I'm back, moly x 70 entry

I have finally found some time to draw a bit
Sorry for the lack of posts but life just got a bit crazy this last month... and still is
But I just had to draw to escape the crazyness.
So thanks for sticking around
Here is my newest entry for the moly x 70 exchange. It's based on a saying my grandmother used to say whenever she saw a crow. She looked at the crow, crossed her fingers and said: "Martes hoy, martes manana, martes todo la semana" Which means Tuesday today, Tuesday tomorrow, tuesday all week. She told it was to protect us form the bad luck the crow brings because they are witches in disguise. This precious memory of my dearly missed grandmother just inspired me to do this illustration. Hope you like it!

Marie-Antoinette 2

Sorry guys for the lack of posts, but it's really hard for me to create any illustration without any desk, scanner or printer... or even table to work at home. We are still in renovation hell but it's suppose to be the last stretch. Here is a fun collage I did at work. I just love Marie-Antoinette and her crazy hairstyle. Feels like you can transform it into anything. Hope you like it!

Inspiration: Gemma Latimer

Found this great artist via Pikaland.
Her name is Gemma Latimer and she is a freelance illustrator based in Liverpool.
Gemma uses old vintage images in very raw collages ( love how we can clearly see the scissor cuts and the hard transition between the images). I really enjoy her color palette. It's quite soft and consistent which gives a great serenity to her art.
On her website, she offers a great collection of objects like t-shirts and buttons. Love her little birdy illustration which is available on a T-shirt.
It's great to find some else who use collages as I do.
Great inspiration for you and me

having fun in madrid

Hi everyone

sorry for the lack of posts but I'm on vacations in Madrid, enjoying the sun and the great food.

Here's a little photo of the Parque del Retiro, the biggest park in Madrid (18 hectares). It's pretty much the central park of Madrid. It was full on people, some were playing drums, other were having pick-nicks just like us. It was a great day! Hope you are enjoy the summer also whereever you are!

The Littlest Print Exchange

Here is my entry for The Littlest Print Exchange
What is the Littlest print exchange ? Here is how its creator Christopher Clark explains it:
"The Littlest Print Exchange is a juried trade of tiny 3.5" x 3.5" art prints. Each artist is invited to submit an edition of 50 prints and will in turn receive a complete portfolio of 50 prints from all 50 individual artists. "

Well my 50 prints are ready to go
Can't wait to see the rest of the pieces

diy letterpress

I'm completely in love with the letterpress prints I have been seeing lately
And I really want to try it for myself
I have began to do some research on how to do my own letterpress print at home... here is what I found


On instructables.com, there's this great tutorial on how to built your own letterpress
Here is the link

Also, Ready made has also it's own diagram on how to build your diy letterpress
here is the link



Or if you are feeling a bit lazy like me, Urban outfitters has some great press. I'm not sure if they can apply enough pressure to letterpress the paper. But the Printmaster press seems prefect! (just too expensive)

There is also the option of the cuttlebug. This small machine is primary made for Scrapbooking but can be adapted to do some diy letterpress. Instructable.com has a great tutorial on how to adapt the cuttlebug to custom letterpress printing.

Do you have any other options.?
Have you ever tried letterpress printing at home?
Please tell me about it, I would really like to learn how to diy letterpress

Pikaland

I was recently featured on pikaland, a great new blog showcasing great illustrators and artists.
Check it out at pikaland.com
thanks pikaland!

new house

Hi everyone!
sorry for the lack of posts
but I very recently to my new house and creating illustrations has become quite hard, since I have no desk, no art supplies... just boxes
but still, you might say that art can be created and found out of everything... and you would be right. but time management is my other big problem. Since my renovations are not completely done.. I have been spending my time trying to achieve a livable home. So working toilet before illustrations, working shower before putting up new posts.
Thanks for understanding

great diy: matchbook notepads

Found this great DIY on Design Sponge.
This little Matchbook notepads are just the cutest thing
I'll have to try to do one myself!

moly x 70 new envelope

Sorry for my lack of post. I have been so busy these last weeks... in my own renovation hell
But I could manage some time to do my entry for the moly x 70. Here is the envelope
That little birdy stamp is quite handy!
Hope you like it!

My heart beats in technicolors

With all the stress regarding the new house, I have been craving stamps to relax me a little.
Here is another one. A big heart. I had fun testing all my new colors. I really like the look of the 2nd one. It's more used and distress. I achieved that look by restamping without adding any ink.
Hope you like them!

Little cat

The other day as I was walking to work, I saw the most gorgeous cat ever. It was a Lynx point siamese as I found out later. It was gorgeous, like a small piece of art in the middle of the street. It had incredible blue eyes and it starred at me intensly. He remind me of a little sphinx, a little good luck sign for the day to come. I was so impressed by this cat that when I got back home I decided to draw him. Here's the result. Hope you like it!

Willy Wonka

I participate in this illustration challenge blog called "Notre club de dessin" (our drawing club)
This week the theme was Willy Wonka. I wanted to do something with a lot of colors. So I played around with colorful patterns and papers. I think it turned out pretty good. As for the background, I found this old physic book in the trash and I used pages from it as a background. I wanted to represent the factory, chemistry and little bit of mad scientist aspects of Willy Wonka's personality.
Hope you like it!

tutorial: DIY handmade stamps

What do you need:
- a carving block ( I bought this one at the art store for $2.95)
- a linoleum cutter ( the pink thing, $12.95)
- a ink pad (I used the brand color box, color red, $4.95)
- some paper

Now we are ready to get started

So first, I drew the design I wanted for my stamp. In this case, it's a little bird. I drew my design on tracing paper with a pencil. Then I place the tracing paper on the carving block the design face down on the block. Then apply some pressure with the back of a spoon or a bone folder and the design will transfer itself on the block. ( step 1)

Now we are ready to carve. I use the smallest point with the linoleum cutter and remove everything thing that I don't want printed. Basically, you retrace with the cutter the lines of your design. Then I cut the borders of the design with an x-acto knife. ( step 2)

Then I tested the stamp on a piece of paper. It still needed some tweaking. So I reworked the stamp and tested it again. Now it was perfect. (step 3)

I had so much fun doing the stamp that I went in crazy stamp mode and made lots of them.

And the create a more finish product, I stamped Manila tags with my little bird. Perfect for gift tags!

If you want more info on creating your handmade stamps, check out it Gennine's art blog

new header

I finally had some time to customize a little bit my blog. Check out my new header and tell me what you think. 

ps: I have been trying to learn more about css and blog design but I have been having trouble finding good  documentation. Any good tutorials or links to share?

new house. new blog

As you may know, I have recently bought a really old house.
It's my first house and I'm in renovation hell or heaven
And I want to share my experience with everyone
So I created a new blog. It's called 2 cats + house in honor of my 2 kitties!
Take a look and tell me what you think