Personal Work
My goal with my artwork is to create pieces that illustrate a story, concept, or feeling. With my work, I encourage the viewer to take pause and breathe in a world that is always pushing us to move through it in a flurry without the opportunity to enjoy beauty around us.
Portobello Mushroom Snail - A few nights before drawing this piece, my husband cooked a delicious tortellini dish with lots of portobello mushrooms. It was one of the most mouth-watering and satiating dishes I've ever tasted, and I was immediately inspired to create a fantasy creature with these mushrooms as a theme. These snails (see if you can spot the second one!) are born with portobello mushrooms already growing on them. If one is picked off, another will begin to emerge in its place.
Rosemary Dragon - Before I began work on this illustration, I had a rosemary plant we used for cooking and drew studies of various branches and leaves on it. I enjoyed drawing the shapes of the leaves and varied textures of the branches, and thought of the idea of designing a dragon-rosemary hybrid with these elements on display. I then thought of where a sentient rosemary-dragon might love to live, and began work on the first illustration in my herb dragon series -- Should you provide the ideal conditions for one, you may be lucky enough to have a Rosemary dragon take residence! This one is young, and only just starting to grow.
Year of the Green Wood Dragon - With this artwork, it was my goal to commemorate the start of this new year. When planning this piece, I wanted to create interesting shapes within the branches and leaves of the horns, and tell a story of growth and healing through hardship and loss with them as well. If you take a look at the clouds in the background, you may be able to spot one with an ice cream cone shape!
Earth Warden - An ancient forest is one of the most inspiring settings to me, and I wanted to create storytelling illustration in this type of location for this piece -- Offerings of fresh flowers, jewelry, and clothing were left at the shrine of a legendary deity by nearby villagers. As a result, an incarnation of the deity was summoned in order to protect and to rejuvenate the life of their forest home.
Daisy-Horned Dragon - As I was doing a few drawing studies of flowers in my backyard, I decided to design a dragon with one as a horn! I incorporated leaf shapes and branch textures into the design as well. This fellow is slow moving, and blends in with his surroundings well.
Sage Dragon - The second illustration of my herbal dragon series was designed after the sage herb, and further inspired by the concept of a sage being a helpful guide to wildlife around them. -- If you happen to be a keeper of a sage dragon, consider yourself very lucky! They are well known to be extremely wary and will only appear under particularly serene conditions.
Steel, Petals, and Stripes - When designing this piece, I wanted to depict a fierce tiger wielding a katana in order to protect those he loves and cares for. I had the idea to add water to the background and create interesting shapes and reflections with this surface. Then, my husband had the idea to add lily pads and lotus flowers to the piece. I absolutely loved the result of all of these ideas coming together. This concept has been something I've been meaning to illustrate for a long time, and I'm so happy that I did!
Pit Viper and Crested Gecko Dragon - In this creature mashup sketch, I had the idea to combine the aspects of both of these creatures into a cohesive dragon design, with a goal to maintain many of the shapes and forms of a crested gecko while adding elements of a pit viper to the design. The creatures combined in this dragon design were chosen at random, but I thought they worked well together!
Woodland Spirit Husky - This was a piece created for the 2019 Inktober prompt "Husky"! This one was drawn digitally, as I wanted to draw on a darker midtone canvas for it. With this piece, my goal was to design a pup with the role of a spirit guide, meant to aid and guide those looking to explore their own inner world.
King Dodongo Fan-Art - King Dodongo lives within Dodongo's Cavern, with his many minions overrunning the dungeon. The Gorons who live nearby on Death Mountain are unable to eat the delicious rocks within that they normally subsist on due to this, and in order to acquire the Goron Ruby, Link must defeat King Dodongo. With this piece, I wanted to pay homage to one of my favorite bosses in Ocarina of Time with this fan-art. I referenced the in-game model (in both the original game and the 3DS remake) as well as several pieces of the original game concept art to illustrate this piece. I wanted to show the different textures of the scales and crystals in more detail in this shaded sketch.
Earth Wyvern - In beginning work on this piece, I wanted to combine several aspects of the Earth, such as stones, plant life, and crystalline structures. Although the wings of this creature wouldn't be able to lift it into the air, they allow it to create great gusts of wind with one swipe.
Armor Design, Black Rosy Finch - For this character design, I had the idea create a set of armor inspired by a bird, and settled on the Black Rosy Finch. The males of this species have a beautiful pink color throughout their feathers. I wanted this character to wield magic that is able to take the form its user decides. It is a sphere at first, and then can change shape starting from this form.
Awakened Glacier - This drawing is a traditional piece made with pencil and ink for the 2019 Inktober prompt "Frozen". I had the idea of designing a living glacier, and wanted it to depict something giant and heavy. I added a lot of details and textures to drive the concept home.
Horse-Dragon - Here, my goal was to combine the anatomy of a horse and a western dragon. This is the result! With a saddle and reins, one could both run quickly on ground and fly swiftly through the air.
Hummingbird Dragon - A dragon design inspired by the incredibly vibrant and ever-energetic hummingbird. If you've ever seen a hummingbird in real life (and I hope you have!), you'll know how quickly these little fellows can move. It's difficult to spot their tiny iridescent feathers and incredibly fast wing strokes. In illustration form though, you can see these aspects in all their glory. I absolutely love creating dragon designs based on real animals, and the idea of a tiny hummingbird dragon zipping around to different flowers was too much fun not to illustrate!
Taking A Rest - Travel buddies take a break from flying to rest and recuperate. This dragon recognized the blazing heat of the summer and the growing discomfort of her human friend, and wanted to provide some shade to help her out. The initial goal I had in mind for this piece was to show two characters interacting with one another.
Spirit Creature - This design was inspired by the antlers and legs of a deer, with reptilian aspects added such as the tail and scale-shaped fur patterns. I loved drawing light highlights on a dark canvas.
Fantasy-Inspired Mount - In this creature design, I wanted to depict a gentle critter which carries travelers across great distances and difficult terrains. They are caring, and though they're not incredibly fast, they can move quickly if they need to, and can also jump surprisingly high. As they walk, the bells tied upon their necks jingle with each step.
Elephant in Armor - For this illustration, my goal was to design an armor set fit for a legendary elephant warrior. I loved working on the initial design sketch of this piece, and particularly enjoyed painting in the reflections and details of the armor.
Traveling Town - I created this traditional pencil and ink drawing for the 2019 Inktober prompt "Build"! I wanted to depict buildings created to balance on the top of a gigantic creature. I also added counter-weights to aid in the structures remaining upright and balanced. Although this creature looks menacing, it moves slowly and is very gentle.
Moth Dragon - In designing this dragon, I wanted to incorporate various elements from moths, especially the eyes, antennae, and tail!