New project, coming soon!

Hi you guys!

Are we having an awesome rockin' creative spring so far?  I sure hope so!  March was interesting for me..  Lots of emailing with potential clients, negotiation, and paperwork.  I am always amazed at just how much office work is involved in my job - when I first started, I thought it would be 80% painting, 20% paperwork..  It's more like 70/30, or some days 60/40!  But I love it all, and I especially love my clients!

In between the busy-ness stuff, I went on a vacation to Maui with my hubby and came back super inspired.  I've been painting away as much as I can, in preparation for something brand new!  I hope for it to launch in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, here is a sneak peek:

Talk to you soon, folks!  Have a great day.  

Spark Story Starters

Last year, I started working with the delightful Tamara Vukusic on a project that would encourage creativity in children. She had an idea for a card game and app that would prompt imaginative answers and encourage parent-child conversation. Tamara and I got along right away, as we are both moms of young children and seek to balance motherhood and creative work. :)

In short, I created artwork for two of her projects, "Spark Story Starters" and "KidCart". Both are apps available on iTunes, and "Spark Story Starters" is also available as a deck of cards. "Spark Story Starters" is a creativity prompt game, while "KidCart" is a shopping list app that encourages children to help with the grocery shopping. I drew over 100 grocery items for that one!

I had so much fun being a part of these two projects, and I am especially happy to see how well "Spark Story Starters" is being received by both parents and educators! I play the app with my daughter quite often. She is now 4, and her answers to the questions have really evolved in complexity since we first started playing.  (Check out the Spark website!)

Here is one of my earlier designs for Spark.  I liked this version too, but in the end we went with a design that worked as a more recognizable brand.  Besides, this version looks a little naked.. 

Seussical the Musical!

Earlier this year I was hired by Carousel Theatre for Young People to create the artwork for their 2010-2011 Season posters.  This is the first show to kick off the season - Seussical the Musical!  

 

Here's a close-up of the gang:

One particular thrill of doing this job for Carousel was that my artwork was to be displayed very prominently at the entrance to Vancouver's famous Granville Island, where Carousel Theatre is located.  I definitely jumped up and down when I saw this:

If you are in Vancouver or are nearby, I highly recommend seeing this show. The cast is so very talented, and the musical is guaranteed to be a great time with the family. My daughter is still raving about it!

My Posters in Bus Shelters!

In the winter, I was asked to do an illustration of a flapper girl for a poster of an upcoming Shakespeare play. It was a super fun project. Then, a few weeks ago I was told that the poster was going to be displayed in bus stop shelters around the city! I couldn't believe it! Last weekend we drove around town looking for them, which was quite a thrill. :)