Lindsey Dahl's Paintings on Wood and Hand Saws

I'll leave you for the week with beautiful paintings by Lindsey Dahl. She is an artist from Chelsea, MI who paints on canvas, old barn wood and her recent paintings are painted on hand saws. Her style is bold, full of bright and vibrant colors, and her subject matter vary with animals as the recurring theme in her artwork. “Experience with several animals both wild and domestic has had a profound influence in the way I view my subjects. This is where my main inspiration stems from.”

If you are wondering where have you seen her work before then let me help you. She is one of the artists whom I had pleasure working with for our annual project Owl Lover 2015 Calendar. 

Have a lovely weekend! Take care.

Shivani

Free Owl E-Cards

These cute owl e-cards are free to send right away to your loved ones with text like "Thank you!", " How the hoot are you", "Hope your day is a real hoot!", and " Owl always love you!". These are designed by Debbie who is an artist and a designer based out of Spokane, WA. Her designs can be found on kitchen products, homeware, cards, fabric, giftwrap and more! 

You can bookmark this post for sending a card later or send one now by going to this link. There are over 60 e-cards designs for every occasion.

Make Owl Prints at Home

I just learnt about this technique called Collagraph printing which is a wonderful way of making your own prints easily! By definition, Collagraph means making a print of a collage composed from textures glued to a surface. It's a simple process that can be enjoyed by all age groups. This process given an opportunity to be creative and customize your piece by adding things like found textured objects to the collage.

Morag has used the same Collagraphic printing method to make owl prints. The tutorial shared by her on making the owls is short and clear, with a small list of material needed for the project. Enjoy!

15 Artists Decorate The Royal London Children's Hospital

Activity Space (7th Floor) by  Cottrell and Vermeulen and  Betty Fraser Myerscough

Vital Arts, a British arts organization in charge of introducing art to Britain’s hospitals, collaborated with 15 artists to decorate the interior of London Royal Children’s Hospital in their own unique style. They transformed the interiors of the hospital into a fun place by bringing in bright and colorful ceramics, vinyl, wood  and rugs. We all know, no kids space is complete without their favorite animal friends. The seventh floor of the hospital is decorated with Eddie the tiger and Twoo the wise owl created by textile designer Betty Fraser Myerscough.

"Visitors to the seventh floor of the new Royal London Hospital would be forgiven for thinking they had slipped down the rabbit hole to Wonderland. A huge fluorescent owl perches on a giant chair, which rises to almost two storeys, standing alongside a vast television set. An enormous stuffed tiger leans against a great wooden globe, while a gigantic orange lampshade hangs above a digital disco carpet. It's like the stage set of The Borrowers conceived on an acid trip.

This surreal oversize living room is the work of Cottrell and Vermeulen architects and designer Morag Myerscough, who have worked to bring a much-needed dose of fun to the children's ward of this colossal new hospital complex." - Via

“We wanted to create a place that was an escape for the young patients, an engaging place that was fun, playful & colourful, but at the same time gave the opportunity for the whole family to relax together.” - Via

Respiratory (Ward 7E) by Miller Goodman, 2014

“Wood is a traditional warm medium that soulfully ages softening with play. It is traditional and always evokes childhood memories of play. We hope that the mix of bright vinyl colours and wooden characters encourages and entertains the child as well as wishes them a speedy recovery.”

Donna Wilson for John Lewis

Donna Wilson designed her first Spring 2015 clothing collection for kids in collaboration with British department store John Lewis. The  kids wear range features quirky and cute woodland characters on t-shirts suitable for both boys and girls in array of bold colors. The range also includes other products like leggings, accessories and jumpsuits with repeat prints and patterns in Donna Wilson's delightful style.

Nastja Holtfreter: Surface Designer

Nastja Holtfreter is a freelance illustrator, surface and pattern designer living in Berlin, Germany. She specializes in  art licensing for postcards, paper goods, children's books and giftware. I picked out some of her latest designs from her portfolio to share here but you can visit her website to see her past work.

UDeco: Mirrors

UDeco is an online store that offers unique and modern decorations for home. The brand is based in Ukraine and all the lovely products are designed by Andrew who is also the owner of the store. Presently in the store, you'll find a variety of handmade and hand-painted decorative mirrors in fun shapes such as owl, fox, elk, hare, buntings, origami plane and other designs in different sizes. Starting at $8! The mirrors will look great in a nursery, kid's room or on your dresser. 

Skip Hop Zoo: New Products

Brand new Skip Hop Zoo products offers products that will make toting food more fun without the mess. Skip Hop Zoo insulated food jars come in adorable designs - owl, monkey, bee, dog and ladybug. The thermal stainless steel jar claims to keeps food cold for 5 hours and warm for up to 7 hours. Find them and order them from here.

Skip Hop Zoo snack cup is my favorite because of it's shape and the convenient style. The lid allows children to help themselves to snacks, preventing contents from spilling if the cup is overturned. The snack cup comes in the following animals designs - owl, monkey, bee and ladybug from here.

Skip Hop Zoo lunch kits have a rubber seal that locks the lid to prevent leaks. The kits are BPA free and and come with a snack container. Owl, monkey, ladybug, dog and bee designs are featured on the lid and are available here. 

Cristina Rose

Cristina Rose is a self taught artist based in Los Angeles who started to paint when she was 6! Her watercolor paintings are mainly inspired by nature and dreams. She shared in her interview to Elvenfawn on being asked the reason of drawing animals in her work: "I don’t know why I mainly paint and draw animals, it probably sounds strange but when I make art I choose subjects or themes that inspire me and heal me. Nature heals me so I stick to that." Her beautiful paintings are complimented by her gorgeous styling and photography.  

She is also a writer and a believer in living clean and healthy life. You will find many inspiring, motivating posts on improving health as well as features of campaigns directed towards earth and welfare of animals.

Sweet Dreams: A Sweet Children's Book

Sweet Dreams is a children's rhyming  picture  book  written by Rose A. Lewis and illustrated by Jen Corace. This is a sweet story where a mother prepares her daughter for bed while she tells her about different night creatures who sleep at night and those  who "come alive in darkness -  They have no need of of light " The story suggests that kids sleep long feeling safe cuddled in their bed with the moon and the owl watching.

The story starts and ends with the following lines:

Good night, my precious child,

May your dreams be long and sweet -

And full of great adventures

With the friends you're soon to meet.

Jen Corace's illustrations are soothing and rich done in pen, ink and  watercolors. The color palette of twilight blue and purple is appropriate for the story line. Of all the beautiful sceneries in the book, my favorite is of the three baby owls sitting in their nest waiting for their mother to return with a meal. This book will make a perfect baby shower gift for new parents! Available here.

Gorgeous Ceramic Mugs by 7 Sommer

Aramata and Lämmerhirt of '7 Sommer' are talented designers from Berlin, Germany who make gorgeous hand painted ceramics inspired by animals. The porcelain mugs feature hand drawn illustrations of forest creatures including owl, bear, wolf and bunny surrounded by flowers and text. You must visit their store for other amazing things including handmade journals and woodcut artwork.