Portfolio Update

Please check out my online portfolio for some new additions. It's all artwork I've done in the past year, just kept forgetting to add. All sections (illustrations, pencil portraits and digital art) have more than one addition. I appreciate your support!

Wings - Illustration Friday...

It's been a very long time since I submitted an illustration to IF (via a different blog). I could not, however, ignore this entry, because I was already in the process of drawing it when I opened up the email from IF and found it eerily fitting. This was to be a personal drawing, inspired by some personal feelings of mine, and yet, here I find myself sharing it so publicly...

Get your copy today!

It is very exciting to see Sadie And The Rainbow Orb appearing on popular online retailers like Amazon and Barnes And Noble (at 28% off)!

The next and exciting step would be to see it on book store shelves.  Please let me know if you've had a Sadie sighting.  Also, if you've ordered a copy, please don't forget to review it on Amazon or B&N, ratings help spread the word and we want this book's message to spread!

Sadie And The Rainbow Orb is completed!

My labor of love has not been in vain.  Finally, I have completed and published my latest book, Sadie And The Rainbow Orb!
 You can purchase it here, at any time, but it will soon be available worldwide on all of Amazon's websites, and I am also waiting to hear back on when it will be available in stores.  It is all very exciting!

All that I am waiting for is for it to gain some popularity.  When that happens, I wish to donate a percentage of the proceeds to an anti-bullying campaign.  That will only be possible when the book is popular enough for those proceeds to make a dent!  So, please pass it on, it's for a great cause!  Spread the love!

Sadie And The Rainbow Orb - Art Contest

Submit your sketches, paintings or digital art! Your artwork could win a chance to be featured in the children's book, Sadie And The Rainbow Orb as one of the many pieces of art on Sadie's wall. I am looking to fill in the empty drawings on her wall on a couple of pages in the book, so this is a chance for many and all artists to submit their work.





- Artwork must be mainly black & white, but can be any medium. You may also submit black and white drawings with a touch of color, but not too much.
- Artwork must be submitted to mich@littlelovesartist.com by April 1st. Must be a clear and crisp copy of the artwork.
- Can be a photograph or scanned image as long as it can be submitted by email.
- Quite a few will be selected, but it is limited. We apologize in advance if your drawing is not selected.

What you will win:
- Your work will appear on one of a few illustrations in the book, "Sadie And The Rainbow Orb".
- Credit will be given to you in the book in the form of a larger version of your submission (since the Sadie drawings will be reduced to fit the frames) with your name and/or website.
- A FREE autographed print in full color of a Sadie illustration from the artist.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PASS THIS EVENT ON TO YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. IT IS ONLY TWO WEEKS LONG!

Inspiration for your entries:

"Besides reading books, Sadie loves to draw.
Her sketches and paintings would leave you in awe.

But, there is one thing that wouldn’t surprise you.
Her artwork is colorless. No red, green or blue."

 And later in the story:

"Now, Sadie, with some color, her art has enhanced."

Angel And The Samurai Book

I am pleased to announce the release of another children's book that I've illustrated.
Angel And The Samurai - Book 1 - Searching For The Sword by R.K. Takeda is a heartwarming adventure for children of all ages.  This was a fun story to depict with my art, which is a mix of freehand and digital work.

The book is now available via the US, Canadian and UK Amazon websites.
Here is a link to US Amazon site:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1425128629/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_z3Xdpb190EZHQ

The Latest

First off, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and I wish you all a wonderful 2012.  We could all use a better year, no?

I just wanted to come in here and share a couple of new updates on my website.  I've added a few new illustrations to my online portfolio.  One of which is a holiday card design that I entered into a contest.  I'm proud to say that it won!

While you're in my portfolio, you might notice that I've moved a few items around.  The navigation menu is now on your left instead of on top.  I thought t was probably too confusing up on top, so I hope this way it is easier to navigate.

I've also added a new book that I illustrated, "Ava and Alexis - First Day of Ballet", written by Annette Oquendo.  It is available for purchase on Amazon.

I plan on adding more and more of my work.  Please keep your eyes peeled for new updates.  I will be adding another children's book I completed illustrating last month as soon as it is published.  I will also be beginning a new children's book project.  I've written a story and just have to illustrate it and publish it.  I hope to have that project completed by late spring, early summer.  Wish me luck!

Well, I hope all is well with everyone and hope you have a wonderful end of 2011!

Much Love,
Michelle Hewitt

A little piece of Fan Art...

So, I discovered an ebook called Demon Girl by Penelope Fletcher.  It turned out to be such a great read that I went ahead and read Demon Day (book 2) and Demon Dark (book 3) and am eagerly anticipating the release of Demon Boy (book 4) for the summer of 2012.

I was inspired by the main character, Rae Wilder and contacted the author to let her know I wanted to draw   Rae for fun.  I just needed to confirm her features for me.

Anywho, this is what I came up with...

I'm happy to say that when I sent it to Miss Fletcher, she loved it!  She even proudly posted it on her own blog.  How exciting is that?  Here is the link to her blog post:

http://fictionfierce.blogspot.com/2011/11/rae-wilder-fan-art.html

Rae only recently found out that she is a fairy, rather than a human.
She is also the fairy High Priestess and very powerful, so she is under a lot of pressure.
In this drawing I depicted her biting her lip and tugging at her hair,
just as she often does in the books!

Thanks for checking it out!

A Little Preview

When much of the work that's keeping me busy these days is complete, I intend to embark on a new children's book project of my own.  I've had the story written out for a while and toyed with the main character's look.  Finally, I came up with the above and I really like her.  She's perfect for the "part".

