Another Handmade PlushDoll for my Shop

I 'm happy to announce another handmade creation of mine:

Jing from Beijing !!

Jing from Beijing is wearing a Cheongsam or traditonal Chinese dress for ladies. I have my own Cheongsam and wear it sometimes for special occasion. She is made with love for anyone to enjoy and is now listed in my etsy store called CraftyMadonna

Activity and Coloring Book

© Maria Madonna Davidoff

www.madonnaart.com

Some illustrations for an Activity and Coloring Book project I'm working on:

Also my entry for Illustration Friday theme: "Welcome"

You are "welcome" to browse at some of my illos:

"For the Picnic " © Maria Madonna Davidoff

"Fairy Teatime" © Maria Madonna Davidoff

"Color the Mice" © Maria Madonna Davidoff

How I develop my character for illustration

How do I create characters for my illustrations?

First, I get inspired in creating a character for my illustrations through either personal acquaintance or relationship.
In this case, a little girl named Rose came over with her parents to spend the day with us last Friday. Rose is an adorable girl adopted from China by Jan and Jon.


Below are some sketches I made from a scene in the playground with Rose:

Next, I traced the whole sketch to a watercolor paper on a light box and started painting in watercolor.

Below is the work in progress entitled " A Day in the Playground with Rose".

TO BE CONTINUED.... watch out for the finished painting!!

Postcard Art

©Maria Madonna Davidoff

This is a painting I've done based on a story of a Little Girl and a Turtle. It was exhibited at the Society of Children's Book Illustrators 2003 conference in New York City. I was surprised and happy to find out that it won an award as one of the 10th finalist out of 250 submissions.

Here is an article about the award : Maria Madonna Davidoff at SCWBI Artist Showcase

The original water color painting was sold at the exhibit , but I had postcards of it printed professionally.

So for those who would like to have the postcards, here is the link to my shop:CraftyMadonna

Illustration Friday Theme: Magnify

A quick sketch I did on the Beach--Before the summer is over...

Take a Peek:

© Maria Madonna Davidoff

My Upcoming Exhibit Nov.2009

I was invited to exhibit at the Art Harmony Regional Center in Maryland for their 20th Retrospective Show in November. I shall post the invitation soon.

Below is a sneak preview of the exhibit:

This is an acrylic painting on canvas, size is 18" x 24"

My " Little Girl Series" are composed of paintings I made after my mom passed away a few years ago. As a way to heal myself during that sad period of my life, I created several Little Girl sketches which I made into paintings.

Launching of My Online Store at Etsy

Welcome to the launching of My Online Store!!

This is my store logo at my Etsy Site:

My Handmade Plush dolls:

Inspired by my travels to Japan and Kokeshi Dolls, I introduce you to Mitsuki
She comes with her own cute parasol:

From the Island of Hawaii, I introduce you to Leilani:

Aloha!

My Original Paintings:

This is my mixed media painting entitled:
Fairy Tea Time:

size: 10"x10", acrylic paint,handsewn fabric with collage on canvas

Another one of my mixed media painting entitled:
Island Fairy:

size: 10"x10", acrylic paint,handsewn fabricwith collage on canvas

My Artsy Craftsy and Sewing Studio

I have been busy like a Bee preparing for my Online Shop which

I will launch very soon. Below is a new addition to my Art Studio :

A crafts and sewing corner where I have been creating some
really cute plush dolls, and mix media canvas painting plus a lot of
other things which you will see soon.

Here is my sewing corner:

Here are some of my materials and tools for my Artsy,Craftsy and Sewing projects:

As a member of CBIG and one of its officer, Here is
the CBIG ( Children's Book Illustrators Group) postcard 2009 which I've designed.

Formed since 1987, CBIG is a Children's Book Illustrator Group based in New York City.

More information on membership and meetings may be found here.

Book Making & NYC Zine Festival

This weekend, I attended the NYC ZINE FEST '09 at
the Brooklyn Lyceum building.

Below is the official poster of the event:

The NYC Zine Festival are made of self-published, homemade,
independent and small publishers.

Some of the Zines I got from the festival:

By GBtran: A Vietnamese American Cartoonist

Below a handmade book by John Mejias:

spread and front cover

I drooled over the
Microcosm Publishing Catalogue below: ( love the illo on the cover) where they've got loads of Zines, books, posters,etc..

Another favorite of mine : Robin Enrico

she created the "Jam in the Band" below:

cover and inside pages: