January Review- Lots of drawing and WTF is happening?
We made it through January! It started off pretty strong, then after the fires started in California, it seemed to go downhill from there. The fires out west were burning for weeks, One of my favorite authors who I love was outed as a scumbag, David Lynch passed away, and as soon as the new administration started, chaos in the US magnified greatly. I’m sorry for the bummer talk, but I’m really upset and worried for my fellow Americans. Rights are being taken away every single day, and the affects are starting to be felt. Families are being ripped apart due to deportation, and people are losing there jobs due to DEI programs going away within businesses.
This definitely had an effect on my art making this month, but I did get a decent amount of stuff done before I became glued to the news. I experimented with some new ideas, made some new digital works, and made some new stickers. I also started catching up on my TBR book list and my TBW Movie list. I had some quiet time to reflect, and I’m starting to get back to regularly scheduled artmaking. I hope that things start to improve soon. I have seen some really beautiful artwork in response to these events that are happening, and I hope that I can contribute. Take care of each other friends!
December Review- Lots of sketching and downtime :)
December was a busy one! After I updated my shop in late November, I made myself not make any new products until January. I had ideas for my subscription service I wanted to start, and some other ideas that I wanted to finish before I started something new. My day job is working at a frame shop, and this is our busiest time of year. Honestly, I was too tired after work to really do much else. I did however get a new lot of sketchbooks and supplies to experiment with, did a lot of sketch booking, and saw a lot of art in galleries and museums to get lots of inspiration for the new year. I also saw some pretty lights at the botanical gardens here in Charlotte. I took almost a week off around Christmas, and visited some friends and family in Atlanta, and in Memphis. I watched a lot of Santa slasher movies, painted my grandmother's childhood home, and read a lot of art magazines. I’m not used to having this much downtime, but it was nice to have it every once in a while. Here’s a few photos of my inspirations for the month :)
Best Art of 2024
2024 has come and gone, and I’m here to share my favorite pieces with you! It was an intense period of growth for me, and I allowed myself to experiment with different ideas and new materials. I quit worrying if art pieces made sense, and I slowly quit overthinking each and every detail as soon as my pen hit the page. I allowed myself to make “ugly” art, and even bought a bunch of extra sketchbooks so I don’t feel obligated to be precious with my pages. Fear of the blank page is a real thing, and it has taken decades to just ignore it. Then I remembered that I don’t have to share ALL of my work, and I can make all the ugly art that I want and no one will ever know! That is unless they go through my stuff after I die, but then it wont matter anyway :) These are collected images from digital works, pen and watercolor pieces, and sketchbook entries. I have 4 sketchbooks for 2025, and I hope to have even more finished pieces to share will you this coming year!
November Review-Lots of Art Making and Outside Time!
November was a busy month after a busy month, but now I plan on resting. At least a little. I finished 5 new art pieces and one new sticker, and listed EVERYTHING I have completed in my shop. I spent time with family for Thanksgiving (I made my sister hold my prints for photos), started planning some personal projects, watched an entire season of The Great British Baking Show in an afternoon, and spent as much time outdoors as I could before it gets cold. I also got some new art supplies to experiment with during this winter season. As of today, Charlotte got its first snow in almost 3 years. It made me really excited for cozy season. I can’t wait to share some of these new projects with you guys in the coming months! Here’ s some photos from my walks, new art, some of my sketchbook pages, and one of my favorite horror graphic novels that got adapted into a television show. Stay warm :) Until next time!
October Review- A busy and productive month!
This past October was the busiest month I’ve had in a long time! I worked 2 art markets, went to 2 shows, saw friends, said goodbye to an old friend, visited a new to be art museum, and finished a month long drawing challenge for the first time ever. I played with block prints and finished all the birth flower stickers! I’m taking the last couple of months of this year, to experiment and get more inspired for an even more creative 2025! Thanks for following along and more images from my drawing challenge are posted on my Instagram profile.
September Review-Time to reset
September was a great, productive month for me! I worked on my “Floating Forests” series, worked my first art market for the season, and designed some new products for the shop! I also got to spend some outdoor time watching the colors change from Summer to Fall, and I got to go to the beach :) This is my favorite time of year to get inspired and get experimental with my art supplies. I’m working on more traditional artwork this fall and winter season with acrylic paintings and more pen and ink work.
I lived in Asheville, NC for almost 10 years, and was emotionally affected when Hurricane Helene hit. I grew so much as a person and artist there, and was devasted when it was almost entirely swept away. I’ll be working on an original painting of the mountains that I will also be making prints and stickers out of for disaster relief funding. These items will be strictly for donations and I will not keep any of the profit. These items should be available in the next couple of weeks.
On a walk :)
North Topsail Beach, NC
Always inspired by bugs.
The prettiest sunset colors.
Britt helped me work a market :)
New items that I made for markets!
My signs that I need to get out more :)
Thank you for reading and I’ll see you next month!
Art Process: Floating Forest Series
Finally writing this after a long 2 weeks of prepping and trying to create new work for an art market this weekend (9/22)! I started this series earlier this year and after much trial and error, I’ve finally settled of the set 12 pieces of artwork for this collection. I haven’t created a cohesive collection of art in a while, and with my growing frame shop experience, I can now frame artwork archivally and actually be able to put it up somewhere! At least I hope so. I’m aiming to finish this entire series by November, with hopes of displaying it in a coffee shop or gallery somewhere as the colors used have a very wintery feel without much of it being winter themed. I wanted to express the calm and peaceful feeling that comes from a dark forest, but still retain some sort of mystery.
I got the idea for this series in January and February, and have been revising it throughout the summer. Which includes me reworking a 16x20 piece entirely after it was almost done. I’ve tweaked the color palette, images used, painting process, references used, and made a specific playlist perfectly timed to remind my self that I need to take breaks. I hope you enjoy this little peek into my artmaking process! and for more up to date progress on the entire series, I’ll be posting it in my Instagram stories, and posting full framed pieced on my feed as there completed. I’ll be making prints of some of these, but not all of them. I’ll post when those are available too! Enjoy!
I started off with a mood board, and collecting images that expressed how I was feeling at the time. It was dark and cold out, and I was longing to be outdoors.
Made a playlist to listen to while I work. Click the button below to listen if you wish :)
My sketchbook thumbnail page :)
Finally settled on a watercolor palette!
Fantasy illustration reference materials.
Watercolor sketch of one of my thumbnails.
Line drawing ready to be transferred to watercolor paper.
Finished piece ready to be scanned for prints!
Fully framed little trees :) Trees are "floating" on top of the matboard with some being lifted to give it more depth. All of the pieces will have floating aspects to it when fully framed. Hence "Floating Forests".
Thank you for reading!!!
August Review-Quiet Time
A little late writing this since I wasn’t feeling great this past weekend. August was a pretty quiet month other than designing new products for my shop this holiday season! I designed some new stickers, some new dotted journals, and if time permits, a new poster calendar. I started a new sketchbook, a new sketchbook practice to prep for Inktober, got experimental with some painting techniques, and started painting on canvas again. I’ll be working my first fall market in Charlotte later in the month, so the next few weeks will be pretty busy, so I’m aiming to get all the new products up in my shop by the end of September! Here’s some artwork photos from the month, I tried to work outside as much as possible, but it was just too hot most days. I also spent way too much time on screens, so I’ll definitely be taking a break after October!
July Review- No Social Media and Outside Time
What I peaceful month I had! I stayed off Instagram (except to see how Sticker Mule reacted to the email backlash), and Facebook for the moth of July. I did start watching some artist videos and tutorials on YouTube. I’ve been watching some artist day in the life videos and it makes me feel like making a living with art is possible without “selling out”. It’s also nice to watch travel adventures and how art fits into ones vacation time. I went home and saw some old friends, family, and got to go hiking for the first time in a while. I had a productive month on creative ideas, and my 20 Year old car passed inspection! I continued my horror movie binge by watching “Longlegs” in the theater, and watching random horror/suspense that I’ve never heard of. I also found illustration inspiration in reading children’s picture books, and visiting the Museum of the Housecat. The month started off with me seeing a rainbow, so it felt like it was going to be good! Here are some pics from my month!
Charlotte, NC 2024
Franklin, NC
War Woman Dell, Rabun County Georgia
Lily of the Valley Sticker to be in the next shop update!
Bull sketch with color pencil and micron pen
Art from the Museum of the House Cat, Sylva, NC
Sisters, 1972
Painting Outside (my happy place), Charlotte, NC
How Sobriety Changed My Art
I’ve always had a hard time articulating what I wanted to say. I’ve never been great with words, so I leaned into trying to express myself through visual art. I’ve been drawing ever since I can remember, and no matter how long a break I took in between drawing sessions, I always went back to it. I never worked on it long enough to really improve my skills, or even really learned about different techniques or how to find my style.
The older I got, the harder my feeling were to articulate. I journaled some, but I didn’t study or practice my writing to make that better either. I became distracted by breakups, multiple moves, job losses, and the constant feeling of imposter syndrome when I did try to make art. Everything I tried I wanted to make a business, so naturally nothing fully worked out since I was trying to fast track a creative career. If I liked to make something I tried to make money at it. I really wanted to make money as an illustrator, but I always felt that I couldn’t be good enough. I started drinking more and more in my early to mid thirties, and started getting more and more depressed about all the time that I was telling myself I wasted. I wasn’t listening to myself and what I truly wanted to do with my life.
