je m'apelle claude

 all good things are wild and free.

-henry david thoreau

i recently drew claude, the king of beasts, to remind myself how important it is to be two things: wild and free. wild because happiness comes from the most unexpected of places. in moments where i am imprisoned (by thought, responsibility, or obligation), i imagine that the earth rests on an elephant. ..and then i feel a little less burdened, a little more free.

i planned for this illustration to go on a t-shirt, so i started with graphite on drawing paper and then colored it digitally for a cleaner look.

important things to note: jeff mangum shirt worn above is stupidly comfortable, my arms are out at an extremely odd angle. prints of claude are available in my etsy shop, and larger prints/shirts/iPhone skins are in my society6 shop. 

things i have been doing: watching the early sky lighten every morning, jumping in leaves, taking walks, going on motorcycle rides (scary/amazing), and testing every pumpkin brew i can get my hands on.

 

i hope all of you are enjoying autumn as much as i am.

yours,

m

eatsleepdraw.com!

awhile back, i designed a women's t-shirt for EatSleepDraw.com -- i'm pretty excited to finally share it with you! here is my original illustration:

check out the shirt at mysoti.com, where it is available for purchase, and thank you to lee for supporting my vision!

leaves,

m

animals, botanicals, patterns

in my last post i mentioned venturing outside the realm of prints and creating hand-sewn journals. i've also made some note cards:

set of three animal prints

set of three botanical illustrations

set of three chevron-patterned thank-you cards

all three sets are available in my etsy and cargoh shops. in other news, i have an ongoing series of interviews over at Ruby Canvas - parts I, II, and III are currently up -- take a peek if you'd like. thank you also to Pingg and Art Sponge for their recent features on my work!

also, here is an interesting article (written by John Cary for Fast Company) i read this morning about the misconception surrounding pro bono design work. if you're any sort of artist, designer, or a generally-literate human, it's worth reading. many of us tend to make decisions based on a black + white scale of wrong versus right, and this piece is a good example of why changing that will only benefit us more. 

ALSO, i am determined to lay down the watercolors for a little while and pick up some oils. it's been a very long time since i painted in oils and acrylics, so i'm both apprehensive and excited about doing so. photos soon!

<3,
m

how lucky to be so unusually free

meet timofey, a sometimes-too-pensive wolf influenced by both the Nabokovian character and the flesh spirit.

an A4 version of this print is now available in my etsy shop!  i've also been lucky enough to be accepted into the cargoh community, which is a curated marketplace.

you can visit my shop here and read a little feature on me here. if you're also on cargoh, shoot me a message and let me know. :]

<3,
m

like a halo around your head

dear dears,

i've been working on quite a few different projects lately, and i am very excited to finally share one of them with you. LA-based apparel company Kill Brand released their Spring 2011 collection today, and one of my designs, a big-horned haloed sheep, is now up for sale:

the tee is available for purchase through the Kill Brand website.

like a halo around your head

i've also put up prints, in a slightly different colorway, in my etsy shop. all prints sold in my shop come with magical surprises, so surprise yourself or someone who deserves it!

i've lots more to share with you soon, including projects involving monsters (with gabrielle rose of drawgabbydraw), honey, bees, cinnamon, and, of course, tattoos. i like drawing and condiments, what can i say? follow me on twitter (@meeralee) if you'd like to see what i'm doing at 5:15 AM.

yours,
m

i will keep you warm.

one of my very close friends, alicia, is afflicted with Cooley's Anemia, a potentially fatal genetic blood disease. she receives blood transfusions every two weeks in order to correct her detective red blood cells and also does an at-home infusion every night to remove the excess iron in her body.

"i am leaving, i am leaving," but the fighter still remains. ..

my new print, "i will keep you warm," was inspired by the Polar Bear Plunge, an annual event that helps raise money for Thalassemia research. basically, we take off all our clothes and jump into the ocean every march. i have yet to delve into the water myself but i imagine my bones will freeze. my heart will stay warm.

i will keep you warm

*all proceeds* from this print will go directly to The Cooley's Anemia Foundation in hopes of finding a cure (or less intrusive treatment) for Thalassemia patients. if you can, please help find a home for these darling two bears and a cure for all souls afflicted with Thalassemia. 5"x"5 prints are now available in my etsy shop!

for more information on Cooley's Anemia, please visit www.cooleysanemia.org.

<3,
m

felled bears & URBAN OUTFITTERS!

my chopped-down, tree-sprouting bears were scooped up by Urban Outfitters a few days ago, and are now available through the Urban Outfitters print shop! as someone who spends a lot of time pawing through the sales section for something affordable, this was a very exciting discovery for me.