Almost...

Well even though the photo really doesn't do it justice, I'm proud that my infinity birch trees wrap was featured in the most recent issue of Real Simple magazine.

Just so that I feel better about it, here is a photo that does do it justice, courtesy of Smudge Ink:

Autumn leaves

I'm so pleased to share these two small commissions I just completed.  I was so happy to work on them, as they were for one of my favorite people from the good old days at the Curious George Store.  So many lasting friends and important, inspiring people came out of my days working there.  Some day I will dedicate a whole post to it, but for now, just these two little paintings.

A few words for my Great Grandmother, Edna Ruggles

A woman I never knew, but whose presence has always been strongly felt in my life.  Growing up, I was surrounded by her bright colorful works of crewel embroidery that adorned walls and pillows and just about everything in our house.  

               

She lived in the house before I ever did, and so her work that was there, never left, along with her folders and folders of drawings and patterns.  I'd like to share just a few of my favorite renderings of her animals.  Really, these are just small details in a sea of designs, but have so much character nonetheless.

the brown lamb

the tic tac toe turtle

and my favorite, the sleepy donkey

She made a living selling her work in local shops, at the Women's Industrial Union in Boston, and doing special commissions for private clients.  As a lover of animal rendering myself, I like to pull out her drawings sometimes, and see how she would choose to draw an lamb, or a bunny or a squirrel or a big giant tree of life.

Her finished work is really what is impressive, with her precise needlework and eye for color, but I am short of photos since I only possess one of her finished pillows.  I would like to share more as I collect photos from scattered relatives houses.  Until then, I have her drawings and ideas for finished pieces, which I like to imagine are still out there, hiding in corners of all the old houses of New England.

Etsy

Exciting news!  I now have an Etsy shop open and ready for business.  I am selling a variety of prints and originals, and hope to have some more stationery and such added soon.

Take a look and spread the word!

Little monkey

I've been a bit busy and haven't been good about documenting over here.  For now I will share a little peek of a project I'm working on...

Now back to my spot in front of the fan.  Stay cool fools

Party Season

A little doodle from a recent party I attended.  Happy spring!

Also my website is newly updated with some new work and all my new designs for Smudge Ink.  Take a look!

New Desk!

I am so thrilled to finally be rid of my "double drafting table/piles of papers/printer on chair/scanner on couch" way of working.  My talented father so kindly built this custom desk for my work space.  It is not only beautiful, but has storage for all my accessories and even has secret drawers!  

Just in time for a busy spring!

Dormant days

It is that time of year where it seems that all living things lie dormant, and are just waiting wake in the spring.  I've been drawing lots of secret things, but for now will just share this: 

A little sketch of some twiggy woods, with the ghost of a creature whose thinking of hiding in there.

Stay warm, friends

Little orange candles

I have been keeping my head down and working on a few very exciting projects throughout the fall and into the holiday season.   One of which is continuing to work with Smudge Ink on some new designs for 2013!  Above is just a little snippet of what is to come.  

Also, even if just to catalog for myself, here is a list of some of the press hits and great responses that e.b.goodale for Smudge Ink received for 2012:

The Write Image

Thistle and Plum

Creature Comforts blog

Cheers!

Auriel

A sketch of my niece.  

Love those stubby legs.

Winter Solstice

On this day when the world might end, I'd thought I'd check in over here and do a little tribute post to my Grandmother.  

I love these pictures of her with one of her Maine coon cats.  She is probably only 14 or so here, and much more glamorous than any photo of myself at that age!  I've posted over the years about my favorite Christmas decoration, that she handed down to me almost 6 years ago.  This little tree:  

It holds a little bit more magic than even a real tree with lights for some reason.  Maybe just because I grew up being fascinated by it.  

Anyway happy end of the world to you and yours!  Let's all try to stay alive!

peekaboo

I was thrilled to find out that one of my card designs for Smudge Ink is being highlighted in Stationery Trends Magazine's upcoming issue.  

A new wind

Here in New England, a new kind of air has taken over and it is cool and windy.  I've been thinking in yellows and oranges and prunes in anticipation of the new season.  

I'm busy as a bee lately with a poster design, a book design and a round of promotional mailings...all of which I hope to share soon.  Happy apple picking!

Home

I'm very excited to have finished the third installment in my summer in the city series.  This is a portrait of my own home, where our bikes live under a painting that my great grandfather did in the 1940's.  

*****

flora

Some doodles from my little porch garden. 

City Garden

The past few weeks I have been squeezing in little vacations here and there in between the normal work work work.  I've been camping at Lake Sebago, body surfing at Scarborough beach and swimming in Province Lake.

I just finished printing this piece, one more in my series of city in the summer.

I just love it when the colors don't quite register together and you can see the different parts of an image revealing themselves.

Happy gardening in these dog days :)

Bikes

It's summer and bikes are everywhere!

Happy riding :)

a step back in time

Lucky me made a getaway out of the city and up to Maine this past weekend.  Every turn was like visiting a different time in history.  Before heading to a cabin in the woods, we stayed in Portland for a night in an old old inn by the railroad tracks with a tiny sink right next to a twin bed, visited the studio of a friend who is a luthier, and found many treasures tucked away in the second hand shops....

including this lithograph of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands by Paul Berthon.  This was quite a little splurge, but I just couldn't leave this behind.  I've always adored the art nouveau style and so to find an original lithograph from 1901 was a real treat.  Just look at that bonnet and tulips!

Summer in the city

Feeling good about this recently finished piece of some little ones drawing a world around them.  This is part of a series I'm working on about summer in the city.

This, and the forthcoming illustrations in the series are inspired by real little scenes around my neighborhood.  

Keep cool, fools :)

Monoprinting bliss

Lately I've been craving a new way of creating imagery.  I feel like I need a big old gust of fresh air into my work.  So I've spent some time toiling away and staring into space at my desk and finally decided to try a technique that I haven't used since my art school days...Monoprinting.

Monoprinting is a method of printmaking where only one impression is made, rather than multiple.  There are many ways of doing this, but I used a piece of plexiglass, Dr. PH Martin's super saturated ink, and acrylic black ink with a paintbrush.

I found a piece of plexiglass lying around in my cabinet and I was ready to go!  Once I go started I wondered what had taken me so long to use this method!  Especially for texture and controlled, yet unpredictable, swaths of color.

I even tried printing on top of some existing etchings I had lying around.  I love the way these little blobby moths turned out.

Happy printing happy days