Jessica Rae Gordon

Anthology Magazine Illustrations

2012-01-30T11:14:00.000-08:00

Early December, I had the pleasure of creating five illustrations for the Winter 2012 issue of Anthology Magazine. Together with creative director, Meg Mateo Ilasco, I illustrated the Amsterdam Map and four spot illustrations on homesteading. My favorite of which is probably the "Caring For Chickens" one.

I gotta say, I was super excited when I received this issue in the mail. It's chalk full of great crafting, decorating and general hand making ideas. Plus, the cover and a handful of interior illustrations were done by fellow paper cut illustrator, Chloé Fleury.

You should probably pick up a copy.

Victorian Style Brooches

2012-01-20T12:26:00.000-08:00

Arctic Fox Brooch

I've been wanting to create illustrated brooches for a few years now. And I'm very pleased to announce that I created them at long last!

I love the Victorian medallion style. Perfect for your coat or cardigan.

Each image is a miniature reproduction of one of my original illustrations and is protected with a clear varnish coating. The pendant hangs from a rick velvet ribbon and a colour that compliments the image.

The whole brooch measures about 2 x 2.5 in
The image area is about 1 x 1 in

Check em out in my Etsy shop, or at Scout in Toronto.

Bird Silhouette Brooch

Evergreen Tree Brooch

Horse Brooch

Rose Girl Brooch

Steller's Jay Brooch

Agents of Good Ornaments

2011-12-25T16:50:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of working with John and Jen again at Agents of Good this winter to create custom, handmade Christmas tree ornaments as a gift for 11 of their clients. Each one is unique and illustrated based on the community work each client does. All the organization have such great causes, it was so wonderful to learn a bit more about each of them as I created the pieces.

Environmental Defence

WoodGreen Community Services

Habitat For Humanity Waterloo

Ontario Nature

The Redwood

Second Harvest

Special thanks to Jesse Ewles, for helping me when I was in a mad panic cutting up tiny bits of paper, and trying to get everything done in time.

Framed Prints At Scout

2011-12-07T13:55:00.001-08:00

I was super excited when a new gift boutique opened up real close to me on Roncesvalles. Scout has such a great selection of cards, accessories, jewelry and household items. I'm thrilled that, over the past few weeks, I have had a number of framed prints up among all the goodies. The owner, Leah, has been doing such a great job selling them, I'm often scrambling around trying to frame up new prints.

Each piece is unique, because I use carefully selected vintage and thrifted frames. The artwork is sometimes reworked a little to fit the frame.

Many of the pieces shown in these photos have been sold, but I keep bringing in new ones to replace them. If you're in Toronto, definitely stop by Scout and take a look around!

Christmas Cards

2011-11-28T21:31:00.001-08:00

This year I wanted to make a winter greeting card that I could put out into the world ... for sale! This is the first time I've done this, and it's been pretty exciting for me. I really want to keep coming out with new illustrated products to sell in my etsy shop, as well as in select stores.

I decided I wanted the theme to be a festive winter scape. The illustration is of a crowned, masked girl in green riding an arctic fox, led by a bright red cardinal. It almost gives me the feel of the Three Kings traveling through the wilderness.

The cards are sold in sets of 8, measuring 4.25"x5.5". The set comes with snow white envelops. The inside of the card is blank and ready for your personal greetings to your loved ones.

Gypsy Summer Framed Original

2011-11-24T06:25:00.001-08:00

Lately, I've been working hard framing up a bunch of pieces. I'll be putting them up for sale in my Etsy shop as each is completed and photographed.

Here's a new original illustration I've put up on my Etsy page, entitled Gypsy Summer. It looks really great in the painted white, vintage frame, with lovely scalloped edged details. The artwork is 9" x 12" and is behind unbreakable, gallery quality Plexiglas.

I had a great time cutting out and making each little flower. Lot's a great details in this piece.

The Bouquet Framed Original

2011-11-22T10:50:00.001-08:00

I've been adding more and more items to my Etsy shop lately (just in time for the big gift giving season!). Today I just put up my framed original of my illustration, The Bouquet.

This piece measures 9" x 12" and is framed in unbreakable, gallery quality Plexiglas. The frame is an antique, art deco, gold toned wooden frame with lovely carved details.

Shawn Clarke : Stray Birds CD Design

2011-11-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

Here's the new CD package art and design I created for Shawn Clarke's new EP! I pitched the idea of doing a fairly limited colour pallet with strong design. The artwork is all carefully done in paper cut technique with scissors and an exacto knife. I wanted to be sure it had a hand done look (and not be too computery).

