Stand Fast

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.