Sally Gilroy – Ellen Million Graphics Blog

Goblin Kings and Moon Foxes!

Have a good Saturday? We sure did! And while it may be drawing to a close, there’s still a lovely Sketch Fest Sunday to go.

Let’s dive into a few featured illustrations here on the blog! Then visit the full gallery.

In the dog days of summer, it’s lovely to sit and fish by a cooling waterfall – particularly if you’re a fairy lad. Amy Sue Stirland painted this lovely scene in watercolors on 3″ x 5″ Bristol. Purchase the original painting for $15!

This gorgeous “Vintage Fairy” by Linzi Fay is sketched on 5.5″ x 8.5″ toned tan paper. Linzi said, “I used an old vintage photograph to draw this fairy” for that extra touch of authenticity. You can hang the original on your wall for $28.

Elma Bree created this rose-and-thorn-draped “Gothic Elf,” inspired by Mayumi Ogihara’s prompt.

This graphite sketch of the “Goblin King” by Sally Gilroy has captured the mischief and amusement that Jareth radiates on the regular.

This whimsical and lovely “Moon Fox” was created by Julie Rabischung with ink, white gouache, and watercolors on toned Canson paper. You can buy the original 4″ x 6″ watercolor for $20 or pick up a print for $7.

We’re to bed, the sooner to embrace a creative morrow. Say you’ll join us! There’s still time to sign up – it’s free! – and contribute a prompt. Make sure you leave comments for the artists, too, they’re a hungry lot.

Holiday Sketch Festin’

Our December Sketch Fest is nearly over, and it’s been seasonally appropriate and inspirational! Jump over there to check it out, and maybe even pick up a gift or two – prints and original sketches are for sale.

Let’s have some featured illustrations:

Amy Sue Stirland sketched this adorable “Warm and Fuzzy” pig, and she says: “This cutest fluffy piggy is enjoying his first snow in a warm winter cap.” She plans on finishing the 8.5″ x 5.5″ illustration with watercolor/gouache.

“Polar Bear and Her Cubs” by Peter C.M. van Herpt

Peter van Herpt’s animal illustrations never disappoint, and this protective polar bear with her two cubs is no different! This sketch was done with pencil, pen, and ink.

This sketch of a “Christmas Cardinal” from Sally Gilroy easily conjures the feel of a bright, crisp day and the birdsong all about. We can even see the colors!

“The Sweetest Mouse” by Katerina Koukiotis

Evelyn Henderson left the prompt of of “sweetest mouse” and Katerina Koukiotis delivered with this sweet creature! “The Sweetest Mouse” is a 5″ x 7″ sketch in colored pencils – and an ACEO LE print is available for only $6!

“Unimpressed and Ornamented” by Tallulah Cunningham is another illustration that made us laugh out loud – the expression on this giraffe’s face is priceless! Tallulah created this illustration with color pencils and pen on a paint swatch card.

We hope you enjoyed these illustrations – why don’t you head over to the full gallery and leave comments for our artists? And don’t forget to shop!

Sketch Fest Sunday with Pugicorn

Having a relaxing first Sunday in November? We hope you are! And if you’d like to enjoy some art, you should head over to our #EMGSkechFest gallery – it’s still going for another hour and we’ve got some fantastic art to share with all!

Let’s have some featured illustrations:

We’re entering the Snow Queen’s winter domain, and she’s watching us closely with something that looks a lot like delighted anticipation. Prompted by Edward Cammarota, Katerina Koukiotis drew her snow queen in pencil and pastels with white gel pen. You can get a LE ACEO print of this 5×7 original for $6.

When a sweet little dormouse offers you poppies, how can you say no? Sally Gilroy drew “Poppy” in pastels and markers, inspired by Julie Cooper’s prompt.

Elma Bree started this “Sugar Plum Fairy” inspired by Keira Knightley’s poster for The Nutcracker and the Four Realms using watercolor colors, pastels, and sparkles.