We're still waiting for them to come back from the printer. I'll post photos of the final product once I get my hands on them.

Come to the CD release in December, here's the facebook invite!

Hand Knit Gloves

2011-11-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

Candy Cane

Butter Cup

Blue Berry Muffin

I've started posting a new batch of hand knit gloves in my Etsy Shop! I have a few more colour ways that I'll be posting over the next couple of weeks.

The gloves measure approximately 6 inches from tip of middle finger to bottom of palm (not including wrist), by approximately 3 1/4 inches width of palm. Measurements are taken from the glove laid flat (not with hand inside). Because it's a knit, the gloves are quite stretchy.

The gloves are knit in the Duke style of the Sanquhar pattern. The wrists have a cute little knitted bow (traditionally the wearers initials would be knit here).

The yarn is a lovely, hand dyed, merino lambs wool from France. The wool company is Renaissance Dying. And they use natural plant based dyes.

Framed Prints

2011-10-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

During the end of the summer, my art prints were hung in a great little coffee shop in Lake Country, British Columbia. My mom did an excellent job finding old, quality frames, cutting mats and putting it all together (thanks mom!). I'm super pleased that they got such a great response, and 10 framed prints were sold in a short 2 weeks.

This success has inspired me to contact a few, select, coffee shops and restaurants around Toronto, Ontario. They sure do add some nice atmosphere!

My prints are also available in my etsy shop, and you can pop them into your own new or vintage frames.

Stand Fast

2011-09-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

Stand Fast

I'm proud of my Scottish heritage, but as I'm from British Columbia, I feel a very strong connection to the BC mountains and wildlife. In this illustration I wanted to meld both together.

I included a bunch of BC wildflowers, including fox gloves, lupines, indian paint brush, wild strawberries just to name a few. The birds in the trees include a robin, steller's jay and cedar waxwing.

The Gordon Clan's motto is "Bydand", meaning "Stand Fast". And our crest is of a stag with a buckled belt.

The print is now available in my etsy shop!

Natural History Museum Sketches

2011-09-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

Elk Sketch

Bison Sketch

I'm a huge fan of natural history museums. So this summer I went on a short trip to Banff and Lake Louise, and was thrilled to visit the historic natural history museum. It's housed in a traditional log cabin, set up to look like an old fashioned study, with antique animals from the early 1900's.

I could have spent the entire day there sketching, but there's so many other beautiful places to go in Banff!

Illustrated Map of Nelson, BC

2011-08-31T14:57:00.000-07:00

Nelson, British Columbia Illustrated Map

I spent the first 17 years of my life surrounded by mountains in the small city of Nelson, British Columbia. Since moving away, I've visited at least once a year and I find myself appreciating it more and more. I'm always thrilled by the beauty of it, mountains, clean water and great people. Plus it's chalk full of outdoorsy things to do!

In the map I wanted to include some of my favorite places as well as some heritage buildings and of course, local wildlife. I'd definitely suggest clicking on the image and seeing a larger view of it.

Also, I included my mom's house on the map. It's the white one with blue trim just below Gyro Park. In fact, I found it hard not to include a hundred more places and buildings. It's so hard to be choosy.

Dad and I trail biking

Savary Island Sign

2011-08-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

My summer of painting continues ...

While I was visiting British Columbia this summer, I decided to whip up a sign for my dad's cottage on sunny, sandy, Savary Island.

Kayaking just off Savary

I've been going there every year for the past 5 years now. It's so beautiful! It's a great place to bike, kayak and walk in the ocean. And one of my favorite things about it is that there's no scary predators on the island (bears or cougars)! But there's plenty of other lovely wildlife. On the sign I included a humming bird and a robin (as these a plentiful).

Portrait Oil Painting

2011-08-22T17:51:00.000-07:00

For me, August was the month of oil painting! My over the top talented sister, Kristy Gordon, taught a three day oil painting workshop in Nelson. I rarely paint in oils, and I hardly ever get to paint from a live model, so I was super excited to take it.

Above is the outcome. And I must say, I'm pretty happy with it. The model, Amber, had such a great look. In my painting, she really looks like a proud viking woman.

It feels so great to keep pushing my skills and trying new techniques.

Marfa Texas Map Illustration

2011-08-19T14:32:00.000-07:00

Marfa, Texas Illustrated Map

Here's a map illustration I did for Anthology Magazine appearing in their summer 2011 issue (out now!). It was art directed by the wonderful Meg Mateo Ilasco, whom I've enjoyed working with before.

This is my first map, and I LOVED doing it. Really it was so great to learn a little about Marfa, Texas. It made we want to go visit! As well as do more map illustrations ...

