Art by Coleen McIntyre

I’m giving this Thumbtack thing a whirl. Let ma know if you have any experiences with it. Thanks!

http://www.thumbtack.com/Illustrator-available-for-commissions-Portland-OR/service/357791″>Illustrator available for commissions.

Beginning with fall I am doing a new goddess series of the seasons ~ The Wheel of the Year.

My goal is to paint each piece in the time of year I’m representing. I just realized last night that this is the very first painting I’m doing JUST to paint! Anything I’ve ever done in the past was for a show, commission or freelance project. I’m thoroughly enjoying the experience of freedom to simply paint what I feel like painting! I looked out my window this morning and absorbed all of the vibrant beautiful colors of fall. I took a deep breath, hoping to hold those colors inside so that I may translate them into this piece. She’s almost done, but not quite yet.

This is Demeter, mother of Persephone. Demeter is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth and the seasons. Her daughter (soon to be illustrated as well) Persephone was kidnapped by Hades, who stole her away into the underworld. Here, she ate (4 or 6 depending on who’s telling the tale) pomegranate seeds which meant she would now have to remain in the underworld for a duration of one month per seed every year. This angered Demeter so much that she refused to nourish the earth and bring life during this time that she was forced to be away from her beloved daughter. This is when we experience winter in North America and it is also the very dry period in some lands where the story could cover those unproductive months as well.

Next I’ll be exploring Winter, focusing on Yule/Winter Solstice…

Follow me! Follow @coleenmcintyre

Thanks everyone who showed up to our book signing at a nifty little shop in Vancouver called PopCulture last night! http://www.drinkpopculture.com/ We even had a surprise guest appearance from Old Mother Hubbard herself who read our book to the kiddos. There were sightings of Little Miss Muffit, The Fisherman, Some cowboys,  The Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts, Puss in Boots, and more! If you missed it, and are interested in purchasing a copy you can go to: http://www.thegoops.com/fairytales.php

Well, other than my own I’ve never done wedding invitations, and I quite like the way these came out. Hopefully the Bride and Groom will as well! I did the original painting, printed the image, designed the text on them – and then painstakingly attached them to each card with silver photo corners.

Well I believe I have ended this bug journey, on a darker note, with the infamous boll weevil.

He is a reminder that no matter how much growth we may experience – there’s always your shadow lurking somewhere, following you, wanting to be dealt with.

The boll weevil is not entirely destructive and gluttonous however. In my research I came  across a very interesting concept that was inspired by this little destructive guy. There is an actual monument celebrating him, in a small Alabama town. The moral of the story falls in line with the old adage about one door closing, and another one opening.

I chose to document the progress of this piece, something I really haven’t done before. It was a really fun piece to do because like the others in this series I didn’t plan it out as thoroughly as I used to. I think this does show in some areas that I’m not particularly happy with, but the overall process of not only this piece – but all of them, was quite important to me. If you’re interested in following along my painting journey, you can check out the images below.