Around here this week …

… there's autumn in full swing!
I took some pictures out of my studio window today – I love this view, especially in autumn! And it might all look different and leafless tomorrow, as they predicted the first frost for tonight …

I as well have been polishing up my Minted Store, to get into gear for the Holidays. As my Minted collection has been growing slowly but steadily this year, there's lots of beautiful wall art inside, and some kid's art, fabric and home decor too. Come have a look inside! Here's a peek into my faves for November:

Finally I couldn't resist to patch all my Inktober pieces together, so here's the full month!
There's some sketches that I'd love to develop further, in colour. And some interesting painting ideas and bits that might make nice patterns too. Hoping that I will find the time to do this …

Happy weekend everybody!

Autumn's Best – Inktober 2016, part 4

Running a bit late, as I had been away and "offline": here's the final part of Inktober!

Starting with the "Forest Girl" above, for Inktober 23. I thought I'd be painting an autumn wreath, but the brush decided differently and then this girl turned up …

Before doing Inktober 24 called "Treehome" I had been passing by the new tree climbing garden in our local wood. All these platforms in the trees reminded me of treehouses (though the one I did is rather a tree-tent…). As a child I really would have adored to own a treehouse and we kids tried to build one from found wood every now and then, but these always collapsed after a while … I still would love to own one now!

I had to find out who lives in the Tree-tent above, so I did this fox-girl, called "Forest Girl 2" for Inktober 25.

"Fall in the Forest" – some fun little forest folks and motifs for Inktober 26.

 

I can't help but love autumn. I always have. It's my favourite time of the year. Inspite of the colder days and earlier nights, there's so much to cherish! So here's "Autumn's Best" for Inktober 27.

Getting ready with this "Witch's' Prep Guide for Halloween"! Inktober 28.

"Melancholia" for Inktober 29. It's that time of the year again …

And here's my Inktober 30, called"Flower Girl". It's inspired by admiring a beautiful bold woman on the train station. She wore a stunning and summery flower dress brightening up the otherwise dull, grey late autumn scene. Wondered where she did come from! Prob directly from Frankfurt airport nearby …

Finally! A "Dark Mood" for Inktober 31.

Phew! Bit exhausted now to be honest ;-) but loved it nevertheless. I hope you liked following me along for Inktober as well!

Moon and sun and the valley – Inktober 2016, week 3

The third week of Inktober! I still enjoy it – most of the time ;-)

Sometimes I think it would be better to have a real theme … But on the other hand this way I enjoy that it is spontanious and often surprising for myself: I just sit down without thinking too much or researching and sketching beforehand, and I draw whatever comes to my mind in that moment.

Inktober 16 above was inspired by the beautiful Hunter's Moon that we had in that night.

As was the drawing below for Inktober 17: "Where do we go" – well I'd love to know! Who wouldn't!? Maybe the moon has an answer …?

As I was in a nighttime mood and had noticed a lot of moths in the garden on that evening, I did some of these for Inktober 18. Some of them are imagined, some a bit more naturalistic, but as well  drawn from memory.

This was the first time that I drew an Inktober piece before really starting the day, so I wanted to do sthg related to mornings. Roosters seemed fun - here is a little parade for Inktober 19.

On Inktober 20 I had accidentally stumbled upon some beautiful areal photography - like fields and villages seen from the sky - on Pinterest. So I wasn't surprised what came up when I later on sat down to draw: a little farmhouse scene with rooster and chicken.

The quick sketch of the valley railway below – for Inktober 21 – was drawn from memory after a bike ride along the river.

The last drawing for this week was as well inspired by the valley: "Deerjump" for Inktober 22. Biking homewards in the evening I met 3 beautiful deer, running and jumping across the path right in front of me and then through the meadow to a nearby hedge. But they didn't disappear, they turned round and looked at me for what seemed a long time … it felt like they were curious and as keen on observing me than I was on observing them :-)

That's it for today – now onwards to the final Inktober week!

