Making melon stars…

and then off to the post office to post off some Little Mo orders!

Happy Monday everyone! 6 weeks till Christmas time!

Some random things that kept me occupied this weekend.

Fresh basil from the garden. I took a handful and made mushroom and ricotta pasta for dinner.

Sun parasols. This was a wedding gift from one of our guests and now that spring is here, it has started blooming again:)

Fresh strawberries for tea.

Two years ago, I told Richard “I’d like to pick up my pen again and draw”. So I searched around the house for an empty sketchbook and started practicing. It had been a long time since I actually sat down and draw properly.

These were my first few doodles. A bit rusty…and I wasn’t EXACTLY sure what I was supposed to be drawing. Then I moved on to the next page, and I started drawing a little girl.

I enjoyed the whole process and I realised how much I had missed drawing on paper. So I drew another piece.

And this piece led me to an idea. What if I started making things from my own drawings? What if I made a range of paper goods with this character on it? On that very same day, we decided to call her Little Mo.

I printed my first drawing on some recycled postcards and listed it on my Etsy shop (after hearing lots of good things about it). I named this print Little Mo and Twigs.

Two years on, I am still drawing Little Mo. And what started off as a doodle, turned into an awesome adventure for me. Thank you so much for your love and support! I couldn’t have done it without all of you.

It’s still not too late to grab some Little Mo art in my Etsy shop. My Two year anniversary sale ends on 8th November midnight. Buy any two items from my shop and get 20% off your total order.

A lovely customer posted me a copy of head2head. The cover looks great! I’ve had a few people tell me that they’ve seen my artwork at their offices and health clinics! I’d love to be able to draw more magazine and editorial illustrations like this.

Last month my contract with my agent ceased. I’ve always known that business and art making can be competitive, it can get commercialised, it can be very subjective and it can also be brutal to the artist’s ego. I’ve had positive feedback from retailers who stock my stationery, saying that my products and packaging are very professional and very well made. My notebooks and paper dolls have been very popular in store. But I’ve also had feedback from other retailers as being “too cutesy and too kiddy” and requested if I could do general patterned or plainer designs. Or maybe less of my Little Mo character.

These are all valid feedback and I have nothing against them. As an artist you have to be open to all kinds of criticism. Art can be really subjective, it can be based on what’s trendy and what other shoppers are buying and re-creating the same kind of art and formula. I’ve always known from the start that my drawings will never be everyone’s cup of tea.

As quoted from Sarah “Not everyone is going to want to buy your product. But that’s okay. Finding your target market is about finding the people who appreciate you for who you are and what you do. These are the people who need somebody like you to bring a little handmade goodness into their life. These are the people who want to buy everything you have to sell. And these are the people who will go out of their way to tell their friends about you.”

And I’ve had customers and friends like that! Mostly YOU! You who read my blog and facebook page and bought Little Mo goodies! You motivate me to continue drawing cute and happy illustrations. And you make me excited whenever I come here to blog about a new artwork. Thanks for keeping me in check! While my art isn’t for the mass market, I’m thankful that my art has its own niche.

So for this coming year, I want to work harder at drawing more Little Mo goodies and promoting my art as it is! I’d love to know your thoughts on this post!

Adding a bit of green colour in the house!

My little teacup succulent (a dwarf aloe vera) and my peperomia angulata plant.

I can’t wait till my plants grows bigger so that I can draw their pretty leaves for my new designs. I love drawing foliage…pretty obvious huh:)

Like a scene from 2046.

My yellow Calandiva plant is blooming happily on my kitchen window sill.

I love yellow. I think yellow is a happy colour!

Took a break today and wrote to a lovely friend. I am using my Tutti Fruitti writing set from Kirsten’s shop and these cute wood grain envelopes from Malea’s shop. Aren’t they sweet?

I hope Mr Postman delivers my mail fast!

To see what other artists are up to today, head over to Kootoyoo!

Guaranteed to give me a smile during my break:)

If you would like a cute snack bag yourself, check out BonTons Gift shop. Christine has the cutest selection of snack bags. I love that they are all reusable and environmentally friendly.

To see what other artists are up to today, check out Kootoyoo

Comes in abundance of colours.

A fresh posie.

A blue blue sky.

Home grown greens.

The winter dreariness has been slowly catching up to me. I feel like on some days I just want to crawl into a dark cave and hibernate. I’ve also realised that it takes me longer to do my art because my mind sometimes behaves like a stalled cold engine.

Yesterday the beautiful sunshine seemed to make the winter day pleasant enough. I’ve also noticed how much my mood has improved by just bringing flowers home.

Sending you all warm wishes for this week! xoxo