Hi, it’s Wendy here!

First of all, I just want to say THANK YOU for joining this little newsletter community! It is a dream to be able to create and share my art with the world, and your support allows me to do that.

✨ Newsletter Perks ✨

• Receive 24hr early access and exclusive details on print drops (e.g. price lists).

• Automatically be entered into newsletter-only giveaways for a chance to win free artwork!

• Be kept in the loop on new studio updates.

• Get a deeper look into my drawing process and inspirations for the week!

Oh and did I mention I’m holding a GIVEAWAY right now?!

After May 2, one lucky winner from my mailing list will be selected at random to win the concept sketch below:

I don’t always do concept sketches for a new drawing, but I was eager to get this vision down on paper! This is the very sketch that gave birth to the drawing “I’M FINE” and you could own it!

Stay tuned for next week’s newsletter, as I will be announcing…

📆 PRINT DROP DATES!! 📆

The Conception of “I’M FINE”

You’ve probably seen parts of my drawing process from reels, but what about the brainstorming and conceptual process behind it?

How did it come to be?

Over a year ago, I was brainstorming concepts for a new drawing. I really wanted to create a piece that would visually reflect my personal experiences from a difficult season in my life. I wanted it to be real and raw, and be a message of encouragement to others.

I thought of how deflated I felt during that time, yet how I probably didn’t appear that way outwardly. I would put on a facade and pretend that everything was fine. The concept of being deflated led me to thinking of balloons and then the image suddenly popped into my mind; a deflated smiling balloon. I knew this was it!

I had to get this exact vision down on paper before I forgot, so I immediately sat down and created the concept sketch seen above!

To create the reference photo for this drawing, I took numerous photographs of a balloon (and I mean numerous!) and experimented with different lighting and crumples. After sifting through DOZENS of photos, I chose the final image (on the left) and then removed the background in Photoshop (on the right)!

Although I initially envisioned this piece to have a white background, I had a persistent feeling that something was missing while drawing. It felt too perfect and put-together, which was the exact opposite of the thoughts and emotions I was trying to portray.

The idea of writing in the background started to emerge as I was on the final stretch of the drawing, but I was very hesitant. What if I wrote in the background and regretted it? I had already spent almost 100 hours on the balloon.

So I did a little test strip on a separate piece of paper to envision what it could look like completely covered in words. It felt like the right move; so trusting my gut I grabbed my pen, took to the paper, and didn’t look back.

-Wendy