Peonies and Snowmen

I can hardly believe it's been nearly a month since my last post.......it appears I've been even more reclusive and swallowed up by the quotidian routine of painting a seemingly endless vista of picture-book illustrations than I had thought...sometimes I worry that one day I'll look up and find a year has passed.
Outside, a new season has arrived and amazingly, although there hasn't been a drop of rain for over two weeks, flowers are blooming their little hearts out. I adore peonies, they remind me of the girliest, most full blown prom dresses and rather like heads of butter lettuce in glorious shades of pink. Here are some perfumed pink beauties and some rather lovely and incredibly scented lavender roses found blooming on a rather sad and forlorn bush hidden away below some towering cedars......and a partially finished painting........

and then, some happy new pieces from my "let it snowman" licensing line, in progress. I'm learning how to do all sorts of things in PhotoShop and Illustrator that amaze me.......like moving lots of individual illustrations about until they become border designs and repeat patterns and just today, making type go around in a circle!
Anyone interested in learning how to make repeat borders and "toss" patterns in repeat from "icons" should go visit Tara Reed's website and order her ebooks......as one who knew virtually nothing about creating anything digitally, I have found her instructions incredibly easy to follow and wonderfully clear. Thank you again, Tara!
Maybe a plate........?

Maybe wrapping paper?


Borders
More to come, but enough of a start to begin feeling excited!

Back to what seems to be an infinity of feathers, tiny strokes of raw umber, shading angel wings. Back soon.