dr. who and the daleks

(digital)

Here's another Doctor Who piece! This one is for Silver Screen Society and it's based on the 1965 film, "Dr. Who and the Daleks." Thinking about doing more of these Doctor Who children's book type illustrations along with the travel posters I'm currently working on.  

goonies never say die!

(Goonies, gouache)

Here's my Goonies painting for the 80's Films Art Show at Susanita's Gallery! 

One of my favorite films ever. It's so great working on fun pieces like this! 

The show opens on December 1st, and all the artwork will be available to view online. And, if you live in Spain, you can check it out in person! 

process

A few people have recently asked about my process for my latest illustration. So here we go. 

I started off by watching a couple of Doctor Who episodes. It's SO important to do research. :) 

I first had an idea to do a fake cover for a children's magazine. I was inspired by this image:

I also had an idea of making a fake children's book cover. After sketching out my ideas, they just weren't working. Then, the idea of a travel poster sounded a lot more appropriate. So many choices for destinations! And the "airline" would be the TARDIS. I looked up vintage travel posters for inspiration.  I also made a Pinterest board with some of my favorites: http://www.pinterest.com/erenunten/ads-posters/

Below is the thumbnail sketch for my poster idea. 

Here is the bad drawing from my thumbnail. There's too much going on here. The composition was not working. 

I still decided to add color to see if it would help. It did not. I tried to use a limited color palette, but that idea quickly went out the door. This was the point where I hated what I was doing, and wanted to quit. But that's when you have to push further and problem solve. I decided to take a look at all those vintage travel posters I love to figure out what made them so great. 

I needed to simplify things. I wanted the focus to be on the Doctor and Clara, so I made them bigger. There's still too much going on here though. Had to keep simplifying it. There's four main images and that doesn't make it a great composition. Also, the Doctor's sonic screwdriver can't really be seen. My husband will probably also want you to know that he pointed that out to me. He's an amazing artist, and he gives great feedback. :) 

And below we have the final artwork. Simplified and a much better composition than before. Shifted things around a bit for better balance. Although I know all these "rules" for designing things, it can still be a challenge while creating something. 

I'm excited to do more of these Doctor Who travel posters. There are a lot of Doctors, companions, and places to illustrate!

Hope you enjoyed my process post! I'm not the best at explaining things, but I loved making this, and I hope that shows! 

doctor who show at meltdown

(digital)

Here's my piece for the Doctor Who show at Meltdown Comics. I've been wanting to work on a Doctor Who illustration for a long time now, and I'm so thrilled to be a part of this exhibit!

The inspiration behind this piece came from my love of vintage travel posters. I'm planning on doing a series of these with different Doctors and companions. This one is from "The Rings of Akhaten" episode. While in the Tardis, the Doctor asks Clara what she would like to see, and she responds with "I'd like to see...something awesome!"

Prints of this will be available in my shop! 

carried away

( gouache on paper)

The conversation that led to this painting:

Husband (9:50pm): "Honey, can you do a small painting for an art fundraiser?"

Me: "Sure, when is the art due?"

Husband: "Tomorrow."

Me: "... ... Sure."

Had to work on paper I'm not used to, but it was a nice little challenge. Didn't have time to scan the painting so please excuse the quality of the image. Doing this quick painting made me decide to do more of these small paintings as an exercise to get better with gouache. :)

a tea party

(A Tea Party, digital)

Here's a commissioned piece and tribute to Mary Blair and Alice in Wonderland. Had so much fun working on this! 

bubble pirates! - a little golden book

I've always loved Little Golden Books. As an artist, it was seriously a dream of mine to work on one. And now, the third Little Golden Book I illustrated was released today. Thank you, Nickelodeon and Random House! 

The book is available on Amazon and bookstores as well!

a grand day out

(digital)

Here's my Wallace and Gromit piece for Silver Screen Society! I first saw "A Grand Day Out" in a geology class in college, and I totally loved it. I really love all the films, but this one is my favorite.

stand by me

(gouache)

Here's my piece for "The Movie Show" at Galerie Maghen in Paris. Each participating artist was given the opportunity to choose any film they wanted, and I chose "Stand By Me." I love this film. It's timeless. I enjoy and appreciate it even more now, as an adult.  

Also, it was impossible not to have the song by Ben E. King stuck in my head while I was painting this. :)

Please check out The Movie Show's blog to see all the amazing artwork for the show! 

island vacation

(digital)

Here's a commissioned piece I recently finished for a friend. This is a different version of the final illustration. Had a lot of fun working on it! 

ferris bueller's day off

(digital)

Here's my piece for Bottleneck Gallery's "I Love You Man" show that opened this past weekend in Brooklyn. I love Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and chose the scene where Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane are at a museum. I probably should have picked the classic Cameron, Ferris and Ferrari combo, but I wanted to do something a little different. :)

let's get together

(Let's Get Together, gouache)

Here's my little piece "Let's Get Together" for Susanita's Gallery in Spain. I loved watching the original Parent Trap movie when I was young, and chose it for the gallery's "Sing That Movie!" show. You can check out my painting, along with the rest of the artwork from the show at Susanita's Gallery online.