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

plums and weddings

i finally have some photographs of the invitations i designed for my good friends lauren & dave, who got married last september. the envelopes are handmade (officially addicted) from plum card stock and lined with a floral pattern. 

i'm really beginning to enjoy designing invitation suites and cards- if you'd like me to work on a design for you, shoot me an email: meera.lee.patel[@]gmail.com.

i also (finally) have my portfolio site up and running: www.meeralee.com. i'm updating here and there, but it's finally beginning to come together. hope your fourth of july is filled with pastry & fireworks.

boats,
m

ARE YOU A GOOD DAD?

for father's day, i made my dad a flowchart to help him determine what kind of dad he is:

you can view a larger version of the flowchart here on my flickr. happy father's day to all of the papas out there! :]

m

in our beds we're the lucky ones, filled with the sun

here are bridal shower invitations i recently finished illustrating & designing. Leslie, the bride, wanted her wedding dress and peacock feathers to be a part of the invitation, so i drew a silhouette wearing her beautiful dress, and adorned the train with peacock feathers.

the envelopes are handmade! it was my first time creating lined envelopes on my own, but i found it to be relatively easy. i deconstructed an envelope that was the size & shape i needed, and used it as a template to make my own. the process was enjoyable and i think i'll make many more in the near future.

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

come out, come out, and let me go in

here are a few pieces from my show in December. a few originals are still available (along with prints) in my shop!

you are everyone in your dreams, colored pencil & graphite on 9"x9" bristol

get back to nature, graphite & colored pencil on 9"x9" bristol

keep me close, ink and colored pencil on 5"x5" bristol

i usually work with ink, so switching to colored pencils for these pieces was a bit intimidating for me- my main worry was that i wouldn't be able to blend the colors as easily, which ended up being a valid concern.

filling in the skull was daunting. although i was left with sore/useless fingers, i really enjoyed layering colors to sew the separate sections of bone together.

warmth/winter,

m

the wedding: bridal shower invitations!

as previously mentioned, my big sister is getting married this april and has left me in charge of all wedding-related paper goods. in a few weeks my mother and i will be hosting her bridal shower- i've yet to make decorations, pick out a cake, or decide on seating arrangements, but i HAVE made (and sent out!) the invitations. hopefully she isn't reading this and having a conniption.

pen & watercolor illustration

the drawings for this invitation were inspired by the flora at her wedding (dahlias, daisies, and bamboo), and my love of scientific illustrations. i could probably (definitely) draw scientific illustrations for the rest of my life and be quite happy.

KEEP CALM & MARRY HARRY

i suppose this is the weekend of “making things that make me happy.” this one was inspired by my sister and is filled with magic and spells and wizardry, the sister to “keep calm and expecto patronum!”

marry him, won’t you?

i will be lucky for you.

i have a full-time job, which means any illustration work i do is done after i come home each day. as those of you who are in the same situation (or worse!) know, this can be extremely frustrating at times- i often feel as if i simply do not have enough time to get everything done, or to devote towards bettering my work.

this sounds silly for an illustrator to say, but as someone with a fixed amount of time, i’m so busy doing things that have a concrete end result (commissions, editorial work, taking photographs) that i rarely sit down and doodle anymore. this is both a sad and terrible realization.

yesterday was one of those stormy days. this time, though, i did something i don’t normally do: i drew to make myself feel better.

this is oliver. he made me happy. a limited edition of 20 prints are in my shop (only $6!) so you can have a little happiness and luck, too.

le petit prince & the sound of bells

my pretty cupcake-muffin-butterscotch-sweet sister

my beautiful big sister is getting married this spring, (yay!) and we just finished sending out her save the dates. in order to salvage a little money/sanity and make sure they came out exactly the way she wanted, i illustrated (inspired by The Little Prince!) & printed the cards at home. we then mounted them on card stock, tied them with raffia, and sent them on their way.

 

 

il faut chercher le avec coeur (one must look with the heart)

i'm illustrating a lot of the paper items for her wedding- i'll be posting her bridal shower invitations soon. as always, i'd love to hear what you think!

xx,

m

you are worth hundreds of sparrows

a revised version of my sparrows illustration which was on display at my show at The Downtown this past December.

 

the original was sold, but prints are available in my shop! these birdies are printed on a gorgeously textured, thick, and iridescent paper- pretty enough for your loved one, i hope.

<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.

twin girls and sparrows

i’ve been busy preparing for my show, but here are a few new prints available now on my Etsy:

crazy for you but not that crazy

you are worth hundreds of sparrows

i’m also accepting portrait commissions for the holidays- if you’d like an ink portrait of you or a loved one, let me know!

wild winds,
m

i need more space.

to date, this is my most autobiographical piece:

much to my surprise (and delight!), this illustration was chosen as a semi-finalist in the Etsy/NASA space challenge. if you like this illustration (and value your physical/emotional/metaphysical space) you can vote for me here until 11/19! i promise to ship you handfuls of magic in return.

sending you stars and spells,
m

my love's another kind

i finally got around to doing another band poster- this time i chose one of my personal favorites: the moody and harmonious Grizzly Bear, who can color me always. the poster reads “my love’s another kind,” a quote from the beautiful “lullabye”.

when I clung to you there was nothing to hold on tight with, you left me adrift/Colorado, what now? 

16”x20” prints are available for $25 in my shop. :]

there are night-times inside of me

for those of you who may have missed it, i was asked to illustrate the cover of eatsleepdraw magazine #005, and my copy arrived a few days ago! it features some beautiful artwork- get your copy here.

eatsleepdraw magazine!

i’m offering official prints of my night lady in the shop, available in two versions: with the starry background and without. both are available here!

new prints in the shop!

hello dears,
i’ve just added a few new prints in my shop:

liminal fashion series

 

songbirds

 

firefly

don’t forget- for a little while longer, every order will receive a free original mini-illustration! please contact me with any queries- i enjoy hearing from all of you wonderful birds.

over and out,
m

Society6 Print Shop!

several of my prints have been chosen to be featured in the official Society6 Print Shop— “Firefly,” “Doris Deer,” and “There Are State Lines Between Us.” yays!

check them out here, and if you’re on Society6,  have a go at finding me to say hello. :]

hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday- it’s cool and dreary here on the east coast. ..just how i like it best.

-M