Retirement Journey

For: Jill
Occasion: her retirement

Jill made it! She is now done with that 9-5 grind, and to help celebrate this amazing accomplishment, I created this retirement card for her. There's a storm in the background that the Work arrow points you to, and the weather clears up and is lovely on the path to retirement (there's even a picnic laid out!). It's been a treat working with Jill and I wish her nothing but the best as she adjusts to her new freedom. 

Bean Birthday

For: Jackie
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Jackie's birthday and her love for The Windy City, I created this illustration of The Bean (officially named Cloud Gate) at Millennium Park. I tried to capture the curves and shine of the sculpture itself with nods to the Chicago architecture (that is pretty accurate, if you are standing in the right place looking at The Bean!). And then, for some birthday flair, I added a cake on the plaza that reflects into the sculpture. This card is a real love letter to Chicago for me, and I'm so happy Jackie loved it, too!

Drum Birthday

For: Joe
Occasion: his birthday

For Joe's birthday card this year, I created a line drawing of a drum set on top of a line-y floor. Look at how cool this is! I'm a big fan of how the entire design turned out and I hope to use that floor again for something soon. Here's hoping Joe had a great day!

Butterfly Birthday

For: Lydia
Occasion: her birthday

For Lydia's birthday this year, I was feeling some creative and beautiful butterfly vibes, so I went with the most detailed and elaborate little guys I could come up with. Each has elaborate marker detailing of several colors. And then I tossed on some circle-y bubbles for the background because why not? Lyds is such a cool lady and I hope her birthday was as amazing as she is. 

Sympathy Flowers

For: Sharon
Occasion: a loved one's passing

Sharon lost someone she cared for deeply (and provided immense care for), so to extend my sympathy to her, I painted this simple sympathy card. It features a vase with a few flowers in it--both happy and sad at once. I used paint pens for this look, and I think it strikes the correct tone for the sad occasion. I hope with time happy memories are more prominent than the sad ones. 

Hippo Birthday

For: Charlie
Occasion: his birthday

For Charlie's birthday card this year, I did a watercolor of a hippo standing in some water with fish at his feet and a bird on his shoulder. (I've been working on my translucent water later, and I think I'm getting closer!) I made sure to do darker/sharper colors above and really just had a fun time seeing how the watercolors interacted. I'm super pleased and hope it helped Charlie celebrate a great day!

Brunch Birthday

For: Lexi
Occasion: her birthday

For Lexi's birthday card this year, I did a drawing of all the tastiest brunch foods I could come up with! One of my favorite things to do with Lex is go out to brunch (isn't brunch just the best?!) and I was happy to get an early brunch in before surgery laid me up before her big day. I hope she had a wonderful day and got to celebrate with lots of tasty treats!

Cat Birthday

For: Grandma Carol
Occasion: her birthday

Grandma Carol just got a little kitten! To celebrate Grandma's birthday this year, I did a watercolor of Kitty wearing a party hat and ready to have fun. I love all the colors and am so glad Grandma was a little friend to keep her company!

Hip Hip Hooray Get Well Soon

For: Debbie Dots
Occasion: Get Well Soon

In advance of my hip surgery, I decided to make myself a get well soon card! I figured I make cards for my friends, and making one for myself reinforces some self-love and helped me manage my anxiety about the whole thing! I have to say, I am really pleased with this concept and the Os of "Hooray" acting as windows to hip bones. (An easter egg is that the hip bone on stage right is a little misshapen, which is the reason for the surgery!) I am glad surgery went smoothly and I am ready to begin the journey to getting back into tip top shape!

Minion Birthday

For: William
Occasion: his birthday

For William's birthday card (an entire 7 years old!) I drew a giggling gaggle of minions to help celebrate the day! These little yellow pills are deceptively tricky to capture. But I had a great time coming up with 45 ridiculous personalities. I was so bummed to miss the birthday party, but hope to see the Ring clan again soon!

Crutch Thank You

For: Ben
Occasion: Thank You

Ben very kindly shipped me the forearm crutches he used during his hip replacement so that I might use them in my hip preservation surgery. I hope they work as well for me as they did for him--he and are are definitely the hippest Keane outlaws!

Singing Birthday

For: Corinne

Occasion: her birthday

Corinne has a lovely singing voice and is active in her local choir, so to celebrate her birthday, I did a watercolor of her belting out a tune. I added lots of music notes on the background cardstock, and I love the subtlety of the different shades. Corinne is just so beautiful and I am so pleased with how that beauty was captured in this card--I hope she had an amazing birthday and gets to sing all year long!

Wintery Thank You

For: The Schoenbergs
Occasion: Thank You

To thank Alli and Mark for opening their  lovely home to the Keane crew over Christmas, I whipped up a quick festive thank you card with greenery (maybe mistletoe sprigs?) and a swirly cursive bubble-letter 'Thanks." It is not easy to host 16 people while raising 9 month old twins, and they did so with grace and aplomb! It will be a Christmas for the record books, for sure.

Namaste Birthday

For: Jada
Occasion: her birthday

Jada has a beloved yoga studio that she goes to regularly, so for her birthday card this year, I did a whimsical watercolor of her doing yoga. This pose would be quite challenging (if it's even doable?), especially balancing a birthday cake on top of it all! I'm so proud of all the work Jada has put in to be well--I hope she has an amazing birthday and reaps the rewards of her healthy habits this year!

Birthday Reverie

For: Uncle Vince
Occasion: his birthday

To celebrate Uncle Vince's birthday, I created a watercolor of him awash in greenery, inspecting a few leaves and just taking in a beautiful day. I love this image and have been daydreaming of being there since I painted it! UV deserves time and space for rest and contemplation, and I hope this year brings that in spades.