500 Strong on Instagram!

Tonight,
I wanted to give a very, very warm thank you to my Instagram followers - we reached 500 tonight!!! 

* Are you on Instagram? 

Hit me up at Miribirdillustrates :)

(Also I made Pumpkin Crisp for my boyfriend. Winning Thursday.)

Blog Facelift & An Extra-Special Process Post

(Or, "Hey! The blog is blue! What the-- !")

Yep. The blog is blue! Like my mom plopping a bowl on my head when I was 7 and taking the scissors to my locks, my sweet little blog was in desperate need of a new style (though hopefully more appealing than my childhood bowl-cut: true story! My sister and I refer to this period as the "Dutch-Boy Haircut Phase" and shudder.)

I hope you like the new look! My new header is one of my most recent and well-received illustrations, and the buttons and sidebar have followed suit in a cool, gauzy palette. And I've even added in an Instagram button! Are you as addicted as me?

And in honour of the new look,
we're sporting a special process post! 
Recently, I've moved more away from concept art, and into the realm of fashion illustration. It's already familiar territory, but now I am focusing my efforts on a very feminine, delicate style, with washes of watercolour and ink, and thought-provoking imagery. And of course pretty clothes.

In this process post, I will share shots of my work in progress of another of my most recent illustrations, "The Birds". This piece was created on 22x30" Arches 300lb Hotpress Watercolour paper, using graphite, watercolour, and india ink. And would you like to see it in full colour? Scroll on!

Finished!

This was truly a labor of love for me. I love the images that grow on you and excite you as you're working on them. Even if you're bone-tired, you're still ready to put the hours in to see it develop. (And birds are sweet things to draw.)

And if you'd like to see the digitally-coloured version,

check it out here!

I hope you liked seeing some of my process, and I am planning to update the blog much more now! 

Thank you so much for reading, and Happy Spring!

Today my boyfriend and and I finally got to relax, go to an amazing bakery for lunch, and then take a long, leisurely walk through some really adorable parts of Atlanta. And my sweet Southern Gentleman held my hand the whole way :) We saw giant koi fish, pond turtles, and lots of furry buddies. Who needs a zoo?!

Did you do anything fun this weekend? Any Spring plans?

Baltimore Love Project

Hey ya'll! Happy Wednesday! While I'm continuing my full-conversion over into a Southern Belle,  some of you may know that my roots are more Northern. A diehard Ravens fan, lover of seafood and Old Bay, and not-so-professional apprentice crabber (to my dad) right off of the Chesapeake Bay -- yep, you guessed it, I'm from Maryland.

Recently I was honoured with the opportunity to partner with the Baltimore Love Project as a finalist to design the newest t-shirt for my hometown. Their Lead Artist, Michael Owen, has set out on the path to bring more love into our city by giving its walls awesome graphic murals, and I get to join in on the fun!


Here's where you come in, and I need your help :)
Currently, Baltimore Love Project is running a contest for the newest t-shirt in town, and we are only 10 votes away from first place! I would be so honoured if you would take a moment to vote for my design.


Awesome. So how do I vote? (So glad you asked!)

Please follow THIS LINK to vote. I would be honoured if you'd select #2, my design, featured here in this post. All of the designs can be seen here, but please cast your vote in the poll.

What will winning mean for me?
Especially after winning the Superbowl and feeling connected as a town, winning the competition will give me the incredible opportunity to share my work with a lot of wacky, fun-loving, awesome Baltimoreans and people from everywhere. Not to mention it's a paying gig ;) This is also an initiative that is extremely close to my heart, as I search for ways to utilize my art skills and work to affect positive change in the world.

D'awww. Let's all hug. And vote! ;) Spread the love.
Voting will continue until approximately 11:59pm EST on Sunday, Feb. 24th.

Wine. And Art. And more Wine.

Hey ya'll! It's been about a month since my last update - my apologies! Life has certainly picked up for me. My freelance projects are taking off, and I've been working really hard on my projects for school. My inner Hermione Granger is having a jam session ;)

Since I'm sure you'd rather look at pretty pictures than read my ramble, here is a selection of some of my daily art posts from my Instagram (Mirilittlebird). Once I am able to speak about my freelance projects, I'll be sure to post them up!

 

Thank you so much for reading (or looking!)

2013

Hi dear friends, Happy 2013 :) I hope it has already been a magnificent year for each and every one of you. As for me, it has been truly wonderful. It's been awhile since I have been able to update my blog between working at the ad agency, traveling home for the holidays, and spending quality time with my loved ones. Over the break, I think I only opened my computer a handful of times - how refreshing!

Tomorrow is back to the grind - time for work and to go back into grad school. And how lovely! My little body decided to fall ill the weekend right before. Blergh. Here's to going in to work at 9am with a head full of yuck and a zombie brain. But! The show must go on, eh? So it shall.

Here are a few fun posts to show some of the highlights

of this past month :) 

If you are so inclined, please do follow me on Instagram at Mirilittlebird for daily art posts. 

1. I have been creating postcard (4x6") sized original illustrations just for fun, after great success with a few over at Mint Gallery in Atlanta for their postcard pin-up show. These will be up in my Etsy Shop, MiribirdIllustrates, this week!

2. Here I am at Emily Amy Gallery, at which I had the pleasure of showing two of my Artist Books in late November (books pictured above). So many people came to support me, and I was truly touched. And someone special showed up ;)

3. Another postcard illustration that is already up and looking for a new home in my shop!

4. Some fun with watercolours, a sample illustration for a potential project - shh!

5. Little monogram frames I've been working on intermittently with watercolour and acrylic - also will be up in the shop this week!

6. Sketchbook airplane time from one of my many holiday trips.

Lastly,
I just wanted to say something small about my personal life. I have met someone truly wonderful, the special someone I mentioned above, quite a charming bloke, a man who lights me up. 2013 is off to the best start I think I've ever had, and I am incredibly happy in all facets of my life. I am truly blessed, and I just had to share. Love you all ~

Major Changes

 After many months of deliberation and many hours of thought on the treadmill, I have decided to shift my focus almost exclusively to my illustration.

(The weird thing is when you have two things you love very much - it doesn't make sense that one should take from the other, but it does.)

So without further ado, I introduce to you my new shop, exclusively for illustration and prints (and hopefully other fun things down the road).

 (click above for link to shop)

Please join me in celebrating this new direction :)

Black Friday & Small Business Saturday

Starting at 12:01am on Black Friday, enter code
BLACK

to take 20% off all pieces in my shop

{ www.etsy.com/shop/mirilovelove }

I've been adding new pieces to my shop in time for the holidays! For larger orders, please convo me!

Sale continues into Small Business Saturday

and ends at 11:59pm Saturday night!