 P.s.: For those who are not familiar with "Inktober": You can find a short explanation about it at the end of this post here.

For your notes

One can never have too many notebooks! I am a bit of an addict when it comes to journals, notebooks, sketchbooks … anything book-like and bound with nice papers and a beautiful cover really. So it was clear that I had to jump on the new Minted challenge about stationary gifts (personalizable notebooks, calendars and wrapping paper): the "Wrap it Up" Holiday Quickfire Gifting Challenge.

I had way too many ideas. And not enough time. I could easily have come up with more, but I finally ended up with 15 notebooks and 4 wrapping paper designs. Only ;-)
I will share my faves here with you. Like always with Minted comps, votes are very welcome – thank you!! Voting is open until September 23. (To vote, please just click on the image, that'll lead you directly to my submission on the Minted page.) To look at/ vote for ALL of my submissions, feel free to hop over here to my "Voting Now" page.

Ok, here's some of my ideas! Starting with a pretty "everyday" notebook inspired by Eastern European folklore:

"Folkbird"

What about journaling all these precious moments, practising a bit of mindfulness? This notebook featuring a watercolour painting could be the right fit for that.

"Floral Moments"

Recipes journals are an essential too. My design features a root pattern made with handdrawn and papercut elements – good food for your soul!

"Soul Food Journal"

 For all travellers! This actually is one notebook out of a series of four, all featuring my watercolours and a rather classic design inspired by old travel journals and maps. You can find the other 3 on my "Voting now" page.

"Wanderlust Notes – Distant Horizons"

Certainly, pirates need to take notes as well! For that, this playful journal for kids and the young at heart is best!

"Pirate Clouds"

Finally, here's two wrapping paper designs for the holidays.

"Little Forest"

"Winternight Lace"

Hoping that you'll like my submissions! Thank you so much for looking and voting :-)

My personal fairytale route

There is an official german fairytale route that is visited by many tourists, but this here is my personal one! I live in a river valley with lots of castles, and there's plenty of stories, folktales and history woven around them. So when Minted announced the Spaces and Places Art Challenge – for artwork and photography that was inspired by a location – I knew that I wanted to show "my valley" and some of it's castles.
The Lahn River Valley is a tributary valley of the Rhine and in many parts it looks a bit like a mini version of the big stream. More quiet and secluded and with canoes inspite of the big container ships, but definitely beautiful and worth a visit too.
So here's four fairytale castles in watercolour! The blue colour scheme was initially inspired by the region's blue dyeing tradition. But I as well found that it helped me to come up with a more special interpretation, without loosing the original features of the buildings and their recognizability.

"Fairytale Route Count's Castle Germany"

Starting right at my doorstep this is Count's Castle, perched on a high rock above the river, my daily view out of my studio window. This medieval castle has a rich history and was used as residence for several counts, as dower residences for two dutch countesses, as administrative seat, as prison and almost unbelievable, as stonemason workshop. Nowadays it houses a youth hostel, a café and the local museum.

"Fairytale Route Oranienstein Castle Germany"

Just a short distance up the hill you'll find this serene baroque castle with a beautiful park – Oranienstein Castle. It was built by one of the said dutch countesses that longed for more comfort than the old Count's Castle could provide. It is one of the four ancestral castles of the Dutch Royal Family. Nowadays it belongs to the German Army, but can be visited with guided tours and often houses classical concerts.

"Fairytale Route Nassau Castle Germany"

Nassau Castle is another medieval hilltop castle overlooking Nassau town and hills. It had been in ruins but has partly been restored. The view from it's high keep is magical and you can as well get married there in a beautiful wedding chamber. Historically it is the home of the Counts of Nassau who again are closely related to the Dutch Royal Family. It is as well the source for the name of the capital city of the Bahamas: Nassau in the Bahamas was named in honour of Wilhelm III. from Oranien-Nassau, Regent of the Netherlands and King of England in the 17th century, and a descendant of the Counts of Nassau.

