Dream

For quite a while I've wanted to make a new line of greeting cards but I didn't exactly know what they would look like. So when I started the 100 Trees project, I hoped some of the images would inspire or evolve into a card. I didn't want to pressure myself and expect every drawing I did to be that interesting, but I hoped some would. And it's working! In fact, as I keep going with making art in my sketchbook every day I've been able to zero in on a style that I like. It feels like it is MY style, I just had to get some unnecessary stuff out of the way, practice, think, learn the steps, and uncover this way of making art that has been inside me for a long time just waiting to get out.

Here is how the first card has gone. I started with this drawing above in my sketchbook (in which I misspelled leapt). I like this image because it's special for my daughter. Whenever we read Dream Animals by Emily Winfield Martin, she says she wants to ride the deer to sleep, even though there isn't a real deer painting in the book, it's just a constellation outline of stars.

Next I carved this stamp of Tessa riding a deer, some trees, and a moon.

Then I tried some painted layers. It wasn't working quite right.

So I went back to the white outlines with a richer purple background like the original drawing. I printed with white ink on top of several layers of purples and blues. Wow, that was the right way to go. Goodnight and sweet dreams! Now on to the next card...

Transformation

I finished up the second collaboration sketchbook that I did with my daughter, Tessa. I called it Transformation because she started each page with a drawing (she's 2 so it was a scribble) and I turned it into something. This was so much fun!! You can see both books on my website here.

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is having a nice December. This month I always feel frazzled and stressed trying to buy presents get them packed and shipped at the post office with all of the other frazzled people. I'm approaching the end of that phase and to get myself in the mood for the more peaceful part of Christmas, I wanted to post some art and photos.

This is a drawing of my daughter, Tessa decorating an imaginary Christmas tree. She is constantly rearranging the bottom three feet of ornaments on our tree. This and the next four images are from my 100 Trees project. I'm having a great time drawing a tree picture in my sketchbook every day!

Here are some winter pines from rubber stamps I carved. I've been trying to figure out different ways to make pine trees instead of my usual boring default way to draw them.

This one might turn into a holiday card for next year!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, how distracting are your patterns.

Some winter days you don't really know what is sky and what is ground and the colors are all subtle shades of white, blue, and brown. We always have a white Christmas where I live!

This is a view across Steamboat Springs, Colorado toward the ski area. The low cloud on the mountain is where the snow guns are making snow. This hill is right behind my neighborhood where we walk and sled all the time.

Here's our Christmas tree with my two cuties.

This photo was taken for us by my friend and fantastic photographer, Karen G. Schulman.

I hope you all have a great holiday season. Merry Christmas!

New Header!

I finally had time to finish the new header that I started several months ago. I think it looks pretty nice up there on the top of the blog!

More Trees and an Updated Website

I've added a few new pages to my website including a page where you can see all of the tree drawings together. I'm really loving my 100 Trees project! I've been spending a lot more time on some of them than I intended to, but it's because I'm having so much fun.

Also on my website is a page with the drawings from the collaboration sketchbook that I did with Tessa for The Sketchbook Project. She started with a scribble and then I turned each page into a drawing. We are in the middle of doing a second book now!

And there is a page showing some of the commissions that I've done in the last few years. Feel free to ask me questions about creating artwork for you any time. You can email me at jill@jillbergman.com