Desktop Calendar for June

Hello friends :)
I'll be taking a month long computer break during June to work on a few deadlines.
My Etsy shop will be closed during June as well.
If something comes up I'll be posting at my Facebook page.
Add me to your "Likes" if you like :)

I'll leave you with a free desktop calendar for the month of June.
Click on this link or on the image above to download the calendar.
I'll see you back here in July!

Turbo by Daniel

A beautiful photo of the 'turbinator' that Daniel took with my camera.
Thank you so much for all the kindness and generosity you've shown Daniel.
He was so happy everyone liked his portrait of Carmel kitty.
Have a great weekend friends!

Carmel

Another masterpiece pet portrait by my very talented son Daniel.
He'll be offering his custom pet portraits at my bigcartel shop starting next Monday.

Lime

When life gives you limes....paint them :)
Top: Watercolor sketch on paper.
Bottom: Mexican lime blossoms from our garden.

Tumbleweed

The wind brought us this beautiful tumbleweed this week
and of course Turbo had to inspect it :)

I found this other branch a few months ago and it still sits on top of our cabinet.
Did you know some people even collect them and you can buy them online!?

Birds, birds, birds...

There are always birds on my desk and on my sketchbook :)

Feathers

A little vignette at our blue house & a few of the beautiful feathers
I've received in the mail from friends all over the world.

Random

A few random photos of this weekend.
My plants are thriving in this heat while I wither...
I struggle during these hot months to keep my creativity
from becoming an amorphous mush.
Are you most creative when it's hot or during the chilly months?
Thank you so much to all of you that registered for the one day
summer workshop at Bookhou in Toronto. I look forward to meeting you :)
There are still a couple of spots available in case you fancy joining us.

O Canada!

Winged Migration is a beautiful group show curated by my dear friend Margie.
I am honored to be a part of this group of very talented women:
Abigail Brown, Abby Glassenberg, Arounna Khounnoraj & Margaret Oomen
If you are in the area it would be so nice of you to come visit.
I will be visiting Canada for the first time this summer!
I'll be in Toronto to give a one day workshop
at Arounna's beautiful shop Bookhou the 23rd of July!
To register and read more about it click here. The class is limited to 12 people.
To celebrate my trip I made the provincial bird for Ontario: the common loon

Drawer No.2

This is my magic drawer, the one where I keep all the precious paper treasures
I find unbelievably inspiring. Everyone should have such a drawer...

***The beautiful cabinet was designed by my very talented Manolo.
I found the numbered porcelain pulls at the kid's section of the Zara Home store in case you were wondering ;)

Ralph & my Left Hand

Ralph the pelican now lives happily on a rock amongst corals & algae.
It's been seven months since I quit biting my nails.
Bit them really bad for almost 40 years
so I can't believe I have 'normal' hands now :)

Collecting

Some of my treasured collections displayed in the studio.
Canvas tote bags (All of them from Bookhou except for the red bear paw from Small Batch Production), old cardboard boxes I've bought from several Etsy shops
& blue glass mason jars.
I can't wait to get my hands on the new Uppercase book:
Collection A Day by Lisa Congdon.

Ralph

Ralph is ready for his collage ;)

Pelicans

Inspired by these amazing brown pelicans I saw in Zapallar, Chile.

Belated May Calendar

I hadn't had time to whip up a May desktop calendar but I got so many requests
that I squeezed in some time today to design one for you...
Better late than never, right?
Click on the small image below for the high-res file.

***The beautiful strand of hanging 'glowblowls'
is by Diana Fayt

Micron

A Tuesday drawing with my all time favorite:
Sakura Pigma Micron pen made in Japan.
I buy them by the box full and have been using them for almost 20 years.

Half Way There

Big bird is half way there.
The next step is when the painting comes to life: the details!
Happy Monday everyone :)

Happy Mother's Day!

To all you beautiful mamacitas out there including my own ♥
*That's my pretty mom & me in the photo :)

Birds in my Closet

A few birdies came to supervise my spring cleaning ;)

The winner is...

Čestitam Ninocka!!! Congratulations Studio Ninocka!!!
Thank you so much to all of you who participated and left a comment!
I wish I had thousands of books to send everyone. Big, big hug for each of you with ♥

Book Giveaway!

Remember when I blogged about Heather Smith Jones'
gorgeous book 'Water Paper Paint'?
I'm a big fan of Heather's work and her book is absolutely wonderful,
I loved every single page and project.
If you like watercolors like me, I highly recommend it!
I am giving away a copy of the book & a signed archival quality print
of my watercolor piece called "Three Little Birds" featured in the gallery section!
Leave a comment on this post and I'll pick a random lucky winner next Friday morning. I'll announce the winner later that day :)
***Anyone in the whole wide world can participate, I will ship wherever you are!***
*Comments are now closed*
Thank you so much for the unbelievable response & your generous comments! I wish I had a thousand books to give away.
I will chose a random winner and announce it later today!

Lactarius Indigo & News

Sneak peek of a series of unusual colored mushrooms I'm working on.
Watercolor and collage on Twinrocker handmade paper. 6 x 8 inches.

***Some exciting work news:
There will be new very cool product collaborations with Galison
& Urban Outfitters coming out soon with my birdies!
I'm illustrating a book about herbal remedies published by Trumpeter Books &
working with the wonderful Michelle Engel Bencsko from Cloud 9 Fabrics
on an organic fabric collection that will be out in the fall!
And of course I'm also working on my hand carved stamps book with Lark Books
that will be out in the spring of 2012. Lots of exciting projects in the works!

Blur

In the studio all day today after a very relaxing weekend.
Wishing all of you a productive week.

Work Hard, Play Hard

Nothing I like more than spending a lazy Sunday at home
with my guys & my watercolors.
I've had so much work lately that I hadn't had time to invest on Big Bird until today.
I've noticed that if I don't spend time every day doing these type of projects
I'm less productive with my work related activities. It feeds my creative energy.
My version of work hard, play hard :)