Paper Raven Co. Blog

I will be the very first person to admit this - Uhhh, it's June?! How did that happen?!

This year has been moving so fast. I can't believe we're already in the summer months, when my brain was 100% sure it was February, like, yesterday. Time flies when you're having fun, right? I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day and ended May strong and happy :) As for Paper Raven Co., we are about to go through a pretty big transition, which will be a huge opportunity for growth! I will be doing a few shows this Summer (including ICE in Atlanta this weekend), and will be traveling a bit as well. I hope you've got some exciting plans to look forward to this summer!

And without further ado, click the image below to receive the newest June Desktop Wallpaper! I hope you like this one - I was inspired by all of the greenery that is taking over our patio :) 

Yea, I really wanted to make my monthly subscriber desktop download a shameless homage to the song that's been stuck in my head for a week straight. I cooled it, though, and did some watercolors for you instead. Things have been super busy around here, so I'm going to be brief this month and just let you get to the good stuff right away. Shazam! Click below to grab the wallpaper!

One of the best parts of my day, as the weather has warmed, has been walking my sweet dog Patty in the afternoons. Our neighborhood is in bloom, and we have a ton of bird species nesting in the trees. During our outings, I like to pause and take a moment to intentionally appreciate nature, to notice details, and welcome that peaceful mental state into my work. If that sounds a little "woo-woo" to you, maybe it is. But in an increasingly chaotic world, especially when the environment and the planet is at such risk, it's become a focal point of my day to stop and be grateful for the beauty around me. Nature teaches us so many things: persistence, balance, harmony; I find that very comforting, and I've strived to make those principles an integral part of my illustrations.

So for April's Desktop Download, I give you an illustration based on my favorite scene from Alice in Wonderland: you can learn a lot of things from the flowers. Click the image below to grab it. 

Here is the full illustration (but click the image above for the download!), and a detail shot of me drawing it. I start with a pencil sketch, then ink in the leaves with India Ink, and then ink in the lines. Finally, I bring the illustration into Photoshop to finish it. Happy Spring!