To all the Beach Bunnies

These bags are for YOU! 

Bun Bunnies is available in several sizes as a bag,  pillow & art print in my Society 6 shop.

It would have been nice to have these guys ready for Easter, but there's no time like the present.

May is very possibly my favorite month and these buns agree :)

One is a little grumpy as he goes off to work, but otherwise this is a gleeful bunch!

I love this little bun. She started as a tiny sketch -

 with a few embellishments

I like the pencil lines, but for my products I went for the more painterly look.

She makes a sweet friend and would look quite lovely in a nursery or a young child's room.

She's available as a print.

as stationery

and also iphone skins and cases.

I have a dozen bags from which to choose in my shop.

They really do work well at the beach :)

See my illustrations and custom paintings & murals @ AllynHoward dot com

:: It's almost the weekend ::

Have a great one! 

xo, A

For the Love of Gingham, Florals, Vintage & Critters

Hi and Happy Monday!

Here are some of the latest products available in my online shop -

Society6.com/AllynHoward

I created these characters in Lilla Rogers' course MATS 3A, 

which I wrote about last month, in several posts.

I decided these guys were cute enough to use on some products.

Kitsch-y bear and chipmunk are based on a couple of pieces from my 

collection of ceramic animals.

You can view some of those in an earlier post or on my Instagram stream.

I just ordered the Hello Love pillow and bag for myself. 

Yes, that's how much I like it and the quality of these products is fantastic.

The prints on paper have a nice border and the canvas prints run to edge.

All products available in Society 6 shops are offered in a variety of sizes.

I rarely use white as a background, but I think these little characters 

look sweet on it.

and here they are on a darker background -

Hope you find something you might want for yourself or that great kid in your life!

Here's a puppy and a pear for your time ;)

:::

Look what came today! More bags ... outstanding quality.

See more work, old & new, on my site - AllynHoward

Have a swell week!

xo, A

Mother's Day 2014

I sure do LOVE YOU mom!

My mom, Anne Howard, has been the most loving, fun and influential person

in my life. These photos show her exuberance and joie de vivre!

In recent years, she's suffered from a type of depression that has crushed

that spirit. It has been the hardest thing for our family and her friends to witness.

It seems inexplicable to anyone that knows the 'real' person, 

who is surely, in there somewhere.

I miss her true spirit so much, but of course, love her just the same.

I've written much longer posts in the past, but thought I'd share a 

few more photos today.

Happy Mother's Day to all you great moms out there!

I love you mom.

xo, A

Hello you!

Hello Love - painting/pattern I made for class

This Monday did not begin like my last 5, with a "mini" assignment 

from agent, Lilla Rogers. 

I miss it. 

For the past 5 weeks I've been taking MATS 3A, the online course 

Make Art That Sells - unabashedly bold, huh? 

Initially I felt a little funny tagging the phrase as I added some of my sketches 

and reference to Instagram. Like most things, you get over it.

I took this course because I'm a fan of many of Lilla's artists.

I would love to one day create art to license to manufacturers and companies

like Anthropologie, Blue Q, Land of Nod, Oopsy Daisy, 

Eeboo, Galison, Madison Park (ipop)...

the list goes on. I realize these are tough to get, but a girl's gotta dream.

My friends, Yuko Katakawa just completed part B of this class

and Melissa Iwai is currently in Bootcamp. Click links to learn more.

One thing I've learned, the world is FULL of TALENT.

What the heck is in the water in the UK and Netherlands?! 

Soooo many fabulous designers & illustrators.

:::

Lilla's positive energy and encouraging words, each week filled with 

industry insider interviews, plus the class itself, most of whom participate on the 

private Facebook page (sharing work, ideas, links, reference & support)

make for an addictive productive experience.

I created these gingham "zipper pouch" designs as incidentals. The top one, Hello Bear

accompanied my main piece for last week, which needed to be "Hyper Lush and Full". 

Gingham doesn't quite suite the assignment, on it's own at least. 

I created the one below today and I think it's pretty sweet. 

This is another pay off from class, creating lots of elements, 

those edited out can be used in some way later.

This chipmunk also went with my final presentation. 

Below is my final, Hyper-Lush or just plain weird? you be the judge ;)

I worked on this a long time, made numerous little paintings of select ceramic animals and flowers

((the mini had been to gather personal collections - find inspiration, then photograph, draw, scan))

 The main assignment was to create a Hyper Lush Zipper pouch. I own several by BLUE Q 

assumed this would be a breeze. Not really, I never think anything will be a breeze.

I may have put too much pressure on myself, but it was fun to see  

my little ceramic animals together in one place and put them to good use! 

Many I've collected myself and some were gifts. I have to hand it to

Melissa Zexter and Kristine Lombardi for understanding my aesthetic so well!

Thank you.

These are some of the rough sketches I made in my notebook.

T

This sketch of the Scooter Bears was ok, but I could not paint 

anything that came close to the awesomeness of the real thing. 

I wish I'd had time to put together a collaged version using my photos. 

I suppose I can still do that.

 I couldn't help wanting to paint each thing.

Some flowers for background, stripes didn't work out.

This little bunny didn't make the cut, either but I will find a place for her soon.

Below, my Hello Love painting without text. I created that separately.

I will definitely do something with it in my Society 6 shop and 

will look into licensing or producing some of my own tea towels, pillows, 

fabric, maybe a card or journal?

Who knows. I will make more similar, it was probably the most simple 

piece I did for class. I had made separate pieces to attempt some sort of collage,

week 4 was 'Wall Art' 

but that was enough of a fail that I won't even share it here :/

Alas, sad kitty expresses my feelings.

I'm practicing drawing animals with more expressions than

my current stock of happy and/or surprised :)

:: Back to the drawing board ::

Thanks for taking a look!

Feel free to contact me if you'd like to know more about the class. 

I learned a great deal, not just about habits to get ya going or

the effectiveness of deadlines, but about myself -

looking honestly at what needs improving, 

pushing myself to use or draw subject matter I might not have 

chosen myself, face insecurities & look at envy directly, whether of another 

person's skill level, creativity or the success they've experienced.

For instance, I will definitely keep in mind,

that if I see work or a product I wish I had created

and feel some jealousy creep in, to look at it as a sign of 

just how much I want that for myself. 

I'll try to embrace some of the positivity Lilla exudes,

believing that more is more, that people and

businesses want great work and there is room for everyone.

Almost everyone, you know.

A BIG thank you to Lilla and Beth Kempton for a wonderful experience.

:::

I'm now going to watch the last interview, 

it's with one of LR Studio's agents, Jennifer Nelson.

This and a glass of wine will be my reward for waiting all day 

for a fridge to be delivered. 

It never came.

 ! wtf !

* Update - fridge came and it works, hooray *

PS - if by chance you'd like to see how each piece is presented, visit 

my Flickr page (the 1st 5 are all from this class)

Love ya! Have a great week. xo, A