Tag: #smallbusiness

Sloth Totem Drawing

by Free Spirit Meg, posted in Totem Animals, Traditional Art, Zentangle Inspired Art (ZIA)

I am very happy with how my “Sloth Totem” turned out! I stayed completely care-free the entire time I worked on this piece. I didn’t know how it would turn out in the end but I didn’t worry about it. I just let it happen and it happened well! I have shared this on social media and so far it is getting a lot of positive feedback.

I’m not entirely sure why people love sloths though! To be honest, I think they are a little creepy in real life. I can totally get on board with the calm and chill lifestyle though!

I will cover the symbolism of sloth after Inktober is completed. I shared a FSM Update to explain everything that is coming up in the next month! Make sure you give it a glance to see what’s in store!

Speaking of store, if you would like your own print of “Sloth Totem” it is available in my shop here.

You can also find home decor, apparel, accessories and more with my “Sloth Totem” piece. Click here.

Thanks for stopping by! Leave a comment below and let me know what you think about sloths. Cute or creepy?

Stay chill, free spirits!

“The main thing is to relax and let your talents do the work.” -Charles Barkley

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It’s a Digital Age!

by Free Spirit Meg, posted in Digital Art, Sketchbook, Zentangle Inspired Art (ZIA)

I’ve been throwing around the idea of trying my hand at some digital art. I’ve never really dabbled with it much more than when I was in high school. That was fifteen years ago so a lot has changed in the technological department.Hard as it is to believe, I had never drawn on a device with a stylus and I wanted to try it. I’ve also been wanting to start creating some mandalas so I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to tackle both!

With each one, I do a little better and learn something new about the drawing app I am using. I settled for Autodesk Sketchbook until my art can pay for Adobe Illustrator, which would be my preferred program. I just finished the mandala picture below and have added it to my online shop! I call it “Bluedana” and I had a lot of fun creating it!

I’m learning so much, rapidly. I can’t wait to see where my work will be in even a few weeks! Digital art is so much fun I know I haven’t even scratched the surface yet. I use to swear against it for the longest time. That was before I knew what I could do with it! I use to think it was “cheating” but it really isn’t. It just streamlines the entire process. This makes everything so much faster so you can get even more art done. Plus, you aren’t using any materials so you don’t have to dish out money for supplies. As long as you have a good device and a decent stylus, you’re all set! By the way, I drew all of these from my phone. I found an app that works for my laptop and my phone so I can draw no matter where I am!

I hope you enjoyed my work. There is a lot more where that came from. What are your thoughts on digital art and illustration? Leave your story in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by this week.

Happy Autumn, free spirits!

“You never know what you can do until you try, and very few try unless they have to.” –C.S. Lewis

Country Roads Take Me Home

by Free Spirit Meg, posted in FSM Updates, Travel, Work In Progress

I have this entire week off for vacation. I am pumped. I have needed a good break like this to rejuvenate myself in more ways than one. Besides working vigorously on my art and cleaning my house to the core, I am taking a much needed trip to Ohio to visit my family.

As always, expect a lot of pictures. I have a new lens that I haven’t been able to play with yet and it’s eating away at me! I need to try it out and this week will be the perfect opportunity.

I have a few pieces in the works. I have a realism piece of an otter, a zentangle of a sloth and a mini canvas painting. I will have to finish them when I get back but they are all coming along nicely.

Check back soon for more artwork and photography! Hope you’re enjoying the Summer! It’s been a busy one!

Stay sunny, free spirits!



~Totem Animal art by Free Spirit Meg~

Find your own totem animal in the shop!

Prints and Products Available here!



Horse of a Different Color

by Free Spirit Meg, posted in Free Spirit Merch

I’ve had some of these beauties hiding in a folder on my computer and decided it was time to share them with the world! I have literally gone horse crazy with my Horse Totem drawing (originally done in colored pencil). I’ve been wanting to get better with my photoshop skills and in the near future would like to get a digital drawing tablet. Yes, the digital age has finally grabbed me. So here are some designs I’ve created for horses of a different color! Which one is your favorite?

Find prints, apparel, home decor and more by clicking the links below!

Purple: rdbl.co/2FZ2n1N
Pink: rdbl.co/30p9ybz
Green: rdbl.co/2RYxPSR
Yellow: rdbl.co/2L5YoEP
Blue: rdbl.co/2V4ddsW
Orange (Plain Background): rdbl.co/2UVeRx0
Orange (Pattern Background): rdbl.co/2NDsrWM

#5 – Follow Your Heart

by Free Spirit Meg, posted in Megtography
Took this yesterday at Papscanee Island Nature Preserve. I didn’t have an opportunity to post it yesterday so today I will just post two photos and keep the count going. We found this on the trail during our hike! It’s so exciting to find nature inspired creations left behind by others.

