Thinking of Warmer Days

I'm sitting here in Minneapolis today where the actual air temp was -13 when I woke up.
In order to go on living, I will work on creating designs with a tropical theme.

So, here is a lovely, (and I believe) juicy pineapple.

And a sweet sea horse.

Maybe later I'll work on painting some beach chairs and umbrellas, with tropical drinks near by. On the painting, that is. Not on my table... ah what the heck, on my table too!

I'm all about character development so when I saw a guy riding his bike down the street, who had obviously takes the development of his character very seriously, I couldn't help but chuckle a bit. He was riding one of those homemade bikes with the really small tires and really tall frame. He was sitting up high enough to see over the tops of the cars, which must be the point of such a bike. He had blue hair with white roots, a skin tight flesh toned long sleeved shirt, which at first glance made him appear shirtless, a blue scarf (to match the hair), green skinny jeans and red shoes. Nothing about that look doesn't say clown, if that makes any sense. So when he gave me the stink eye for smiling at him, I thought he was going for sad clown or angry clown. Then I thought, I'm going to draw this guy and develop him into a character. I'd show it to you but my scanner has decided to quit working, so coming soon... Hippster Clown!

Why do I use Zazzle vs. finding a manufacturer or printer to create my designs for me?
Because I have been looking and looking and looking for an affordable option and until we found Zazzle, there just wasn't one.
The products people have been getting from them ship fast and are consistently great quality. And they make it so easy for me to add my designs to a bunch of different products, which reach many other markets. That and it's so much fun to see my designs on things I never even considered putting them on. Things like clocks, baby clothes and kitchen towels.
So until my designs are picked up by a huge company that wants to front the gigantic bill for manufacturing, inventory control and distribution, my stuff will be printed on demand by Zazzle and me... through my Etsy store. That is where I can sell cards in packages, like 8 and 10 per package. It is also where I will be selling framed prints of artwork and other crafty works of art still whirling around in my brain.
Have a great day!

social media

I'm working on the new website today. It's cool because it links to this blog, the Zazzle store (auto correct is always trying to change that to dazzle), twitter (which I have to figure out how to use) and Facebook. The need to be connected through social media is huge these days. It takes up a lot of time but it's FREE to I should stop complaining about it. I actually really appreciate the feedback given by fans and friends because it helps to know immediately what designs or products are going to be successful. Oh my gosh, I almost forgot about Etsy and Pinterest... I need elves to come in at night while I'm trying to sleep and do the social media stuff.

You found idyl-wyld, congratulations!

I am having so much fun creating these designs and putting them out into the word, it certainly doesn't feel like work. But in the interest of calling this a career, I'll say I've been working my butt off (ahh, if only that were possible while drawing).

This little yellow owl is my latest character and has become part of my business card, logo and favicon.
What shall I name him/her?