British Columbia Wildflowers

2011-07-19T22:20:00.001-07:00

This summer, I decided to sublet my apartment in Toronto and spend 2 months in my home town of Nelson, British Columbia. I took all my art stuff, including my computer and scanner, so I am available for illustration commissions!

I've been hiking damn near every day with my dad. The snow line is around 6,000 feet, so a lot of the hikes are partially in the snow. But I've been photographing all the different flowers I come across! And I plan to use these for flower reference in a new personal illustration I've been working on.

I'll post more about this new piece soon. Enjoy the flowers!

Her Nashville Cover Illustration

2011-07-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

My Illustration is on the cover of the July issue of Her Nashville Magazine! The theme was Choose Your Own Adventure and features a flip book style of illustration. It was a pleasure to work with the art director, Heather Pierce, again.

Molly's Style

2011-06-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

I was contacted by the lovely, Carley Seale, owner of The Gypsy Wagon, to create a custom illustration of their stylist, Molly McBride. The Gypsy Wagon is a super cute woman's clothing store in Dallas, Texas. They have a section on their website called Molly's Style, where Molly selects pieces from the store to create perfectly put together outfits.

It was great to work with them on this illustration! They had a pretty clear idea of what they wanted. And I'm glad to say we were both very happy with how it turned out.Above are two sketches I made before I started the final.Carley also asked me if I could recreate the Molly's Style logo in a hand done way.

Children's Book Giveaway!

2011-05-17T16:59:00.000-07:00

So, last week I received a stack of copy's of the children's book that I illustrated, I Was In My Mommy's Tummy. And, as promised, I'm doing a giveaway to one lucky reader!

For a chance to win a copy of the book, simply leave a comment below (maybe telling me about the best gift you gave/received at a baby shower, but any comment will do). PLEASE MAKE SURE THE EMAIL ADDRESS provided with your comment is working and current.
I'll close the comments on Monday the 23rd, and use the Random Number Generator to select the winner! Good luck!
Here's a final sneak peek of an interior spread. One of the best things about this book, is that there are 2 clear pockets to insert a photo into. In this way, it becomes a more personal story for your child.

*UPDATE* Congratulations Sierra! You won the giveaway!

Sleeping Baby

2011-05-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

As promised, here's another spread from the book, I Was In My Mommy's Tummy!

I really love how this one turned out! We wanted it to have a very cozy/bedtime feel to the spread theme. It was really fun working with all the different patterns used throughout the book.

Above is a sketch of the baby used for a different spread later in the book. I'll do one more blog post of this book next week. And I will be doing a giveaway as well!

The book is available for purchase here.

I Was In My Mommy's Tummy

2011-05-05T06:02:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to finally be able to show off some artwork from the children's book, I Was In My Mommy's Tummy! Lee Mes, the author, and I have been working on it for the past year. And we're both very happy with how it all turned out.

It all started when Lee contacted me back in January 2010. She had written a children's book that she planned to self publish, and she asked me to illustrate it. We had a couple of false starts with the spread designs, but in the end it came together with just the right amount of scrap book and photo album details.

I'll be doing a series of blog posts about some of the artwork and spreads. I decided to include some of the sketches, to show a little of my process.

Above is the sketch of the expectant mother. And bellow is the final of the spread. We liked how this one turned out so much, we reused it on the cover.

I'll post another spread soon! You can get your copy of the beautiful, hard covered book here.

Odds And Ends

2011-05-01T21:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a logo I made for an ice cream & sorbet company based in Texas, Wanderlust! I only wish I could have sampled their delicious looking treats.

Here's the business card design I whipped up for my good friend and excellent musician, Shawn Clarke.
And lastly, a quick image I put together from some existing bits and pieces of my illustrations. It's for an upcoming seed bomb party. We'll have wild flowers growing all over Toronto this summer.

Local Government Week Poster

2011-04-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

I was thrilled to have been contacted by Mark Haak, art director at Swerve Design, to illustrate and design the 2011 Local Government Week poster! We tried to include as many Municipal Government services as possible.

This poster will be displayed in a bunch of municipal buildings throughout Ontario, so keep an eye out in library's, elementary schools and high schools!

Feathertale Review Illustration

2011-04-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all! So the Feathertale Review, issue 8, came out last week. I contributed artwork for a very dark story about child abuse at the hands of the boy's father. The part of the story I illustrated took place on a ship heading to New York.

Fig & Grape Shake

2011-03-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

I recently learned about a great illustrator website called They Draw & Cook (via a favorite blog of mine, Creature Comforts). There's so many great looking illustrated recipes! It's completely addictive to flip through them.

