Sales galore in my online shops, Part 2: Spoonflower

Spoonflower.com is having a lot of sales right now, ranging from 25% off to free shipping.

My current favorite from that shop is this botanical silhouette pattern that I recently created. I love it for bedding, but I really love it in wallpaper…

Another preview on other products…

I love selling on Spoonflower, because it’s an easy platform to upload art to AND they have a uniquely friendly and interactive community. With frequency, I hear from clients requesting a change in color or pattern size (which I always appreciate). And I also receive (and hopefully give) kind and supportive messages from/to other artists.

High fives to #spoonflower!

Art Licensing, Wood Product Ideas for #MATS Home Decor 2022

For this week’s assignment for #makeartthatsells Home Decor,

I used the linework and brushed ink drawings from my “mini” assignment and tried to create carved and inlaid textures in wood.

The little wooden dog figurine is my favorite. (:

Salutations and Hand-Drawn Lettering for Ceramic Collection, #makeartthatsells

Hand-lettering for this week’s class in Make Art That Sells.

I went with a series of antique typewriter-styles of lettering, focusing on “politeness” with varying salutations and RSVPs.

Have a favorite?

Make Art That Sells, Home Decor 2022, The Beginning

Week One of the Make Art That Sells Home Decor class!

This was an attempt at creating metal products with a focus on birds. I created a cockatoo with a gem for an eye as a brass lamp base + a laced lampshade (OR maybe a frosted glass lampshade). I also have a painted blue metal bird wall hanging. The bird sculpture can also be on TOP of the ring as a towel holder.

What do you think of these ideas?

Chickadee tattoo design for a wonderful new client

New tattoo design for a client, completed and on the flesh!
I created this “Three Chickadees” line drawing as one, continuous line. #itsallconnected.

Line drawing of three chickadees for a forearm tattoo.

Final tattoo on my client’s arm! (I did not do the tattoo, FYI. Just the design.)

Sugar Skull With Butterflies linework now in my t-shirt shops

My Sugar Skull With Butterflies line drawing is now available in my online shops.

You can find it as a print or sticker, on a t-shirt or pillow, and in blue/black and multi-color. Please check it out on my Society6, Redbubble and TeePublic stores to find the right products for you!

Kendra Shedenhelm Sugar Skull Drawing in Blue and Black

Line drawing in blue and black (multi-color also available)

More Character Play with MATS

Another character illustrated for MATS Bootcamp 2022

April’s assignment focused on drawing children. We were provided a fun story snippet of a young girl named Florencia who had a sidekick and a time machine!

I sketched a variety of kids’ bodies and studied their proportions, and I eventually came up with this young whippersnapper with a penguin sidekick.

My illustration for MATS Bootcamp 2022, April

Another year of Make Art That Sells Bootcamp!

I’ve been participating in the MakeArtThatSells.com Bootcamp since 2015, and the assignments never disappoint.

Instead of having an entirely new focus each month as in previous years, this year’s Bootcamp has an overarching theme of “Character Play.” We’ll be creating a character each month, both for book illustration and for toys and games.

I’ll update more in a few, but I promised myself I’d get this posted tonight. My submission for the illustration part of this month’s character, a happy little donut named Coco Moloko….

My illustration for this month’s Make Art That Sells Bootcamp. An assemblage of freehand ink drawing with a few pops of color.

Home Decor Plus course with MakeArtThatSells.com

Another course completed for MakeArtThatSells.com with Lilla Rogers and Margo Tantau: Home Decor Plus!

I’ve taken many classes with Lilla over the years, and once again, her style of teaching makes what might seem impossible (creating an entire collection in just a couple of weeks!) into something doable. By breaking creative tasks into bits, Lilla helps me work through an assignment incrementally, piece by piece, before my mind can get ahead of itself and feel stymied. Her courses really keep things moving.

I drew various icons based on our prompt and trend board first…

Some of the icons I drew for the initial prompt. Copyright 2022 Kendra Shedenhelm

And I drew more icons and played around with color…

More drawings and color tests for makeartthatsells.com course, Home Decor Plus. Art copyright 2022 Kendra Shedenhelm

I layered these drawings on various product templates and ultimately submitted this page with a blue texture on white ceramic. I called this collection “Peacock Mashup”.

“Peacock Mashup” collection in textured blue by Kendra Shedenhelm for the makeartthatsells.com course, Home Decor Plus. Art copyright 2022 Kendra Shedenhelm

All of this art is available for further viewing on my agent’s website as well, at wains-world.com. Please reach out with any questions!

Thanks again to Lilla and Margo for another wonderful and helpful class!

Love, animated

I’ve been trying some simple animations for my illustrations the past few weeks, and I find it very rewarding!

I often imagine my illustrations moving around but whenever I try to learn animation software, I don’t seem to have the patience for it. So instead, I’ve been creating multi-image artworks and uploading them to a gif-maker (I like Gifmaker.me so far), which turns them into an animated gif that I can download

With Valentine’s Day and my 15-year wedding anniversary in mind, here are a couple of love-themed works. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Illustration of Elizabeth Catlett for Redrawing Black History

For this week’s assignment for Redrawing Black History with Tamisha Anthony and Lilla Rogers, we illustrated a portrait of the great artist Elizabeth Catlett.

Elizabeth was a friend of my late friend and mentor, Emma Amos, and I found myself a bit emotional when reading about Elizabeth, as it was clear why she and Emma would have admired each other. Elizabeth seemed to balance immense determination and tenacity with incredible warmth and caring. She would invite Emma and other artists to her home in Cuernavaca, Mexico. She really seemed to choose how she wanted to live.

I included Elizabeth's quote: “Art is only important to the extent that it aids in the liberation of our people” because I feel it says a lot about her as a person and an artist.

Floral Ink Yearly Calendar for 2022

I have a collection of ink drawings now available as a 2022 wall calendar, called “Floral Ink.”

It was beautifully art directed by Graphique de France, with ivory tone and gold foil. You can find it in stores around the country too (I found one here at Walmart, for example). My mom has one and the quality is so gorgeous, she’s been turning the art pages into wall art.

Please keep an eye out for it, and let me know what you think!

My ink drawing wall art calendar for 2022 (16-month)

New "Winter Treescapes" painting now available in stores!

A sample of my licensed painting arrived, and I love it.

It started as a small sketch, and it’s wonderful to see it brought to life like this. A beautifully rich black and white print with a substantial matte black frame. High fives to the art director and manufacturing team!

Please keep an eye out for this one at your local TJ Maxx/HomeGoods/Marshalls, and let me know if you need any help finding them. Thank you, thank you!

My black and white "Winter Treescapes" painting, now available in stores.