Includes my art process, art shows, new ideas, products that are released into stores, artists I admire, and printable art that is free to download (free printable coloring pages, etc.). Your feedback is always welcome.
April’s assignment focused on drawing children. We were provided a fun story snippet of a young girl named Florencia who had a sidekick and a time machine!
I sketched a variety of kids’ bodies and studied their proportions, and I eventually came up with this young whippersnapper with a penguin sidekick.
My illustration for MATS Bootcamp 2022, April
The book that I illustrated last summer, The Historical Heroines Coloring Book, has won an IPPY Gold!
I took an excellent online course with Von Glitschka awhile back, called the 21 Day Drawing Challenge. One of the prompts is to draw an image without lifting the pen. Just one intuitive, free-flowing line. It has been such a fun activity for me, and it really captures the something-from-nothing feeling that I can get when I create. If you ever feel stuck or concerned about perfection, I encourage you to try it.
Some of my recent all-one-line drawings are below. To see posts of other artist's #alloneline drawings, search the hashtag on Instagram. Cool stuff.
All-one-line drawing of a girl saying grace (image referenced from the Internet Archives), ink pen, Copyright 2017 Kendra Shedenhelm
All-one-line drawing of a woman with headpiece, ink pen, Copyright 2017 Kendra Shedenhelm
All-one-line drawing of ladies having coffee, ink pen, Copyright 2017 Kendra Shedenhelm
Update #4: The Historical Heroines coloring book!
This was hands down one of the coolest projects I've ever been a part of. I couldn't be more grateful to have been chosen as the illustrator.
Crowd-funded and quickly labeled as a "Project We Love" on Kickstarter, this coloring book was conceived by the brilliant, eco-conscious and science-minded author Elizabeth Lorayne.
As explained from her site, "The Historical Heroines Coloring Book: Pioneering Women in Science from the 18th and 19th Centuries was born out of a desire to inspire and empower children, teens, and adults with coloring pages celebrating 31 women in science who followed their passions and let their brilliance and hard work speak for themselves — making significant impacts in our world."
For several months, I was fortunate to spend my days researching, drawing and painting these various STEM heroines. I read their histories, their personal letters, their eulogies. Because of this project, I now study bugs as they crawl by, I pay attention to the leaves and their growth patterns on my walks, and I look at the sky with much more curiosity. Elizabeth's desire to inspire worked!
I'll update my blog soon with some excerpts of the completed book, but here are a few of the sketches I made along the way...
Portrait of Mary Somerville, pencil, Copyright 2017 Kendra Shedenhelm
Portrait of Alice Ball, pencil, Copyright 2017 Kendra Shedenhelm
Portrait study of a young Beatrix Potter, watercolor, Copyright 2017 Kendra Shedenhelm