Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from me and my long-dead illustrator boyfriend crush inspiration Coles Phillips. 

Hope you all are having a lovely holiday, and thank you so much for reading! 

Monday Mix: Quick Portrait Sketches

Over the weekend my boyfriend and I took part in a 24 hour Art-In/Art Party/Arty with some friends. These are a few quick sketches I did of the people (and cat) in attendance...

Quite fun and much more productive than I thought I could be! I used to hate working in front of people in a classroom, but working with friends under blankets and purring cats is much more relaxing. Looking forward to doing it again.

Monday Mix: Inspiration: Winter Art

Winter art by some of my favorite artists.

J.C. Leyendecker 

Maxfield Parrish

(please do click to enlarge this one)

Edmund Dulac

Cicely Mary Barker

Kinuko Craft

Wednesday WIP: Joanna Newsom

Working on a portrait of one of my favorite musicians. 

Monday Mix: Holiday Prep

I. Love. Christmas. Mostly I love giving gifts. This time of year it's like everyone's having a birthday all at once and I get to gift them all. I love every part of gift-giving, from planning and making lists, to wrapping each box lovingly (wrapping is sort of an addiction for me), to seeing a person's face when they open it up. There are very few things that make me feel as happy. 

This year has been passing so quickly! It feels like I only just put my Christmas boxes away. I'm so excited, and I've been quite busy with a number of holiday projects. Like...

working on holiday art... 

decorating the house... 

...and sewing up geeky little felt ornaments for our tree.

(Yes, we have a Buddha living under it.) 

I have more ornaments to make and to hang, and gifts to make, and cards to order! I'm also prepping a few holiday items for my shop. So don't be surprised if this blog is non-stop holiday until Christmas Day ;)

And by the way...

There are only two more days to get 20% off custom portraits! 

If you're looking for a sweet Christmas gift, now is the time! 

You can click the image to visit my Etsy shop: 

Happy gift-hunting!

Monday Mix: Haunting Art

♥ Weird, USA: My dearest Angie B's ongoing NaNoWriMo project. It's absolutely incredible; roadtrips and monsters and urban legends, romance and mystery and ghosts! This year she's planning on finishing it up, so if you want to start from the beginning and keep up with her as she goes, you can read it here at her writing journal. It's so worth a read.

♥ 20 Artists Re-Imagine Their Childhood Drawings: I love this, I want to try it myself!

♥ U-Ram Choe's 'Guardian of the Hole': This is so beautiful. NEW YORK, October 26, 2011 — U-Ram Choe's mesmerizing animatronic sculpture, 'Guardian of the Hole' on view at Asia Society Museum in New York until December 31, 2011. http://scty.asia/rtRHLT



♥ Viva e Deixe Viver: Storytellers and Fairy Tales Advertising: Lovely religious-themed fairy tale advertising from the SurLaLune Fairy Tales Blog (a favorite). 

♥ Ghostly Wood by Wedgwood's Fairyland Lustre: Another something lovely from SurLaLune - absolutely gorgeous Wedgwood pieces inspired by such artists as Gustav Doré, Arthur Rackham, Edmund DuLac, and Kay Nielsen.



♥ And don't forget, I'm still offering 20% off on custom portraits in my Etsy shop until the end of November!

Custom Portrait Holiday Sale!

I'm now taking orders for custom portraits on my Etsy shop! 

And to celebrate, I'm offering my followers 20% off all custom portraits for the month of November! 

Simply enter the code 

hbholidayportraits11

at checkout until November 30

Happy holiday shopping! 

Folio Weekly's Scariest People Illustrations

Time to reveal the big project I've been working on for the past few weeks - Folio Weekly's Scariest People issue hit stands yesterday, illustrated by me! Floridians, be sure to pick up a free copy for five life-sized, full-color, clip-out masks of Northest Florida's scariest... otherwise you can see them with the descriptions here on Folio's website! You can also view just the portraits here by clicking the images below:

        

 

Left to right, top to bottom: William Morris III (The Florida Times Union), Pastor Mac Brunson (First Baptist Church), 

Governor Rick Scott, Stephanie Kopelousos (Clay County Manager and former head of the FDOT), 

Tony Nelson (former JaxPort Chair)

This was such a fun project to work on, and I'm so happy with the results. The printed issue looks great. Many thanks to Folio Weekly for the awesome gig! 

Wednesday WIP

Oh, the usual. Cats, bats, witch hats. 

Monday Mix: Sketches, Scariest People, Snack Art, and more

Just some sketches, both serious and silly. 

Neat things of note...
♥ If you live in the Northeast Florida area, I have some news about the big project I've been working on... the next issue of Folio Weekly's Scariest People of Jacksonville features the five "winners" as illustrated by me! Look for it October 25!

♥ I'm also thinking of offering custom portraits through Etsy, as well as new prints (Goldfish Queen?) and other new items (tote bags in the works) ... be on the lookout for these sometime very soon.

♥ Oreo Cameos by Judith G. Klausner: I love Oreos, I love cameos, I love weird art. Be sure to take a look at the rest of the website - she does some amazing work.

♥ And a cute something: baby bat with the hiccups. I died.

Hope you all are starting your week off right! Since I'm done with the Scariest People project I've had Halloween plans on my mind, girls with cats and witch hats, and a special project with my dearest Angie B about ghosts and trees and unsolved murder. I've also been sewing up little plush ornaments and I'm thinking of making some little bats to hang around the house. Perfect fall projects <3

Friday Fan Day: Giveaway Winners!

And the winners are... 

Cerena Leigh  and  Michelle Yip

Congratulations! 

