ABBOT KINNEY FESTIVAL POSTER

Wow, I haven't updated in a while! I've been pretty busy working on some design and illustration projects. I've also been feeling a bit under the weather lately PLUS all this pre-spring rain gives me the non-creative blues. But to brighten things up a bit, here is an entry for a contest I created that is summery sun and cheer based on the time I lived in Venice Beach. This festival is located a block away from where I used to have my little beach nest/home for a while, so, I thought I'd create a poster made up of my favorite memories: almost every day I skateboarded around the boardwalk and abbot kinney, dog watched ( they make me laugh so much!), and stare out at the ocean speckled with surfers and sailboats ( I loved looking at the sailboats on the horizon and on the weekends the ocean would be full of little boats zipping about). Of course I had to create the classic Venice Beach Body Builder - as dog - in there too. Its from a memory of a body builder with a little skateboarding pomeranian ( shaved to look like a lion) skating up and down the boardwalk. The boardwalk was/is a crazy, dirty, and eclectic place which was entertaining at times, BUT I loved the very quiet spots in Venice the most: the pungent walkways full of backyard blooming gardens ( by my studio there was a tiny garden with a little peach tree we would pluck tiny peaches from ), the purple/magenta night sky littered with little twinkly planes going in every direction ( like a sci-fi novel) , the endless day/night ocean/darkness, the hills and the homes, the flowers and the hummingbirds,the beach in the early morning when no one was around except for the seagulls, the sea, and the sounds of the waves and the wind blowing through the palm trees late at night when everyone was finally asleep. I feel really lucky to have had lived right next to the beach, since growing up in the middle of the states ( Missouri) I always looked toward the setting sun wishing it was descending into the sea ( instead it dipped into the crackling oak trees). L.A. was an endless summer, which was nice but I felt like I lost track of time, how did 4 years pass in one single summer? Well, now I'm living in the East Coast making up for all my lost seasons, haha. At times it can be rough, but, growing up with seasons, it feels right to me. Sorta. I can't deny that late spring/summer/ and early fall are my favorite times of the year because I can just hop out of bed, toss on a dress, and be outside quickly - free and unburdened.

Unfortunately I didn't win this contest, but, some of my imagery might be used in the marketing anyway and I'm glad I created this poster because it is a little more complex than some of my other work which made it a bit of a challenge! And I DO love challenges. :)

Love!C