Animal Art Blog by Abi Cushman

Gift Labels

2009-10-29T21:09:00.003-04:00

Over the past few days, I've been having fun making custom gift labels for birthdays. Here are a few:

Birthday Boy

Birthday Girl

21st Birthday (Rum Label)

Bridal Shower Illustrations

2009-04-01T14:23:00.009-04:00

My latest illustration project was for my friend's bridal shower. I illustrated invitations, thank you cards, donation tags, and recipe cards, and it was a lot of fun.

Invitations with yellow tulips, a prominent flower in the wedding.

Recipe cards for guests to fill out for the bride, featuring the bride's dog Merlin.

Hygienic Art Show

2009-02-01T00:20:00.006-05:00

Here are some photos of the finished painting, The Big E: Sheep, hanging at the Hygienic Art gallery until February 14. (Next to it is Pete's painting of Kerouac.)

Hygienic Art XXX: Salon des Independants

2009-01-31T09:34:00.009-05:00

I dropped off my painting to the Hygienic this morning for the show, Hygienic Art XXX: Salon des Independants. In its thirtieth year, the long-running annual exhibition embodies the following principles: One Piece Per Artist, No Judge, No Jury, No Fees, No Censorship.

For my piece, I painted two sheep I had photographed at the Big E. Here's a photo of the painting in progress. I had finished it up late last night. I'll take a photo of the finished painting at the show tonight.

The show opens tonight at 8pm. [Show info]

Animal Fact Guide Recognized by the American Library Association

2008-11-26T20:51:00.008-05:00

The American Library Association has selected Animal Fact Guide, the educational wildlife site I created, to be included in their Internet guide of Great Web Sites for Kids.

Websites selected for the honor must meet several standards put forth by a committee of children's librarians.

They must show commendable quality and encourage young people's interests.

According to Karen Lemmons, co-chair of the Great Web Sites for Kids committee, "Great Web Sites for Kids are those considered the best web sites for ages birth to 14, outstanding in both content and conception."

Animal Fact Guide will be posted to the ALA's Great Web Sites for Kids site in December or January.

Monkey Christmas Ornaments

2008-11-18T23:48:00.006-05:00

I decided to venture away from my normal 2-dimensional artwork for a little bit to create some fun monkey Christmas ornaments. Before cutting this little guy out of felt and stitching him up, I first created a pattern in Illustrator.

Turkey Trot T-Shirts

2008-11-18T00:14:00.001-05:00

Here is a t-shirt design for turkey trots (running races that take place on Thanksgiving Day) that I created in Illustrator.

(Front)

(Back)

Finished Pet Portrait: Doberman Pinscher

2008-10-11T22:45:00.005-04:00

Here is the final acrylic pet portrait of Bandit, a Doberman Pinscher from New London, CT.

If you're interested, you can view earlier stages of the portrait: the sketch and the initial blocking in of colors. As you can see, I decided to put his ears down in a more relaxed fashion. From the photos, his ears were pictured at various levels. I found with the ears down slightly, I could portray Bandit in a more stately pose, and I could fill the canvas space in a more dramatic way.

Lombardi Trophy Painting for ESPN

2008-10-11T22:27:00.009-04:00

Here is the final painting of the Vince Lombardi Superbowl Trophy that I created for ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown.

Watch Me on ESPN!

2008-09-06T00:07:00.010-04:00

On Friday morning, I went to ESPN Studios in Bristol, CT to take part in a piece for Sunday NFL Countdown which airs this Sunday, September 7, from 11am - 1pm.

Shots of me creating a large painting of the Vince Lombardi Super Bowl Trophy will be interspersed with a segment where football players talk about how they envision this year's season. At the end, the finished painting will be dramatically revealed.

So this was something fun and different for me. Although it was certainly tempting to put dancing monkeys in the background, there are actually no animals in the painting!

Don't forget to watch:
ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown
Sunday, September 7, 11am - 1pm

Animal Fact Guide is live!

2008-08-29T17:16:00.007-04:00

I mentioned in my very first post that I was slowly working on a new site featuring animal facts, illustrations, and photos. It took quite a long time, but I finally launched the site: Animal Fact Guide!

