Under Construction

At the moment, my website (www.charlapettingill.com) is currently under construction. It will be back up (new and improved!) within the next few weeks. And of course, I've managed to squeeze in the occasional doodle here and there. I leave you with a French bulldog eating a croissant (just a little peek at a personal project for which I'm beginning to gather ideas). Happy (as of tomorrow) October, everyone!

Busy, busy!

I'm still keeping quite busy between freelance work and my day job. I have, however, managed to do a couple of quick personal projects lately. Here's a little illustrated portrait of my dearest Dad, drawn in digital media. :)

New year, new artwork.

Here's a little concept that I sketched and developed into a finished illustration recently. I've been quite busy with some major design projects that hopefully I'll be able to reveal more about in the near future. Here's to a new year filled with new art!

Charla Pettingill Illustration is now on Tumblr!

I've started a Tumblr page for my illustrations!

Also, I rarely share my fine art, but I thought I'd showcase it via Tumblr as well! Please have a look at my traditional paintings and drawings on my fine art Tumblr page!

Skreened - free shipping through the end of September!

Through the end of this month, you'll receive free shipping on orders over $50 in my Skreened shop! Check out my shop for some fun wearable art!

Happy Fall, everyone!

Fall sketches

Well, it seems that Autumn is officially in the air...goodbye, summer! It's been a great one. Here's what I've been sketching...

"Hairstyling by Jennie"

Here's one of my latest illustrations, created for an ad in Hello! Morristown magazine.

La voiture des fleurs...inspiration courtesy of Nick!!

A few days ago, my sweet friend and fellow illustrator Nick from college posted a picture online that he snapped on the streets of New York City . I was smitten with the image, and just had to draw my interpretation of this adorably quirky little car. I can't help but wonder who drives it...

Happy August!! It's been sooo hot in Georgia, but I'm still enjoying summer. I've spent lots of time working on some new projects, so stay tuned to my blog and website to see new work!

Don't forget...Half the Sky Art-A-Thon!

Hi everyone! Please don't forget about the Half the Sky Art-A-Thon! You can donate here for a chance to win one of my watercolor/mixed media pieces (pictured below) that Melanie and I are raffling among those who donate. You could easily be the lucky winner!!

Half the Sky Art-A-Thon

Hi, everyone! Exciting news! My friend Melanie and I are partnering to raise money for The Half the Sky Foundation, which benefits children living in welfare institutions across China. Melanie and her husband adopted their sweet daughter Lucy from China last Fall. Half the Sky is an organization that's close to their hearts because of how the organization benefits children such as Lucy in the first years of the childrens' lives. I've created two works of art to contribute to Half the Sky’s second annual art-a-thon, "Art from the Heart." You can make a donation here and visit the Art-A-Thon's website here.

Fellow artists and illustrators, please consider participating! This is a great way to get some exposure while supporting a fantastic cause for children. To everyone else, please consider donating to this wonderful cause...you'll have a chance to win my artwork, pictured below!!

And here's me in action, creating my two pieces of art to benefit Half the Sky! One piece will go to Half the Sky to be displayed in the Art-A-Thon show in California. The other will be raffled...by donating to Half the Sky on the donation page set up by Melanie, you will have a chance to win the second piece of artwork! This year's theme is "Red Thread," which references a Chinese proverb that states that “An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break.” I chose to take a more conceptual approach to this idea, using actual red thread to embroider sections of each watercolor, showing that to adopted children, home is truly "where the heart is," a place they're destined to be with their families.





Sketch phase...



Inking with a Micron pen...



My medium of choice...





Painting (my favorite step)!



This was a first for me...I wanted to use actual red thread for both pieces to emphasize the theme of the show and concept of the artwork. I brought out my trusty sewing machine, a spool of bright red thread....and....



Voilà! Both pieces, finished and matted. Each piece measures about 5" x 7" (8" x 10" matted).

Again, don't forget to visit the Half the Sky Art-A-Thon website to contribute! You can visit Melanie's blog and learn more about Lucy's inspiring story here.

Behance

I'm now on Behance! Check out my Behance profile here. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Cats, cats, cats

...so I've been doodling lots of cats these days in preparation for my first foray into drawing comics, which will be a collaboration with my mom. We're both excited about the possibilities of the concept, and I can't wait to reveal it in its entirety. Still, it has quite a bit further to go. More to come!

Beach Weather

...is almost here, and I can hardly wait! Now to find the perfect swimsuit...

A little Roman Holiday

For a while, I've been planning on doing some illustrations of famous actresses from classic films. Here's Audrey Hepburn:



Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!!

More Zazzle fun

See more here!

May in bloom

I always love the first day of a new month. It's like a fresh start...and what better day to kick off one of my favorite months than a perfectly beautiful Spring day such as today? Also, today is my sweet grandmother's 88th birthday! I sketched these little blossoms while on the phone with her earlier. Happy birthday, Grandma!

Sweet Thoughts

Lazy Sunday doodles

I spent a little time this afternoon enjoying the sunshine and doodling in my sketchbook:

More from Zazzle

I've been busy adding lots of items to my Zazzle shop. Here are three shoe designs that I'm very excited about:

Charla Pettingill Illustration now on Zazzle!

Exciting news...I've opened a Zazzle shop! See for yourself here!