Inspired by Julie Cooper’s prompt, “the littlest dragon and fairy,” Amy Sue Stirland sketched this tiny dragon and their fairy friend. Amy commented: “Wonder if the fairy is trying out a growth spell?” This 8.5×5.5 drawing will be finished with watercolors and the completed original is up for sale!

And, at last, the promised pugicorn! Charlie Galvin painted “Pugicorn” from Julie Cooper’s whimsical prompt. “I took my sketch of the pugicorn and transferred to a 6×6 Fluid watercolor block,” Charlie explained. “I spent a few hours painting and adding detail. I’m very happy with how it turned out.”

Enjoyed these featured illustrations? Check out the rest of the #EMGSketchFest gallery!

Welcome to #EMGSketchFest 96!

Welcome to #EMGSketchFest 96, everyone – the first SketchFest of 2018! This is your Friday night sneak peek at the gallery to get you excited and lure you on in: spend some time with us this weekend. Admire the art, submit a prompt, and maybe even join in and create something yourself! It doesn’t have to be a drawing – any kind of creation from textiles to jewelry to photographs and more qualify for SketchFest.

On to the peek!

The very first work submitted to #EMGSketchFest 96 is from Sally Gilroy, with this expressive deer “Among the flowers.”

There are over a dozen sketches in the gallery already, featuring fairies riding hummingbirds, dragonriders, mermaids, a fantasy fiddler and more! We’ll have another round of featured illustrations tomorrow so check back then – or go explore on your own now.

That’s it from us tonight. See you tomorrow!

Night Owls, Let Me Sing You A Song

Good evening, all you night owls! Late, late evening, I know. It’s been a productive and creative day in the EMG Sketch Fest 91 gallery!

Let’s get right to the featured illustrations:

A rocking horse (Appaloosa) facing toward the viewer's left, with a teddy bear in a cowboy hat and neckerchief sitting astride it and holding the reins. Pencil sketch. — “In the Saddle” by Sally Gilroy

Sally Gilroy took Ellen Million’s “back in the saddle” prompt and turned it into this perfect children’s book-esque illustration. Now it just needs the storybook that frames this Cowboy Teddy’s moonlight ride on his trusty Appaloosa Rocking Horse!

A pencil sketch of a jack o'lantern. The pumpkin faces the viewer, though its eyes appear to look to the viewer's left. The jack o'lantern is wearing a witch's hat with the pointed tip curling to the viewer's right. The pumpkin also features a leafy vine curling to the viewer's left. — “Whimsical Jack o Lantern” by Cindy Hill

Another entry on the autumnal theme! Cindy Hill has sketched an adorably be-hatted jack o’lantern with just a hint of the zany.

A Photoshopped collage - a brunette with free flowing hair is walking through a forest clearing toward the viewer, with one foot forward. She looks to the viewer's left, and her left hand reaches out to almost cup the chin of a unicorn trailing behind her. The woman is wearing a flowing and silken purple garment. The forest floor is verdant; light slopes through the thin trees in the background. — “Maiden with the Flowing Hair” by Llynara

Welcome to Llynara! This is her first Sketch Fest, and she’s shared a stunning and enchanting scene that she developed in DAZ 3D and refined in Photoshop.

A slender fairy woman poofs her tangled and leaf-strewn hair with one hand while her other hand curls back to touch her bare shoulder. Her fitted gown is made of autumnal leaves and accented with berries. The fairy has moth-like wings, four lobes relaxed in partial extension around her. Mushrooms litter the suggestion of ground about her gown-hidden feet. Ink sketch in progress. — “Lady of the Autumn Forest” by Mitzi Sato-Wiuff

Mitzi Sato-Wiuff has delivered autumnal royalty with her “Lady of the Autumn Forest” work-in-progress! If you’re interested in purchasing the original, contact her! She may or may not be adding color.