Mother Bear – Happy Mother’s Day!

by Free Spirit Meg, posted in Events, Traditional Art, Zentangle Inspired Art (ZIA)

Happy Mother’s Day to all! I completed my Mother’s Day inspired drawing entitled, “Mother Bear”. I am so happy with how this turned out. Blue and orange hues together are some of my favorite colors! They really *POP* together. I have also been wanting to create a drawing of a mama bear and her cub for a very long time now. I finally got around to it and I’m happy I finally did it!

You can find it in my shop at Redbubble here. Available for prints, apparel, home décor and more! Check it out and get one for your Mother Bear!

You can also read about bear symbolism here on a post I created previously with my Bear Totem drawing.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope your have a great day with your mother and/or children. Plus, wish Mother Earth a happy Mother’s Day! Plant a tree, a flower or just enjoy a nice nature hike!

Carpe diem, free spirit!

Flamingo Totem Drawing

by Free Spirit Meg, posted in Traditional Art, Zentangle Inspired Art (ZIA)

My Flamingo Totem is complete! It seemed like it took forever. Landscaping season started back up for me while I was half way finished with it. I can’t dedicate as much time in the day to drawing as I could over the winter. It really made the flamingo drag on but I forced myself to finish it and I’m glad I did. I am really happy with the outcome.

I actually have two versions of the flamingo. The first version, pictured above, was my initial idea of just doing the body so I had plenty of room to create the patterns and tangles within the feathers. Feathers are a lot of fun to create using Zentangle. While I was working on the body, I realized, aside from their color, one of the flamingos most distinctive features are their long legs. I thought it would be neat to incorporate the legs into the drawing making one big project. I used three sheets of my drawing paper to create one huge piece of the flamingo with it’s legs. I scanned the three images to my computer and pieced them together creating this long legged beauty!

I am really happy with how it looks as a full image. My only complaint is my scanner. Unfortunately, it couldn’t capture the really HOT pink color I was using so some of the areas are more dull compared to the original. Without comparing it though, the scanned image still looks pretty sweet!

I have both of these versions available in my shop at Redbubble. Click the links below to check out apparel, home décor, stationary and more!

Flamingo Totem (Body Only)

Flamingo Totem (with Long Legs)

You can also check out two patterns that I created from these pieces. The pretty blue background compliments the pink nicely. You can find these in my shop here and here.

Which design or drawing is your favorite? Leave a comment below! Thanks for stopping by today! I have quite a few ideas for my next couple projects so check back often for new work. I hope you are enjoying some nice weather!

Stay flashy, free spirits!

Flamingo WIP + Updates

by Free Spirit Meg, posted in Work In Progress

Happy Monday everyone! Was your Monday as blah as mine was? Sometimes, days are just like that. Rain doesn’t help those days either. You just want to curl up on the couch and watch a movie until you pass out. Any how, I survived the Monday blues long enough to write my post tonight. There are a couple updates I wanted to share.

First of all, I have added more color to my Flamingo Totem. It’s becoming very bright and I’m excited to finish it! I have always avoided pink in the past since it was far from my favorite color. Lately, I have had more of an open mind with my work and have used it for my Flying Squirrel Totem and now flamingo. It’s nice to change things up every once and a while. Plus, I have always put limits on myself and my work, unintentionally. I use to “make rules” or guidelines to my art that I wasn’t allowed to teeter from. Like I was forced to stay within a certain style of art or subject. I have no idea how I picked up this terrible habit but I am proud to say I have kicked it and now create whatever I want, whenever I want, however I want. My art has improved greatly because of it! I’m even going to pick up painting again, which I am excited for. I just need to get some more supplies, first.

Secondly, I wanted to share that I’m back to my full time job as a landscaper. I’m going to have to make some changes to my future content. As you can guess, Spring and Summer are the busiest months for a landscaper! Last year, I tried to keep up with my Totem Animal posts the best I could. I always shoot for one post a week but it can be difficult keeping up with everything. Not only do I need to create the drawing itself but I put a lot of time and energy into the research for each totem. Then when I have an understanding of it, I need to type it out for my blog. This is done in between my landscaping job, family responsibilities, social obligations, appointments and every once and a while….sleep. Not to mention any other efforts that need to be put into my business as an artist such as marketing and social media, editing my work for products and uploading it to my online shops (Redbubble and Society6) and how about just talking and connecting with people! I always tend to lose my mind a bit when Spring comes around! I have to lighten the load.

