design

Well this is all crazy

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Lots of downtime at work, so I just sit and hone my skills. These aren’t meant to make light of the serious situation we are all in right now (although some of the meme’s I’ve been seeing are absolutely hilarious), I just used the situation as inspiration and to help sort through my own confusion and worry. I’ve seen tons of people that are sensitive to the gravity of what is happening, so please don’t be offended by my art.

In all of these, I am following online tutorials and inserting my own words, etc. Several of the tutorials were from Spoon Graphics (please message me if you’d like me to find the links).

2020 Calendar

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I was tasked to design the new desktop calendar for my work and I came up with this. Final size is 19.75 x 27.25 “. And only two go-arounds of changes from the “client” (the owner) ! I made my own brush in Illustrator and used it to design the numbers. I’m very pleased with how it turned out, especially since people will be staring at it for an entire year!

The Queen

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A photoshoot that was a year in the making, the Queen of the Hedgehogs. Yes, hedgehogs. I own several and my photographer friend at RRS Photography wanted to do a shoot with me and my eight hogs. Since the suggestion, two passed away, so we had six to work with. It was not easy! I designed this cape and collar along with the headdress with spiky inspiration. (dba Pins and Needles Boutique). Queen_Collar-and-Headress

Using beads, wire, kabob sticks and lots of innovation, I came up with this collar. Queen_Collar

This headdress is gorgeous. I created a wire frame and then everything else fell into place. I don’t tend to plan or draw out a lot of designs because they just come to me on the fly. Queen_Headdress

Detail:

Queen_Headdress-Detail

in Memorium

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This painting was a new request for me. A family member passed away recently and was cremated. I mixed his ashes with most of the paint and came up with this for his mother. When asked what kind of painting she wanted, she replied “Modern art.”  To me, this means a billion different things, but my mind tends to gravitate towards more abstract concepts when I first hear those words. I didn’t really have a plan at first; in fact, I started one painting and it wasn’t striking me in the right way for what I was trying to accomplish. This turned out more to my liking. Painting with ashes was interesting. I had to strain it through a small screen to get it finer than it was initially (i.e. I had to strain out the bits of bone). I left some texture on the canvas using molding past in my paint mixture. I used Golden Open Acrylics.

Mixing. Here you can see the bone.

in Memorium
Final Piece

Painting abstract compositions is refreshing. I feel like even if there is a direction you’d like to go, the painting takes you along on its own journey. I represented the sun (or, son), along with a loose representations of a mountain and clouds, upside down rain, all incorporated in red, the favorite color of the recipient.

-ALN

Embroidered and Embellished Hats

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I worked in a shop for eight years that had a big industrial embroidery machine. I loved that thing so much. I even risked my job at times to sneak in my own projects with designs I found online. I made bibs, hoodies, shirts… I loved that machine so much I got myself a home version. Embroidery is something I love to do, and I do it because I love it, not to make a quick buck. Here is a felt/wool floppy hat I embroidered planetary signs onto for an old customer. My side business, Pins and Needles, upcycles and refashions clothing and I use embroidery to add a special touch when needed. Contact me for customized items! 

B.A.M.F.

Aside | | novotnyartistry
CYNDI BAMF

This is my childhood friend Cynthia. We lived next to each other for a time and I was friends with her and her sister. I remember doing a lot of things with Cyndi when we were kids.

If not for Facebook, we’d never had come in contact with each other again, I’m sure of it. One of my favorite things about social media is how it can reconnect you with people.

Cynthia is a strong woman, living in California. She is politically driven and advocates for equal rights. I love seeing what she is doing with her life: she speaks out, she participates in marches and movements and protests, she is using her voice and she encourages others to do so as well. I wish I had half her drive! Cynthia for President!

I enjoy practicing techniques in Photoshop and Illustrator, and this one was fun and simple. Inspired by Shepard Fairy’s Obey Giant propaganda poster and its variations. I printed it out on glossy photo paper and sent it to her as a surprise. The colors turned out rich and sharp, I was happy with it.

-Amber

Designs for Beauty Witch

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New designs for cosmetologist, Tiffany Rubio. She wanted to change her branding, and came up with “Beauty Witch, let me work my magic”. It instantly reminded me of Bewitched, the 1970’s TV sitcom. I used pictures of Tiffany to shape her into a cartoon.

Beauty Witch_Business Card1
Business card 
Beauty Witch_Facebook Cover photo
Facebook Banner
Beauty Witch_Instagram
Instagram photo