Artist’s Setup

July 8, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Very quickly into my creative resolution, without really thinking about it, I started setting up my paints and supplies a certain way. A few brushes on a paper towel to the right (I’m right handed), water and cup of brushes above that. Paper or sketchbook in front of me. Above the paper is my watercolor palette. To the left of the palette is the mixing tray. If the table is smaller (like in the illustration) the mixing tray is to the left of the paper. Above the brushes and water is my bin of paint tubes, markers, watercolored pencils, scrap paper, etc. Pretty much anything else I may need. A coffee cup is usually placed near the water, which often leads to mix ups. Fortunately the mix up is I clean the brush in the coffee, not that I drink the dirty water.

Do you have a certain way you set up your painting supplies?

Digging deeper within a theme

July 5, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Sometimes when working within a theme, after you get the obvious stuff out of the way, you can surprise yourself.

I first experienced this when I decided to create and post on Instagram “14 Days of Valentine’s Day” artwork. The first couple of days were easy – hearts! red! Then it started to get a little harder. “What am I going to paint?!” But even though it was harder I found that some of the later pieces were the best ones. (My favorite is the “He loves me…” one.)

The same thing happened with my “17 Days of St. Patrick’s Day” posts on Instagram. At first it was easy – shamrocks! green! Then it got hard. I started thinking, “17 Days is a long time!!” But again, some of my favorite illustrations were created in those later days. When I had to dig a little deeper into the theme. (My favorite is the grouchy leprechaun.)

Yesterday I posted my watercolor American flag for the 4th of July. The weather wasn’t great – cloudy and rainy – so I started to think about what else I could draw. Hmmm. “What do people do on the 4th of July?” BBQ! And so another idea was born.

A Pattern for June – Echinacea

June 30, 2015June 30, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Just in time for me to design a pattern for June – our Echinacea bloomed. They are one of my favorite flowers. Today I’ve been painting them like crazy! Yesterday I drew a few of the flowers with a really smooth Pentel gel pen in my super smooth Strathmore pad. Today, I scanned them in and arranged and painted them in Photoshop. Hope you like it! 🙂

See my past “monthly” patterns here:

For my Dad – a painting of memories

June 30, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

A few weeks ago I was walking through Barnes & Noble when the book “Wherever You Go?” by Pat Zietlow Miller and Eliza Wheeler caught my eye. I love Eliza Wheeler’s illustrations. I loved that she created worlds and scenes. I was really inspired by her work.

I wanted to try to create my own scene and I decided that a homemade card for Father’s Day was the perfect project. As a parent, I can’t help but think back on my own childhood and some treasured outings with my dad. The yearly trip to his office in Manhattan was a highlight for me – the subway, a street hotdog, his office at the telephone company, etc. I also fondly remember our Saturday morning trips to the beach. My mom was working one summer so it was just the two of us. My dad was the one who taught me to body surf.

The interesting (and unintentional) thing about my card is it really represents my dad – the city boy who ended up settling by the beach. The little boy who went to sleep with the subway rattling outside his bedroom window, who now goes to sleep to the sound of waves crashing.

I am hoping to paint more scenes in the future.

My steps:
1. Pencil sketch. 2. Ink 3. Watercolor

Sewing project with my own fabric design

June 23, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I’m not much of a sewer, but I’m excited to try and make something with the pattern I designed. Seeing a pattern as a fabric is much different than seeing it on the computer monitor. You start to think about what you can make with it. If I printed this pattern again, I’d make the pattern much smaller, so it could be used as a band of detail on a bag, or something like that. At this size, I’m thinking of making a pillow or even a pillowcase. Any sewers out there? Any ideas?

I’m excited to have the sewing machine set up in my studio. My daughter has to show me how to use it. I’d love it if she would take the reins and start sewing tons of cute things with fabric I design. We’d be a great team. She seems to have other plans for the summer. Ah teenagers! 🙂

BTW – I didn’t win the “Sandcastles” Spoonflower.com contest. I still feel a sense of accomplishment – I finally uploaded a design and ordered fabric with my own pattern. I’ve wanted to do that for years!

Goodbye Spring!

June 19, 2015June 16, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

This Spring I’ve been inspired by so many beautiful flowers! Here are 15 of the flower paintings I’ve created:

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Sandcastles (My May Pattern)

May 30, 2015June 2, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Sandcastles is the theme of my May pattern (I know, I know it’s already June). I’ve been working extra hard on this pattern because I’m entering it in a Spoonflower contest. This week’s theme is sandcastles and it’s so fitting this time of year!

With Memorial Day behind us, I can’t help but think of beach days! We are counting down to the end of the school year and making our Summer plans. We are lucky enough to live 10 minutes from the ocean. I grew up in a nearby beach town and as a kid, I spent my entire Summer on the beach. When I was old enough to work, it was as a ocean lifeguard.

When I saw that Spoonflower’s pattern contest was a sandcastle theme, I had to give it a try. You know I’m obsessed with creating patterns these days! This would be my first entry into a Spoonflower contest.

Below is my first draft. I made some edits, because I felt there was too much sand and it needed more details. Voting opens Thursday (spoonflower.com). 🙂

I’ve hired myself :)

May 12, 2015May 11, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

A while back I mentioned that I started a marketing/graphic design blog for my business. What I didn’t mention is that I’ve been creating illustrations for most of the posts! I did share one of the illustrations here, in the post Painting Digitally. That illustration set the tone for the style I’ve used for the rest of the illustrations. I decided it was wise to keep things somewhat consistent and I like the motivation to work digitally. I usually avoid the computer when I’m illustrating, because I spend enough time on it when I’m doing Graphic Design.

Although it takes time, I enjoy creating the illustrations and I think it is good practice if I’m to have a future in editorial illustration. Plus I only charge myself a small amount – ha ha.

Illustrations for Marketing/Graphic Design blog:

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Which pattern is your favorite? {Online poll!}

May 4, 2015 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I’m curious…here are the patterns I’ve designed so far this year. Which is your favorite? I’d love to hear! Just a simple click to fill out the poll below. Thanks for your input! 🙂