"Fairytale Route Lahneck Castle Germany"

Lahneck Castle is located at the estuary of the River Lahn into the Rhine and is often called the "Guardian of the Valley". It as well has a long history dating back into the 13th century, including being the last refuge for the Order of the Templars when they were hunted and finally destroyed in the 14th century. It as well has a resident ghost, the soul of a young english girl who visited the castle to sketch the view on the river, got trapped on the tower and sadly died there.
Lahneck Castle can be visited with guided tours and there's special candelit tours as well.

I hope you liked my little history tour along the Lahn River!

Please feel free to visit my Voting Page to have a look at all my submissions to this challenge and to vote for them if you like them. Thank you so much :-)

Happy Easter! … and an early Easter present

Just popping in to wish you a good one! (Quickly, before it's already over again …)

And to show you my early Easter present …
Last week, the results of the Minted Drawing and Sketching Challenge from January were reveiled. Finally!
And I had a fab double surprise:
My aquatint etching "The Melancholy of Stones" won! It came up 7th within the top 20 winners.
And my watercolour "Lush Coast Kenmare Ireland" received an Editor's Pick!
Thank you so much everybody who might have voted for me! And thank you, Minted editors!

Both works will be for sale as art prints on Minted soon. My Minted Wall Art collection is growing :-)
You can find out more about the challenge and see the gallery of all winners here.

Now off to have a very lazy second Easter day tomorrow :-)
Wishing you all a nice bit of sunshine and some time to relax and be together with family and friends!

Contest No.3: The Minted & Pottery Barn Kids + Teen Wall Art Challenge!

Wall art contests seem to come in threes as all good things do! The Minted & Pottery Barn Kids + Teen Wall Art Challenge is the third one on Minted since 2016 has started. Not sure if it is a good thing though … we are still waiting on the results of the previous two contest …
In this contest Minted + Pottery Barn are looking for art prints for boys and girls and for the whole age range starting with baby up to teenagers.
I am a bit exhausted contestwise but I just couldn't miss this one! Wall art for kids really is one of my fave subjects. It would be nice to build up a kid's collection on Minted. And to have a print been sold by Pottery Barn would be totally awesome! Well a girl can dream ;-)

So ok, I went ahead and submitted 16 pieces. Like always I will be showing you my faves here and I would be delighted to get your votes! Please just click on the title of the images, that'll lead you directly to my submissions on the Minted website. Thank you so much!

"Roaming Free"

I really love the playfulness and freedom vibe of this painting! It's a beautiful print for horse lovers of all ages. And it fits well to the brief as two of the themes asked for are animal prints and hobby themed prints.

"How to catch a Winter Star"

Two little winter bunnies in sweaters make a soft and tender nursery print for the holiday season – which is another theme asked for in the brief.


And here now are two fun prints for boys:

"Counting Crocodiles"

"Submarines Ahoi"

"The Craftsman" is originally an illustration done for a German fairytale. Works for both genders I think. I love the European and old times vibe of this one.

"The Craftsman"

Finally two romantic prints for girls and young ladies:

"Framed in Petals"

The inspiration for the watercolour print above came from Art Nouveau cameo brooches.

"Wake up in Flowers"

And this mixed media painting was inspired by our rooftop garden, that literally grows into our  bedroom windows in the summer …

I hope you like my submissions!

Want to see more? I have posted all my submissions on the "Voting now" page, so please just hop over there to take a look! Thank you again!

Letting go of 2015 … happy new Year!

There's a little program on Facebook that does a review of your last year. Here's what I got … I love the random selection of images that came up. I think they very well represent my year 2015.

New Year pirates (originally done for kid's fashion) and a notebook design from Bootcamp.

Easter hares and my first editor's pick in a Minted comp, the "Lady of the Orchard".

 My "Rooftop Garden" pattern (Fabric 8 Contest semifinalist). Another win on Minted, the "Willow Twins".

