Day 30/30 + Giveaway winner announced!

30 Illustrations in 30 Days challenge is OVER!

 Can you believe it?!! We've come this far by faith... ;)

THANK YOU to all NEW subscribers and to the participants who entered my second giveaway!

During WEEK 4, days 24-30 were COMBINED INTO ONE PROJECT!
Take a look at the creation and grab some freebies, too! (Look for link to download your freebies at the end of this post.)

Last time you heard from me, I told you that you'd see me create illustrations that would be embedded in my writings- most likely in the form of doodling. Well, I've kept my word! Here's a special message just for you:

Day 30/30....eeekkk! Oh my goodness, can it be the **LAST DAY** already?! Yep, you sho' right ;)

To make this unique project, I doodled in my sketchbook for 3 days until I created the perfect set of collage sheets to use as backgrounds.

 

Here are a few close-ups of the collage sheets. I just love deckled edges. It gives a nice, organic feel to the page.  

Look at all that writing! I wrote inspirational lyrics, phrases, scriptures and bits of love for you on these collage sheets.

The pics above show me using a tool called an 'awl'. It's traditionally used for bookmaking. I pierced small holes for the eyelets to fit in. Of course I had to add a little bit of bling bling, too! Tiny rhinestones did the trick. 

Finally, the finished banner in all its glory:

Now...

IT'S TIME TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNER OF MY GIVEAWAY!

Congratulations,

You've won a complimentary artwork from Martice Smith II - Illustration!

Please email me your shipping info as soon as you can, to claim your prize.

To grab your freebies, please click here (It will download as a PDF. Please remember to credit me, the artist, when using them for personal use. Enjoy ;)

These freebies won't last for long...link will expire in 30 days so you better get them while you still can!

Love to all my new friends and fans,

Day 24/30 {WEEK 4/THEME: Gratitude}

Days 24 through 30: WEEK 4 FINALE of my 30 day art challenge. Yesss! :)

I, absolutely, enjoy the pleasure of writing in my art journal! It's liberating to unwind and write with no inhibitions. It's expressing my true, raw emotions and I believe doing this helps keep my artwork authentic, resonating with sound affirmation. 

During WEEK 4, I'll be doing more writing in my journal BUT with a little twist, of course, just to keep things fresh!

You will still get to see me create illustrations but they will be embedded in my writings- most likely in the form of doodling! 

Week 4 will be a project that won't end until Saturday, November 30th, so please come back so that you can see the final result. DAYS 24 through 30 WILL BE COMBINED INTO ONE PROJECT!

{Hint: this project includes my love of creating hand-written letters + textured backgrounds + sewing.}

So, for the time being, feast yo eyes on these SNEAKY PEEKS: 

Well, that's all I can show you for now, dear friends! I wish that all my U.S. friends have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday (in a few days) and to those of you elsewhere, the same thing: a day full of thanks for all that's good in your life.

Creatively yours,

P.S. There's still time to enter the giveaway to win an artwork from me! Snag your entries via the contest form, below. Keep those fingers crossed ;-)  GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED!  ~updated 11.27.13

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Day 23/30

Day 23/30


 Hello! I hope that you've been chasing down those dreams of yours and prospering from your creativity, this week!

This week, we've been going on several mini-excursions (via the internet). These excursions have been all about traveling and exploring new land and letting go of any negativity within ourselves.
To summarize the concept of this week, I created a small 'destination booklet' that signified my own, personal travel goals. Inside, there will be empty pages where I can journal about this challenge, decorate and use as a small scrapbook for my mini-excursion memories.

Cover of booklet

Title: "Book of Destinations"
Media: graphite, pen, white gel pen, watercolors, print out of map, pattern tissue paper on Rives BFK paper
Size: 14 1/2 inches by 7 1/4 inches
© 2013 by Martice Smith II.

booklet detail of faux stamp

Booklet detail; check out that texture!

Well, that's the END OF WEEK 3!!!! Eeekkk! Just one more week to go ;-)

Creatively yours,

Oh, if you haven't done so already, ENTER MY GIVEAWAY for a complimentary artwork from ME!

