a flurry of spring is now online ...

some of the products available at Society6

Today, I have dipped my toes into another online venue with some of my design work.

I worked one of my #30daysofpatternstudies into a repeat, called it 'springtime flurry and posted it on Society6.

Society6 will put my artwork on a number of products so that anyone can go and order different merchandise with some original virginiafitzgerald art on it!!!

iPhone skin available at Society6

I have ordered one of the carry-all pouches to make sure that the quality is to my liking, however I know other illustrators and artists who use this site so I am pretty confident that I will be happy with the end product. 

As one of my goals for 2016 is to have an online shop, either on my website or via Etsy, I see posting some art on Society6 as the beginning of my foray into the land of online commerce.

Another perk of listing with Society6, is that they are running a promotion from now until March 6th - the link for the promo

promo: get FREE Worldwide Shipping + 15% Off New Carry-All Pouches when they order from your Society6 Store

Promotion expires March 6, 2016 at Midnight Pacific Time. 

*Free Shipping offer excludes Framed Prints and Canvas Prints

(Also, true confessions, it is such a hoot to see my art on the different products!!! )

And as a way to celebrate this newest entry to the online world,

 I have created a downloadable calendar for the month of March with the pattern of the day ...

you can either download the calendar from here or you can follow the below link to my flickr account

https://flic.kr/p/EeeoRJ

So happy March everyone and thank you for your ever-present and thoroughly appreciated support!!

peace

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patterns on a post-it

photo by Francisca Nunes of some of our posts for her #30daysofpatternstudies 

One of the perks of Instagram, besides finding awesome artists and beautiful art, is discovering interesting projects/challenges.

Last year I contributed to the coloring book 'Breathing to a new Beat, "the Breathing to a New Beat Technicolour Dream Book is a collaborative fundraising colouring book to support the Heart and Lung Transplant Trust Vic (HLTTV)" and the brain child of CurlyPops .  

This month I stumbled upon Francisca Nunes' #30daysofpatternstudies and knew it was perfect for me ... I love pattern and a post-it is the perfect size so that I can't spend all day working on it (need to be on the watch for anything that may be a #productiveprocastination possibility)

pattern 11/30

And it has been a perfect project, post-it are always available, and perfect for when you are on 'hold' on the phone, waiting for a carpool pick-up and lately they have been quite handy while traveling on the train and during the 'lovely, yet repetitive' college informational sessions.  This week Francisca posted about her reasons for starting her #30daysofpatternstudies and has posted some of our patterns (make sure to click on the link at the bottom of this post to be taken to her blog!)  and I figured I would share how this has been such a terrific experience for me on my blog.

pattern 10/30 'lovebirds' for Valentine's Day

First I have really enjoyed getting to 'know' Francisca and her work via Instagram! 

another photo by Francisca Nunes of some of our posts for her #30daysofpatternstudies 

Secondly, any of these daily or monthly projects/challenges are a great way to hone a certain interest or talent. Doing a certain assignment every day for an allotted time takes away the sense of the work being 'precious' or the need for it to be 'perfect', two words that can kill any creativity!! 

one of the rooms at Charleston, Sussex, England

Creating these 3x3 pieces of pattern has reminded me about how much I LOVE to create pattern, how I used to envision living in a home that I covered with pattern.  This explains my obsession with the Bloomsbury Group and the country home of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, the Charleston Farmhouse, where the artists decorated the walls, doors and furniture! 

pattern 13/30 

pattern 14/30 

Also this project got me to pull out my gouache paints, an opaque watercolor, which I used to use when I was creating illustrations and art for greeting cards (way back when).  Via these post-it, I am thoroughly enjoying rediscovering the wonders of gouache, which is so timely as I am reestablishing my freelance illustration and design business this year!! 

pattern 12/30 (pen and gouache)

Lastly this has been an awesome project to take on the road ... post-its are perfect for traveling as I taking my daughter on an eastern seaboard college visit via Amtrak.  And it turned out to be a lovely mother/daughter bonding moment!!! Below is my post-it pattern which was inspired by Maya's beautiful mandala!!!

pattern 15/30 

To see all of my post-it patterns you can check out my instagram feed and to see see the work of Francisca Nunes and read her thoughts about her project, #30daysofpatternstudies check out her blog: 

http://heartmakes.blogspot.pt

And lastly, as Francisca noted in her blog, JOIN the FUN!!!

"If you join us post your patterns with the #30daysofpatternstudies and #heartmakespostit, so every patterns will be in the same palace and we all can see the creations of each others!"

pattern 1/30, felt tip marker and gouache
hope to post this on spoon flower as a repeat
©virginiafitzgerald2016

peace

It is February .... FEZTASTIC!!!

print me and color me!!! 

Here is a coloring page for you!!

to fill with color on a cold, gray february day.  

on my daily blog I posted this quote about february,

 and felt like a fun coloring activity

would be a welcomed break if the weather is bleak! 

"Winter is a time of promise because 

there is so little to do,

or because you can now and then permit yourself 

the luxury of thinking so."

Stanley Crawford

have fun and happy coloring!!!