Amy Sue Stirland – Ellen Million Graphics Blog

Goblin Kings and Moon Foxes!

Have a good Saturday? We sure did! And while it may be drawing to a close, there’s still a lovely Sketch Fest Sunday to go.

Let’s dive into a few featured illustrations here on the blog! Then visit the full gallery.

In the dog days of summer, it’s lovely to sit and fish by a cooling waterfall – particularly if you’re a fairy lad. Amy Sue Stirland painted this lovely scene in watercolors on 3″ x 5″ Bristol. Purchase the original painting for $15!

This gorgeous “Vintage Fairy” by Linzi Fay is sketched on 5.5″ x 8.5″ toned tan paper. Linzi said, “I used an old vintage photograph to draw this fairy” for that extra touch of authenticity. You can hang the original on your wall for $28.

Elma Bree created this rose-and-thorn-draped “Gothic Elf,” inspired by Mayumi Ogihara’s prompt.

This graphite sketch of the “Goblin King” by Sally Gilroy has captured the mischief and amusement that Jareth radiates on the regular.

This whimsical and lovely “Moon Fox” was created by Julie Rabischung with ink, white gouache, and watercolors on toned Canson paper. You can buy the original 4″ x 6″ watercolor for $20 or pick up a print for $7.

We’re to bed, the sooner to embrace a creative morrow. Say you’ll join us! There’s still time to sign up – it’s free! – and contribute a prompt. Make sure you leave comments for the artists, too, they’re a hungry lot.

Sketch Fest 107 Sunday

We’ve been sketch festin’ all weekend, and have nearly 100 sketches in the gallery to show for it! You should definitely pop over and explore – there’s even art for sale, so you might find something wonderful for your walls.

Let’s check out some featured pieces to whet your appetite:

This piece of a “lovely lady with blue eyes and a diadem in her hair” kicked off Sketch Fest #107. As the first sketch, it’s appropriately named “First Glance” by artist Tammi Sponseller.

“Mermaid’s Narwhal Friend” by Julie Rabischung

Julie Rabischung was inspired by Sarah Alden to create this playful piece: “A little mermaid swimming with her narwhal friend. Thank you Sarah for the lovely prompt!” This 4×6 illustration was drawn with ink, colored pencils, and markers on toned paper. You can grab the original sketch for just $15!

Narwhals were a popular subject this Sketch Fest, as you can see in this adorable narwhal watercolor from first time Sketch Fester Juliana Velasco.

This was Corgi’s first Sketch Fest, and she slayed it! This cute and striking illustration of a “Harajuku Girl,” those iconic Tokyo fashionistas, is a fine example.

“Art Nouveau Mermaid” by Amy Sue Stirland

Inspired by Mayumi Ogihara’s prompt and an Alphonse Mucha piece that she really likes, Amy Sue Stirland drew an “Art Nouveau Mermaid.” This sketch measures 5.5×8.5 and is ink and colerase on mixed media paper. She’s planning to add watercolors. Check back later to see if the original’s available!

Jill Britt, inspired by a prompt from Afke van Herpt, drew this wonderful slice-of-life illustration of a mermaid and otter friend titled “Otters and Orange.”

Our last featured illustration for today is this colorful piece from Kelly Johnston – she created a “plum fairy hummingbird pattern sketch” in the one-hour limit.

Now that you’ve enjoyed these highlights, go and explore the full gallery! Meet us back here tomorrow for one more featured post – and be sure to join us for next Sketch Fest, which will take place April 5-7.

Holiday Sketch Festin’

Our December Sketch Fest is nearly over, and it’s been seasonally appropriate and inspirational! Jump over there to check it out, and maybe even pick up a gift or two – prints and original sketches are for sale.

Let’s have some featured illustrations:

Amy Sue Stirland sketched this adorable “Warm and Fuzzy” pig, and she says: “This cutest fluffy piggy is enjoying his first snow in a warm winter cap.” She plans on finishing the 8.5″ x 5.5″ illustration with watercolor/gouache.

“Polar Bear and Her Cubs” by Peter C.M. van Herpt

Peter van Herpt’s animal illustrations never disappoint, and this protective polar bear with her two cubs is no different! This sketch was done with pencil, pen, and ink.

This sketch of a “Christmas Cardinal” from Sally Gilroy easily conjures the feel of a bright, crisp day and the birdsong all about. We can even see the colors!

“The Sweetest Mouse” by Katerina Koukiotis

Evelyn Henderson left the prompt of of “sweetest mouse” and Katerina Koukiotis delivered with this sweet creature! “The Sweetest Mouse” is a 5″ x 7″ sketch in colored pencils – and an ACEO LE print is available for only $6!

