Last-minute underwater mural for a Brooklyn school and mural design for a team

NY Cares contacted me a couple of days ago, asking if I could quickly sketch a mural for a local school in Brooklyn. Because I live in Croton now, it would have been almost impossible for me to sketch an 18 foot mural on-site in the allotted time. So we agreed that I would design the mural, and leave it to someone else to project and sketch it out on the canvas. As always with NY Cares, a group of volunteers will paint the sketched mural.

Here are my sketches and final design (if I get any pictures, I will post the finished painted piece):

When I first started designing murals for NY Cares in 2004, I had no idea how to create something that could be painted successfully by a third party. My designs were too complicated, using complex shading or foreshortened images that weren't understandable to a group of volunteers. Or, my sketches were too vague and gestural, and the volunteers were unable to decipher my drawings well enough to paint them accurately.

As I have learned to keep my mural layouts simple and clear, I find that the experience for the volunteers is a heck of a lot less overwhelming, and they seem to walk away feeling excited and proud of the final work.

One of my more successful experiences was with a team of volunteers from Crossfit718. Because of the legibility of my drawing and the simplicity of the colors and shapes, these women were able to paint with enthusiasm. They got it. Their attitudes were positive, and they did an outstanding job.

Here are a couple of shots of that completed mural, and one of me adding some finishing touches.

Your questions, comments and suggestions are always welcome. Thanks for stopping by!

A Mother's Day note card for you.

I created this little card a couple of days ago for my mom and my husband's mom. To my great joy, it printed out on watercolor paper beautifully, and I was able to send them out on time.

If you'd like to download a copy of this little note card, I've created a printable page with crop marks and fold lines. You can either download this PNG below, or you can email me at kendrasred(at)gmail(dot)com, and I will send you a hi-res PDF.

Let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy!

Back to watercolor

Today, I challenged myself to make art using an uncomfortable medium. All types of traditional painting has proven a challenge for me the past few years, so I broke out the watercolors and watercolor pens to see if I could loosen up a bit. Below is a doll I painted, based on an upcoming assignment for my class with Lilla Rogers, plus a couple bird paintings. I ended up really enjoying myself, and I think I'll watercolor tomorrow as well.

More work with texture

My pen has felt a little resistant lately, so this week, I decided to give it a rest and focus on another love of mine -- textures. Since I gravitate toward bird-creating, especially when I'm feeling a bit stuck, I started a "Rusty Bird" collection. I am unsure if I'll add to the backgrounds, or keep these as solitary birds on a blank page, but here is a preview of what I've been working on....

Your comments and suggestions are always welcome.

In like a lion

While working on my happy lions for the circus pattern project a few weeks ago, I made a rough sketch of a voluminous lion face. I tossed it aside at the time, but I keep running into it, and I decided to try another one today. I'll post more once the linework is completed and I've added color, but I look forward to seeing where I can go with this. Stay tuned!

Lilla Rogers and Jell-O patterns

I submitted my second assignment for Lilla's MATS Bootcamp earlier today. The focus this month was on patterns, bolt fabric and Jell-O — Jell-O molds, colors, retro ads, anything Jell-O. I found myself uninterested in the molds, but I really loved looking at the desserts. The colorful stacks of Jell-O layered with whipped cream and a cherry on top, served in a tall glass with a pronounced stem. Just cool.

As with every Lilla assignment so far, it was another fantastic experience of learning, questioning, researching and drawing. Not only did I spend time checking out old Jell-O ads (totally enjoyable), but I also paid more attention to the patterns around my house, I drew gazillions of fun desserts, and I tried some new color combinations. Another perk this month was finding www.colorexplorer.com. Using the "Image Color Import" function, I was able to upload images that I was drawn to (my Ikea bedspread, a shirt at the Nintendo store, a mudroom on Houzz.com, etc.), and Color Explorer provided Illustrator-ready .ase swatches for me to use with my drawings.

I created several variations for my final assignment, but I went with this one in the end:

There were a few other contenders, too...

Which one is your favorite? And why?
I welcome your comments!

Textures and more bird sketches

I'm working on a project that now requires more background colors and textures, so I spent time yesterday creating watercolor paintings with different shades of blues, greens, and oranges to add to my library.

After I scanned these texture paintings in, I pulled out my white and graphite transfer paper and sketched on the still-damp paper. The wetness of the paper and the smudginess of the transfer paper give my drawings a dream-like quality, and I generally love the results.

On the cropped out sections below, I added some saturation in Photoshop to boost the background texture further...

How I will incorporate this particular background, I'm not sure yet. I am hoping for further instruction while I sleep tonight.

Your comments, questions and suggestions are always welcome.