I wanted to create some artwork that would honor the spirit of this sweet dog. The photo below was taken when she was about 5 or 6 years old. I will forever remember our daily walks in the woods, throwing her into snowbanks during the NH winters we shared and her constant presence following me around and loving me unconditionally. Rest in peace my sweet girl…

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It’s February and the month of Valentine messages and love images. Valentine’s Day is such a fun holiday to design for! And I especially love the color combo of pink and black together in my illustration of Jack and Audrey above. I named this couple Jack and Audrey because they showed up in several illustrations I did for this past  Thanksgiving and Christmas. And who doesn’t love getting flowers as a gift!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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This Partridge was done as a drawing first. Then I painted it in a watercolor style digitally.I’m really happy how it came out. Especially the colors since they are non-traditional Christmas colors. But I think it still celebrates the season in the gold and teal. And then it seem to naturally flow into a greeting card design too. See this designed as a greeting card below.

Wishing you Happy Holidays during this season of Thanksgiving and Christmas!

12 Days of Christmas – A Partridge in a Pear Tree, greeting card design

freelance illustrator available for projects.

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                                             New Whimsical Dog Breed Painting  ~  Valerie Hart

I’ve been wanting to do some painting so I started with this new dog painting of a Wire Fox Terrier. I’ve named him Finnegan and I love how he came out. It is done in acrylics. I then worked with the scanned image in Photoshop to make two other versions of him for a Christmas Card and a Happy Birthday greeting card design.

This original Wire Fox Terrier painting is for sale in my ETSY shop here.

Wire Fox Terrier Dog  ~  Merry Christmas Greeting Card / plain front

Wire Fox Terrier Dog  ~  Merry Christmas Greeting Card / Merry Christmas on front

Wire Fox Terrier Dog  ~  Merry Christmas House Flag

Available for purchase at Walmart — here!

Wire Fox Terrier Dog ~  Happy Birthday Greeting Card

freelance illustrator available for projects

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I’ve been working on some new watercolor illustrations. A Balloon Bunny and a new mouse that I’ve named Fiona. She definitely has a story! As soon as I finished sketching her a lot of ideas came flooding into my head. I’ve also got a kitten in this series and I need to add one more for a set of 4.

I need to do some more drawing too. Every time I do it I say the same thing… Not sure why I don’t fit it into my schedule more or try to be a little more disciplined about keeping a sketch book. Maybe one small sketch a day, or maybe every two days… oh well.

It’s already August and this Summer has been sailing by.

Happy creating…
freelance illustrator available for projects

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There are so many avenues in the commercial world where your art can fit into. Custom illustration work, editorial, publishing, children’s books, art licensing, gaming and fine art.

Unlimited possibilities…

freelance illustrator available for projects

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A new Folk Art Santa Claus with a few of his Forest Friends ready to wish you a Merry Christmas. The Christmas season and art licensing go together pretty strongly. So it’s always good to be adding Christmas images and designs to your portfolio. And with Halloween just around the corner I’m going to be illustrating some fun Witches and Goblins too.

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I took the time to create a mock-up of Beatrice Bunny so that she looks like a fabric bunny doll. With a little Photoshop magic I though it came out pretty cool. I may actually create a pattern and get some fabric and try to sew up a sample of her. Though it’s been a few years since I’ve had my sewing machine going. I always use to love to sew and so embroidery too. Just not enough hours in the day to do all the creative things you want.

bunny fabric collection

This new Beatrice Bunny & Meadow Friends pattern collection was an art challenge. There is something about having an “assignment” to do that gets the creative juices flowing. I love seeing the designss from other artists and pattern designers! So much creativity in their art and how they choose their colors.

So as we approach the last couple of weeks of August… and the air is starting to turn, I’m off to see what other creative characters will show up in my sketchbook.

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And a few designs I’m working on with my dogs are a Jack Russell Terrier dog surfing, a Pug dog relaxing in his beach tube with his favorite summer drink. And I’m thinking of something with a Bulldog, hmmm, maybe he’s grilling?

It’s been a beautiful summer here in the Santa Fe area! I just love the smells of summer. Especially first thing in the morning when I take the dogs outside and hear all of the birds chirping… just heaven.

And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summerF. Scott Fitzgerald

I’ve been juggling so many projects lately I get overwhelmed and I’m not sure where to begin. I’ve also finally gotten on Instagram and am trying to post everyday so I can build up some posts in my feed. So much great art to see on that platform. And without all of the political and news stuff that seems to take over Facebook.

Well… happy Summer to you. I have so many lovely memories of driving in the evenings during summertime with family and friends to go and get an ice cream cone. What’s you favorite kind?

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