Penguin Rock and Roll band is the result of a sock design challenge I started a few years ago. (For those of you who don’t know, when I was in a design rut, I decided to take pictures of my socks for the month of February. The idea was I would do a daily design based on the socks I wore that day. Only things didn’t work out that way and here I am a few years later trying to finish it. Oops.)

I wore these socks on Valentine’s Day. As much as I like the penguin hugging a heart idea, I didn’t want to just copy the design. I was working on something and caught a glimpse of Kitty Cat Kawaii Band file and thought to myself, “I have a cat band, a sloth band, a unicorn band and a cthulhu band, so why not a penguin band?”

Thus, Penguin Rock and Roll Band was born. Of course in order to have a penguin band, I had to create Penguin Playing Guitar, Penguin Playing Bass and Penguin Drummer.

The other bands also have art pieces of their individual members for sale.

Musical Penguins
by ValeriesGallery

Penguin Rock and Roll Band, Kitty Cat Kawaii Band, Sloth Rock Band, Unicorn Kawaii Punk Band and Cthulhu Kawai Music Band are available on Zazzle, Red Bubble and Imagekind.

Which band is your favorite? Penguins? Cat? Unicorn? Sloth? Cthulhu? Let us know in the comments!

Surfer Penguin is a continuation of The Sock Project I decided to do in 2013. For those of you who don’t know, in 2013 I found myself in an artistic rut. I decided one way to combat the rut would be to take a picture of the socks I wore everyday during the month of February and then do a design based on the pair of socks I wore that day.

Originally, I had planned to do a design a day. Oops!

Anyway, here is the sock that the design is based on:

For some reason, a penguin and the word chillen made me think of a penguin relaxing on a beach with a surfboard while watching the sunset.

Surfer Penguin on the Beach

by ValeriesGallery

Even though I’m not much of a beach person, I’ve always found it relaxing walking on the beach during a sunrise.

This design was originally done in marker. It can be found in my Zazzle shop, Redbubble and Imagekind.

What do you think of Surfer Penguin on the Beach?

  Cookie, from my children’s’ book series, Cookie and Olivia, is based on my cat, Oreo.

  Oreo and her sister, Olivia came into our lives in June 2009.  My husband and I were enjoying a walk around our neighborhood when one of our neighbors stopped and asked if we wanted to see some kittens.  She also asked if we would be interested or if we knew anybody that would be interested in adopting them.  She had found a momma cat and her kittens in a box.

  I said no because I never pictured myself as a cat owner.  (Don’t tell my cats, but I wanted dogs.  Ha, ha.  Jokes on me because the cat are now my very spoiled fur babies. ) We also had plans to travel to New York to see our families and then we were off to Europe to visit my brother in law.

  However, at the same time my husband enthusiastically said yes.  He was so excited, and he rarely gets excited about anything, that there was no way I could say no!

  So, we followed my neighbor to her house and out on her back porch was a long haired brown and black cat just relaxing.  In different areas of the porch, were four kittens playing.  Two black and white ones and two tabbies.  (I still remember Olivia playing with a sparkly ball when I first saw her.)

  Our neighbor had a ten year old son at the time who had already named the kittens.  Oreo was originally named Black and Whitey.  However, I had decided long ago if I ever had a black and white animal, I was going to name it Oreo.

  Olivia was originally named Hidey, because we were told, she liked to hide.  However, a few days before, my husband had joked that if we ever got a cat, they were going to give it a regal sounding name.  Olivia’s full name is Olivia Fluffybottom the III.

  Since we had been talking about getting pets, we decided to adopt two of them.  It’s a coincidence that we ended up with two girl cats.  Our neighbor asked us which ones we wanted.  I chose Olivia because she was adorable playing with her sparkly ball and Oreo got chosen because se was closest to us.

  Don’t worry though.  Their brothers and mom are living their best kitty life with a nice lady in South Florida.  It’s weird to think there is another Oreo and Olivia out there, but boys.

Some fun facts:

• Cookie and the Frowny Face Day came about from a time I was going through a bought of depression.  I decided instead of wallowing in my misery, I was going to make something positive come of it.
• Oreo’s name got changed to Cookie in the books because I didn’t want to worry about trademark issues with Oreo cookies.
• Oreo loves to cuddle!  She also enjoys lounging in boxes, paper piles and the sun.

