Merry Christmas!

 { Artist Source }

May your Christmas be filled with peace and joy, and wishing you a Happy New Year! xo

Tangled Conceptual

Tangled conceptual art by Claire Keane

Nursery Rhymes

 © 2012 Heidi Chouinard

 © 2012 Heidi Chouinard

 © 2012 Heidi Chouinard

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

 © 2012 Heidi Chouinard

I love a colorful, simple, painting geared towards children, which is what I had in mind for these small canvas paintings. I am very often inspired by simple, creative, ideas for nurseries or children's rooms. I did these for Nightingale, leaving the top of the canvas blank so we can add a name by request. 

Owl and the Pea

Classic fairy tales and nursery rhymes often inspire me. I especially like the odd ones, such as 'The Princess and the Pea'. With this classic tale in mind I took my own spin on it. :) 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

A Trip to the Circus

My family and I went into Boston last week to see Cirque Du Soliel. We had front row seats and VIP passes! It was awesome! Unfortunately they strictly prohibited the use of cameras, so I have no photos. The show was so inspiring in so many ways. This week at work my sister and I have been getting creative with venetian masks, SO much fun! I ended up spray painting mine about a gajillion times and not liking the results. I ended up adhering some lace and then painting over it afterwards. 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard 

My favorite part was applying the string gel medium. It is the consistency of honey and very fun to manipulate with the paint brush!

Then there was carefully adding a tad of gold seed beads for a finishing touch. 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard 

Happy Friday! The 13th!

Illustration Wednesday

A little Illustration for the day:

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard 

Ink & cclored pencil on bristol smooth paper

To all my fellow Americans, Happy Fourth of July! :)

Three Amigos

I apologize for not posting any art work recently. So, here is a piece I did awhile back. :)

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard 

Acrylic & modpodge on  12"X12" canvas

Scallop Palette

A friend of our's who is a fisherman brought by a huge bucket full of scallop shells! They will make the perfect canvas for painting! Although first we got to do all the gross work first. 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard 

They still have a little of scallop meat on them. You can imagine how stinky they are! :P

We have them scattered on the black pavement out back so that they can dry out. Then we will fill a large bucket with water and bleach to finish cleaning them. Hopefully we won't have to boil them!

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard 

Along with the shells was this ancient sea coke bottle covered in barnacles and sea growth. 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard 

Thank you George for your contribution! :)

Weeble On A Slate

Now that the mural is finished we(my sister and I) have been back at the store for some laid back creativity, from getting creative with paints on hanging slates to birdhouses. It is June and we are already beginning to paint things geared towards halloween. Living in Salem for a good chunk of my life, I have successfully avoided the total ciaos that takes place downtown every year during the whole month of October(don't get me wrong, it can be a lot of fun, it is just not my thing)...but this year it is going to be unavoidable. We are going to be setting up a booth down town in October with some halloween things as well as some regular items that are sold at Nightingale. We are going to be in the midst of it all! Ahhhhh! 

On a positive note, I think it is going to be good exposure for Nightingale. 

Below is one of my halloween creations on a slate. As most of you have guessed, I like to create cutesy characters with unique, simple, designs/patterns. Weeble, is a ghost who is dressed up as a sort of bunny, who dwells gaurdian over the pumpkin patch during the night. 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard 

Creative Thursday Blog

I have been wanting to share about Marisa Anne and her blog Creative Thursday for some time and am now finally doing so. Marisa Anne is an Artist and has just recently began her own line of fabric design. She is super talented and I don't know where she fits in time for all the awesome stuff she does! 

 Her simple, honest, and down to earth creativity has inspired me. 

I really love the sweet friendliness that her work conveys. 

Marisa Anne also does pod casts and has them available on her blog. You can find her art here on Etsy. 

Thank you Marisa Anne for your constant inspiration and reminder to stay honest and true to the creativity that is in each of us! :)

Whisper

Peacefulness and simplicity is what I had in mind for this design.

ink on Bristol smooth paper

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

First Spring

I finished it! Today was a productive day. I got my mini illustration finished, photographed some sketches that  I'll be sharing later this week, watered the garden, finished knitting a honeycomb, and went with my sister to pick up her new car! 

colored pencil and ink on Bristol smooth paper

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

All in all it has been a great Monday. I am going to finish it off with some relaxing knitting time with the blanket that I shared with you in my last post. I love productive days! :) 

An Illustration for Monday

Hi everyone!  Here is an illustration that I did a few months ago. 

Owen The Bunny

colored pencil and ink on Bristol smooth paper 

5"x7" 

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

I hope you had a great weekend, and have an inspirational Monday! :)

Bitter Sweet Strokes

Today I am back to posting some of my art . :) This is one of my favorite pieces I did for Nightingale Arts.

watercolor and colored pencils on cold-pressed watercolor paper
© 2011 Heidi Chouinard

This piece was the last piece I painted before the store opened. It was sad to end the wonderful summer of creating side-by-side with my amazing sister! However, we were both looking forward to finally opening the store: Nightingale Arts!

This painting brings back a lot of memories. During the summer of 2011 my sister and I spent every day of the week in the Nightingale studio, doing our best to create unique works of art. I have to say, it is a time I will cherish forever. Many days my sister and I had so much fun blasting David Bowie while painting together. Also, having her around was fantastic for getting inspiration and constructive feedback on everything we made. Of course, there were many frustrations and challenges as well. Being creative and having to produce sellable pieces on a daily basis was at times stressful, and I didn’t always wake up feeling creative.

Now that the store has opened we still work on art behind the counter, but it sure is not the same as being in that creative work zone with no distractions. I will always miss that summer, and I am so thankful that I was given that opportunity (once again was all made possible by Marie Barron; owner of Nightingale Arts).

Counting Stitches

Graphite on Bristol smooth paper

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

I have finally finished it! Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a passionate knitter. My knitting inspired me to draw this illustration. This probably isn't the last of a knitted inspired piece...I am sure there will be more where that came from. I went through a few of the same sketch before I got the ending result I wanted. I originally was going to do this piece in color, but I was having a hard time coming up with a color scheme in using colored pencils(I have not got my paints yet, so for now I am using my colored pencils).

The Moon Is My Friend

I am in the midst of working on some new stuff, so in the mean time I will share with you a couple of pieces that I have done recently. I call this set, 'The Moon Is My Friend'. The moon has always been inspiring to me. It is so fascinating in every way!

Happy Easter! :) I hope everyone is having a special Easter with their families!

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

colored pencil and ink on Bristol smooth paper

both are 5"x7"

All packed up and ready for the adventure

I have been wanting to start up my blog for awhile and have been waiting. I wanted to wait until I am able to set up my Etsy account, but then it dawned on me that I need to just start! So here I am! Blogging is going to take some getting used to, but know I will get there. :)

I will be sharing my journey on following my dream to pursuing a career in Illustration/and Design. All are welcome to join me on this inspiring road!

I have been working on developing my own unique style. I really enjoy creating with simplicity, cheerful colors, and sweetness. Below are a few pieces I have done recently:

'Honey Please'

colored pencil and ink on Bristol smooth paper

5"x7"

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard

'Lambert'

colored pencil and ink on Bristol smooth paper

5"x7"

  © 2012 Heidi Chouinard

'Fern'

colored pencil, graphite, and ink on Bristol smooth paper

5"x7"

© 2012 Heidi Chouinard