I do not want my artwork to suffer and obviously I can not take time away from my family or my job that is currently paying the bills. Therefore, I am going to halt new Totem Animal symbolism posts. I will continue to create the drawings like I have been but I won’t be able to go over each one in detail about their symbolism. The art is more important than the writing and I don’t want to become discouraged because I can’t keep up with both! Don’t worry, I will still continue to keep my blog. I just won’t be able to write such lengthy posts for a little while!

I hope you like the Flamingo Totem so far. Let me know what you think in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by this week.

Happy Spring, free spirits!

Totem Animal: Horse

by Free Spirit Meg, posted in Totem Animals, Traditional Art

I am happy with how his piece turned out. The mane was a lot of fun to draw. It resembles fire which is funny because I have always struggled with drawing fire, yet this came easily for me. Now that I have this concept in mind, I will have to experiment with fire again. I had to change my perspective a little to figure it out.

Like the orca, I did not add any tangles to this totem. I don’t know why. I easily could have but I just wanted to play around with the fading colors and the shape of the mane. I wanted the mane to be the focus of the entire piece. It’s wild and free just like the horse, which will lead us to our symbolism.

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HORSE SYMBOLISM

The horse has been an amazing companion throughout the history of mankind. No other animal has made a bigger impact in the lives of humans than the horse. They’ve aided us with traveling long distances, they’ve carried men through wars, provided the power needed for agriculture and entertained us with racing and horse shows. Horses have been by our side since cavemen. If you have horse for a totem, consider yourself extremely lucky.

The horse is a symbol of travel. They have always carried us where we need to go, making travel between cities and families easier. They also were used to deliver goods and news from place to place. They were the first to show us what it is like to have wings. If the horse has crossed your path, it may be time for you to take a trip. Are you stressed? Do you need to get away for a while? Let the horse take you away and show you what it’s like to fly. They will show you what it’s like to feel free again.

I loved riding my horse, Skyler, through the open fields by my childhood house. Once they have the open space, they will run as fast as their thundering hooves can carry them! The tears streak from your eyes! It’s a rush. The horse is a strong symbol of freedom. Remember to keep this spirit with you always. Do not stay tied down, no matter how domesticated you feel. Even domestic horses let go and let the wind guide them, their manes flowing wildly. Use this energy in your own journey to freedom. Live a little.

Horses are the greatest symbol of power. Each color of the horse represents an individual strength. The black horse rules dreams and the dark. They will guide you and show you how to find the light. The chestnut shows us the power of remaining playful and remembering the joys of life. They show us how to have fun. The palomino shows us the power of teaching others and sharing our enlightenment. It is important to help others when we can and guide them to find their own strength. Finally we have the white, or gray, horse. They are the unity of all the powers and your mount to and from the spirit realm. The white horse teaches wisdom and that wisdom cannot be obtained if power is abused. Keep all this in mind as you trot down your path in life. It will take you far!

Last but not least, the horse represents sexuality. The stallion is a strong representation of this. The stud. Need I say more. Strut your stuff, honey! You look mighty fine. Just don’t get too cocky. Wouldn’t want to take a kick to the face.

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I hope you enjoyed this week’s totem. It has been a long time coming. Horses are my favorite animal and have played a huge role in my life. They have truly changed my outlook on life. Do you have any great horse tales? Share your story in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by!

Stay wild, free spirits!

Find Horse Totem prints and other products @Redbubble

Click here to get $10 off your first Redbubble purchase! Prints, canvases, totes, tapestries, apparel and more!

Sources

Twitterpated

by Free Spirit Meg, posted in Totem Animals, Zentangle Inspired Art (ZIA)

Spring has finally arrived! The weather is trying to make the shift from cold and frigid to into warm and inviting. I can hear the birds throughout the day. It was silent during the winter then one day, it seemed all the birds came out at once to sing their songs! I love it! I always think of the scene from the movie Bambi when the owl explains that all the birds are twitterpated! Twitterpated? Yes.

“Nearly everybody gets twitterpated in the springtime. For example, you’re walking along minding your own business, you’re looking neither to the left, nor to the right, when all of the sudden, you run smack into a pretty face. WHOO-WHOO! You begin to get weak in the knees, your head’s in a whirl! And then you feel light as feather, and before you know it you’re walking on air! And then you know what? You’re knocked for a loop! And you completely lose your head!” -Friend Owl

It makes me laugh every time I think about it. So in honor of springtime and a great movie here are is a collection of all the avian totems I have drawn so far.

There are still quite a few I need to cover but it’s a pretty great collection to start. I have the flamingo in the works right now. It’s going to be fun playing around with the different shades of pink. For now though, we have these beauties! You can read about each birds symbolism by clicking the links below.

You can also find prints and other cool products with these images @Redbubble and @Society6!

Which drawing is your favorite? Is there a bird not pictured here that you would like to see? Drop a suggestion in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by today!

Fly high, free spirits!