Author: Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Inspiration behind the Enamel Beach Pin

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Beach Pin - 1" enamel pin by Eileen McKenna
I sketched an idea for a beach pin on a post it note. It was a simple illustration of the perfect spot at the beach. To show my love for the beach and summer. I added a rainbow umbrella as a nod to my dad, who always had an umbrella attached to the arm of his beach chair.

I first started drawing the design with a stylus on my iPad, but I wanted crisp straight edges, so I switched to the desktop and the mouse. The black lines in the illustration indicated where the metal of the pin will be – I chose gold. (The colored enamel is in the areas between the metal.) I love enamel pins because they are dimensional illustrations!

I’m was so excited when the beach pins arrived and one came on a trip to the beach. Look how good it looks on my beach hat!
Beach Pin - 1" soft enamel pin with rubber clutch
Beach Pin – 1″ soft enamel pin with rubber clutch
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Order one and pin it to your hat or bag. It’s the perfect way to show your love for summer and the beach. Wear it on your beach hat, pin it to your bag, or add it to a bottle of wine with a ribbon.
Beach Pin - 1" soft enamel pin with rubber clutch. Celebrate summer!

 

 

Parting with originals

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Original beach watercolor landscape by Eileen McKenna
Yesterday I finished this painting. It went through an ugly stage and was at risk of being abandoned, but I recently picked it up again and continued to work at it. I really like the big border I left – made easy by using thick tape on the edges. As I was finishing it, I was thinking that I liked how it came out, but I wasn’t emotionally tied to it and would be able to part with the original.

Then I looked at it again and thought, nope I don’t want to part with this one! This seems to be a common occurance for me. I want to sell but don’t want to part with the originals. Recently I met with an art print company. They make giclee prints. These high quality prints seem to be the perfect compromise. I can sell but keep the originals.

I’ve been looking through my paintings to find a few favorites to start with. I’ll keep you posted. 😀

Have you seen the beach pin I had made from an illustration of mine? Perfect for your beach hat or bag! Click below to order one.
Beach Pin - 1" soft enamel pin with rubber clutch
Beach Pin – 1″ soft enamel pin with rubber clutch
PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!
U.S. orders only.

Time, a Clear Head, and Creative Productivity

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Creative productivity
I sometimes complain that I don’t have enough time. Summer break has started and the kids are at swim practice for only two hours each morning. That is a huge difference from the six hours they were at school. But I’m still feeling very productive in my work and creative projects. How is that possible?

I have more to do. When I have one straggling little project, I’m not motivated. For some reason when I have multiple projects going on it lights a fire under me. Just this morning I noticed that with each item I checked off my list, I was motivated to tackle the next item.

I’m not being pulled in a million directions. If things are busy in a few areas I can focus on them. Entertain the kids, do my work, take care of the household tasks/errands, work on my creative projects. A few weeks ago there were tons of end of year school things to prepare for and attend, etc. That made getting to the other stuff hard. Life is feeling simpler these days.

It’s the quality of the time not the quantity. I’ve had plenty of free afternoons where the most I accomplished is binge watching shows on netflix. If I have a clear mind I can be creative. Mornings are my best time. And being creative leads to more creativity.

Strike when the iron is hot. If I have any idea for a blog post or thoughts for the next issue of my newsletter, I try to embrace that and write it then. I’m most productive when I’m called to work on something than when I have to do something.

I’m more productive when time is limited. Give me an open week and I’ll struggle with when to do what. Give me a small window of time, like 2 hours when the kids are at swim, and I’ll hit the ground running.

I’m a list maker in all aspects of my life. When it comes to my creative projects, I have a general list I look at often, to make sure I’m working on all the areas I want to work on.

My Creative List

  • Fabric Prints – at least one new design a month
  • Enamel Pins – summer pin coming soon
  • Painting
  • Daily Sketchbook Work
  • Writing blog posts – at least 2x a week
  • Create newsletter – My Creative Collection – every other week

Marketing List

  • Continue exploring having art giclee prints made
  • Create a shopping cart to sell prints, etc.
  • Post on Instagram several times a week
  • Pin on Pinterest daily
  • Include affiliate links when it works with content

How do you stay productive?

