17 July 2013

watercolor bunny


After receiving Apolonia's gorgeous package of art cards she so generously sent from France I was very charmed by the rabbit she drew and painted on the envelope. Gazing at its large, expressive eyes and perfect, round proportions made me remember my own bunny pet and I was inspired to make a small portrait of my late little friend and companion, Tama-chan. (She made us all so happy but passed away unexpectedly one night in her sleep earlier this year. We were devastated for weeks.) 

I realized that finally, enough time had passed that I felt I could create a little portrait of her to see every day and recall her sweet and spunky nature. It had been a while since I had painted with watercolors but everything returned very naturally and I'm happy with the result.

So I have to thank Apolonia, her giveaway contest and her kind emails for getting me back to painting again. Life has been throwing so many things in the way of my creative time that I feel quite buoyed to have started and finished this little work. This was an unexpected 'extra' gift to the giveaway ~ thank you!



14 July 2013

mailbox: from apolonia of st~ainolopa


Lucky, lucky me! I entered Apolonia's card giveaway and... I won! As soon as I opened the envelope I was utterly in love with the rabbit she drew for me. Its shape is so adorable and its big, thoughtful eye pulled me in right away. Love at first sight! And her signature bright colors look so good.

The little card to the right of the bunny is her business card. Such a nice one! The image is the same as on her blog header and on the other side there are several links that I'll share with you here because I think you may enjoy her art as much as I do:

blog. st-ainolopa.com
twitter. twitter.com/stainolopa
etsy. etsy.com/shop/stainolopa

Do visit all three!

Just look what she sent to me. They are printed so nicely and the quality of the card paper is very nice ~ a good, heavy weight.


On her etsy shop she sells these very greeting cards with her unique, colorful animals on them, plus many more designs. And right now she is offering free shipping, so it's a good chance to stop by!

Her characters are so quirky and imaginative, I keep admiring these cards she set me again and again. Each has a very distinct personality, so I've been thinking about what friend should receive what card and on what occasion. (Of course, I'm thinking of far-off occasions now as I don't want to part with them yet!).

Thank you, Apolonia, for this generous and uplifting giveaway prize! I'm really inspired by your work. It has made me very happy!