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Day 22/30: Oklahoma

Day 22/30

"There is vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost." ~Martha Graham

Title: "Let us go back..."
Media: graphite, oil pastels, organza fabric, mini safety pin, red and black ink, photocopy of vintage photo, image transfer and embroidery floss on watercolor paper
Size: 14 inches by 7 inches
© 2013 by Martice Smith II.
*my maternal grandmother is the one on the far right. Circa 1960, New Year's. Couldn't get her to drink any booze! My mother told me grandma was, most likely, drinking tea, coffee, or hot chocolate. Yum!

 These are a few of the details: embroidery floss, a safety pin attached to a swatch of organza fabric.

Grandma Vivian ALWAYS kept a safety pin on her! This is one of them she used to pin the hem of my dress.

I often think about how life probably was for my Grandma while she was just a child, living on the Indian reservation in Oklahoma. Being as private as she was, she hardly ever spoke about what her life was like there. So, today's mini-excursion will be in Oklahoma; where it all began.

Many times, I'd ask her to tell me a story from her childhood. Her countenance would immediately change- eyes open up, reflecting shimmers of light, those high cheekbones round out and flush with a slight pink color, and her feet starts tapping like she's about to re-enact the entire episode of her memory. She had a voice that would stop you in your tracks, just to listen to her! During the story, grandma would bellow out into unstoppable fits of laughter, talking to me as if I was actually there, witnessing every bit of detail with her. Oh how I wish I could've asked her the questions I have now!

Even though she and her sister (the one in the middle) have made their 'transition into that higher place', where we are all trying to get to, I can still feel the strong touch of her hand, hear her contagious laughter, and the hint of perfume still lingers in her favorite scarf that I have. Ahhh, the memories... :-)

Her sisters were her joy; that's one reason why I chose this picture. I only have a handful of photographs of my Grandma and I cherish each one with my whole heart. I'm so thankful that my Mama passed the photos that she had of her, down to me and my brother. I am blessed to know, at least something, of my heritage and history, on my mother's side. I'm so glad to share these moments I shared with my maternal grandma with you. Thank you so much for reading!

Peace and love, my friends,

Day 21/30: The Orient

Day 21/30

I will be extending WEEK 3 until Saturday, Nov. 23rd. I've been so busy, juggling other business such as getting ready for my art show in Lee's Summit, Missouri, prepping artwork to ship out before the holiday schedule gets too hectic AND taking commissions for new projects! WHEW! Just typing all of that got me a little exhausted..just kidding!

Because I've been getting in my studio later and later in the day, it's prevented me from showing you the illustrations during a timely manner. I've only been able to work on them in short bursts of time (10 minutes, max) before I head off to do another task.

PLEASE, don't panic! I'll be uploading the missing illustrations from DAYS 17, 18, 20 and 22 tomorrow!

Today's illustration was inspired by the beautiful, ornate decorations of the Oriental style. I've always loved this style and many people who have seen my work, often tell me how much of an Asian influence is present. It's not something I set out to do when I'm creating, yet, it somehow, transcends through it! I really don't mind that at all because I believe that it's a spirit of oneness with who I am and one who seeks peace and healing through meditation.

So, I felt the need to create something that evoked that same concept.

Here are a couple of progress pics:

It's barely noticeable from the pic, but the sides were beginning to curl upwards. I had to stop working for a few hours to press it flat, under a stack of art history books! (Those are the heaviest books I own and I often use them for dual purposes: to research AND to use as a press!) 

I often apply the "Wabi-Sabi" philosophy, which loosely interprets as embracing imperfections and celebrating happy accidents.

The photos below are detail shots of the finished card. You can see through the cut-out areas and there are two separate layers that are raised, away from the background.

detail of plant grid, behind bonsai tree

Here's the finished card!

Do you like making handmade gifts for your friends and family? If so, what kind of occasion do you like to celebrate with a unique card?


Peace and love,

**side note**: I will be EXTENDING MY GIVEAWAY until Wednesday, Nov. 27th! Don't wait to get your free entries...get them in now!

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Day 20/30 + ANOTHER GIVEAWAY

I have decided to have another giveaway during my 30 day art challenge! Woohoo!!! I hope you take the time to enter, if you haven't already done so. Super thank you to those who already took advantage of the early notice via my free, mixed-media newsletter.

Go ahead and snag your entries for a chance to win! If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask me.

Day 20/30: London

take a closer look, with these detail shots...

I like to simplify things with a nice, fluid contour line drawing. It really helps train the eye to see the major shapes that make up the overall object. No over-complicating, here! Just go with the flow...and NO erasing!

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