I made this Fig & Grape Shake illustration for their year of the fig contest. I wanted it to look bursting with fresh, pretty fruit. And the turquoise, reds and greens colour pallet is always a favorite of mine.

Fingers crossed!

*UPDATE* Wooo! Just found out I won 3rd place in the fresh fig category!

Midwives Editorial Illustration

2011-03-11T07:26:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of working with art editor, Carrie Bremner, to create an illustration for Midwives Magazine. You can read the digital version here.

It was fun to illustrate a man for a change! I often illustrate women and children ... and houses. But I'd hate to eliminate men from my portfolio.

This piece is about letting father-to-be sleep over at the hospital, so they wont miss the birth of their night baby.

Original Framed Illustrations

2011-03-04T12:05:00.000-08:00

Arctic Synchronized Swim, 17" x 14.5"

Fermina Daza's Sunroom, 19.5" x 14.5"

Gardener, 9" x 12"

I'm really not very good at photographing my framed illustrations. They are all under glass, and I find it very tricky to get a shot without a glare from a light or window. Luckily for me, Jesse is very handy with a camera!

These pieces, as well as a number of prints, are available in my Etsy shop!

The Bouquet

2011-03-03T12:28:00.000-08:00

I made a new illustration! For fun! I really like how it turned out and I have the perfect frame for it. The image gives me the impression of both the monster gathering a bouquet, as well as a sullen girl being possessed.

I tried to describe the illustration to my friend, Shawn, over the phone, (a girl, looking like a rose, sort of embraced or possessed, by a sort of monster .. or wolf ...) and I was trying to figure out a story or fable that it might symbolize ... and he told me is sounds like Twilight.

Also, I've been really enjoying listening to The Hunger Games audio book. It's so good! Another good one is The Help. I rent them from the library, but you can also download them on audible.

*UPDATE* Hanna has just informed me that this piece is much more like Beauty and the Beast! And she's so right, I can't believe I didn't catch that myself.

You Can Go Home Again

2011-02-19T14:23:00.000-08:00

Here's one more illustration commission I got back in December, this one was for D Home Magazine (the D stands for Dallas!). The article was about visiting your childhood home as an adult, written by Peggy Levinson and art directed by Jamie Laubhan-Oliver.

Visiting my old homes is something I've never done myself, but I often think about doing. The online article can be read here.

Hot Chocolate Illustration

2011-02-16T11:09:00.000-08:00

Back in December I was asked by the wonderful creative director, Meg Mateo Ilasco, to do a magazine spread for Anthology Magazine. Anthology is a newer, quarterly, publication filled with great articles about home decor, travel, design, entertaining and culture. It's really a great read.

The article I did the spread for is all about hot chocolate! It was really fun for me to make and I love the fun layout design.

The Unfastened Heart

2011-02-14T07:28:00.000-08:00

I was recently informed by Catherine McFarlane, that my Heartstrings illustration is a finalist in the Icon Prize! That means this is being considered for the cover artwork of the novel, The Unfastened Hear t by Lane Von Herzen.

In my illustration I wanted to show the intricacies of love by showing the mechanics of a woman's heart and circulatory system. With my line work, I wanted the drawings of the weeds in the background to mirror the veins in the body.

Also, I was interested in the contrasting aesthetic of the silhouette shape of the body, with the hand drawn line art, and the more highly rendered pencil crayon shading in the face. I feel it is a collage of rendering techniques as much as it is a paper collage.

Tiny Aligator Music

2011-02-09T10:09:00.000-08:00

I was recently commissioned by Caitlin Smith (a great Canadian, conductor/composer/musician/business woman) to create illustrations for her new website. I made both silhouette and full colour versions of the Tiny Alligator conductors.

I also created two pieces of promotional material for her upcoming performance, Safe And Healthy Homes For Children. There's a facebook invite for the event here.

Arctic Synchronized Swim

2011-01-25T07:03:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone! I've recently finished a new personal illustration that's been a long time coming. For awhile now, I've wanted to do an underwater cross section. I chose an Arctic water scene mainly because I really wanted to make a narwhal! But also, I think that Inuit synchronized swimmers just don't get enough exposure.

I included two northern constellations, but I'm afraid I can't recall their names. I'll try and find that information again ...

Power In Numbers

2011-01-19T08:00:00.001-08:00

I was asked to participate in a art fundraiser with Nucleus Gallery in LA! I have two originals for sale, with a portion of the profits going to the World Wildlife Fund.

I love supporting the World Wildlife Fund! As a kid, my sister and I started a group at our elementary school to raise money and awareness for animals and the environment. Together, we bought protection for several acres of rainforest and a whale!

