Saturday, August 29, 2020

Officially a "Hamilfan"

I've watched Hamilton on Disney+ three times and I have the soundtrack on repeat. My new favorite expression is ...


And now you can color it.

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Sharing More Coloring Pages

I started a year-long doodle challenge in May that you can see on the gram. August's theme is school and with the kids going back remotely, I'm just not feeling it. I've been watching baseball and drawing flowers instead.

So here's two new coloring pages to share. Just click on the image for the link to download the files and enjoy.

 

Sunday, May 17, 2020

Times Like These (BBC Radio 1 Stay Home Live Lounge)


Times Like These is one of my favorite songs by the Foo Fighters, given a whole new meaning during the global health crisis we are facing. I downloaded it and I've been listening to it on repeat on my morning walks. It lifts my spirits every time, especially the bridge when Sean Paul sings ...

"We'll make it better together, we'll make a better life."

That sentence keeps running through my head, so of course, I had to illustrate it. I hope you enjoy the coloring page it inspired. Click on the image below to be taken to the FREE download.


And here's another coloring page I've had done for a bit, but keep forgetting to post. As usual, just let me know if you enjoy it. Thanks!



Sunday, May 3, 2020

Trying to Spread Sunshine.

Here's a couple of NEW coloring pages fresh out of the sketchbook, including one for that most special of person's in your life ...

Your MAMA!

Remember when you were little and you'd leave a drawing on her pillow the night before Mother's Day? No? That was just me? Okay then.

How about making something cool and crafty at school? Everyone did that, right? So click on the picture, download the file, print and color your mom some flowers she can keep forever.

Hope you're staying well and healthy. Check back next Sunday for new pages!



Saturday, April 25, 2020

Saturday, April 18, 2020

Coloring Pages for YOU!


It's been a   l   o   n   g     t   i   m   e   since I've published anything here in the blogosphere. A full-time job, two active teenagers, their dad and a crazy dog have really cut into my art time. Plus, speaking of that full-time job, after a day working on a computer I'm no longer all that interested in playing on one.

So.

Here we are.

In our homes ... far apart ... and yet in this together.

I hope you are doing well. We've managed to stay healthy and things haven't really changed that much. I just finished my fourth week working from home, the teenagers are participating in remote learning and the husband still goes into the office. The dog has had the biggest change because he's almost never left alone anymore. Not that he seems to mind.

I'm still drawing, journaling, painting, creating, and if you want to see more of what I've been up to, visit me on Instagram.

A few of my friends from out on the interwebs have asked if I have coloring pages and the answer is of course I do ... pages I planned to do something with someday.

And I guess today is that day. So here you go ... click on any of the images and you'll be able to download, print and color them to your heart's content. Please just give me a shout out if you like them.

Hang in there, stay well and wash your hands! 💗💗💕💕





Tuesday, November 15, 2016

FREE Thanksgiving Coloring Page


karenblados2016

Long time no talk to! The short version is the minions are doing more, I'm working more AND teaching art classes. Something had to give, and unfortunately, it was the blog.

I'm still drawing and creating - I just post to Instagram (@kblads) because it's faster. You can check me out there if you wanna. 😀

Speaking of teaching, my students are off next week for Thanksgiving and I created this coloring page for them. I thought I'd share it here, too – kind of an I'm-sorry-I've-been-neglecting-my-blog apology gift. Just click on the image to download it.

Hope all is well with everyone and I'll try to hang out here more in the future.

Monday, May 16, 2016

Weird Places I Find Inspiration

Artwork from First Watch in Kettering, Ohio. 
I visited my mom recently and we went to First Watch for breakfast.

Oh my gosh, have you ever been to a First Watch?

Best. Breakfast. Ever.

Seriously.

And the art was pretty cool, too. Bonus!

That eye candy got me thinking about how I could do something similar ... with flowers, of course. These little (6"x6") pansy paintings are what I came up with. Not as painterly as the inspiration pieces, but no where near as controlled as I usually am.

And I like them! Double Bonus!




Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Fun Project!

I got an email recently from a mom wondering if I'd be willing to create a custom Beanie Boo Invitation for her twin girls' 6th Birthday Party. It seems she'd seen the series I did of my girl's Beanies almost two years ago.

Now that the paintings and invites are done, I thought I'd give you all a peek. First I created the requested Beanie Boos - a lilac pegasus and a rainbow sloth (which I don't think even exists ... maybe Ty should get going on that?).

This was actually the second try on the sloth. The first version had a pink head, blue body, green hands, feet, ears, etc. I decided to quit being a chicken and really make it rainbow.
After the paintings were done ... mostly ... it was time to tackle the text for the invitation. The nice thing about modern technology is I can write what I want, pick and choose the best looking elements and then combine everything. I don't have to completely start over. 

For instance, the "Josie" I did originally with the long descender didn't work with the layout. I drew a different "J", scanned it and placed it in the layout.

Yay.
And the last and final step is to bring it all together digitally. I used Illustrator mainly because it works best with type. 
I love the final product and so did the client. Of course, so does the girl and now she's a little miffed I didn't think of this myself.

Whoops.