Annual Art Read- Art and Fear (1985)
I quit drinking in June of 2023, so at the time of this writing, I have been sober for just over a year. Since getting sober, I’ve been really interested in the psychology of colors and how people reacted to different images without context. I hate titling my work. I want to express myself with images, color and texture and let the observer make there own conclusions as to what it means. without the distractions of drinking, I’m forced to deal with my emotions, and that drastically has changed the way I feel about making art. It makes me use my highly sensitive qualities for good.
Art therapy watercolor sketchbook 2024
Getting sober has helped me learn about myself and helping me make the art I truly feel represents my emotions in real time. thoughts and feeling change daily, and no two people are going to feel the exact same way at the same time. Don’t ask me what my art means, because I’m not going to know :) My art now represents how I’m feeling at the time of when I make it. I really love drawing plants, flowers and skulls. I also love watching horror movies. If it’s scary I’m into it, so you might not know what you are gonna get :) I might not ever make a full time living from my art, but at least what I’m making is true to me and not just for the sake of trend or money. I’m still learning how to fully express myself in art form, but that’s the journey right?
New Years Day Spider 2024
June 2024 Review-A Month of Reflection
I got news at the beginning of the month, that my boyfriend’s parents were moving a few hours away. As a hoarder of camping gear, sentimental items and art supplies, I had a lot of stuff to get out of their basement. I didn’t realize how much I had until I was forced to move it. I had to make room for as much as I could in my tiny apartment. I only had 2 weeks or so with my work schedule and their moving schedule to figure it out. After moving everything out, I had to prioritize what was important, and get rid of the rest.
I found old sketchbooks, family photos, binders from past business ventures, and lots of house stuff that I was saving “just in case”. I didn’t want to get rid of my unicorn flannel sheets, but I needed to. Some of these things made me happy, and other made me sad. Going through old journals and finding gifts and photos from former friends was a little gut wrenching. But all of this needed to be dealt with, so I dealt with it.
After all of the physical moving was done, I realized that this was the first time in 20 years I had all of my belongings in one place. No boxes in my parents house, no boxes in storage, and no boxes in my boyfriend’s parents basement. I’ve been reading about decluttering, downsizing, and simple living for a while, and now is my chance (even though I was forced to) to fully put it into practice. I realized that the things that were most valuable to me were items that help me maintain my mental health and fuel my creativity. Less really is more, and I hate that it took me 20 years to realize it. I’m finally creating the home I’ve always wanted without all the noise. It lead me to go through everything I had, and clear out as much as I could. Making the art I want and letting go of all of the extra hobbies that I tried to turn into a business for the sake of income. It feels really good to release these past expectations I had for myself.
In the middle of decluttering my whole life, I hit my first year sober. It was a huge milestone for me since I started drinking when I was in high school. Feeling everything emotion while you go through all of your belongings was a lesson in how I deal with uncomfortable situations.
A few days later, I went to the beach to reset with my mom and my grandmother. I was grateful to have a few days to reflect on what I wanted my next steps to be and how I want to fulfill my future. I didn’t expect to feel this much from getting rid of my stuff. but the universe is trying to tell me something, so I’m listening. I spent the rest of the month sorting projects and giving things away cleaning off my porch and organizing my plants. I still have a little bit to go (anyone need mason jars?), but the majority is done and I’m ready to move forward.
Here are some photos from my month of reflection, some fun stuff I found, graphic novels I read, some stickers I made and my reflection time at the beach. I’ve been on a classic horror kick lately, so that’s where my art will currently be leaning towards. Enjoy!
Topsail Beach, North Carolina
Dr Terror’s House of Horrors, 1965
Old sketchbook page I’m turning into a full drawing, 2021
Some new stickers I made this month listed in the shop!
Look at that hand drawn Ramones tape cover, 1999
Spread from Junji Ito’s “Smashed”, 2019
Welcome to my Journey!
Hello and thank you for joining me! My name is Melissa and I’m an independent, mostly self taught Illustrator based in Charlotte, North Carolina. I love traveling, spending time in nature, horror movies and graphic novels, and experimenting with different arti mediums and techniques. I use art as a way to work through tough feelings, hard situations, conflict, and indecisiveness, I love combining textures with color, linework and emotions. I’ll be sharing art processes for full series of artwork, art therapy projects, inspiration, how art helps my sobriety journey, and sketchbook entries. If any of this interests you! Send me a message through the contact form, and I’ll put you on my mailing list for my newsletter that will be starting in June!The newletter will feature future blog posts, shop updates, and any events I’ll be working in person!