“Unimpressed and Ornamented” by Tallulah Cunningham is another illustration that made us laugh out loud – the expression on this giraffe’s face is priceless! Tallulah created this illustration with color pencils and pen on a paint swatch card.

We hope you enjoyed these illustrations – why don’t you head over to the full gallery and leave comments for our artists? And don’t forget to shop!

Sketch Fest Sunday with Pugicorn

Having a relaxing first Sunday in November? We hope you are! And if you’d like to enjoy some art, you should head over to our #EMGSkechFest gallery – it’s still going for another hour and we’ve got some fantastic art to share with all!

Let’s have some featured illustrations:

We’re entering the Snow Queen’s winter domain, and she’s watching us closely with something that looks a lot like delighted anticipation. Prompted by Edward Cammarota, Katerina Koukiotis drew her snow queen in pencil and pastels with white gel pen. You can get a LE ACEO print of this 5×7 original for $6.

When a sweet little dormouse offers you poppies, how can you say no? Sally Gilroy drew “Poppy” in pastels and markers, inspired by Julie Cooper’s prompt.

Elma Bree started this “Sugar Plum Fairy” inspired by Keira Knightley’s poster for The Nutcracker and the Four Realms using watercolor colors, pastels, and sparkles.

Inspired by Julie Cooper’s prompt, “the littlest dragon and fairy,” Amy Sue Stirland sketched this tiny dragon and their fairy friend. Amy commented: “Wonder if the fairy is trying out a growth spell?” This 8.5×5.5 drawing will be finished with watercolors and the completed original is up for sale!

And, at last, the promised pugicorn! Charlie Galvin painted “Pugicorn” from Julie Cooper’s whimsical prompt. “I took my sketch of the pugicorn and transferred to a 6×6 Fluid watercolor block,” Charlie explained. “I spent a few hours painting and adding detail. I’m very happy with how it turned out.”

Enjoyed these featured illustrations? Check out the rest of the #EMGSketchFest gallery!

Afternoon Tea and Creative Jam

Welcome to Sketch Fest Saturday, everyone! More than a dozen participants have thrown their works into the ring so far, and there’s some remarkable creativity and whimsy being revealed in the #EMGSketchFest 102 gallery – you’ve really got to see it.

Enjoy the featured illustrations below, then click through!

Kathy Nutt’s gorgeous “Raven Moon” may or may not have been drawn within the allotted hour – here’s what Kathy has to say about that: “I was merrily drawing away, listening to a pod cast and found I had not set the timer I was waiting for the alarm to go off. I figure it had to be pretty close to an hour but I wasn’t sure so I drew another raven and definitely saw the amount of detail was similar so I figured it was okay to post.” We’re glad you shared it – this raven’s lovely!

Tallulah’s been rocking the gallery out with some seriously creative responses to prompts today – one of our faves is “Swan Song Trio,” inspired by one of Regina Mailloux’s prompts. “The music they are singing is a line from the ballet,” Tallulah said. “The frog provides the percussion. I think the naiad and the swan have been going steady for a few years – they always rock up to events together.”

“Autumn Butterfly” by Amy Sue Stirland is a peaceful scene, inviting autumn along. This 5″ x 7″ watercolor painting can be yours for $15!

“Meditate” is Nathalie Reinholz’s reply to Maria J. William’s prompt of “Keep calm and…” Here’s what Nathalie had to say: “On a leaf. Another mindfulness gnome in watercolour on Arches Hot Press paper.” This gnome joins a beautiful series of mindfulness started in our last Sketch Fest. This 25.9 cm x 12.3 cm watercolor painting can bring serenity into your life for $27.

“Mabon” is definitely a work in progress from Rowan Lewgalon – but we love the quality of the empty robe open against the blue sky and waving fields of wheat. Check back for her completed painting as #EMGSketchFest goes on!

That’s it for our featured illustrations – jump over to the gallery and explore its fairies and ravens and witches – and even Jason Momoa! We’ll feature a few more later tonight.

We came, we saw, we sketched!

Thanks to everyone who turned out for our 101st Sketch Fest! We had 26 participating artists who collectively created 62 things over our 48-hour creative jam. If you’re just joining us and haven’t seen anything yet – you’re in for a treat!

Check out some final featured illustrations from #EMGSketchFest 101, then get over to the full gallery to enjoy some more and even do a little shopping.

“Golden Leaf Dragon” gives us an inscrutable gaze from a haze of golden light – this sketch by Kathy Nutt is done in sepia micron pen and metallic ink wash.

