Can you hear me now?

This is the beginning of something (a print? a pattern? a pile of paper for the recycling?). I've been walking around town, snapping photos of the elephant ears dominating the transitional landscaping. I love the ways the veins replicate natural systems, the veins create detailed patterns and maps of imaginary watery worlds.

Elephant ears #inprocess #drawing #botanicalart #illustration

See this Instagram photo by @wolfienthesneak * 2 likes

This painting by Mabel seems to replicate the pattern in the leaves just perfectly! Maybe she'll teach me how she did it so I can use the same technique when I'm ready to add color. Or maybe I should just let her add the color?

Giving back ownership

Still researching these weird, cheap, "artsy" pillows that are made overseas and sold all over the internet. I feel like I'm writing a thesis on design theft. I don't know how many people I've emailed asking if their designs are being used legitimately.


In an attempt to start looking for solutions (I really get sucked into the matching game of artist to design), I decided to look at one shop on etsy. I compiled an image of all the pillows they offer and I blacked out the designs of artists who I suspect didn't license their designs to be sold on these pillows.That's not to say all of the other pillows are legit, there are some that are from books, others that are from major brands like Tannoka and Paul Frank, and those I couldn't place with a simple reverse image search. The shop owner probably doesn't know they're selling counterfeit goods, but odds are good they know they're not within etsy selling guidelines.

Below are the artists whom I've been able to assert design credit. The ones in bold are the artists I've confirmed did not license their design for use on these pillows being sold.

Dario Albini, Sanna Annukka (3 listings), Amy Blackwell (5 listings),  Faye Bradley (2 listings), Helen Dardik, Maria Diamantes, Fréya Eté, Philip Giordano, Jazzberry Blue (8 listings), Blanca Gomez, Chase Kunz, Oliver Lake (4 listings), Jude Landry, Daniel Mackey (6 listings),  Iain Macarthur (3 listings), Dushan Milic, Vasare Nar, Rhys Owens aka Hidden Moves, Ashley Percival (4 listings),  Poppy and Red (2 listings), Andreas Preis, Allan Sanders, Roberto Salvador (removed as of 4/29/14), Steve Simpson, Lizzy Stewart, Lim Heng Swee aka I love doodle (4 listings), Nate Williams (5 listings), Olimpia Zagnoli, Geninne Zlatkis (2 listings)

When work is slow I can draw in a relatively distraction-free zone for hours at a time, provided I don't hop on twitter or facebook... Those are my happiest days, the ones where I work the day job (which means we have health care coverage for our family) but I also get to have a creative field day. Yes, I do know how fortunate I am!



A couple of those kinds of days plus a few good afternoon naps for Mabel so I can scan, color everything in, and make the drawings into repeats and I actually get stuff done!
I ordered 2 yards of each on organic cotton sateen. These will become tea towels. (Of course, that's as soon as I have another good nap day with Mabel...amazing the things I can get done when she takes an afternoon nap.)
 

If you like these, check out my other fabric patterns on Spoonflower.