New piece: literary tree signs!

Imagine stumbling across these wooden directional signs to classic fictional literary places, nailed to a tree… where would you go? 

I've just added this print to my Etsy shop! This watercolor & gouache painting depicts some of my most favorite places in classic literature. Neverland from "Peter Pan," Narnia from "The Chronicles of Narnia," Hogwarts from "Harry Potter," Wonderland from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," Oz from "The Wizard of Oz," the secret garden from "The Secret Garden," and a sign to mark that you are home. A little pocket watch dangles from the tree branch to symbolize the fleeting feeling of time & childhood passing.

This art print would be perfect in a child's room, any book lover's home, a library, a classroom, or any place you may want a touch of imagination and daydreams of adventure.

Details:

      -Print will not include the watermark (© Mary & Luna).       -To display: Prints can be placed in any 8x10 frame (as shown), or any larger frame with a matted 8x10 opening.       -Frame not included. 

Buy it here and visit the rest of my Etsy shop and my website to see all the art I have for sale!

xo, Michelle 

Follow me @maryandluna on your favorite social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. 

Happy 1st Birthday, Mary & Luna!

One year… WOAH.  It’s hard to say what I’ve learned because it’s been just one-foot-in-front-of-the-other kind of work. It's been a bit of a blur. It has been an incredibly steep learning curve from the time I started dreaming this up to when I started to plan out specifics to when I launched it all. That was all during the year building the business. Since last May, I’ve spent as much time as my brain can handle reading business information and doing all of the list pictured below and trying to create new work so I stay motivated in WHY I’m doing this. It’s all for the art, and if I don’t let myself have time to create, I forget why I’m doing all the business details.

Creative business is so much more intense than I ever imagined (seriously, don't you feel exhausted & overwhelmed just reading that?). It’s its own little world. Some days I’m so hard on myself and I feel like it’s so much work that’s not paying off, but the more I do it, the more I realize I’m actually really suited for it. It just takes practice in many unfamiliar areas & tasks and some time to adjust to it and find my rhythm. I’m still working on that. I know I can do it, because some of it has gotten easier. And I see a lot of similarities between how I’ve developed past things in my life (my babysitting business, my personal blog, my internet friendships, etc.) and the things I need in order to successfully run this business. I have to remind myself that I’m capable of doing it, because I often forget. But I just keep working.

I’ve made good, albeit slow, progress so far in one year. At one point several months ago, I realized that no part of me wanted to give up (and I have a lifelong tendency to lose interest and not finish things I start). That surprised me, but then I realized it’s because I know this is what I’m supposed to be doing. It’s just a process, and I’m still learning.  This business has become an extension of my heart and my soul. I’ve lost track of the hours I’ve put into it. These are my ideas and my emotions and my ART. It’s a very vulnerable thing. That’s why I’m being so hard on myself to do it right. This is who I am, and I want to be good at what I do. It’s scary. But I know I feel so good when I create a piece I love, and when someone likes what I do and buys a piece. I know I'm proud of how much I've done so far. I can’t wait to see where I am in a year from now. The possibilities are endless, and “adventure is out there!”

xo, Michelle

P.S. To you reading this, thank you for supporting me & following my work. I’m very grateful for you.

My art on a t-shirt!

I got to be a part of something so special on Monday night. My long time friend, Dani Kerry, worked really hard and is super talented, and she released an EP of original music! About a month ago, she asked me to design a shirt for her release party! I want to tell you about it!

Her album (EP) release party was on Monday at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney (which is like, hello, a big deal). Because I designed the shirts, I worked the merch table for her show. It was so insanely busy! Non-stop people buying shirts & CDs! I had to have my sister & mom help me toward at the end! It was a ridiculously huge success, and it was crazy to see so many people buying my art on a shirt! I’ve never done anything like that before. It was amazing. Dani performed her music and some cover songs, and I watched from the back at the merch table like a proud mom. She is a natural performer and sounded so good, and it was just so cool to see a friend I’ve known for over 10 years doing something she loves, in front of so many people.

