lately i've been trying to focus on how i want to grow my little business, and i keep thinking about patterns. when i started college, i always wanted to design fabric, and i think it may be coming about that time to actually make that dream a reality. here are some patterns that i find to be oh so fun!
the time has come! black friday/cyber monday is upon us! i'm happy to announce the sale a little early for my lovely blog readers, so you can snap up the savings before anyone else :) simply enter code THANKFUL40 in the coupon code box at checkout on maiautumn.com. the code expires at midnight on monday (11:59pm EST 11/26 to be exact) happy shopping!
(the code is not valid on society6 orders, shipping, taxes, or gift card purchases)
things have been getting busier and busier as we get closer to the holidays, and i just wanted to drop in to let you know that mai autumn has a whole bunch of new goodies over on society6! you can now find many of your favorite paintings as iphone cases, tote bags and stationery. in addition to these fun new applications of my work, there are also many, many framing options for prints, as well as stretched canvas prints, too! all of this, just in time for gift giving occassions! i wanted to help make your shopping experience as simple as possible this year, so you have many great new things to choose from. please go check it out over on society6!
in other news, i've been hard at work on some fun new designs and projects. here are some of my newest illustrations....
i can't believe next week is already thanksgiving here in the states! i'm so excited to organize all my recipes and cook my favorite meal of the year :) hope you're out there enjoying the season! see you soon!
with the new season, come some new ideas and a special surprise for you! this weekend, enjoy 25% off the whole shop with code AUTUMN. the code is valid until 11:59pm EST on sunday, september 30th.
above, you'll see my newest illustration (that i am kind of smitten with). the color palette is a bit different from my usual bright hues, but i really think i might run with this. if you check out the page where this little beauty is for sale, you'll also see that, amongst the leaves, i have accented the piece with this amazing metallic silver and pewter acrylic, so the original changes in different lights - so neat! i have lots of ideas where this might go, so hopefully you'll be seeing some new pretty things soon! :)
it's apparent that it's almost september with the cooler air that keeps waking me up in the morning. i've been busy working on a lot of new work - some of it is up in the shop, others i have yet to post, but here are some things that have been happening in my studio these days.
and if you've been in the etsy shop, you might have noticed a few new peacock feathers popping up! i'm planning to do lots of these. they are so fun to paint with the metallic acrylic i've been adding.
i also did some traveling earlier this month to visit a friend in san diego, and i realized i never shared any pictures! i think these tropical snapshots are just the thing to send off summer.
as you may know, fall is one of my favorite seasons (half of my business name is autumn after all!) so i'm looking forward to crisp nights, the smell of fall leaves, enjoying a nice glass of red wine on the porch, and a quieter little beach town atmosphere.
i hope the start to your week is lovely! see you in september!
i've been pretty busy lately, but i always have time to get inspired by all the amazing things i find all over the internet and in magazines. here is a peek into what i've been paying attention to lately...
i've also been working on lots of new illustrations and i'm sure you'll be seeing them soon! :)
lately i've been off on a bit of an art tangent, and i'm itching to make some new work. portraits have been distracting me for as long as i can remember, so i've been thinking maybe it's time i start experimenting with some portraiture in my work soon. if i have the willpower, i'm going to keep this project on the down low until i know where it's going. so, for now, here are some gorgeous portraits that have been inspiring me these days.
hopefully i can get some pieces coming together soon and i'll have something to share. right now, the ideas are kind of more like little seedlings in my brain, so we shall see.
lately i've been getting down to planning out some new things and making some changes for my lil biz. for the time being, i've decided i'm putting a hold on some of the different projects i'm always working on - namely, jewelry, home decor, etc. i think it's best for me to focus on my art and illustrations, since it's been pretty apparent for quite some time now, that that's where my strength lies. not only do i love it the most, but it seems like you guys (my oh so lovely customers!) gravitate towards my art, prints and stationery much more than anything else. so, the time has come that i should embrace the fact that i am an illustrator, and stop doubting that i can make a living with just paints and markers.
for some reason, even when i was starting out in college, the notion that i could make a career out of "painting" and "drawing" seemed delusional. i almost hate to say this, but i've felt like it just wasn't possible up until lately, when my mind (and my endless amounts of spreadsheets and charts) are telling me - this is possible and it is really happening! i think i've been hiding behind all the other things i make, and the term "designer" so i sound less like a crazy person and more like a professional adult. well, you know what, i'm an adult who paints. yup. i think i finally have the courage to own up to it. that's all i do. i don't do anything else. and i think i'm okay with that. (even though the above paragraph is almost reminiscent of someone explaining how unicorns do exist... at least that's how i keep rereading it in my head)
as you will see, the website and the etsy shop have been pared down to include only art, prints and stationery. i like the way it's shaping up, and hopefully this trimming will knock me into a trajectory of actually believing i can do this without all the bells and whistles.
if you believe that you can do it, you will.
so, having said all that, here's one of my newest..
yesterday i got down to actually painting a few little things, so i figured i'd share my musings with you!
"tawny owl" and "bird's nest" are available as 8"x10" prints (and the originals are still available too!) over in my etsy shop. since i'm having a 20% off spring sale over there, i thought it would be appropriate to kick it off with these new nature inspired pieces. hopefully the warmer temps keep on comin' and i keep on getting inspired to make new work! :)
hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!
i've been working away these past few days to try to upload some new goodies in the shop. check out the new brooches, prints, jewelry, and more, that are making their way onto the site!
there's also been an issue with shipping calculations on the site, and they have now been fixed! if you put multiple items in your cart, it will now be weighing things properly (certain items were coming up too heavy and causing the postage calculator to go a little overboard!) it's been an interesting problem solving session over here while i've been trying to sort that out, so hopefully everything should be working smoothly now! please feel free to let me know if you still see something that seems a little weird!
alright, it's back to work for me! i have a lot of fun and exciting things i'm working on these days, so stay tuned for more updates!
(and p.s. - don't those flower brooches just make you want spring to get here already!? i'm counting the days until warmer weather!)