Each piece is a 5" x 7", one of a kind, paper cut/pencil crayon illustration on board available for sale here.

Shameless Magazine Cover Illustration

2011-01-06T12:11:00.001-08:00

I did the Winter 2010 cover of Shameless Magazine! It was great to work with the Editorial Director, Sheila Sampath on this. The image is about music and protest. The feature story is called Mixing Pop & Politics, how rock 'n' roll can save the world, written by Maggie MacDonald.

I always get a rush seeing my illustrations in print. I loved coming home with this in my mail box.

The Month Ahead : National Post

2010-12-31T15:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the National Post had an illustration of mine on the cover of their Arts & Life section! Each month they do an illustration about the month ahead. So I chose skiing and snowboarding for January!
I spent the last 2 weeks in BC (my home province) cramming in as much time cross country and downhill skiing as possible.

This piece was art directed by Daniel DeSouza, who is wonderful to work with.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-23T11:44:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays Everyone! Above is an illustration I made of a Toronto Christmas holiday scene. I love the big old converted houses with multiple residences. And the little cafes and great window displays!

I'm in my home town of Nelson BC for my holiday. And I'm loving the mountains! Downhill and cross country skiing is the best!

Hand Knit Gloves

2010-12-06T08:01:00.000-08:00

There are two pairs of hand knit, wool, Sanquhar gloves for sale in my Etsy shop. One red/white pair and one black/white pair!

The gloves measure approximately 6 1/2 inches from tip of middle finger to bottom of palm (not including wrist), by approximately 3 3/4 inches width of palm. Measurements are taken from the glove laid flat (not with hand inside). Because it's a knit, the gloves are quite stretchy.

The gloves are knit in the Duke style of the Sanquhar pattern. The wrists have a cute little knitted bow (traditionally the wearers initials would be knit here).

The yarn is a lovely, hand dyed, merino lambs wool from France. The wool company is Renaissance Dying. And they use natural plant based dyes.

These would sure make for a special Christmas gift for a lucky lady in your life ...

WORN Fashion Journal Illustration

2010-11-16T09:57:00.000-08:00

The lovely WORN intern, Marsya Maharani, asked me to contribute an illustration to the latest issue of WORN Fashion Journal. I love WORN! So I was very happy to do this. Above is a photo of my process.

Even though the final would be in black and white, due to the nature of my paper cut out style, I used some colour.

And here's the final with the haiku!

The La La Land Digs of Ms. Melody Drummand

2010-11-05T07:03:00.000-07:00

Brand new, completed dollhouse illustration!

I'm super pleased to present the latest illustration in my ongoing dollhouse series. I posted about this earlier in relation to Alexis & Sam Music Productions. I have now completed the final details of the piece and an 11 x 17 print is now available in my Etsy store.

It was so fun to create this piece. I wanted to add elements to give that old Hollywood feel. I included the creature from the Black Lagoon, the bones of Jaws and Clint Eastwood on the silver screen. And all the little musical instruments were carefully image researched and cut out. You can find an acoustic guitar, tuba, bass clarinet, 2 electric guitars, violin, banjo, cello, trumpet, piano and alto clarinet.

Now what sort of dollhouse to do next?

R.E.A.L The Canadian Kids Magazine Illustrations

2010-11-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun set of illustrations I did for R.E.A.L the Canadian Kids' magazine. It was art directed by Erica Rodriguez and the wonderful poem was written by Kurt Metzler.

Alexis & Sam Music Productions

2010-10-21T08:13:00.001-07:00

Alexis & Sam business cards

Alexis & Sam splash page

Fewf! Well this was a big, fun project!

My wonderful and talented friends, Alexis Marsh and Sam Jones, asked me to do a music and film themed dollhouse for her new music production company. The company is based in LA so she wanted an LA themed house. It was fun to do a little image research of California flora and birds (I've included an American Goldfinch, Barn Swallow and Downy Woodpecker). And I managed to cram in 11 musical instruments into the house!

Clothed Matters Art Exhibit

2010-10-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was the opening reception to the Clothed Matters art exhibit at Freedom CC Gallery (a non profit Toronto gallery that supports local emerging artists). The theme was "fashion" and was curated by Marsya Maharani.

I have two pieces up, "Emily" and "Let's Go Together". I think they look very lovely framed and hung!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the reception! The show runs till November 11th, so drop by if you can.

Weekend Post Cover Illustration

2010-09-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

My illustration is on the cover of the Weekend Post section of the current National Post newspaper! And a crop of the large illustration is reused inside with the article.

The article was about translation and was art directed by Daniel DeSouza. It was a pleasure working with him and we're both very happy with how it turned out.

