create

MIA

2009-08-10T17:43:00.003-04:00

alright, alright!!! so I've been missing-in-action.... for a long time :( sorry about that everyone! anyways, i promise to post again soon. i've had a very busy summer painting my brains out and doing some art fairs - 2 more still to come! and unfortunately, after being laid off in april, i've been trying to start my own design business.. so that has taken some work as well! but, i do promise to post some paintings very, very soon, for your viewing pleasure :)

also, i'm keeping this blog, but i have a new website i'm starting for my business:

www.peasedesignlc.com

you can go there, but don't judge me yet..... haven't had time to work on it and i'm still figuring out dreamweaver.... LOTS of good stuff coming in the future! :)

see ya soon! Steph

New Paintings!

2009-04-26T19:42:00.002-04:00

My second painting for my oil painting class. I used a collection of pictures I took in Belize to come up with this composition. This painting also uses texture. I added gesso to toilet paper, sugar, toothpicks, a sponge, oats, and some string and placed these objects in specific places in the painting in order to make the picture "pop out" more. Unfortunately you can barely see it on this picture. Your best bet is to take a closer look at the tips of the leaves and you might be able to see some texture. :) Overall, I learned how to make the sky and the water warm instead of cool - very valuable lesson when creating a tropical painting!

This next picture is my final for the class. I used some pictures I took at the Holland tulip festival for inspiration. I also researched Georgia O'Keefe before painting this. I wanted to paint something similar to her style. I think I achieved this, and I learned how to make it into my own style at the same time! Very pleased with this... stay tuned for more flower pictures of this style. ;)

Samples of my work

2009-04-23T14:56:00.007-04:00

Please click on each image below for a larger view. Thank you!

The Wine Loft - Three pieces selected from Bubbles & Booze promotion

Newspaper Ad 4.375x10"

Menu 4.25x5.5"

Check Presenter 3.5x6.5"

The Wine Loft - TriFold Private Event Brochure 14x8.5"

The Wine Loft - REVUE Magazine Ad 4.375x10"

The Wine Loft - Western Herald Newspaper Ad 5.387x10"

The Wine Loft - Event Flyer 3.5x9"

Spicy Pickle - Western Herald Newspaper Ad 5.387x10"

Spicy Pickle - $4.99 Promotional Flyer 4x6"

Spicy Pickle - Fundraising RIP Card 3.5x8.5"

Student Work - FIT MI Half Fold Program Guide 17x11"

Student Work - FIT MI Poster 11x17"

Student Work - CD Insert with Half Folds 8.7x4.35"

Student Work - CD Poster 11x17"

Student Work - Shopping Bag

Student Work - Cooper Black Poster 11x17" - First place in KVCC Electronic Art and Design Show for Graphic Design

White Stein

2009-03-30T12:36:00.002-04:00

Here is my "white on black" assignment for drawing class. I used a white colored pencil and black illustration board. I must say, drawing a clear glass stein in a dark room, with one spotlight and a crazy glass bottom to the stein, is a lot more challenging than you might think!

Oil Painting

2009-03-30T12:16:00.004-04:00

Until now I have stayed far away from oils and spent my time with friendly acrylic paints.. but the time has finally come for me to give oils a shot. They are harder to work with than acrylic, but I think I'm finally getting the hang of it! Whoo! Or at least I'm not as frustrated with them as I was in the beginning.. so that's something!

This was our "painting a glass" assignment... Not too shabby for one of my first tries with oils.

This is my first big project for my class. We had to choose two colors and paint at least 3 forms. As you can see, I chose green and purple. However, I did add some blue and red to the purple for slightly different hues, and the picture I took above is showing these added colors a lot more than in real life. But you get the idea ;)

Advanced Drawing Class - first 3 drawings

2009-03-27T14:38:00.007-04:00

Well! It's been awhile (I know) since I last updated my blog.. but here are 3 new drawings for your viewing enjoyment! I'll post a few more once I take pictures of my other new work :) Thanks!

These were all done with HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B pencils.

This is my first drawing for the semester. We had to draw 3 or more objects with shading.

This is my second assignment called "stuff a sac." So I took a sheet and wrapped up a pot, tequila bottle top, clear box, and piggy bank.. twisted the sheet all up and made it look nice.. and then nearly jumped off the balcony at least 3 times when I realized how much work I made for myself. Done in one week. Whooo me!

Our third assignment was called "kitchen drawer" or something like that.. basically we had to draw a bunch of random stuff. I stuck with art supplies and this is what I came up with!

Colored Pencil Final

2008-12-09T17:01:00.004-05:00

For my colored penci final I chose the song, "The Crow and The Butterfly," by Shinedown. This is my interpretation of part of the lyrics. Enjoy! :)

My colored pencil final.. COMPLETE!! Took roughly about 30 hours this past week. All tonal and burnishing. The actual size is about 10"x16".

Colored Pencil final with type added :)

New Work!

2008-11-21T10:24:00.009-05:00

Blowfish! My colored pencil aquarium using art stix and colored pencils.

