New Year & "New" Me

I really enjoy learning about different cultures' customs, so this past Saturday I found myself reading more about the Chinese New Year. Specifically, I got to learn about this being the beginning of a "gold rat" year :) (If you want to read an interesting article that I did, you can find it here). In honor of the new year, and my love for pet rats, I just had to stay up late to draw these little cuties:

Another challenge came my way during this last week, and that was the "toon me" hashtag I saw many a fellow artist having fun with on Instagram. So, I decided I'd join in! Here's my cartoon-self, and I'd recommend hopping over and seeing other artist's self-portraits!

Well, that's all I've got today! Thanks for visiting, and see you again in February!

A Happy Diversion

This post's title could not be more fitting!

Since this time last week, I have felt in a bit of an "artist's-block" (as you know how frustrating writer's block is....), which needed to be solved with a change of pace, and working through LOTS of unfruitful sketches.

So I allowed myself to doodle and sketch and do any random art-thing that could get me out of my rut. In doing so, I am glad to have made a couple cute sketches for Valentine's Day cards (pictured below), and I let myself have the time to explore a new resource for bringing my 3D art into games (will talk more about that later!).

Pictured below:  "Batty" About you! & Lovebirds

Thanks again for reading, and see you again next week! :)

Welcome 2020!

Happy New Year!

Lots to look forward to this year! Included in the bunches of hopes and goals I have going forward, I am committing to two exciting challenges; the 365art/daily posting challenge on my Instagram (@BriannaLeahyArt) & a weekly blog post here! I will hopefully be able to keep my blog posts on Wednesdays :)

I am excited to take time to draw for myself every day, exploring new topics, media, and generally improving myself and skillset! So, check back often, good luck on your new year goals, and happy 2020!

Pictured:  Some of my challenge posts so far!

Thanks for visiting, as always!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!! I hope you all get to enjoy this time with your friends and loved ones! I got to celebrate with my husband and our American friend here in France this year! We had such a nice time and a yummy spread; the illustration below shows just a handful of our creations. I was so excited to make my very first pie & vegan gravy, and both were a hit! 

Sea-Dragon Mermaid

:) Here's my last mermaid of "MerMay" 2019! I wanted to create a seahorse mermaid, so this lady is inspired by the leafy sea-dragon. Created in Photoshop with a Cintiq tablet.

"(Friendly) Bull in a China Shop"

Watch out bull!
This cartoon is an original take on the "bull in a china shop" idiom. Unlike the traditional meaning, this bull is kindly and concerned at his predicament (even as we all know his situation spells disaster!).

Pictured left:  My "Bull in a China Shop" on screen! Audiences at the Karen Gail Miller Conference Center (Sandy, Utah) got to view this artwork as talking point during a presentation by guest speaker Dave Feldman.
April 17-18th, 2019.

Though I did not attend, the thought of my artwork being shown to an auditorium of people is always exciting!


Thanks for reading, and see you next week!

It's Mer-May!

It’s Mer-May!!! 🐚 Kicking off the month with a little clownfish mermaid :) If you haven't heard of Mermay before, it's a fun art-challenge to create mermaids all of May! Let's see how many I can contribute this year!

Princess Pigeon

Today a friend shared with me a comic by @ChuckDrawsThings titled "self-worth", and it inspired me to draw this princess pigeon! Of all the "wildlife" of Nice, France, I must say I have seen more pigeons here in a month than I have ever seen before! They have been my constant companions out on the street :)

I also encourage you to go see the comic that inspired this lady-bird! You can see it on ChuckDrawsThings' Facebook page by clicking: here 

Learning on the Tram

Kiddos on the tram have been unknowingly helping me learn French, and to train my ears for correct pronunciation :) Yesterday a little one, staring out the window repeated “monsieur, madame, monsieur, madame....” until his mom told him to shhh! 😌

This is the first time in a good while that I have just let myself doodle with ink....oh how I didn't realize how much I've missed the feeling! We hope to be settled into our new home soon so I can really turn my focus back to my personal work (& this blog!)  :)   Take care & see you back here again soon!

A Batty Idea: Oregon Wildlife Art

One reason I love Photoshop; it's easy to create a seamless pattern! So as Halloween was drawing near, a batty-bat pattern seemed like a must-have :) I have wanted to create more artwork featuring local wildlife, so why not start with Yuma myotis?



A cute little bat, Yuma myotis can be found near my home in Oregon. I have always enjoyed learning more about creatures and plants, especially those who share the same wilderness that I do. Energized by the thought that creating this art can bring me both joy, and the knowledge to identify this creature in real life, I decided to start a new art series!



I am excited to say that I will be focusing on Oregon wildlife artwork for the rest of this year! I endeavor to create art that inspires interest in learning about the natural world, especially for Oregonians young & old :) To do this, I will focus on local species, & include a bite-size bit of educational information with each art piece!

Currently I'm working on naturalistic wall-art, illustrated notebooks (with wildlife facts inside the cover), greeting cards, & even getting my pattern-designs on cloth (pictured left)!


New possibilities are open to my art-gifts now that I am printing my artwork on cotton cloth, and I am so excited!


I hope to bring a fair bit to my art-booths at events this holiday season as well, so keep an eye out! :D

Oh, Hi! : An Ink Sketch

Oh, hi!
Created this little card to send & surprise a friend :) A happy, waving grizzly bear.

Original:  Ink (via brush pen) on vellum with pencil underdrawing. Below:  Print on creme yardstick paper.


Bye for now!

'Coral County' Comic, Science & Art Collaboration!