Tuba Animation Character Design

2010-09-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

Well, my good friend and composer, Alexis Marsh, and I have been talking about working together on an animation for years! And now with the amazing work of the director and filmmaker, Jesse Ewles, we're getting our act together!

We have just submitted an animation to get a Bravo Fact animation grant! We have a solid story, storyboards, music samples, character design (by yours truly) and a background pan sketch.

So fingers crossed!

Interval House : Brochure Illustration

2010-09-06T19:45:00.000-07:00

Earlier this summer I had the pleasure to create another illustration for Interval House. The illustration was for a brochure about the woman's shelter.

This piece was art directed by John Lepp of Agents of Good!

Advertisment in Juxtapoz Magazine

2010-08-26T07:42:00.000-07:00

I finally picked up the August Juxtapoz magazine that has my Fluevog shoe ad in it! I hope to be in Juxtapoz again in the future, but maybe in an article instead of an ad.

"Like Birds Too Tired To Fly" Makes The Papers

2010-08-13T18:37:00.000-07:00

Shawn Clarke's album, Like Birds To Tired To Fly, has been reviewed in Toronto's NOW Magazine this week! He got 4 out of 5 stars and the write up is wonderful. I was also very excited to see the album art was included in the article.

Congratulations Shawn!

TIME Magazine : The Best of Asia

2010-07-12T06:12:00.000-07:00

I came back from my Beautiful British Columbia vacation to find a copy of TIME magazine with my illustration on page 20! May Wong, the art director I worked with, was so wonderful.

The piece was for a write up about a spa that uses ingredients found in a Bloody Mary in their treatments. The half page illustration has the feel of the old pin-up girl in a martini theme, but with a more relaxing, spa type spin.

Fluevog Creative Winner!

2010-07-08T08:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all my wonderful friends, family and fans of my art, I was voted in as the newest Fluevog Creative Winner!

You can now find a nice interview I gave about my art and my process on the Fluevog website. I'm very excited that the add with be in magazines like Juxtapos, Bust and Ready-Made!

Fluevog Creative Finalist

2010-06-10T05:11:00.001-07:00

My shoe ad was selected as a finalist in the Fluevog Creative competition! My sister, Kristy, told me it kind of looks like Dorothy clicking her red heels and coming home.

Be sure to vote for my submission everyday and help me win!

Poster Art : three

2010-05-28T07:36:00.001-07:00

I've wrapped up the final art and design for Shawn Clarke's CD Release poster! I wanted it to have a similar feel to the CD but with brand new art. I included the Blue Tit, perched on the arrow (similar to the CD cover art). On the right hand side is a Ceder Waxwing and some little brown birds.

Poster art will be available, in a limited quantity, at the show. So if you live in Toronto, come on out to C'est What on June 11th!

Hope Takes Root

2010-05-18T13:06:00.001-07:00

Here's my new submission to the Fluevog ad competition. This shoe is made with a bamboo heel, so to play that up, I wanted to give the feel of them growing out of a garden. These shoes are being advertised as environmentally concious, and giving hope, so I wanted to include the word in the illustration. I thought it was cute to do it with the worm tunnel.

Earth Day

2010-04-22T07:59:00.001-07:00

I thought this illustration of Miss Fawn Cuttington's Rustic A-Frame was fitting on a day devoted to nature. I had fun doing the garden with the lettus, carrots, corn and spinach.

There's prints of it for sale here.

And here's a picture of my own little tomato grow opp. There's two types of cherry tomatoes! And I'm very excited about them. The long stemmed plant in the front is an avocado, but it can't seem to keep it's leaves.

Happy Earth Day!

Poster Art : two

2010-04-14T11:01:00.001-07:00

Here's a photo of the progression of the poster! This is just a crop .. but you can see the archer, the flora, and the little brown birds.

Like Birds Too Tired To Fly : Printed CD

2010-04-10T06:10:00.001-07:00

CD's! It's always exciting to see the finished products. Shawn and I are both thrilled with the outcome.

Shawn Clarke : Like Birds Too Tired To Fly

2010-04-07T15:24:00.001-07:00

CD Booklet, outside

CD Booklet, inside

It was my huge pleasure to illustrate and design my good friend, Shawn Clarke's, new album. He pretty well let me do whatever I liked. His only request was for me to use blue, keep it a bit graphic and to have a bird (not flying) on the cover.

I'm completely thrilled with the out come!

We are anxiously awaiting the return of the CD from the printer today. I'll do another post with photos of the finished product.

Poster Art : one

2010-04-07T14:54:00.001-07:00

New illustration project! This is a little piece of a poster I'm making for the talented musician, Shawn Clarke, for his up coming CD release.