• She loves soft food and tuna! (Which she only gets as a treat.)
• Oreo has several nicknames. They are: Cuddle kitty, the black and white one and Sunshine Kitty.
• Not only has Oreo been the inspiration for Cookie, she’s also been the inspiration for various art pieces such as Cat Rave Dance Party, Here’s Looking At You Cat and I Can See You Cat to name just a few!
• Cookie and Olivia also have their own store! You can check it out on Zazzle.

Do you have any pets?  How did they come into your life?

Craft stores are one of my favorite places!  They’re a great place for inspiration. One of my favorite things to do is mosey around them.  (And yes, I rarely leave a craft store without buying something.  Ha ha!)  I’m lucky enough to live in an area that has multiple craft stores to choose from.

One of these craft stores also has a huge home décor section.  Apparently, farm house décor is very trendy at the moment.  This place had a lot of items that said farm to table.  This particular craft store also had a lot of items featuring cows, pigs and horses.  For some reason, “farm to table” made me think of farm animals showing up at a farmer’s kitchen table.  This struck me as funny and thus, Farm at Table was born!

Did you know:

• If I was going to make this picture again, I think I’d make the pig a little smaller. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pig as big as a cow!
• Farm at Table is available at Zazzle, Red Bubble and Imagekind
• This picture has hints of kawaii style. (ex. The thick black lines)
• I’m considering doing some more versions of this picture with different farm animals

Where do you go for inspiration?  Let us know in the comments!

The DJ black and white cat in Cat Rave Dance Party Paws Up is based on my cat Oreo. She is definitely the most nocturnal of my two cats.

Our cats are not allowed in the bedroom. The idea for this design came about because Oreo lately has gotten into the habit of meowing outside our bedroom door at about five o’clock in the morning. When she does this, either my husband or I will say, “Shushi, Oreo.” Or “Oreo too early. Go sleepy.” Being the good cat that she is, she usually obeys.

When we get up a little while later, the black and white cat will be all tuckered out and fast asleep in one of her favorite sleeping spots, while her sister, a tabby, is up and running around the house.

In reality, my cats are strictly indoor cats. I am too much of a worrier for them to be out door cats. Though, that didn’t stop me from joking with my husband that Oreo had a secret life as a club DJ or something and she was just letting us know when she was home. And thus, Cat Rave Dance Party Paws Up was born!

Did you know:

• The gray and white cat paws are based on Oreo’s sister, Olivia.

• Oreo is also the basis for Cookie the Cat in the Cookie and Olivia book series.

• Cookie and Olivia have their own store on Zazzle

• This is the second design I’ve made where an animal is DJing. The other one is DJ Piggy Pig.

• Oreo is also in a few of my other designs. These include Sleeping Black and White Cat, Here’s Looking at You Cat, and Cat Eyes (Black and White), to name just a few.

Cat Rave Dance Party Paws Up is available for sale on:

• Zazzle

• Red Bubble

• Imagekind

• Skreened

Do you have a pet? Do they have any interesting habits? Has your pet inspired you in any way? Let us know in the comments!

The reason for this is that when I made the hearts, it seemed like they needed something more.  Plus, since I bought a huge pack of colorful Sharpies, I’m always looking for an excuse to use them!

Hearts with Colorful Paint Splatters Home Decor
by ValeriesGallery

 
Some fun facts:

• The paint splatters were not suppose to be part of the original piece.

 

• The paint splatters were a result of me accidentally spattering paint on the corner of the piece.  Luckily it seems to have worked out for the best!

 

• This design is available on a variety of products on Zazzle, Red Bubble, Imagekind and Society6.

Has something you done been made better by a happy accident?  Let us know in the comments!

(Note: This post contains affiliate links)

For those of you that don’t know, you can use water color pencils just like colored pencils or dip them in water.  When they’re dipped in water, the material acts like water color paint. Since, I was eager to try them out and wanted to see how they performed in pencil form and watercolor form, I made the following picture:

Since I liked how the picture came out, I thought it would be fun to make a digital version! Here’s how it turned out:

Fun Facts

• The original has black flowers, the digital version does not.
• The flowers in the original version, have different color centers. In the digital version, they all have yellow centers.
• The original was done in a 5X7 sketch pad which my husband also bought me for my birthday.
• Colorful Flowers Red Blue Green Orange is available on a variety of products on Zazzle, RedBubble, Imagekind, Society6 and Skreened

Have you used water colors before?  Any tips?

