Happy Thanksgiving! And my last MATS assignment

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Shawn, Archer and I have the great fortune of having several family members stay with us in Croton-on-Hudson this holiday, and it has been more fun than we'd even hoped. 

Before our guests arrived, I submitted my final assignment for Lilla Rogers' Make Art That Sells online course (Part B). For this last week, we focused on the Party Paper market (plates, napkins, cups, etc.), and our theme was flora.

The mini assignment was given to us on Monday, which was to gather and draw/paint flowers, leaves and anything that is currently growing in our region. On Wednesday, we received our actual assignment: use the art from our minis to design a plate and napkin for a party.

I spent most of the week creating watercolor and ink drawings of the dried leaves and plants I'd collected on my walks, but I kept thinking about the winter-ready holly bush right outside my window. It's so green and alive amongst the other bare bushes and trees, and birds stop by to eat the bright berries all day long while I work. The holly is festive, and with the guests' impending arrival, I imagined a wintry holiday party. The prickly shape of the leaves lent themselves to collage, and in the end, I went with this presentation below.

Below are some of the watercolor sketches from my mini assignment:

This was probably my favorite assignment in MATS B. Although none of Lilla's assignments are easy for me, I felt most at ease with the subject matter. It was a great way to end the course, and I look forward to her next class, MATS Bootcamp, which starts in January.

As always, your comments are welcome. I hope you're all having a tremendous Thanksgiving weekend!