(It was all very inspirational as a different kind of artist. I saw so many ties to what makes someone successful in a creative field: obviously talent, but also a lot of practice, some business sense,  tons of hard work, a passion for it, and a drive/determination/gusto to make it happen. You have to really want it. There are so many talented people, but to actually make things happen is a whole other challenge.)

So here are some concept sketches and the final t-shirt design I made! I really loved doing this because before I decided to create Mary & Luna, I wanted to do cover art for musicians’ albums. So this was right up my alley!

Dani’s music is very lyrical and emotional. I gathered inspiration from her lyrics and her photoshoot for the album, but mostly just from the feeling I got when I listened to her sing. I actually started sketching this design before I even saw her photoshoot, so when I saw her beachy/gloomy photos, I knew I was on the right track!

 

Here's what the merchandise table looked like. Dani told me to set up my artwork so I could get more exposure.

And lastly, here's Dani up on stage:

I’m so glad I was a part of making Dani’s dream happen. I love being involved in bigger creative projects.

Go follow Dani Kerry’s Facebook page  :)

xoxo, Michelle

Apparently it's November already.

It feels like this year has gone by so much faster than any year before it. I feel like I'm constantly playing catch up. I had my 2nd art show!

I participated in the monthly Santa Ana Art Walk on November 2nd. I did the September one too, and it was a great experience. This month was much different. Last time, so many friends came and bought things, it was busy the whole time. This time, I was less busy and got to talk to a lot of the other artists around me. While I didn't sell much, a few people really loved my work and hopefully will visit my Etsy shop. I figure it's still a good thing for me to get out there and have my work seen.

The artist next to me has been doing art professionally for a long time, and she was talking to me about how if you get discouraged, you just have to remember that everyday your work is being seen. By the people who have bought from you, by the people who see it in their homes, and by the people who are seeing it online, whether you hear about it or not. You just have to keep doing it. That was so helpful and encouraging to me.

Family pumpkin painting:

My parents, sisters, and I started a new tradition a few years ago of painting/carving pumpkins together. One year we did a Harry  Potter theme. This year we did a Big Bang Theory theme but we painted them as minions from Despicable Me. (We're big fans of both). My character is Penny on the far right. Kelly's is Howard, Lisa's is Raj, Mom's is Sheldon, Dad's is Leonard, and then my dad & I made the carved atom logo pumpkin.

I also painted this lovely literary quote by Andrea Gibson onto a huge white pumpkin:

Now I'm onto my next tasks! I have a custom painting in the works, I'm doing a holiday boutique at my dad & sister's office later this month, and I've got a whole bunch of administrative tasks to catch up on! I lost a couple days being sick, so I'm trying to get going again!

xo, Michelle

Upcoming art show!

I'm going to be participating in the Santa Ana Art Walk again soon! Orange County Creatives runs a gallery, and the art walk happens on the first Saturday of each month in the Artists Village in Santa Ana, and their gallery is in this beautiful historic building called the Santora building. It’s a cute little area I never even knew existed. The Santa Ana Art Walk is awesome; it has tons of different types of artists showing in one place, in a lively environment. I participated in September and it was SO fun! I love seeing the work other people do. There are also restaurants and things all around, so you can make a night of it!

Here are the details:

I’ll have a table set up with some of my work displayed and all of my prints available to see/buy in person! (There are two suites for OC Creatives, so just follow the signs- it’s easy to find)

Saturday, November 2, 2013

7 – 10 pm

Santora Building 207 N Broadway, Suite J Santa Ana, CA 92701

Free admission!

$4 parking in the structure across the street (North of the Santora Building) (cross streets are W. 3rd and N. Broadway). The structure fills up/gets crowded fast, so if you come later, you may have to find other parking.

I hope some of you will come if you live nearby! It was such a cool experience last time.

xo, Michelle