A set of branches curves in an backwards E shape, supporting a magpie on the lowest branch. The magpie's back is to the viewer, and it looks over its shoulder to the viewer's left. The magpie holds a small key in its beak. 11 keys of various ornateness and sizes dangle from ribbon and chains and rings from various branches. Ink drawing. — “Collector of Keys” of Kathy Nutt

This magpie just really gets what Sketch Fest is all about – a collection of shinies in all different shapes and sizes! Thanks for summing up this festival of creativity so eloquently, Kathy Nutt!

We’re off to bed, perchance to dream – of more art tomorrow!

Mermaids and fairies frolic with EMG Sketch Fest #90!

Time for the Evening Edition of #EMGSketchFest Saturday! We’re up to a few dozen works of art in our gallery so far, with more creativity on the way. The eclipse has been a popular theme as well, for obvious reasons!

Let’s take a peek.

A bust of a blue-eyed woman with pale skin, looking left over her shoulder with her eyes cut right. Her hair is in a large updo, with two dragonflies perched on the vaguest sketch of a crown or tiara. Another dragonfly alights on her shoulder, and she has the faint suggestion of dragonfly wings sprouting from her back. — “Dragonfly Fairy” by Carol Moore

Carol Moore drew this Dragonfly Fairy with an intense blue gaze using colored pencils on blue cardstock. The faint hint of a crown-to-be and dragonfly wings on the fairy are fantastic!

A mermaid stares straight ahead at the viewer, her dark tresses touched with white floating above her head. Faint scales shimmer on her chest and shoulders, while her breasts are covered with clinging kelp-like material. She appears to have fins on the backs of her upper arms. Figure is shown from the torso up with arms mostly off page. Drawn with graphite and white charcoal on greyish beige toned paper. — “From the Depth of the Sea” by Mayumi Ogihara

Speaking of intense gazes, Mayumi Ogihara outdid herself with “From the Depth of the Sea“! The eyes are piercing, the scales captivating, and those fins on her upper arms! This illustration is graphite and white charcoal on toned paper. ACEO prints and 5″ x 7” prints are available for $6 and $10 respectively.

A red-haired mermaid turns to her left to look at the viewer with her over-sized blue eyes, lined and with thick lashes. She has a button nose and freckles dusted across her nose and cheeks. Blush colors her pale skin as well. Only her neck and face are visible, surrounded by her red hair. Empty space to the left is filled with a pale green-blue suggestive of the sea. — “Red Hair Mermaid” by Katerina Koukiotis

Katerina Koukiotis fills out our complement of mermaids with her red-haired beauty inspired by Ariel, sporting bright eyes and lips. She’s offering limited edition ACEO prints for $6.50.

Small figures composed of a round head with two empty white eyes and having two black leg-like protrusions each build a vaguely blob-like unicorn out of black fronds. — “whatfluffdoes!” by blopdotink

blopdotink has joined us for another Sketch Fest to tell her curious and delightful tales through a series of blop illustrations. Here’s what blopdotink has to say about “whatfluffdoes!“:

Who doesn’t want to have a fluffy unicorn? Is what humans would probably think… But blops are different… having something doesn’t do it for them… they explore, they study they experiment und they copy… Especially, if they are as impressed with something as much as they are with all the fluff on one hoof here. I had to do this one, even though I don’t know whether or not it will make it in this weekend’s series and my storyline, because… … Again, I am using Sketch Fest to compile a story made up solely of prompts and it’s gonna be a love story again. But not between blops or other creatures, it’s about the love for the greatest city in the world, my humble home town BERLIN.

A simple birdhouse composed of a square with a triangle roof hangs suspended from one branch with two other branches bearing leaves visible in the background. A fairy rests her elbows on the doorway, staring out at the viewer while a bird likewise peers out from behind her. — “House Guest” by Sally Gilroy

We end tonight’s highlights with a lovely pair of creatures in Sally Gilroy‘s “House Guest.” She wants to paint this one, so keep your eye out for a finished version!

Right. That’s EMG signing off for the night. Keep creating and keep admiring in the meantime. We’ll be back with more features tomorrow!