Full Circle

For many years, I used to create traditionally, rendered artwork for custom invitations, greeting and Christmas cards... all by hand...each one (I know, it was nuts but I really loved doing it!). When my kids got old enough, I started teaching art at an elementary school.  As every teacher will verify, even part time teaching is basically full time! There is relatively little "extra" time to do any freelance work in between teaching, prep-work  and raising a family, so I took a short hiatus from taking custom art jobs for a while.
 

 When I stopped working at the school, I took what I knew about traditional art and jumped right into children's publishing. I did do a few small, freelance jobs just to keep drawing, but aside from taking on the occasional house portrait, I really tried to stay focused on learning and working in the publishing industry. Fast forward a several years and I've come full circle! 

I've recently started taking orders again for custom greetings, invitations and wall art again, but this time, with new visual skills and technology. This job is personalized wall art for a new baby. I had soooo much fun applying what I've learned about children's book art over the years to this piece! And, all my digital "play" these past 7 months is finally finding it's natural place in my current work. I'm definitely looking forward with a renewed sense of creative energy!  (Click on image to enlarge.)