Year in Review - 2016

Twelve months have passed again, and the start of a new year is looming.  As I look forward I also like to look back.  It always amazes me how many things I do in a year, and it's not till I look at my photos that I realize it.  I especially like to see what sort of year it was artistically.  Where was I focused?  How have I improved?  Did I start any new projects, books, chapters in my story?  Here is a quick look at my artistic journey in 2016! 

I started the year with a mission to create illustrations for obscure holidays.  A fun exercise to keep me drawing and keep my visual problem solving skills primed.

     

I also was able to make it to portrait group multiple times this year, especially during the winter months.  It's something I always enjoy...the challenge of painting from life.  I improve every time, and I really enjoy the community of artists who gather each week.  I want to start making this part of my routine again next year, especially with the dreary winter months upon us now.  

And when the weather finally improved and spring arrived, I moved outside and tackled animal portraits.

During the summer I got to take several vacations, so of course I brought my sketchbook along.  I bought myself a tiny little watercolor set that I had to try out.  It was so much fun and I used it to create little thumbnails that captured the beauty I saw in Montana and at Cape Cod.  I also used my sepia pens to create little sketches in Montreal.

In September I celebrated the launch of Clover and the Shooting Star.  What a wonderful reception I had.  So many people were thanking me for making this book and the therapeutic message that it carried.  I loved signing the books by name to special little children who would receive it and the comfort it offered.  By my last count, over 250 children received Clover and the Shooting Star as a gift this year:)

As the year comes to a close I continue to work on my other two stories that I have been developing.  Five Hungry Mice, which I hope to have ready for you all by Easter 2017, and The Fox Went Out On A Chilly Night, which I am targeting to have for Christmas 2017.  I have been steadily creating work for both books and have some samples for you below. 

And in the last few days of 2016 I have been working on a new theme which I will explore in 2017....Monsters!!!  Stay tuned for more...it surely will become a book:)

Happy New Year Everyone!