June Dots and Teapots

Tea Party

This is a project I am working on, a request for rosebud teacups.

I am learning a little bit about who I am as an artist and illustrator.

First of all, I like things loose and fast. And a little bit pretty, but with a rough edge. Kind of like a punk chick. I'm a little bit Debbie Harry.

How does this connect with making illustrations of rosebud teacups?

I guess that's why I was thinking about it. I think it's a good thing to try new things that you might not otherwise have tried. The truth is that the whole world does not see things the way I do, and that's fine, but sometimes if my view point and the world's viewpoint can coincide, perhaps we can learn something or develop a bit in ways that might not have happened before. Perhaps the collision of different mindsets can make something that is remarkable in some way, attractive in ways neither I nor the world might have thought of before.

Well, when thinking about teacups, I was wondering how I should make it happen, how to do it so that it still felt like ME, so that I could still draw on my strengths, so that it could still feel like me.

And that's why I went with a loose sketch and a fast watercolor, but with pretty colors and delicate curves.

Okay, so it's not really a punk teapot, but it is, after all a request, and I am doing it for someone else.

June Dots

I also created my own pattern to go with this mismatched tea set. Yes, it's green and white polka dots, almost swiss dots, but I wanted the natural variation and imprecision that comes from off the cuff, eyeballing, not a ruler in sight painting. Okay, perhaps it's more whimsical than punk, but maybe it's just the intersection of the different urges in myself.

I really like these little polka dots. They are different shapes and shades and not really even at all. To me, they are like a June day in the sun, with the breeze blowing and the kids running around in the lawn and the bugs crawling around, and a paintbrush in my hand and a drink in my other hand while sitting on the porch.

Okay, so my day isn't punk either. Apparently watercolor tea parties in pink and green are just simply not punk. And it's probably true that I am not Debbie Harry. Probably.

But that's okay, because I'm Rowena. And that's good enough. Dots, teapots and all.