illustration

Goodbye Summer…Hello Fall!

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

beachwalk
I’d love to squeeze in one more beach day, but other than that I’m ready for the hot and humid weather to end. I’m looking forward to those crisp Fall days, with blue skies and beautiful foliage all around. I’m excited about new seasonal things to inspire me – leaves, acorns, pumpkins. I’ve already started doodling and collecting them. Maybe it’s too soon, but it’s nice to have new “material” to work from! Are you ready for Fall?
acornsketches

Looking forward to a new season.

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

leavesonwood
One of the things I’ve learned about myself since starting my creative resolution is that I’m inspired by the seasons. I’m already seeing signs of what’s to come and I’m looking forward to it! Paintings (and sketches) of shells and the ocean will soon be replaced by leaves and trees and other Fall things! I can’t wait for the leaves to change…and the weather to cool down. 🙂

Here are some of my favorites projects from last Fall:

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Adding illustration to a logo design project

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

pettingzoosketches
As many of you know, I am a graphic designer. In the early days (ugh over 20 years ago) I felt insecure about designing logos. I wasn’t confident in my illustration skills. At that time I worked on a lot of text heavy stuff – newsletters, fund reports etc.. Ten years later, I started designing a lot of logos. Not because I was a better illustrator, but because the demand was there. And I got better at working around my limitations. Back then, I would often use clip art as a starting point and edit it to make it work within my logo design.

One of my favorite logos from 10 years ago:
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For these two book covers designed 10 years ago, I purchased clipart then revised it to fit the concept:
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Over the last 9 years, I’ve been working on developing my fine art skills (and my style). You all know what a passion it is of mine! So, a recent logo design was a bit of a “culmination” of all that hard work. The concept was for a very detailed, and heavily illustrated logo. Many of the elements in the logo, I hand drew, scanned in, and digitized and edited as necessary. Some of the more “architectural,” or square elements, were drawn on the computer.

Here is a sneak peek at a part of the logo (see the sketches above):
pettingzoo

I’m really excited about this project! I can’t wait to show you the final logo… 🙂

If you are interested in seeing more of my design work please visit my website: www.eileenmckenna.com

 

Pattern of Ice Cream Cones … Mmmm

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

watercoloricecreamcones
It’s very fitting that my pattern for August is ice cream cones. I’ve gotten into the habit of having ice cream almost every night this Summer!

I created this pattern using the same process as last month’s pattern, Shells. I doodled the ice cream cones in my sketchbook, painted the backgrounds separately and then mashed them together and arranged them in Photoshop.

If you’ve missed them, I’ve been illustrating a pattern a month this year:

July – Shells
June – Echinacea
May – Sandcastles
April – Dahlias
March – Gardening
February – Valentine’s Day
January – Art Supplies

It helps to have the deadline of the end of the month. I wouldn’t be as motivated without it.

I entered the Sandcastle pattern into a Spoonflower contest a few months ago. I’d love to try another contest and upload more of my patterns onto Spoonflower. A goal to work towards before the end of the year. 🙂

Doodling over and over

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

cupcakes
Lately I’ve been using a really smooth gel pen in my sketchbook. I’ll pick a subject and draw it over and over, while watching TV. It’s very relaxing. The doodles usually get better and better as I practice.

As you can see I’m usually watching shows about making desserts! And pretzals are my favorite TV watching snack.

I need to find a similar smooth gel pen that is waterproof – Any recommendations?

pretzals icecream

School starts in 2 weeks!

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I can’t believe it’s almost time for the kids to go back to school. This year we go back before Labor Day, which seems like a crime, especially because we live near the beach. This Summer went so fast and the kids are growing up. 😢
When they were little, by this time in the Summer, I’d be exhausted and wishing for the start of school. Now, two out of three are teenagers, and I realize how precious our time together is! College is just a few years away. 😪

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Practicing on scrap paper before diving in

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

finalcone
After the debacle of the sunflower. I decided to practice on a scrap piece of paper before starting a painting of an Echinacea flower. This way I would have a plan on how to paint it.
scrap

The scrap paper coneflower came out pretty good, so I started my painting. I loved the start of this painting. But when I went back to add some details I felt like I messed it up. Why is it that working quick can look great, but sometimes when you work harder at something (more deliberately), you overwork it, and ruin it?
startofthecone

So here I am with a scrap of paper, that several people love, and an unfinished painting. And I am stuck.

I wrote the above 4 weeks ago! Ironically yesterday’s post was “Forcing myself to finish.” This Echinacea flower project is a great example of me not finishing – I felt I had ruined it, didn’t know how to proceed, so I stopped. Two days ago, I pulled it out, added details in ink, and declared it finished.

No matter how a project comes out it feels great to finish!