Self-portrait done in graphite.. to be scanned, printed on cardstock, and colored with colored pencils later on.

Life Drawing Midterm

2008-10-30T18:25:00.004-04:00

My midterm assignment, done in charcoal and using dramatic lighting on 18"x24" drawing paper. :)

Colored Pencil

2008-10-24T09:35:00.005-04:00

Here are my first three projects in my colored pencil class this semester!

Abstract illustration using gradations of colored pencil.

Sandwich illustration using gradations and burnishing with colored pencil and blenders.

First experiment with art stix!

Legs

2008-09-23T20:42:00.003-04:00

Well, for some reason I can't upload this as my new header at the moment, so I'll just post it here for now. Just a little creation I did with some of the sketches I've done so far in life drawing.

Rock Inspiration

2008-08-04T09:37:00.003-04:00

This is my watercolor final.. inspired by playing guitar hero ;)

I'm actually pretty happy with how this turned out because I finally accepted watercolor for what it was.. and therefore, I worked with what was happening with the paint, instead of trying to plan too much with what it was "supposed to look like." :)

PMA Logo

2008-07-24T12:49:00.004-04:00

I actually created a logo that I like within an hour.. when I usually struggle for a few days with the whole logo creative process thing.. Yay!

This was done for one of my coworker's for her Pre-Medical Association she belongs to at Michigan State.

Abstract Watercolor

2008-07-14T19:39:00.003-04:00

My second project for my summer watercolor class. The assignment was to choose 3-4 colors and create an abstract painting using glazing and some of the methods learned in class. I used tipping, splattering, tape masking, and liquid masking. This is not my usual style, but I do enjoy the way the tree turned out and the colors that I chose.

MIA

2008-07-07T18:49:00.002-04:00

I know I've been MIA, folks.. but I'm back! I've had a busy summer with starting a new job and a bunch of other things.. but hopefully I can start posting more :)

My first project this summer for my watercolor class was to create a painting from a black & white photograph using only one color. I've used sepia to paint this purple coneflower with bug, originally a color photograph that I took last summer in my mom's garden. Enjoy!

Not An Angel....

2008-04-22T18:07:00.002-04:00

Here she is... the terror that has taken over my house. :)

My final for digital painting.. done in Painter using the charcoal and pastel brushes.

Final Wonderwall Postcard

2008-04-17T15:01:00.005-04:00

My final and best postcard of the series I created for creative interpretation. This is the part of the song I was looking forward to creating a visual for the most, and is in fact why I chose this song for my projects. Need I say it has a lot of meaning for me? :)

Shakespeare Poster

2008-04-10T15:54:00.003-04:00

Here it is! A few days late, but with this sickness I've been poisoned with and just my crazy month of April, I've still finished it! I've chosen to create a poster for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by Shakespeare. I've created everything in Painter with the watercolor brushes except for the type, which was done in Illustrator.

You Pansy!

2008-03-30T21:38:00.003-04:00

Here is my pansy (86 the stem!) that I will be using as part my "A Midsummer Night's Dream" poster. This is also my first attempt at using the watercolor brushes in Corel, which was quite a challenge! Overall, I feel that I have a better grasp of how to use these brushes and what they can do. I think it's quite nice for my first try!

Mad Tree Moji

2008-03-25T14:13:00.000-04:00

Here's my moji!!

Final Sequential Images

2008-03-23T18:10:00.005-04:00

Here are my final images. The first is meant to bleed off the edges, while the second two are spot illustrations set on white to be used with text flowing around them.

class critique of sequential images

2008-03-18T18:08:00.004-04:00

scene 1

scene 2 (unfinished.. still need to finish the marshmallow part, finger, and thumb)

scene 3 is not finished because this is taking me FOREVER :) will be done, ASAP.

Setting the scene

2008-03-15T23:10:00.003-04:00

Here is my first draft for scene 1 of "The Mystery Marshmallow Toaster."

I'll probably still work on the fire some more to get rid of some of the extra white and then add some fire light reflections around the campsite.

Logo Again

2008-03-07T16:27:00.001-05:00

Apparently my other logo was just "not me," soooo.... here's my newest creation. :) What do you think?

Tattoo Design?

2008-03-05T13:47:00.005-05:00

Just putting some thoughts down on paper and getting the start of a sketch down. I plan on adding the rest of the tree.

Personal Logo

2008-03-04T15:48:00.005-05:00

I'm working on my personal logo for the 3rd time in two years. It seems like I can do the graphic design thing for everyone except me!! I started playing around with it today and came up with something completely different than I had imagined. It has that nickelodeon feel to it, but I love the colors. Here are some of the versions that I came up with today:Can anyone give me some input on this? It's not as simple as I had originally planned, but I like the shape of it and the way the letters bleed off. The first one seemed a little boring to me so I added a few different elements to see how it would look. I like how the "pea" (yes, that green circle is supposed to be a pea) is coming off the "S" and bouncing in the 4th one, but I'm afraid it might be too busy. I have a clutter tendency. :) Also, I can't decide if I like the lines defining the "P" and the "N" on the outside or not so I added one on the bottom that doesn't have those little defining lines.

