2024 Calendars available now! (1 of 4)

Excited to announce my artwork featured in FOUR 2024 calendars! Over the next four blog posts, I'll delve into each one.

Kicking off with Floral Ink 2024: This 16-month calendar showcases exclusively my still life paintings, marking the third edition created for Graphique de France. Collaborating with Graphique has been a delight, and their exceptional calendars truly complement my work. Through meditative strokes, I aim to encapsulate the essence of floral arrangements, bringing the beauty of everyday life to each month. Explore or purchase Floral Ink on Graphique’s website here or you can find it on Amazon here as well.

Pro tip: My mother removes the pages after each month and frames them for wall art. They look great!

I’ll write about the second calendar out now in my next post…

Sales galore in my online shops, Part 3: Redbubble

Redbubble is another one of my favorite shops to sell my art.

They make it incredibly easy to upload artwork AND I can set the background color with a hex code AND they provide a patterning option. So helpful!

Check out my Sailboat Drawing art on these socks. I used Redbubble’s pattern generator to create this repeat pattern.

Here’s another example of using Redbubble’s patterning tool for my art. Brushed ink winter flora in blue and cream on an apron…

I’ve been selling on Redbubble for many years. If you’d like to learn more, please comment below or reach out via my Contact page.

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?

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!

Long Live IllustrationFriday.com!

If you haven’t already heard of Illustration Friday, I encourage you to check them out. There is something so friendly and encouraging about their site, and I always enjoy creating art for their prompts.

This week’s prompt was “Game.” I took it as “The Game” or even “Game ON.” Below are my two variations. Have a favorite?

Holiday Card Submission for MATS

Another year, another round (or several) of MATS courses!

This year, agent Lilla Rogers of Make Art That Sells offered a free course to the winner of the Holiday Card challenge. The prompt: Favorite Holiday Drink.

Aside from coffee in the morning, my favorite holiday drink is red wine. I wanted to create a cozy, wintry look for this card, with a not-so-dainty glass of red wine.

Drink up!

Focusing on women and the body

It’s been a very long time since I’ve studied the human body in its nakedness or almost nakedness. I find myself embarrassed in front of a not fully-clothed model, and I shirk away from live sketch nights because of it.

For a recent pitch, however, I was prompted to look more at the female form, looking at her — staring! — and drawing her in all of her shapes and personality. I found it to be so much fun. Not embarrassing at all. Who knew?

Below are some of my recent line drawings…

Farm Animal Pillows launched via Creative Co-op

At the Atlanta Market this past January, more of my Watercolor Animal collection was launched — pillows! Thank you, Creative Co-op!

I received a couple samples, and they look great. Excellent quality pillow, too. Yep, stoked again.

What's been happening this year: Update 2 of 6

I started licensing my work! So stoked!

Last fall, after an extremely helpful call with Giuseppe Castellano of The Illustration Department, I decided to revisit the resources in SCBWI's "The Book." I focused on a small group of art directors and agents that I'd like to work with, and I sent out emails to all of them. I am now fortunate to be represented by Lori Nowicki and Liz Wain of Painted Words licensing, and I couldn't be more grateful.

Watercolor of a scarlet ibis. One of the images picked up by GreenBox Art + Culture for 2018, watercolor and pencils, Copyright 2017 Kendra Shedenhelm

Debut of my licensed watercolors with GreenBox Art + Culture for 2017 (image posted on Instagram by my agent, Liz Wain of Wain's World and Painted Words Licensing