Summer

Bright, sunny & warm here today!

Summer makes Monday better.

Favorite Things

While watching one of my favorite shows last night I painted a few of my favorite things.

Nice to know what brings you happiness.

Happy Father's Day

Another one of my favorite photos of Luca & Antonio.

Wishing you & yours a Happy Father's day!

Nothing better or more influential than a good dad.

FLOWERS

I adore flowers!  We've had some photos taken of our new home this week & it's been fun picking out specific flowers for each room.  Wish I had the budget to treat myself to these more often.  Nothing beats fresh flowers.  I went for some more unusual varieties & then filled in with some bits from around the neighborhood.

 Tall, allium in the downstairs powder room.  These flowers are the adult version of the dandelion poof to me. 

 Hibiscus bloom with some smaller wild flowers in the master bath.

I had this covered in a tall glass dome but it made me a little sad to see the

flowers so confined. (similar to how I feel about fireflies in a jar)

                      A mix of textures & scents (yep, that's lavender) on the kitchen table.
                                I was intrigued by the sculptural shape of the orange flowers.

A single peony (with exotic leaf) on both of the night stands in the master bedroom.

Such a treat to fall asleep & wake to the smell of peonies.

Ceramic hen (named her Cornelia) that holds a large flat leaf succulent on the kitchen counter.

I know- not technically a flower.  Hope it's a hardy plant. I don't have much of a green thumb.

Pink Summer Blooms

Dear Summertime,

Oh how I love you!  Running barefoot through the grass, bright sun beaming down during the day & fireflies at night.  You put the sizzle in summer!

Yours Truly,

Jill

Licensing Expo 2015

We're back from Las Vegas!

My little studio has been in business for 11 years now.  But this was my first time exhibiting at the Licensing Expo.  Antonio & I had walked the show a couple times over the years trying to figure out if it was a good fit for my art.  Like most things the only way to really know is to try!

Overall I think the show was a success for us.  But often times you really don't have much of a gauge until months later.  What was exciting to me was exposing my art to a different audience.  At the show we met with a few clients/ companies that we know from exhibiting at Surtex but also a new crowd of companies stopped by.

Like most shows there was a lot of waiting in the booth hoping to get noticed & connect with potential contacts. We also showed up with a little more than 300 lbs of show luggage. (art, product samples, brochures, buttons & more)  We also decided to try to promote a bit more & took out ads in various show publications before hand & I did interviews one, with J'net at All Art Licensing (she is a wonderful resource for new designers learning the in & outs of licensing).  I also did a live interview at the show with Art Moose. And in both interviews you will notice that I'm out of my comfort zone :)

I make mountains of art & at this point in my career I look at each opportunity to show my work as an opportunity to find my art a good home.  So I can keep making more... because I need to, it's what I love!

Pattern Collections

This is an example of one of the many pattern collections we'll be taking to the Licensing Expo.
I like to name my collections. (makes it a little more fun & engaging) This one is called Prancing Paisley.  I enjoy the process of building a collection of patterns that play off each other.  Using the same color palette makes it easy to layer on more a less pattern.

If you're going to be at the Licensing Expo stop by we're bring many more collections like this & MUCH, MUCH more!

Licensing Expo

This is our first time exhibiting at the Licensing Expo!  Over the past 5 years we've licensed more & more of my art so it seemed like it was time to try this show.  We have lots of fun character art, seasonal art, florals & illustrated scenes.

We're also bringing some collections of coordinating art that are available to license.  Some with a focus for kids and crib bedding. Other collections that are geared toward creating a seasonal soft good program & more.

If you're headed to the show we'd love to meet you and walk you through my art!
Licensing Expo Booth C 19
June 9 -11, 2015

June

Summer is by far my favorite season & if I had to pick a favorite month I think it would be June.

This has also been my busiest month with getting all the new products completed for the gift line I work on.  I think I'm getting better at the balance act of work & play.