More to follow ...

Stamping Out The Devil!

2010-03-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

I enjoy submitting to competitions now and then. It gives me a chance to do something new and challenging.
This is the latest Fluevog ad I've submitted to their ongoing Fluevog Creative competition. I wanted to show the boots sturdy attributes. So I illustrated it stomping out the devil / splashing through a puddle. I used the outer glow to give that angelic / impervious feel.

My very talented boyfriend, Jesse, helped me with the sizing, placement and text design.

I've owned 4 pairs of Fluevogs so far. I went to my prom in the the Wok 'n' Roll wooden sandals and I am currently in love with my almond toed Alyssa Flats.

Fan Art for Emily Martin

2010-03-26T08:53:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of the fashion blog of the very talented painter, Emily Martin, Some Girls Wander. She has such a great style, sometimes whimsical sometimes secretary and always lovely. I made this paper cut illustration based on one of her dayly outfit photos. I loved the flower pins and she described them as a garden, so I wanted her to be in a patch of garden, as if she herself was a flower that poped out of the ground.

Well it was a lot of fun to make! I think I'll be doing more fan art in the future.

Interval House Gratitude Report : In Print!

2010-03-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made a trip to Interval House to deliver the framed original illustration I made for their Gratitude Report. While I was there, Ashleigh Saith (the Resource Development Coordinator) gave me a tour of the building.

Before I left, she gave me a copy of the printed report and a postcard promotion. It's always very exciting to see my work in print! The beautiful design is by John Lepp

Alexis Marsh CD Package Design

2010-03-03T12:30:00.000-08:00

My exceptionally talented composer friend, Alexis Marsh, asked me to design her a new CD promotional to pass out to studios in LA. We talked about what she wanted, and she mentioned that she wanted a little bit of old Hollywood glamour and just generally something beautiful.

I went to the library and looked up Vaudeville and found some really great images of girls in sequined little outfits and kind of ran with it. Instead of putting in musical instruments, I put in a bird head (I felt that suggested music enough). The branches are pretty little design accents and they tied in Canada evergreen trees (where Alexis is born) and California palms (where she is currently living).

Interval House Gratitude Report

2010-02-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

In December I was contacted by John Lepp of Agents of Good to do an illustration for Interval House, a battered woman's shelter in Toronto. John wanted to give the feeling of a warm home and a safe place for woman and their children. He asked me to create a dollhouse illustration, loosely based on photos and floor plans of the home.

The full image is featured on the cover, and crops of the rooms are reused inside the report. In addition, I created a cut out alphabet that is used to highlight text in the report. As well as two pie graphs.

John did an amazing job on the design and text in the report and it was a real pleasure working with him!

John has also blogged about it here

Sheppard's Plaid

2010-02-24T11:09:00.000-08:00

So, as promised, I've been knitting up a pair of gloves for myself! The Sheppard's Plaid, Sanquhar patter has been a nice change from the Duke. I've now finished the right hand glove and it fits perfect. My tension is getting better with the 1.5 mm needles and lace yarn.

Here's a picture of the right hand glove in the near completion stage. I like the look of it with the needles still in it.

Sanquhar Gloves for Kristy

2010-02-07T10:31:00.000-08:00

My first lady-sized Sanquhar gloves are complete! This are for my sister, so they are sporting the initials K.G.

I used merino lace yarn on 1.5 mm needles. This Sanquhar pattern is called the Duke. This seems particularly appropriate for my family, as my Nana's maiden name was Duke. Now I think I'll knit myself a pair, but in the Shepherd's Plaid pattern!

Mustachio

2010-02-06T10:37:00.000-08:00

My Dear friend Shawn had himself an old man party last night. For the occasion, my roommate Erin, and I dressed our best. She leaned more towards the smarmy duchey side, while I was more the bumbling professor type.

I knit myself up the mustache based on this pattern I found online. However, I was hopless at reading and following the instructions, so I just got the gist and knit it up using my own brain powers.

Knit Knit Knit

2010-01-28T11:53:00.000-08:00

So in early December, I took a beginner knitting course at The Knit Cafe. I had knit scarfs in the past, but I never learned to purl or to knit in a round. I had my heart set on knitting a pair of sanquhar gloves, so I worked hard and learned a whole lot.

When my papa was alive, he knit in this traditional pattern. He was born in the Sanquhar region of Scotland and I liked the idea of carrying on the family heritage.

For Christmas, I knit my dad a beautiful sanquhar scarf and my boyfriend the Duke sanquhar gloves. They worked out so well! I was very impressed with myself. And now I'm knitting a lady sized pair for my sister. Check it out!