This adorable “Toadstool Faerie” by Rosie Wells – inspired by Sarah Alden’s prompt – is ready to be your friend.

Amy Sue Stirland’s “Fire fairy” evokes that feeling of August breezes… this piece is 4″ x 6″, soluble crayon on toned tan art paper. You can snag the original for only $15!

Anyone else longing for Halloween? This irrepressible unicorn by Jill Britt makes it harder to wait! “Candy Corn” is her version of a candy corn unicorn, as prompted by Rosie Wells.

When you’re ready to find a little serenity, Nathalie Reinholz’s “Meditating” makes a great visual companion! Prompted by Katta with “rainbow gnome,” this piece is the orange gnome of Natta’s series. This is watercolor on ARCHES hot pressed 300g. She says, “I am much into mindfulness and painting as practice counts.” We agree!

“The Last Summer Light” by Regina Mailloux

Regina Mailloux’s “The Last Summer Light” evocatively captures the feeling of a hot afternoon and floral-gazing pensiveness. This is a grahite and pastel sketch on 5″ x 8″ Strathmore toned paper – you can purchase the original sketch for $25!

Our last feature is from Paola Zunico, who drew this majestic and whimsical Totoro! Paola says, “I always loved the movies from studio Ghibli. Makes me feel so much love and peace. I did this Totoro like a tribute to this movies.” This sketch on Canson paper can be purchased for just $30, and measures 5.5″ x 8.5″.

That’s it for our features from #EMGSketchFest 101 – head to the gallery now for the rest! And don’t forget to mark your calendars for Sketch Fest #102, which will be held the weekend of September 7-9.

Thank you for Sketch Fest 100!

What an AMAZING Sketch Fest! There was so much energy and enthusiasm, and it means a lot to me that you guys had fun and got involved. #EMGSketchFest is one of my favorite projects, and it would be really boring (and pretty pointless) if it was just me. 🙂

Fifty artists participated, making more than 325 sketches, and there were so many lovely comments and wonderful prompts to work from. Thank you for helping us make this one of the biggest and most beautiful events we’ve had in a while!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out and played this weekend at Sketch Fest #100!

Be well,
Ellen

It’s true, everyone! When all was said and done, Sketch Fest #100 featured 50 participating artists and 382 total uploaded creations to the gallery. Wow! You absolutely owe it to yourself to wander through all of the artwork and maybe buy a sketch or original – there are some really amazing pieces in there just waiting to hang on your wall.

Now, let’s announce all of our prize winners:

Comments Keep Us Going – Our 5 random winners are:
Julie Cooper, who wins a 6×8 print with matching magnet by Maria William;
Katerina Koukiotis, who wins a collection of 3 5×7 prints by Sarah Alden;
ElmaBree, who wins a postcard of “Sea of Stars” and stickers by Nathalie Edelhirsch;
Rosie Wells, who wins an original ACEO of your choice by Jenny Heidewald; and
Mayumi Ogihara, who wins a coloring book of her choice by Selina Fenech.

Most Popular Prompt – This one was a tie between Nicole Madden and Rosie Wells! They will each receive a mystery bag (3 ACEO prints each) by Mayumi Ogihara.

Super Supporter of Sketch Fest #100 – The person who purchased the highest value of art this Sketch Fest was Julie Cooper, with Ed Cammarato as our runner-up! Julie and Ed will both receive a selection of ACEO prints by Katerina Koukiotis (one of each she does this Sketch Fest).

Most Creative Use of Prompt – We had a really tough time choosing the winner of this category – so we’re awarding two Honorable Mentions as well! The artist with the most creative use of a prompt this Sketch Fest was Rosie Wells for “Operation: Fluffy Cuddles,” and she will receive an 11×17 print, an 8.5 x 11 print, and her choice of coloring sheet or bookmark by Sheryl Abid. Our two Honorable Mentions are Amy Sue Stirland for “Glittering Eye Blank Book” and Deirdre M. Murphy with “Warning, DM Whimsical When Bored” – they will each receive one print from Cindy Hill!

Sketch-crazy! – Jenny Heidewald submitted THIRTY-ONE sketches during the official #EMGSketchFest 100 hours! She wins a copy of From The Deep coloring book by Ellen Million.

Opening Bell Artist – The first artist to submit a sketch was Milkycat with “Storm of Petals,” and she wins a print from Cindy Hill!

First Hurdle Artist – Tara N Colna was the first artist to submit five sketches this Sketch Fest, and she’ll receive a customized original 4″ x 6″ character portrait from Julie Rabischung!

First 3D Artist – Afke van Herpt was the first artist to submit a 3-dimensional sketch or other work, such as sculpture, jewelry, crocheted piece, etc. and has won a wee dragon charm by Whimsical Dreams Art!

