custom painting: a mandala!

I loved making this custom piece for my yogi friend, Ryan! It was such a challenge because I'd never created anything even remotely similar to it before! Ryan knew he wanted me to design a mandala, and to have the word namaste underneath it. So I started sketching and came up with this design, we agreed on it, and here's the piece in just ink, before color:

Ryan sent me photos of a color scheme he liked, so I applied it where I thought it would look best, then added my calligraphy "namaste." It's done with ink and gouache paint, 8x10. (and without the copyright tag). He will probably be using this on his yoga instructor business cards, as well as displayed in his living space :)

Been busy with this, editing photos, record-keeping, lining up new projects… I'll share more new work next week!

xo, Michelle

if you're interested in a custom art piece like this one, please email me and we can brainstorm ideas! I absolutely love making things for a specific person in mind :) maryandluna@gmail.com _____

Follow me @maryandluna on your favorite social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. See my art in my Etsy shop or on maryandluna.com. 

The Lost Boys (a custom art piece)

Here is the final version of my custom Lost Boys themed watercolor painting!

My wonderful, longtime internet friend Courtney is expecting a baby boy this fall, and she asked me to make a custom piece for his nursery! She wanted it to be Peter Pan's Lost Boys themed, and the room will have a woodland theme. So that pretty much gave me the creative freedom to design whatever I dreamed up! (and I LOOOOVE Peter Pan.)

This is 11x14, and I used an amazing new smooth watercolor paper for it. Plus new water color paints= such a difference in the quality! I incorporated a quote I love from the book version of Peter Pan, in my newly-learned calligraphy (plus I know my friend Courtney loves modern calligraphy). For styling, I love it paired with this wood frame. It really completes the feeling of the piece!

Overall I love the storybook page feeling of it. I'm so thankful she asked me to do this! It was so fun. 

xo, Michelle

Follow me @maryandluna on your favorite social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. See my art in my Etsy shop or on maryandluna.com. 

if you're interested in a custom art piece like this one, please email me and we can brainstorm ideas! I absolutely love making things for a specific person in mind :)

custom art for singer-songwriter Christina Perri!

I met one of my all-time favorite singer-songwriters (and human beings) on Saturday, Christina Perri! What does this have to do with art? Keep reading!  :) Christina is someone who has inspired me deeply as an artist and a person, to keep creating, to keep living, to keep loving, and to be beautifully human. She's such a light & I love her so much. It meant so much to me to finally meet her.

I wanted to make her something special as a gift & a thank you for all the music she's created that I love so much. So I made her a custom 8x10 watercolor piece of her 4 favorite places (I've learned from her many tweets about them!). I chose two of my favorite lyrics about home from her song "Miles,"  and then I made the division a compass, since she's always on the road, touring and working on music. The "LOVE" sculpture is from her hometown of Philadelphia, the "Imagine" circle is from her favorite place in New York City (the memorial for John Lennon), the "101 Coffee Shop" is her favorite place in LA (her current home), and the map of Italy pays homage to her Italian roots & her favorite place she's ever been.

Here are two of my favorite photos I took during the concert:

I really love to make custom art pieces like this for people. I get so giddy while I'm making them, and when I finish I get so excited thinking about how they will react when they see it! Christina's reaction was my favorite ever. Her jaw dropped open and stayed that way, and she didn't even say anything until finally she said "I'm trying not to cry…" She told me (like 3 times) that she was going to frame it & she loved it.

That is the reason I make art. To make people feel happy and full of love and like it's a piece of home, because art that connects with someone can bring such powerful emotions to the surface, and when it's displayed somewhere, it can serve as a source of happiness each day. That's what it does for me.

xo, Michelle

If you'd like me to do a custom piece of artwork like this for you, please don't hesitate to email me! We can brainstorm and come up with something special :)