page 71. Thank you!