Her Nashville Magazine Cover

2010-01-20T09:32:00.000-08:00

Way back in April, I was contacted by Heather Pierce to illustrate the July 2009 cover of Her Nashville magazine. The theme for that month was "The Men's Issue". I had a great time doing paper cut undies and little drawn details.

Alexis's New Business Card

2009-08-31T07:34:00.000-07:00

My lovely, driven and talented friend, Alexis Marsh was accepted into a fancy pants music composing course in Los Angeles! So naturally, she needed all new business cards designed with her new number and new website.

I love designing for her. She pretty well leaves me to my own devices. And so here's what I made for her.

YMCA Calgary

2009-01-15T10:11:00.000-08:00

Back in November, I was contacted by Tara O'Reilly, the graphic designer for YMCA Calgary magazine. We worked together to create a a number of illustrations about the importance of scheduling after school activities for your kids. Here are two of them.

Outside / Inside

Art / Vandalism

Valentine's CD

2009-01-12T10:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day!

Shawn Clarke and Alexis Marsh collaborated again to create a special Valentines cd. I pitched in and created a cd pouch, web page and html e-mail.

Be sure and listen to it here!

2009 Doll House Mailer

2009-01-12T10:37:00.000-08:00

Well I've been cutting and folding and pasting and taping and I'm very pleased to present you with my new promotional!

The folding design shows off my Doll House interior theme perfectly and I'm just thrilled. This features six different interiors from my larger Doll House illustration series. They have been meticulously adjusted to fit the new space.

Each promotional is made out of 1 1/2, double sided sheets of standard 8 1/2" by 11" paper. They have been folded down into approximately 4" tall and 5 1/4" wide.

Christmas 2008 CD design

2009-01-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

Well this was a fun, collaborative Christmas gift made for the enjoyment of the family and friends of Shawn Clarke, Alexis Marsh and myself! I got to illustrate the cd package design and guest sing on The 12 Days of Christmas. Listen to it here.

Package design (partridge in a pear tree)

Cd design (knit pattern)

Alexis Marsh branding

2009-01-08T11:04:00.000-08:00

My wonderful and talented friend Alexis Marsh was making an important trip to LA to suss out the composer scene there. She asked me to help her design her business card, website and demo cd package design. I always enjoy designing branding for creative people, and Alexis was open to all my suggestions. All she asked was that I incorporate a Victrola into it, which I was more than happy to accommodate.

Business card design

Home page website design

Cd package design

Cd design

Puppy Love

2009-01-08T10:53:00.000-08:00

My talented sister Kristy Gordon was invited to submit to a gallery show in Ottawa called Puppy Love put on by La Petite Mort Gallery. Kristy recommended me to them and so this is what I submitted.

The show ran from June 6th - 29th, 2008.

Room Magazine illustrations

2009-01-08T10:42:00.000-08:00

Room Magazine is a feminist magazine based out of Vancouver. I was happy to be contacted by Ana Torres who asked me if they could publish five of my illustrations that I had previously completed.

The Inner Workings of the Residence of Lulu Bell Snippet

The Flooded Home of Corporal Cutty McCloud and Old House

New House and Little Red Riding Hood Ukrainian Nesting Dolls

Canadian Family illustrations

2009-01-08T10:32:00.000-08:00

Overlapping my work on Okanagan Life Magazine I was commissioned to do seven spot illustrations for Canadian Family Magazine with art director, Jeff Hannaford.

This was for their Ages & Stages section. They do a one page article featuring certain milestones or issues associated with particular ages in your child's life, from pregnancy to teenager.

Okanagan Life illustrations

2009-01-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

After my big mailer send out in January, I was contacted by Luke Redd, the art director of Okanagan Life Magazine. A magazine based in beautiful British Columbia.

The article was entitled, "17 Things We Bet You Never Thought You Could Learn To Do In The Valley", written by Laurie Carter. It was a really fun job. I enjoyed the wide range of activities I got to illustrate.

Nesting Doll Mailer of 2008

2009-01-08T10:02:00.000-08:00

First post on my blog!

Instead of starting from scratch, over the next few days I'm going to play a little catch up and highlight some of my proudest artistic accomplishments during 2008.

I'll start with my mailer.

First designed as my giveaway for the Sheridan College BAA Illustration end of year show, Headlines, in 2007. This was such a big hit that i decided to print off more and send them out to a wider audience.

In the end, I must have sent out over 250 of these to a variety of Canadian and American magazines. Each one was hand cut by yours truly and packaged in envelopes made from 100% post consumer paper.