Animals of Canada Illustrated Map

Animals of Canada Map

I made a blog post before about the illustrated map of Canada I created for Nature Canada.  Now I wanted to show you how I completed it as a personal art piece.

For the client artwork, I scanned in all the elements separately, so they could be moved around and scaled down as necessary to fit with the text and the layout.  After the job was complete, I took my time illustrating more animals and slowly planning out and pasting down all my little critters and foliage pieces.

Below is a photo I took of my messy studio space while in the throws of it.

At the end, I decided it would be nice (and a little educational) to include labels of the names of the animals.  I wish I could have included even more animals to the final artwork ... but I suppose there's always a limit.

I have prints of the Animals of Canada Map up in my Etsy shop! The print is 11"x14" which is a standard size for easy framing.

Framed Original Artwork

Skier Riding Caribou Home - 10 1/2" x 13"

I have a few framed originals up for sale in my Etsy shop!  You can check them out here.

I take great pleasure in seeking out lovely vintage frames.  I love the scalloped details on these.  I feel like they work so well with the soft, snowy illustrations.

Girl Riding Arctic Fox - 11 3/4" x 8 1/2"

I always frame my original art behind high quality, plexiglas.  So there is no fear of breakage during shipping.

Meeting In The Forest - 10 3/4" x 7 3/4"

Skier Riding Caribou Home : Holiday Cards

The holiday season has arrived!  Time for chocolate rum balls, pine sented candles and Christmas lights.

This year I created an illustrated holiday card.  You can pick it up in Toronto at Scout or Freedom, or if you're out of town, you can buy a set of 8 from my Etsy shop.

Today's Parent Magazine: Debate Illustration

The December issue of Today's Parent Magazine is out! I did the illustration on the debate page. This debate was about if you drank a little bit of alcohol during your pregnancy, or not.  You can read the debate here.

I made this with the art director, Nicole Chung, who I always enjoy working with.

Sketches From British Columbia

I went on a 3 week vacation to British Columbia in September.  I'm always blown away by the beauty of the mountains and ocean.  I make sure to spend the most time possible out doors, hiking, kayaking and biking.

I wanted to share a few little sketches I made during my trip.  I like to sketch in pen, as it forces me to slow down, really look carefully, and make marks.

The above cabin, is my dad's tool shed at his Savary Island cottage.  He lived in this tight space while he was building the cottage.

This sketch I made while on an impromptu fishing trip in a boat on Kootenay Lake.  Andrew was very sporting about sitting still while I drew.

This last one is of my dads cute little wood stove in his cabin.  But don't be fooled, it gives some powerful heat on chilly days.

Mindful Magazine: Issue 5

Here's the latest batch of Mindful Magazine illustrations!  It's always fun to work on such a wide variety of subjects on a small scale.

These were art directed by Megumi Yoshida, whom is always so wonderful to work with.

Nature Canada Illustrated Map

Fewf! I'm super happy to show you all this illustrated map of Canada I created with John Lepp of Agents of Good for their client, Nature Canada.  This was a large spread for the Nature Canada 2012-2013 Annual Report.  Take a look at the full report here.  John did such an amazing job on the graphic design, I'm so thrilled with how this all came together.

I particularly enjoyed researching and illustrating the handful of Canadian animals.  After this commission was finished, I filled up the map with yet more animals.  I'll be showing you how the completed original turned out in an up coming blog post!

Today's Parent Magazine: Debate Illustration

The October issue of Today's Parent Magazine is out, and has an illustration I created for their debate page.  This debate was about a "push presents", a gift a father would give the mother after she's given birth to a new baby.  This was art directed by Nicole Chung, who I always enjoy working with.

You can read the debate here.