Brianna Leahy Art in collaboration with the Vega Thurber Laboratory of Oregon State University are proud to present 'Coral County, Episode #1'!

This comic is the first of three interactive web-comics that promote marine science learning! Below, you can read the comic, but for its full interactive features, please visit briannaleahyart.com/coralcountycomic !

Our goal with this project is to provide fun & educational content for the general public & everyday reader. We hope that this comic can inspire interest and a greater understanding in science, especially in marine biology issues and ocean health.

We encourage sharing with friends! The 'Coral County Comic' is also fully available for educational use. For educators, please, encourage students of any age to visit the website and learn!

More episodes are coming very soon!

'Coral County' Comic.  For interactive version, visit briannaleahyart.com/coralcountycomic

Rainy Day Doodle

Another rainy day in Oregon, and I am getting back into the swing of blogging! I have been very fortunate to be so busy with commission work, but I have missed this! :)

So here is a new rainy day doodle. Inspired by Oregon's humor, teasing us with a sunny day before making us pick up our rain coats again the following morning!

Back to jackets & rain! Oregon just wont let us have more than one sunny day yet... Day 68 of #365art #briannaleahyart #art #artist #artwork #sketch #sketchbook #ink #doodle #pen #marker #copicmarkers #draw #drawing #illustration #people #girl #woman #red #redjacket #rainyday #design #dailyart #artofinstagram #cartoon #oregon #spring #youngwoman #fashion #pnw

A post shared by Brianna Elizabeth Leahy (@briannaleahyart) on Mar 18, 2017 at 12:35am PDT

A Bazaar Adventure!

Artist & a part of our booth!

A new year & so many art-adventures to share!

This weekend was my very first arts & crafts bazaar as a vendor! I was so excited to share my art shop, Under Sea & Stars Studio! To all of my wonderful family, friends, and the lovely patrons who came to the event, thank you for supporting my artwork!

Valentine's Day Cards

"A Bazaar to Love" was a Valentine's Day themed event, so I created all-new Valentine's Day mini-cards! My designs include love & friendship themed cards & nature themed mini cards, all with a gold sticker-seal.

I also brought along my new labor of love:  mini animal sculptures! All these little charms are sculpted & painted by hand, and make perfect pocket-sized gifts!

Animals at the Bazaar:

Zebra 

Elephant (Available here)

White & Gold Unicorn

Black & Gold Unicorn

By far the most popular this weekend was the white & gold unicorn :)

I was very lucky to share the booth with two other wonderful & creative ladies! Jessica of "Roosevelt Kid" (pictured left), & Meg of "Adornments by Meg" (center).

"Roosevelt Kid" brought her sweet sewn creations, which you can check out here.

"Adornments by Meg"'s delicate natural stone jewelry was lovely too! You can visit her shop here.

&... of course my shop is UnderSeaAndStars! You can see my shop here...

& my Studio's Instagram here.

Thanks as always for taking the time to read! Catch you next week!

Silly Animals in Ink: Art-Friday

Inktober fun! I had a great time getting back to my ink, marker & paper! The following sketches were started in pencil, followed in my brush pen, and then with Copic markers for color. I hope you enjoy these playful doodles.

Frog Sculpt & Post-it Holder: Art-Thursday

Hello again! I created this sculpt and post-it note holder as a birthday present for my boyfriend. The little tree frog sculpt is modeled after the sketch I posted last week here. She is made from Sculpey polymer clay, and painted in acrylics. The leaf holder was inspired by a banana leaf, made of felt & embellished with embroidery thread. He loves tropical tree frogs, so this went perfectly in his office! I hope you enjoy!

Groggy Grizzly: Art-Friday!

I am back! I managed to get a pretty nasty, knock you off your feet cold. This bear doodle is pretty much how I felt getting back to work! But man am I so happy to be back to drawing!

(Click any image to enlarge)

Thanks for reading! See you next week!

Pokemon Trainer, Bri!: Art-Wednesday

Good evening all! I know with all this Pokémon GO shenanigans going on, there is a lot of wisdom being shared and tons of nostalgia being celebrated! So...since I am one of those who have embraced this new chapter in Pokemon fandom, here I just had to draw myself as a Pokémon Trainer!

For those who played Crystal on their Game Boy Colors, you will notice some similarities to the game's color schemes, though I did a mash-up with the new Pokémon GO experience and my own style :) I hope you enjoy, I've Gotta go and Catch 'em All!

Prof:  What was your name again?

Brianna!

A couple of process pictures, this time last to first:

(Click to Enlarge) 

(Left):  Cleaning the sketch     (Right):  Initial digital sketch

Thank you! See you here next week!

Miss Bear Print on Etsy! Art-Wednesday

Miss Bear is now on my Etsy shop, UnderSeaAndStars! Below you can find photos of Miss Bear's 5x7" print, and a preview of my Etsy listing! 

You can view it for real here:  UnderSeaAndStars Miss Bear Print 

Thanks for reading & see you next week!

  

All images © 2016 - Brianna Elizabeth Leahy

Emerald Flora Dress: Art-Wednesday

I had artist's block the other day, and it lead me to try something a little different! I chose three images from my "inspiration bank" of random photos/artwork/architecture and fashion that I find personally inspiring. From those three, I made my own mash-up of the images and my personal style.

Hope you enjoy!

Finished Illustration:  Girl in Green Dress

(Click an image to view larger)

Left:  An initial sketch.  Right:  Value study & pattern exploration

All images © 2016 - Brianna Elizabeth Leahy