Penelope Illustration • Penelope Dullaghan

I just wrote a post about life creeping into art on the IF blog. Maybe you’ll dig it… I would love to see your connections too!

*image from an article for Balt Sun, available as a print here.
Do you ever get sick of all the “self-help” and “improve yourself” books that are out there? Man… I try to avoid that section of the bookstore like the plague. Every now and then they are good for a boost, I guess. But most [...]

hi there.
I’m back from a trip up north filled with family and bookended with long periods of driving. And driving always seems to make me contemplative and quiet. And I haven’t really shaken that feeling since I got back.
I am feeling the need to simplify. And simplify. And simplify. A need to find where my [...]

Hello all,
The 4th Newsletter is now online… (if you’re on my mailing list and got two emails from me – I’m really sorry. I’m not sure how that happened). And I also said “Happy Thursday” in my email… and yeah, it’s only Wednesday. I’m a little ahead of myself. (doh!)
Anyway, sorry all around. Click here [...]

I love that you can change the expression on a face just by slightly adjusting the eyebrows… a little furrowed… a little lift… a little sideways. Bushy eyebrows. Manly eyebrows. Thin ones. Arched ones. Eyebrows can be so easily overlooked, but I think they are the key to a character’s expression. These small lines in [...]

above illustration for cricket magazine
Hi there and happy Friday!
I just wanted to poke my head in to show you a new interview done with yours truly. Hope you enjoy it! (It’s pretty short.)
Okay, back to work… working on a space scene today! (trying out a new technique) Fun!
xo

What can you soften?
This is a question that my yoga instructor asks frequently during our classes. We’re in a tough pose and arms are tense, muscles tight, jaw clenched and she asks: “What can you soften? What can you do to make it more comfortable and have it be a good sensation?”
And that question always [...]

Design Inspiration Interview

Notes on Design, IF Blog Launch, Emily Dickinson, NY Times.

sitting here freshly scrubbed. completely content and tired and alive. I like it when a shower comes at the end of a good workday… removing your paint fingerprints, wrinkled yesterday clothes, mash of hair that I’ve been pushing out of my eyes all day, inspiration that’s been felt and nodded to gratefully, remnants of walking [...]

having fun scribbling cause beauty is often times in the mess…

Also updated my work section with a bunch of new goodies. (Updating your site is a great way to work when you don’t feel creative… an hour or two of brackets and inane symbols makes me want to paint again.)
And I’ve been playing around with [...]

I just wrote a post about the Quilts of Gee’s Bend over at the IF blog. Maybe it will inspire you, too…
happy tuesday, friends.
p
p.s. If you’ve emailed me lately, I’m sorry I’ve not responded… we went out of town for the weekend and I’m just catching up.

sometimes i see so much beauty and goodness in the world that I feel my heart may burst. The feeling is so lovely and full that it’s close to sadness… overwhelming in the exact same way. maybe one pie slice over.
paintings, projects, truth words, simple things, and anniversaries. so much love.
We are more blessed than [...]

This week’s IF topic is “Remember”.
Balt Sun commissioned this piece as a memorial story for a coworker of theirs who had passed last year. I had a really hard time trying to honor that… such a tender story. I did not want to do a straight portrait of her (I don’t do portraits well), but [...]