Collaboration – The best collaborative work, here defined as the best collaboration between prompt and art, was selected by our guest judges Afke and Ronja! Katerina Romanova wins this prize for “Shy,” and will receive an ACEO by Afke van Herpt and her niece Ronja!

Submission by Someone 12 or Under – Shell’s 7-year-old daughter Willow took this prize for “Am I A Rainbow?“! Our guest judges Afke and Ronja made the selection, and Willow wins an ACEO from them.

Sketch Fest Newbies – We had four new participants in our 100th Sketch Fest: Ellen Moore, Ellen Wilberg, J. Ryan Decker, and Regina Mailloux. Each of our newbies will receive an ACEO print and postcard.

IN ORDER TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE, PLEASE MESSAGE ELLEN MILLION GRAPHICS ON FACEBOOK.

And here’s our last series of featured illustrations – we hope you enjoy this final taste of Sketch Fest #100!

First up is this gorgeous example of handlettering in watercolour brushpen and tangles in black fineliners in honor of our 100th Sketch Fest. Thanks for this, Francis Bax!

We can’t get over how adorable Maria J. William’s “Mr. Meowington” is! This colored pencil, white charcoal, and white acrylic illustration is on toned paper and measures approximately 6×8. You can pick up prints of this fine feline for only $7-$10!

“Glittering Eye Blank Book” by Amy Sue Stirland is an upcycled plain spiral bound blank book with Velcro closure and won one of our Honorable Mentions for Most Creative Use of a Prompt. Amy said, “This was a book that was given out by a major company as a promotional item. I have reworked the cover for the prompt.. only one eye, and the scales are raised and nicely shimmery.” It measures 5.5 ” x 4 ” and contains 20lb weight white pages numbering 80.

Of her “Heart of Peacocks,” Julie Cooper says, “This is the first decent peacock I have managed to do. I might colour but not too sure.” We love this bird and hope you do!

We’re thrilled with this strikingly colorful ACEO from Erika Harm! Here’s what she says about “Oni Fox“: “I wanted to blend the idea of an oni and a kitsune into one mask. Ink!” You can pick up the original artwork for just $15!

Ellen Million, the founder of our Sketch Fest feast, created several fantastic art cards this Sketch Fest! Here’s her interpretation of an alarune. You can pick up the original ACEO drawing for only $8!

“Waiting for Autumn to Come” by Janna Prosvirina

Our last featured piece is this lovely illustration by Janna Prosvirina. “Waiting for Autumn to Come” is ink pen on Bristol measuring 4″ x 6″. You can grab the original ink sketch for $12, and you can get a download to print out as a coloring page for only $3.

That’s it for #EMGSketchFest 100, a truly remarkable milestone. We can’t wait to see you at Sketch Fest #101, which will be August 24-26, so mark your calendars!

EMGSketchFest 99 – After Action Report!

Another #EMGSketchFest has come and gone, and we had a grand creative weekend! We had 29 participating artists and 99 sketches – which, given it was Sketch Fest #99, we feel is rather apropos. And there are 19 pieces of art available for purchase, from original full-size and ACEO sketches to limited edition prints. You should really do yourself a favor and have a whirl through our gallery if you’re in the market for some art.

We also welcomed two new artists this month: RCoots and NickyWolf!

Let’s take a final turn through some featured illustrations before putting Sketch Fest #99 to bed:

Inspired by Tara N Colna’s prompt “coffee time,” Maria J. William creating this alluring sketch of “The Curator.” You can purchase the graphite and white charcoal original on 8×10 toned paper for $40 or pick up some prints for $7-$10.

NickyWolf’s first Sketch Fest drawing is the adorable and fluffy “Fairy’s Big Pet“! Here’s what they had to say this about their digital drawing: “I rarely do quick sketches so this is good practice. I hope you like it!”

We can’t help but grin when we see Amy Sue Stirland’s 5.5×8 watercolor of a “Pig Fairy!” This wonderful when-pigs-fly what-if was inspired by Heather Kilgore, and Amy says: “I’m tickled with how the flowers turned out.” You can grab the original for only $17!

Kim Turner’s woman wearing “Amethyst and Pearl” is effortlessly elegant! Here’s what Kim says about her: “This was really a quick one, but I can imagine going back to it as a painting and bring out the pearls and amethsyt sparkles…” We hope you do, Kim!

Even in it’s partially-sketched state, Tricia Danby’s “Strawberry Fairy” has out mouths watering for some fresh strawberries!

