A Dose of Encouragement

Oh yes, it's Friday friends!

Thanks goodness.

How are you doing over there? I wanted to share a bit about what's going on with me lately, and a few links to inspire and encourage you.

I've been blessed with commissioned artwork requests the past few weeks. The serendipitous thing about this is that just when I decided to take a break from working at the crazy pace I had been, some really wonderful and meaningful projects came my way.
This is the most recent one:

When this request came to me, I immediately knew how I wanted the finished piece to look. One of my favorite things about these pieces is that they stretch me to draw new subject matter. I had never drawn an amaryllis before, and it was a fun challenge. 

This dog portrait was a surprise birthday gift which made it even more fun to create...

And how fun is that name?! I used one of the owner's tattoos for inspiration for the flowers and color palette. 

And finally this piece was created for the shared bedroom of two young sisters. Do you see the little bee and lady bug? Those represent them...how sweet is that?! 

I'm sharing all of this with you to prove that the universe has your back. Just when I felt discouraged and that my art wasn't the quality it should be, or reaching the audience I wanted it to, these projects came my way. 

That validation means everything!

And as I promised, here are a few links to encourage and inspire you...

• What it takes to Turn a Hobby Into a Career at Age 40 with Lisa Congdon
• Jen Hewett on Letting Go of Perfection and Growing Multiple Skills to Enrich her Creativity
• And finally my FAVORITE podcast for creatives - check out the latest episode of Creative Pep Talk! The 6 Step Process to Unlock Powerful Creative Business Momentum

Hope you have a fantastic weekend friends!

XOXO,

Photowall Product Review + Coupon!

Happy weekend friends!

I hope you are enjoying some time to rest and relax from the week behind us. I know today, for me, was deeply needed after a week full of extra work responsibilities.

My soul needed time to breathe today.

This morning I put together a lovely canvas sent to me from the folks over at Photowall. 

They offer lots of ready-made artwork, or you can upload your own for them to print, which I did for this canvas.

It was a super easy process to attach the wooden frame and screw it together.

And now I have this lovely piece of my original, hand drawn, digital artwork to display.

Thanks Photowall for this lovely piece of artwork! 

And if you would like one of your own, you can head over to their site and enjoy 20% off your purchase with code MandyFordCampaign2018. 

But hurry! The code is only good through April 30th! 

You can also grab this lettering piece as a print in my Etsy shop here!

XO,

{custom illustration}

I finished two custom pieces for a local friend yesterday and am so happy with how they turned out. Here is one of the pieces in progress and finished...

I'm really enjoying the process of creating these. If you have a special quote or saying you would like me to illustrate for you, I'm always taking custom orders!

XO,

{custom illustration}

I finished a custom illustration last night and I'm really in love with how happy and colorful it turned out.

It is for a friend's daughter to hang in her dorm room when she starts college this fall. I remember babysitting her when she was like...ummm 5? So yep...feeling old!

Here are a few process photos...

And the final piece!



I don't typically use so many bold colors in my illustrations, but this piece has convinced me I should more often! I used Spectrum Noir markers and the extra fine messy pen on this piece. 

I'll be adding it as a print to my online shops soon!

XO,

{handlettered sign project}

A few weeks ago I was asked by my friend Lori at Luxe Lizzies Boutique here in Richmond, Indiana, to handletter a chalkboard sign for her shop. 

She had already trusted me with her store windows so I guess it only made sense to keep giving me things to draw on! 

She wanted the sign to be weather proof, so even though it was a chalkboard she asked me to use permanent paint pen instead of chalk or chalk markers. Makes total sense, but whew did that up my anxiety level since every mark I made on her adorable chalkboard was 100% permanent. 

Here are a few in progress photos...

And here is how it turned out...

I created the same design on both sides using paint pens and a gold sharpie (which looks SO good on the black). And look at those doodled windows in the background! Proud girl over here. 

Lori loves it and I am really happy with how it stands out and adds a fun vibe to her already awesome shop. 

Hope to do more projects like this down the road!

XO,