Without giving much of the story away, let's just say for now that you shouldn't let her appearance deceive you.  This is not one of those gothic/dark children's tales.  Though, I love those and my children find them pretty cool.  This girl is just, well, different.  And the story is more about friendship and love and wonderful surprises.  

I hope to have it completed and released by Spring of 2012.  That is the goal anyway!

Holiday Pencil Portrait Special

Stumped on what to get that special someone for the holidays?  How about a Pencil Portrait?

Right now, through November 31st, I am offering 50% my regular Pencil Portrait pricing as shown below.

Offer limited to one portrait per customer.  This means if you decide to order more than one portrait, only the first portrait will be 50% off.

8x10 or 9x12 - REG $50 -- DISCOUNTED $25

11x14 - REG $65 -- DISOUNTED $32.50

New Book!

My latest project is finally completed!

I am proud to announce that I have illustrated a children's book for an author friend of mine, Annette Oquendo, and the book is now available as a PDF ebook!

Click Here To Download PDF

The paperback copy is in the works and soon to follow.  I'd say a couple of weeks max, so stay tuned for that announcement!

Yes, at the moment, the link above will also offer a hard-cover copy of the book at $25.  That is a special edition hard cover that may or may not be available for a limited time.  You are free to purchase it at said price, but keep in mind that the paperback copy will be available at a much more reasonable price once we have tied that final loose end.

We are very excited about the release and you can be sure there will be some upcoming local reading and book signing events.  Of course, I will gladly announce those when the time comes.

Website Issues & Maintenance...

To anyone who has attempted to visit my website... Please be patient. The server I use has been having issues for the passed 48hrs and it is effecting the functionality of my site. Many links are not working, or they work sometimes then go off again. And some web pages disappear and reappear. Big mess. If I hadn't recently renewed my annual subscription, I would be switching to another provider.

Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators

I am now officially a member of the SCBWI, a wonderful resource for writers and illustrators in the children's book field!  I've been wanting to join for some time, but just never got around to it till recently.  I am learning so much about how to submit my work to publishers and what I need to do to get noticed as an artist.  It's going to take a lot of consistent work on my part, but I hope it will be worth it.

Here's my artist's page on the website...
http://www.scbwi.org/MemberProfile.aspx?u=2972405942210914

  It feels great to be a part of this and to be included among so many talented people!

Testing...

Just testing for Facebook blog import...

Photo Manipulation - Little Cherub...

We've taken to calling our youngest daughter our "little cherub" She has ash blond hair that curls at the ends, and it is at just the right length that most cherubs are painted to have. She also, just seems to have the look of a cherub, especially when her cheeks are blushed.

I've been teaching myself a lot of Photoshop techniques, so I decided to pose my little angel and take a photo of her. It was tough getting just the right pose and lighting, but when I finally did (with her kneeling on our washing machine) the photo was terribly blurry. Still, I decided to work with it since getting the photo "perfect" was proving to be a challenge.

And work with it, I did...

Here is a comparison of the original photo beside the photoshopped cherub...


And here is the photoshopped version on its own...


Thanks for looking!

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope you all enjoy your holiday! I wish I had a special V-Day sale for you, but it's a little late for that. No one would get their gifts in time to give away!

So, instead, I'd like to extend my $5 print sale. Order a 5x7 print of any of my existing work (like the illustration, "First Crush", above) for only $5 a piece! This includes shipping!

With the looong and miserable winter some of us have been enduring, I'm sure I'm not the only one looking forward to spring. I'm planning on having a spring sale as well, and maybe a couple of contests for free prints.

The above illustration has been added to my online portfolio. Thanks for visiting!
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Updates

For those of you accessing my Facebook page, I would like you to know that for a while I will be adding any relevant posts or artwork through my blog. These posts should be automatically added to my FB page, as that is how I have it set up. Hopefully this is the case, because, at the moment, I have no access to my page and hope my fans are not slipping away from me!
I hope everyone is keeping well and getting ready for the start of a new year! Best wishes to all, and please don't stop visiting or checking in on my website. My services are always available, so if you have questions, feel free to email me via my website. Again, I do not have access to my FB page, so I can't see any questions you may post on the wall.

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In a slump...

I didn't realize how long I've not drawn something for the sake of it for this fan page. I'm sorry about my absence in that area.

I've been very tired with latest schedule and find myself filling freetime with well, downtime. Major slump, which also meant no inspiration or motivation to draw much and that is very bad. I could go rusty again.

So, I'm going to start trying again.

I would love to go back to doing WOTD, but I worry about skipping too many days and then giving up again. Perhaps I can still handle WOTW.

What do you all think?

Also, I still want to come up with some contests, but not doing great with ideas for them. Anyone want to toss some my way?

Also, don't forget that any past client who leaves a review on my FB Reviews tab earns 20% off their next order, and that also means that those of you who have already left reviews have already earned it.

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Freelancing Event

For anyone who visits here that is a freelancer, you may be interested in this special free online conference event for International Freelancers Day.

If you are interested in learning how you can improve your freelancing business, join me on Friday, September 24th as we attend this informative and beneficial conference!

Click this image to learn more...


Watch the video:

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Attention All Previous Clients!

Hello all! I would like to ask that you please come to my Facebook Fan Page and leave a review for any past jobs I have done for you. There is a designated "Reviews" tab on that page.

As a thank you, I will award you with 20% off of your next order!

All reviews will be added to the Reviews page on my website as well.

And yes, if you've already posted a review in the past, you are already eligible for 20% off your next order!

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