One of my Inktober drawings. My bestselling print on Minted, the "Cloud Symphony" from Donegal.

A snapshot in November. And 2 sketchy advent angels.

2015 has been a good year.

I had a nice mix of commissions, graphic design as well as illustration/ surface design, which kept me quite busy throughout the year.

Did MATS Bootcamp and MATS B (again) in winter and spring. I complained a lot about not having enough time for the courses … but still … after MATS B I felt like walking through a door, or up to the next level. I guess I only realized a bit afterwards how much I'd learnt.

Had my first intern in spring, an interesting experience. I must get back into teaching soon!

Let go of a few aspirations that didn't feel right anymore. Maybe this was the reason why some other doors opened up quite unexpectedly?
Found out that taking part in competitions can be quite fun and isn't always a waste of time – if you win :-)

Did my first month-long drawing challenge with Inktober. Had a lot of fun with it and often surprised myself with the subjects/themes I came up with. But it took up way more time than I expected, and I often yearned to "do something more" with my sketches, which then would take up even more time.
So … no "Art Daily" for me in 2016. But I can well imagine to do 1 or 2 monthly drawing/painting challenges per year.

To round up the year, I sold a good number of art prints via Minted in the holiday season. Such a great feeling! Thank you all!

In general my work got more painterly, more free flowing, less cluttered. Which I love! I feel way more confident about my work and my direction than at the beginning of this year.
When it comes to favourite subjects I love painting/illustrating anything with animals. I am a confessing romantic. And my Minted success rekindled my love for landscape painting as well.
I too realized that I now can switch quite effortlessly from illustration to graphic design to surface design and back again. With tasks as varied as coming up with a communication/advertising concept for a local health centre to designing patterns for kid's fabric this is a great gift for me! It opens up so many possibilities :-)

Ok, 2015, and now … there you go …
I'll raise the anchor of my little pirate ship and go looking for new adventures in 2016! Happy New Year everybody!

Merry Christmas everybody!

Wishing everybody a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Will be leaving very early tomorrow so I am signing off now. Back next week. Looking forward to some quieter days "between the years" …

P.s.: The scene above is completely fictional! It is sooo warm over here, almost like springtime. Wishing for snow really, but winter is postponed obviously …

Happy advent!

Now I wanted to do a painted advent this year. Like REALLY wanted to! But no way … like always in December I am far too busy with commissioned work. It's mainly graphic design projects at this time of the year.

I take my hat off to everyone who does an advent while working full time and full speed!!!
For me I think I will only manage to do this if I start early in autumn and work on it in advance …
Anyway, I wanted to share the bits I did for the 1st and 2nd of December. Happy advent everybody!

On another note the Cyber Monday sale at Minted is on still! 25 % off! It's extended until today (Thursday December 3rd) noon San Francisco time – which is 9pm mid European time. So only a few hours left … if you're interested my wall art hop over here NOW! And thank you so much everybody who already ordered :-)

New prints in my Minted store!

These pieces have recently been launched on Minted and are available as art prints now.

First up here's "Essential Garden", a series of mixed media prints. Papercut, monoprinting, drawing and digital. They're inspired by planting our rooftop garden. There's lots of good memories attached to this series, so it feels fab to see them in my store!

 

 Essential Garden: Seed 

 Essential Garden: Treasure

 Essential Garden: Bloom

Essential Garden: Passion

I had to add this screenshot as I really like how they look all together:



And then there's this piece, mixed media again, papercut, monoprinting, drawing, watercolour and digital: "Cactus Night", based on a memory of a peaceful summer's night. Available in three colourways, violet dusk, midnight blue and silver dawn.

 

An then finally here are my two wins from this summer's Minted+ Domino Art Challenge, now available too as Limited Edition Prints: "The Willow Twins", a dreamy landscape from Flanders …

 and finally "Seated in Blue", one of my all time fave model drawings :-) Really happy to see it on there!

Hoping you'll like them!