I will send each of you an e-mail to ask which print you would like and collect your shipping information :)

Thank you so much to everyone who entered my giveaway and took time to spread the word;
your support means the world to me! 

Giveaway Reminder

Just a reminder that the deadline for entry in my print giveaway is one week from today... 

Find out how to enter at this post! 

Friday Fan Day: My first giveaway!

Giveaway Time!

As a thank you to my fans and followers, I've decided to choose 2 winners to receive a large poster print!

Winners can choose from Letter Lover, Rough Seas, or the Effects of a Sweet Nature prints (click the images to see larger versions). Sizes are 8½" x 11", 10" x 10½", &  8½" x 11" respectively. 

To enter: 

- You must be a follower of this blog through Google Friend Connect 

- Then, leave a comment on this entry telling me your favorite item in my Etsy shop

Bonus entries:

The following actions will give you 1 extra entry for each. 

*be sure to leave a separate comment for each of these actions so I can count them as entries!* 

- Become of fan of Hannahbird Illustration on Facebook

- Share this giveaway on Twitter (@hannahthebird)

- Reblog this post on Tumblr (also hannahthebird) 

This giveaway is open to everyone, worldwide! 

I will choose and announce the 2 winners via random number generator on Friday, October 14.

Good luck! 

Monday Mix: What Was Missing

Drew this after watching this week's Adventure Time preview for the new episode, What Was Missing: 

I love this show and I love these girls ♥_♥

Monday Mix: Inspiration: The Red Rose Girls

This week's Monday Mix features three female illustrators, three of my favorites, who were a part of the Golden Age of Illustration: Jessie Willcox Smith, Elizabeth Shippen Green, and Violet Oakley. The women were nicknamed the Red Rose Girls by Howard Pyle, master illustrator and their teacher, after the place they lived and worked in together called the Red Rose Inn. The name also reflects the nature of their art - their subjects were mostly women and children, very feminine (although some of Violet Oakley's work stands out against this generalization). I've collected some of my favorites here for you... click Read More to see!

Illustration by Jessie Wilcox Smith

Friday Final: Peach and Daisy

 

Inked and colored! Something light and fun before I dive into an actual, professional project during the next few weeks (although that will be fun too)! I can't give any details yet though, hush hush ;) 

Monday Mix: Post-It Art, WIWT Blog Feature, and Zelda Music

♥ The Post-It War: Window art made with Post-Its! This reminds me of being in college, when I worked at a newspaper with another artist friend of mine, Chris McAlister (check out his portfolio... I promise you won't be disappointed, he's incredibly talented!) We decorated our shared cubicle with tons of Post-It scribbles, although nothing like this. Makes me want to give some window art a try. 

postitwar.com

♥ My last WIWT drawing was featured on the What I Wore Today blog! I love this group <3 I'm still excited for the book, 2012 please! 


♥ And some music... since David's been playing Ocarina of Time lately, I've been listening to this piano/violin medley of Zelda songs while I work. Give it a listen even if you're not familiar with Zelda, it's absolutely beautiful:  

Look for another Wednesday WIWT this week, and possibly a final on Friday! 

Peach and Daisy

A sketch that got a little out of hand. Deciding whether or not to ink and paint...

I've got such an urge to make princess art lately! Boyfriend and I have been playing either Double Dash or Smash Bros. almost every night. I always play as the cute ones ;3 

Monday Mix: Wizards, Mermaids, Books, and Björk

♥ Voting is still on for the Imagine Better: The Climate Crisis Horcrux Contest, put on by the Harry Potter Alliance & Splashlife. As of today I'm ranked 5th, but there are still 5 days left to vote, and I would be super unspeakably grateful if you were to send some votes my way! Click on the image or link below to see my entry!

http://splashlife.com/imagine-better-art/expecto-patronum-0

^ link to voting page! ^

This contest is very important to me - the Harry Potter Alliance does a lot of good work for important causes like this. And my work could potentially be seen by some truly awesome people, including Evanna Lynch, Harry and the Potters, Jason Alexander, and John and Hank Green...


♥ Last week I received a gorgeous Artist Andrea Little Mermaid Eco Tote in the mail, from a giveaway through Art School Grad, an amazing Etsy team that I belong to. I love mermaids (I used to be really into them and have a small collection), and I've recently started using tote bags for summer rather than a purse, so this giveaway was perfect timing! Andrea does beautiful work; you can see more here at www.artistandrea.com, or at her Etsy shop. Thank you to Andrea for the tote, and to Allie from Art School Grad for putting together the giveaway :)

♥ The What I Wore Today Drawings group is putting out a book! So exciting, I love What I Wore Today and can't wait to get my hands on a copy... I'm thrilled that one of my drawings was selected to be in it: 

What I Wore Today 5/30

♥ And I'm sure this is old news to anyone who is already a Björk fan, but I'm getting all worked up by her newest project, Biophilia. A couple of songs have been released already and I've been listening to Crystalline on repeat. I love the end.

Imagine Better: The Climate Crisis Horcrux - Contest Entry!

I've entered the contest Imagine Better: The Climate Crisis Horcrux put on by the Harry Potter Alliance! Voting has BEGUN, so please, if you like what you see then send some votes my way!! 


Click the image or the link below to go to my entry: 

http://splashlife.com//imagine-better-art/expecto-patronum-0

^ link to voting page! ^

My concept: A representation of our creative ideas as our world's Patronus; pollution will leave the earth essentially soulless, victim of the Dementor's kiss of greed, wastefulness, and apathy. Our own ingenuity is what will protect us from having the life sucked out of our planet. It can act as our Patronus, drawing on our positive outlook on the future, a power much stronger than the powers of greed responsible for our current crisis. 

I would be eternally grateful if you were to vote or share... thank you guys!!