Overall, it's very different from the other logo's I've done for myself, but I can definately see some fun business cards, letterheads, and envelopes coming out of this. :)

Wonderwall Postcard - Project 2

2008-02-29T12:35:00.002-05:00

backbeat the word was on the street that the fire in your heart is out
i'm sure you've heard it all before but you never really had a doubt

I just gave my presentation on this postcard for my creative interpretation class last night. It's my second of four postcards I'm doing to visually interpret the song Wonderwall by Oasis.

And now it's spring break time! YAY! Although, in a designer's world, is there ever really time for a break?

Elephante (ele-fawn-tay)

2008-02-26T19:50:00.004-05:00

Here is my slightly revised "George." I've changed the trunk and took away some of the highlights on the trunk and lip. I also added some pink to the pipe and some bubbles coming out of the pipe. I was trying to add some pink or purple to the elephant but it wasn't working well with my texture. Perhaps in the future I will try to add more color when I have more time to add it in so it looks good with the texture.

I like the changes to the pipe but I'm not so sure about the changes to the face. The trunk looks a little flat to me and I don't like the pink in the mouth.

Dancing Elephant!!

2008-02-26T14:24:00.005-05:00

My spot illustration for "an elephant, pipe, and fez hat."

He's so happy dancing in the bubbles!

Book Cover

2008-02-19T18:18:00.002-05:00

My book cover is complete!

Spot Illustration

2008-02-17T14:35:00.002-05:00

my punked out version :)

the assignment: create a spot illustration of an Asian teenage girl, holding a cell phone, the girl is angry, and she is wearing a necklace with a locket.

Creative Interpretation Project 1

2008-02-08T15:08:00.001-05:00

For my creative interpretation class we had to choose a piece of literature and create 4 projects from that throughout the semester. Each of my projects will be a postcard with a matching stamp. I chose the song "Wonderwall" by Oasis and this is how my first project turned out.

I used the pictures above to create this...... (set on a purple background, that's not part of the final project)

"today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you, by now you shoulda somehow realized what you gotta do"

Class Exercise

2008-02-05T19:34:00.001-05:00

I found a picture of a kid online and painted him with as many colors as I could :)

Don't judge me on this.

Book Cover

2008-02-04T23:13:00.000-05:00

Ok everyone! I have finally decided to create my book cover for The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

Learn about the story here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Traveler%27s_Wife/

a few tweaks..

2008-01-29T21:20:00.002-05:00

After our class critique, I've added slightly more texture to the hands and an all-over texture to the whole piece. Overall I am happy with it, and I am happy to have learned another painting technique.

Painting like Michaelangelo

2008-01-29T17:46:00.001-05:00

So this is what it feels like to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling......

Here's the original!

Illustration Friday - PLAIN

2008-01-24T23:09:00.000-05:00

She might just be plain lazy.. but those are not plain ears! She's always listening..

Hooray! My first Illustration Friday artwork. And just in the nick of time! Phew! This was painted in Corel, and the only brush I used was the captured bristle acrylic brush. I used the fine detail blender for some of the ends of the hair, and the smear blender for the pillow and ball. I wanted to do the entire piece without using a blender but I was running very low on time and this was taking far longer than expected.. Maybe in the future I will try to finish it without blending it.

Getting ready to post on illustrationfriday.com

2008-01-21T23:36:00.000-05:00

My in-progress "Illustration Friday" artwork.. I am quite pleased! Although it is taking WAY longer than planned..

Visual Biography

2008-01-14T19:13:00.000-05:00

This is something I finished for my design studio class today. We were just supposed to make a visual biography of ourselves with a couple pieces of work that we've done. For the background, I decided to go with a tree picture I took last winter. I took out the telephone wires and houses and changed the color from blue to this orange and green color scheme. The tree represents myself and my journey to where I am today. The tree also branches off in different directions representing the different sides of graphic design and myself. The other pieces of art are my alphabet I designed, my country music concert poster, my Cooper Black typeface poster, and a logo that I created for my dad (B2P). I also have my logo on the bottom next to the blurb that says:

"I think I was destined to be an artist, as I was always painting and coloring as a child. It was always in me, even though I am passionate about a lot of other things as well. After pursuing a different dream and graduating with a biomedical and chemistry degree from Western, I knew I still wasn't in the right place. My artistic side was calling me back. I am now almost finished with my graphic design degree, and I know I am doing the right thing. It makes me that happiest, and I love to create."

Apple Part 2

2008-01-11T16:53:00.000-05:00

Updated and completed!

In Class Apple

2008-01-08T19:38:00.000-05:00

Hello! This is my first blog for my first class in digital painting. This is also the first time actually using Corel Painter to paint something on the computer, more specifically, an apple from memory. It's been a bit of a struggle to figure out where everything is in this program (and I still know practically nothing about Corel or my Wacom tablet) but hey, I'll eventually figure it out. :) I would also like to add the disclaimer that I did not have enough time in class to work on this to get it to where I am pleased with it, so this is my unfinished version... with more editing to come!