Since I went to college in New England, I ended up driving past this church quite a bit during those four years. I always thought it was a beautiful building. My husband and I occasionally visit my parents in the fall and take some trips to Vermont. After one of our last autumn trip a few years ago and seeing how gorgeous this church looked among the autumn landscape, I was bound and determine to get a photograph! Even if it wasn’t in the fall!

Old First Church in Snow Bennington Vermont Poster

by ValeriesGallery

Some fun facts:

• Although I use to drive by this church on my way to and from college, I had no idea how much history was associate with it! It’s the oldest church in Vermont. You can read about it on their website.

• Robert Frost is buried at this church.

• The Bennington Museum is located right behind the church. I’d recommend a visit, it’s awesome. They have a large selection of work by Grandma Moses among other things.

• Speaking of Grandma Moses, one of my great aunts use to be friends with one of her sisters.

• I had actually planned on getting a photograph of this church in the fall after a trip to Woodstock, Vermont a few years ago. My husband and I drove past it, (since we had visited my parents first) and saw how beautiful it was with the fall scenery! However, we really wanted to get to where we were going and decide to stop on the way back. Sadly, it poured the day we were going back to my parents’ house. Opportunity lost.

• For sale on Zazzle, RedBubble, Imagekind and Skreened.

Was there something you wanted to take a picture of for a while? Were you finally able to capture it?

These deals were accurate when I pressed the publish.  Some may contain affiliate links.

Valerie’s Gallery at Zazzle

• 60% off pillows and 30% off everything else with the code: ZAZCYBERSALE
  • Good until November 28, 2016 11:59PM PT

Cookie and Olivia at Zazzle

• 30% off everything else with the code: ZAZCYBERSALE
  • Good until November 28, 2016 11:59PM PT

Valerie’s Gallery at RedBubble

• 20% off with code: CYBERMON
  • Good until November 28, 2016 at 11:59pm PT

Valerie’s Gallery at Skreened

• 30% off sitewide!  No code needed!
  • Good until November 28, 2016 at Midnight

Valerie’s Gallery at Imagekind

• 50% off with code: CYBMON50
  • Good until November 28, 2016 at Midnight

Beautiful Cuteness on Society6

• 20% Off + Free Shipping on Everything
  • Good until November 28, 2016 at 11:59pm PT

One of the first 3D things I learned to make was an apple. The simplified explanation is you make a shape, fill it with a color and then use the 3D effect in Illustrator.

Out of curiosity, I wondered what would happen if you added an outline color to the shape? The answer is your 3D object would be striped!

Different Apple Plate
by ValeriesGallery

 
A few fun facts:

• Some of the other 3D digital artwork that I’ve done in Illustrator are 3D Hearts in Pink, Purple and Blue, 3D Cappuccino and Tea Time
• Blender is a free open source 3D program
• Apples are my favorite fruit
• Green Apple on Tree Branch is another of my apple themed work
• When I lived in upstate New York, I really enjoyed apple picking and really miss it (and autumn) since moving to Florida.
• Different Apple is available on Zazzle, Red Bubble, Imagekind and Skreened

 
Have you ever made anything 3D using the computer?

Since art is subjective and Different Apple may not be to your taste, as part of the Holiday Exchange on Zazzle, I’m going to introduce you to some other talented artist!  Don’t worry!  The following designs are ones that I really like and will have something to do with the topic of this blog post!

Please note:  All links in this post are affiliate links. Thanks in advance for your support of independent artist!

Besides, apples, pineapples are also one of my favorite fruits!  Plus living in Florida, I see a lot of tropical themed decor.  This pineapple pillow by Heartlocked is definitely one of the cooler tropical motifs I’ve seen.  It’s so pretty and fun!

Rainbow Pineapples Lumbar Pillow
by heartlocked

Crab Apple Blossoms Wedding Paper Napkins
by loraseverson

How fun is this serving platter Splendid Supply Home?  You can get the word yum in a variety of colors, but silver is my favorite!

YUM Silver Calligraphed Modern Serving Platter Porcelain Serving Platter
by SplendidSupplyHome