Patricia Bowne created this digital art sketch of a “Meeting” between water and air, inspired by Julie Rabischung’s “fairy and mermaid meeting on the beach.”

“The Littlest Mouse” by Nathalie Reinholz

This teeny tiny ACEO from Nathalie Reinholz is the cutest littlest mouse we’ve seen!

Rowan Lewgalon drew on Katta’s prompt of a “meditating nature sprite” to create this magical and provocative illustration. About “Meditation,” Rowan notes: “I took the background from one of my other paintings, so I could already finish this one.” You can purchase a print for just $15.

Our last featured illustration for this Sketch Fest is this lovely portrait from Linzi Fay, a delicate response to Julie Rabischung’s prompt, “Flower’s enchantment.” The original 5.5×8.5 drawing is available for purchase.

We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s set of features, and our #EMGSketchFest 99 weekend. We’re planning our 100th Sketch Fest right now and it’s going to be AMAZING – follow us on Facebook or Twitter so you don’t miss our upcoming announcement!

Counting Down This Sketch Fest Sunday

#EMGSketchFest 98 will soon come to an end, but that’s no reason to cut short your creative jam! Come on by, claim a prompt, and upload your creation once an hour’s up. It’s perfectly allowed.

Let’s do a few featured illustrations to inspire you!

Mayumi Ogihara drew this “Oceanid” with her pensive eyes and expression nearly yearning. Col-Erase brown, white charcoal, and acrylic on 5″ x 7″ toned paper. You can purchase the original sketch for $27.

Sketch Fest is for all types of creations – artwork, jewelry, sculpture, and even dolls! Amy Sue Stirland started work on this charmingly excited vampire doll: “18” bendable muslin doll. I didn’t get as far as I wanted to in the hour and I might have gone over. Those darn ears. Still to come. Dapper outfit and a flow-y cape.”

We love this weird, disturbing “Angler Fish Mermaid“! Inspired by PeggyB, Kathy Nutt drew this in Micron pen.

This happily “Snoozing Cheetah” was drawn by Afke van Herpt in white and black ink on 2.5″ x 3.5″ colored card. You can pick up the original for $17!

Inspired by Mayumi Ogihara’s “Mermaid wearing historical Asian jewelry” prompt, Maria J. William drew “Before Monsoon” in colored pencil, white charcoal, and white acrylic on 6″ x 8″ toned paper. You can purchase prints or even the original – starting at $7 and going up to $40 for the colored pencil drawing.

Are you inspired? Click over to the gallery to discover more, and contribute something yourself! If you don’t feel like creating, leave comments to cheer on our participants.

Don’t forget to check back on our blog tomorrow – we’ll have one last #EMGSketchFest 98 post and announce next month’s Sketch Fest dates!

#EMGSketchFest 96 Saturday!

Welcome to Sketch Fest Saturday afternoon, everyone! We hope you’ve enjoyed a leisurely morning and found some time for creativity. To entice you to join our creative weekend, I’ve got some sketches from the gallery to feature for you! Let’s get to it.

We start with this piece by the founder of the Sketch Fest feast, Ellen Million! Ellen created “Highlander,” a cheeky hunk of the shapeshifter persuasion. She’s selling the final inked version of this sketch as well!

Kir Talmage, inspired by “the swamp mermaid” gave us this fantastic mermaid in her mangrove grotto, joined by nanatee. “Mangrovians” is pencil on ACEO-sized sketchpaper.

This is MrsFriSco’s first Sketch Fest, and she’s given us a finely behatted mermaid! “Just a coral reef mermaid finding steampunk flotsam and jetsam – she is trying her best to mimic the fascinating air-breathers’ fashion with her ocean finds, some of them even genuine articles!” This sketch is titled “Steampunk Mermaid” is 12×24 pencil on 140lb cold press paper.

Shell’s very keen daughter Willow took Amy Sue Stirland’s prompt of “garden landscape” and drew this pretty landscape of flowers and fish! “Garden of the City.”

“Tonight We Ride” is a fantastic dragonrider inked sketch shared by Becca “Boo” Moore! Look at that armor, and those faces – this pair means business. I wouldn’t get in their way!

Our last featured illustration this afternoon is “Fantasy Violinist” by Amy Sue Stirland! Inspired by Julie Rabischung’s prompt, Amy comments that she thinks her fantasy violinist is reminiscent of Lindsey Stirling! We have to agree. This illustration is gouache on 5×7 toned tan paper.

We hope you enjoyed this set of featured illustrations! Don’t forget to click through to the full gallery for even more mermaids and dragons along with hummingbirds and fairies and more. We hope you’ll stay a while, submit a prompt, and maybe even create a little with us. See you there!