Sketching People

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Sketching beach figures

A crowded beach is a great place for sketching people. I didn’t have a notebook with me, so I took photos for reference and sketched when I got home.

Yesterday at the pool I was prepared with a notebook. Sitting near the diving boards, I sketched the people waiting in line. But they move!

Sketching at the poolSketching at the pool

Painting swimmers

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Swimming Laps watercolor painting

A few years ago, inspired by the swimmers during warm ups at a swim meet, I created the watercolor painting above. I loved the perspective of the painting, but always wanted to create another version with richer more saturated colors. And I did – see my steps below.

I taped off the edges of my paper with thick painter’s tape, to create a white border. I marked where the swimming lane lines would be with a pencil and ruler.

I painted the swimmers first, so I could add blue paint (water) over parts of them, so those parts would look like they were underwater.

Process for painting swimming pool in watercolor

When the swimmers were completely dry I painted the blue pool water. I tried to keep the blue in the lane line areas lighter.

Process for painting swimming pool in watercolor

Once dry, I painted the swimming lines using a flat brush, red watercolor paint and white gouache.

Swimming Laps. Painting swimming pools in watercolor.

Next, I added more blue to darken the water in areas. I also added white gouache around the swimmers for splash.

swim art | painting swimmers | pool art print | swimming art print
The richer colors make such a difference. Makes me want to dive right in! The perfect painting for the swimmer in your life. Create one or order a print on canvas (pictured above), paper, acrylic, and more on Zazzle – click here to visit my Zazzle shop.

My Creative Collection a creative newsletter
Want a dose of creative inspiration? Sign up for my newsletter “My Creative Collection” where I feature artists and makers, and link to inspiring art, design, and craft, inspiring places, interesting books, movies, and more. It’s a collection of all the things inspiring me, delivered to your inbox every two weeks. Click here to sign up.

Designing a Summer Print Pattern

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Goggles print pattern
I challenged myself to design one fabric print a month this year. Since June is winding down, it was time to get to it. When I first started designing patterns I would sit with a blank page and start drawing. Since then I’ve changed my approach. Now when I’m designing, I go to my sketchbook and paintings and look for artwork I’ve already created that would work well as a repeating pattern.

I’m in a summer frame of mind, so I selected this painting of goggles. Click here to read the details of the steps I take to create a pattern in Photoshop.
Watercolor goggles

I tried designing a pattern with the goggles before, but didn’t have success. This time, I had a new vision. I isolated the goggles, leaving only a little of the blue background and adjusted the colors to create the goggles in every color of the rainbow. I struggled a bit with how to get the design to repeat perfectly when the goggles were in a diagonal line. Sometimes I make things harder than they need to be. So, I revised the design to be a more organic placement and in doing so made it easier to create the repeat. I added a blue background color. I’m excited for the fabric swatch of this design to arrive!

So far my “Swimming Laps” design is my most popular one.
Swimming Laps fabric print. Swim team, swimmers https://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/6301733-swiming-laps-by-eileenmckenna

I recently reworked my Valentine squares to become a new “Pool Tile” design. The swatch of this design should be arriving any day.
Watercolor pool tiles fabric print design.
Valentine’s Day Squares:

See all of my fabric print designs in my Spoonflower shop.

Get back into a Creative Groove

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Getting back into a creative groove
After a busy week I was so excited to get back into a creative groove. But sometimes it isn’t so easy to dive right in. I may think about it, write in my notebook about it, but still I can’t seem to get going. Thankfully, I’ve learned steps to overcome this.

How to get back into a creative groove:

  • Start working in a sketchbook everyday.
  • Don’t put pressure on yourself. Just play.
  • Work on whatever strikes your fancy. Limitations can be stifling.
  • When inspiration strikes go with it. Don’t wait. Don’t let it pass. Fan the flames of your creativity by going with that spark of an idea.

After a few days, you’ll start to build momentum. Your daily sketchbook work will lead to other ideas. Playing will lead to creating more finished pieces.

And don’t feel guilty because a break can be a good thing. A time to step back and reassess the type of projects you’ve been working on. But I don’t like to let a break go on too long, because it makes it harder for me to get back to it.