Illustrations appear throughout the site, including the masthead which changes to a day or night scene depending on the user's time. The site also has desktop wallpapers, coloring pages, and Cafepress products featuring my animal art.

Doberman Pet Portrait Progress

2008-05-11T22:35:00.005-04:00

Here's the early stage of painting for the Doberman Pinscher portrait. I've blocked in the colors, so my next step will be to start adding detail.

Baby Shower Invitations

2008-04-29T23:08:00.002-04:00

Here is the illustration I made for a baby shower invitation. The theme was "Building Baby's Library" which is why the little piggy is holding a book.

Octopus

2008-04-21T00:02:00.007-04:00

This is my entry for Illustration Friday's topic, Primitive. (Click image to enlarge.)

I'm currently working on portfolio pieces to send to children's magazines that show this style of digital illustration (See Meerkats post for another portfolio piece in this style). I wanted to do an Under the Sea illustration, and since octopuses may date back as far back as 140 million years ago, I decided it counted under the "Primitive" theme. I may add to other sea creatures to it and make it more of an ocean scene.

I'd like these portfolio pieces to make a strong impact on publishers, so any feedback on Octopus or Meerkats is welcome!

Meerkats

2008-04-19T13:17:00.003-04:00

Here's an illustration I created to submit to kids' magazines like Ranger Rick. It's a panoramic view of a meerkat community done in Adobe Illustrator.

(Click image to enlarge.)

New Pet Portrait Sketch

2008-03-07T20:39:00.003-05:00

I just got started on a new portrait of a doberman pinscher. Here's the initial sketch.

The final portrait will be an 8 x 10 acrylic, and I think it'll be great to be able to show the auburn tones in the muzzle and "eyebrows" because in the sketch it was difficult to differentiate the greytones enough to show the characteristic doberman markings.

Red Kangaroo

2008-02-29T22:21:00.009-05:00

Here's my entry for this week's Illustration Friday topic, Leap. (Click to enlarge the image.)

I love Australian animals. When I studied abroad in Australia, I never saw any kangaroos in the wild (though I did have a close encounter with a wallaby in a park), but I lived within walking distance of the Melbourne Zoo. So I'd visit there often and see the kangaroos lazying around in the shade trying to stay cool.

New Animal Art Shop Page

2008-02-29T00:16:00.009-05:00

Well I finally compiled the products of all my Cafepress stores onto one shop page on my website.

It's a little odd seeing all the styles put together, but I think the products are easier to access this way.

Check out my Animal Art Shop page!

Bicycle Bunnies

2008-02-27T21:30:00.010-05:00

Here is my submission for this week's Illustration Friday theme: Multiple. It's an illustration from the children's book I'm currently working on about four little bunnies.

New Sleeping Bunnies Large Mug

2008-02-22T20:22:00.002-05:00

Sit down and relax with a hot beverage using this new large mug, featuring my illustration of four sleeping bunnies (also on the throw pillow).

New Easter Bunny Cards

2008-02-22T19:15:00.007-05:00

Here's my latest creation for my rabbit Cafepress shop. Just in time for the holiday, I made these Easter cards featuring a bunny, a newly hatched chick, and some colorful Easter eggs.

Pet Portrait of Max

2008-02-22T10:36:00.004-05:00

Here is my latest pet portrait - a 9 x 12 inch acrylic painting of a very loveable dog named Max. The portrait was commissioned by Gen F. of Pawtucket, RI for her friend Tamar.

New Wild Animal Cafepress Shop

2008-02-21T21:38:00.002-05:00

I am slowly making progress with a new site called Animal Fact Guide, which will feature articles about different animals, bright illustrations, and fun downloads like coloring pages and wallpapers.

It's a long process because I'd like to launch the site with a comprehensive list of wildlife articles, and researching and writing articles, as well as collecting good photographs is quite time consuming.

But in the meantime, I've opened an Animal Gifts Cafepress Shop for the site with cards and baby clothes featuring some of the site's illustrations.