Sometimes, you have an idea. Sometimes, that idea sucks.
Lol! Let me rephrase that: Sometimes, the transition from idea to reality is not what you planned.
That was the case with a set of original watercolour and pen illustrations that I created about a year ago. I thought that they would do smashingly well as whimsical wall art. Since they were small and relatively quick to produce, I thought that they would be a much smaller investment, in comparison to something like my photo-realistic wildlife art, which takes weeks and weeks to produce.
So, I created nine pretty illustrations, all featuring whimsical SA animals (and house cats - I couldn’t resist!), and displayed them at one of my local markets. During the entire season, I sold one…
At the end of the season, the poor illustrations spent quite a few months in a cupboard at home, gathering dust. Finally, in an act of desperation, I sent them off to the Reflections of Africa Art Gallery, just outside White River, in the hopes that they might come into their own there. Not long after their arrival, gallery owner Coleen Williams gave me a call — she loves the illustrations! But why oh why haven’t I used them to create greeting cards?!?!
I was thrilled with the idea (and embarrassed that I hadn’t gotten around to doing that yet…)! And that’s where we are now — A failed project that has been a year in the making, now finally about to do what it is meant to do: Bring joy!
I loved creating these fun, tongue-in-the-cheek illustrations, and I haven’t stopped loving them, even though it didn’t turn out the way I imagined. I think they make for beautiful, unique cards, and they are actually pretty enough to frame too!
From the quirky, stacked Big Five to the Fat Cat posing beside his own portrait, they are sure to make someone smile!
See the range in my online shop:
