5 Days on Ebay

Click here for store

I'm cleaning out my studio and am putting up an ebay store for 5 days of bidding. All small oils going for under $100. Go ahead....get a present for your mom.

Cat Queen WIP

Detail of commission for a cat in Queen Elizabeth dress. Working on it. Almost finished.

Black Friday Sale

Set of four pendants with silver chain for $25.00

Set of two Gerber Daisy pendants with silver chain for $15.00

I just updated my etsy shop to include some pendants and chains featuring my artwork. In addition to some glass jewelry I also have some new prints and small oils for sale including a framed print of "White Sangria".

For a SUPER discount you can plug in HESSBLOG1 for 25% off of any and all orders. This will only last until 11:59PM Cyber Monday. A special discount for my special readers!

Happy Shopping!

Patterns and Stuff

I'm slowly branching out my portfolio to include pattern and ornamental illustrations/designs to target the licensing industry. This is only a very small beginning. These patterns were based off of my previous post on the "White Sangria" wine label. I created the blue bird afterwards but thought it fit the theme.

B is for Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica

This is part of my alphabet series. An ode to "The Office".

"Return to Happiness"

I have been super crazy busy this past month so I haven't been able to post. The good news is that I have a lot of content just very little time to showcase it!

GreenPrints hired me to create several illustrations for the upcoming winter issue. This one is a black and white interior for a love story entitled "Return to Happiness".

IMC New Year!

Rebecca just posted the new registration for IMC 2011. In addition she showcased some of the student work from this past summer. Above is a small extraction from the fantastic selection of artists. The themes you see illustrated are "Beauty and the Beast" and "Joan of Arc".

Left to Right....

Allen Douglas

Kim Kincaid

Drew Baker

Dominick Saponaro

Michelle Dickens

Christina Hess

Now I Remember...

Pattern for WIP commission

Corel Painter and Photoshop

Copy. Paste. Rotate. Select. Group.

Copy. Paste. Rotate. Select. Group.

Copy. Paste. Rotate. Select. Group.

I am a big advocate of illustrating in oils but if I had to paint this traditionally I would have thrown myself out the window. Thank you computer.

Wine Label for Philabundance

"White Sangria"

Corel Painter and Photoshop

This is a label created for Sherry Berger who runs the "No-Name Art Group". Sherry sends out a call for entries for local painters, designers, illustrators, craftsman and many other disciplines every year or so for charity events. In the past she has traveled to VietNam, Africa and South America to help in orphanages and community projects. After her return to the states she then organizes charity events dedicating all proceeds to the groups she took precious time to help.

This year she's keeping it local and all the money is being donated to Philadelphia's own Philabundance. This year's theme was wine, one of my favorite things!

If you like art, wine and friendly faces I highly recommend attending the opening on Saturday November 6 at the B Square Gallery. Click here for all the info...

Thank you Sherry and Philabundance for all of your generosity and selflessness!

Flower 1

Fall classes are about to start and I thought it would be a good idea to post some in progress works before the flurry of faculty meetings and syllabi touch ups hit me. After the first week I usually have a little over a month before I go MIA. So in light of my slow building of yet another new portfolio.......I now unleash my flower. This guy will be part of a collection to pitch to the licensing industry. As for now...he's just a lonely gerber daisy. His girlfriend is red and is 75% done. This was done in Corel Painter.

In addition to these types of illustrations I am also in the process of painting a commission of a cat dressed as Queen Elizabeth I. That is the mental image I choose to leave you with today;)

Butterfly and Branch

Graphite on Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper

Click here to Buy

Inspired by the extremely cool dead wood in Yellowstone and the Rockies I decided to do a little drawing to pay homage to the beauty of gnarled wood sculpted by time and nature.

Ferns and Lilies

Graphite on Hot Pressed Watercolor

Click here to buy

This is a little guy measuring about 4 1/2" square.

D is for Dunce

D is for Dunce. It started as another idea involving a lightbulb...then into a girl with a beehive hairdo....then a girl with a dunce hat.....then a ramped up dunce hat.

O is for Octopus...Sleepy Octopus

The alphabet series is back! I started this last year and went on a serious hiatus with it. I figure I can get a few more in before the craziness that is Autumn hits.

This is a sketch I was working on before I vacationed. It's a sleepy octopus. And it has 9 tentacles so it was born abnormal. So be it.

Autumn Cover

This is a cover illustration for GreenPrints Autumn 2010 issue.

I just got back from a terrific vacation in Colorado and Wyoming. While trying to get out of campfire and hiking mode I'm recharging and planning my August schedule. There may be some wildlife posts so stay tuned!