nest and studio

Clementine Daily Feature: Everyday Icons

October 31, 2013 1 Comment

Some super cool girls I know started an amazing site called Clementine Daily. I was honored when Erin Loechner, one of said cool girls asked to interview me for Everyday Icons.

Here’s an excerpt. Click over to see the rest of Erin’s thoughtful questions and my answers:

What is your personal motto or mantra?
Choose happiness.

Any advice for budding artists/illustrators/designers?
My advice to any artist starting out is: Work hard, make lots of work, become comfortable with failure, look for places where you can get feedback, submit work to places where you can see your work fitting in, collaborate with friends, build a portfolio of work that looks like it’s done by the same person with the same hand, look at the work of artists you admire and think about why you like it and what makes it special, look at that artist’s client list and aim to work for them, ask to work for them, make your work good enough that you’d hire yourself, take your work from being pretty good to excellent, carve out your niche in the market and don’t give up, mistakes are par for the course. If this is your passion you can make it happen with diligence and willingness to learn from your mistakes. The cream rises to the top.

Anthology Magazine cover + feature

October 28, 2013 3 Comments

I was thrilled when Anthology Magazine asked me me to illustrate their sartorial issue cover (issue 13). I was also so honored when they came over to shoot me in my home/studio, interview me about my book Well-Read Women: Portraits of Fiction’s Most Beloved Heroines and ask my questions about my illustration career for a lovely feature in the issue. My beautiful and talented collaborator/pal Rubi Jones is in there as well.

Here are two quick snaps of my spreads:

I showed this to Henry and said “you are in a magazine”. He was super unimpressed. Nonetheless, Anthology is such a beautifully designed magazine with such rich and fascinating content. I love it and am so happy to contribute.

Reader

September 26, 2013 No Comments

I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response to my book. I had hoped it would speak to people who love these literary heroines. I thought mainly women would like the book though I’d hoped men would too. It never even occurred to me that a male dog could have such positive feelings about it. This may be my favorite picture of all time…ever…like as in Ev-Er, of my friend Brvtvs‘s pet Darryl the dog reading my book. I may blow this up and frame it. (Seriously).

Seattle log

July 2, 2013 No Comments

We arrived in Seattle late afternoon Sunday, checked into our cozy Airbnb apartment. Yesterday we did a ridiculous amount of activities considering we’ll be here all summer. The day started on our deck, eating some yogurt and granola for breakfast and marvelling at the quiet of our neighborhood, Madison Valley versus 3rd Ave back home in NYC. Henry pointed out all the spider webs and butterflies in the little garden.

Dave headed to work and Henry and I hopped a bus to Pike Place Market. It’s definitely a must see for any Seattle tourist and we didn’t feel too cliché going there first (ok well maybe a little). They have the most stunning flower arrangements, a fish market, sweets and honestly the most beautiful and delicious fruits I’ve ever seen anywhere including on my many trips to California. Henry and I shared possibly the most juicy and sweet peach rivalling James’s giant one in Roald Dahl’s story.

Then we hit up the Seattle Aquarium which is just down the hill from the market. Before heading in, we watched the jellyfish swimming in the bay and the ferry boats taking people to the islands. Inside the aquarium we saw a huge and a little creepy octapus and lots of other fascinating creatures.

The day ended with the most incredible swim in the Madison Valley lake. Swimming in a cool lake with a view of pine-covered islands and snow-capped mountains, including mount Rainier was pretty spectacular. Henry didn’t even ask why the Brooklyn-esq hipster girls didn’t have bathing suit tops on.

If you’d like to follow along my daily photos, follow me on Instagram. I’ll probably share some photos here too from time to time but with a more curated approach. Seattle is truly a beautiful place to be, especially during the summer.

North Fork highlights

July 19, 2012 1 Comment

Though it was hard leaving my drawing table, we had a blast on our little getaway on the North Fork of LI. Here are some highlights from our trip from berry picking, to lavender fields to the pebbly beach:

Clementine Daily Feature: Everyday Icons

Anthology Magazine cover + feature

Reader

Seattle log

North Fork highlights

Books

Book Recs

Buddy

Me Elsewhere

Quicks Links

Social Links

Newsletter