New Blog!

Spring cleaning my blogspot over to squarespace where my new portfolio is! Please come on over and see what I've been up to!

http://deniseholmesillustration.squarespace.com/blog/

Elebike

Phew! For some reason I have the hardest time with repeat patterns! If you have any helpful tips or advice, I'd love to hear them.

This is my design for this weeks Spoonflower contest - Bicycle. Please stop by and vote if you have a chance!

Little Peep!

One of my favorite blogs Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves hosted a giveaway at the beginning of Feb, not thinking I would actually receive the book, I left my comment. Well folks this just came in the mail yesterday and I could not be more excited! Perfect for my ever growing collection of vintage kids books - I just hope my little one loves them as much as I do!

Always leave a comment on a giveaway, you might actually win! Thanks so much Vintage Kids' Books My Kids Loves!

Beatrice Alemagna

I was at the library yesterday and came across this beautiful book. When I got home and looked up the illustrator, and realized I have had her bookmarked for sometime. Beatrice is an Italian artist and draws wonderful children's books!

love day 14

Happy Valentine's Day! Thanks for joining me while I doodled away these past 14 days!

love day 13

love day 12

love day 11

love day 10

love day 9

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love day 6

love day 5

love day 4

love day 3

love day 2

14 days of love

In honor of Valentine's Day I've decided to do 14 days of love, where I post a sketch a day of people and animals with hearts. I hope it isn't too lovey dovey!

slow poke

I have a lot of projects finishing up these next few weeks, I wish I could show all of them off, but instead I have this turtle drawing. I have been working on some fun sketches, thinking about patterns and fabric, and jotting down lots of ideas for the future of Nisee Made. It is starting to hit me that the end of my pregnancy is here (34 weeks and 2 days) and I can't believe this little girl will be here within a matter of weeks! There is so much I want to do, but I'm going to force myself to be a slow poke these next couple of months and enjoy just being. I am looking forward to seeing what direction my illustration starts to take and I can't wait to share that with you!

Rag Doll

I was at the library last week looking through Martha Stewart Living and I came across an article about Jess Brown and I instantly fell in love with her work.  I'm sure you will to when you see her beautiful dolls. I highly recommend watching her Artists & Farmers series -- I think I might want to move into her studio and start making rag dolls. 

sketchbook week (day 5)

The last sketchbook of the week. I'm pretty sure I could keep going for about a month or so. This past summer I found out that The School of the Art Institute of Chicago was offering a certificate in Illustration - so I jumped at the chance to go back to school. Meeting new illustrators, learning new techniques - it was pretty fun! The intro to illustration course was 5 weeks long and we squeezed in 4 projects! From coming up with an editorial illustration, a poster, a children's book cover, to self promotional postcards. I took tons of notes and filled up my whole sketchbook from front to back. 

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my sketchbooks this week, I hope you enjoyed them! 

sketchbook week (collaborations with courtney)

It must be hard for my husband, Courtney, to live with such a talented artist and not want to take up drawing as well! :) Okay, so I am just kidding, but we do go to the coffee shop often and make these silly drawings together. He is pretty much into drawing ninjas and skateboarders - it's a fun excuse to get out of my normal drawing pattern of elephants and little girls with pigtails! (Can you tell which are his? He draws very lightly!)

sketchbook week (day 4)

I hope you are not getting sick of seeing my sketchbooks, as I'm having a lot of fun going back through them! Lots of wedding paper good ideas in these newer books, as well as logo design sketches.

Sabina (who has a beautiful website full of lovely design) asked yesterday who are some artists/illustrators that influenced me while I was developing my style - and I am having a tough time answering that question! It is probably the same people I still love today; Edward Gorey, Margaret Kilgallen, Olle Eksell, Camilla Engman, Shinzi Katoah, Alice and Martin Provensen - there are probably a million others.... I really try hard to look at other peoples work and enjoy it, but bring my own way of illustrating it to the table and I hope that shows through in my work. 

sketchbook week (day 3)

Phew! Lots of pictures here and more to come! My newer sketchbooks are way more exciting to me. Most of these sketchbooks are filled with nisee made logos, little character drawings, cats and recipes. I don't know if you know this about me, but the first page of my sketchbooks usually has a cat on it!