Gifts & Trades (December 2012-January 2026)

Notes: I love to make art for friends and family! Here are some gifts I've made over the years, as well as a couple of trades I did in 2016.

Click the images for more details.

A floral illustration around a paw print in tribute to Peaches, one of my favorite dogs. Created with acrylic markers and ink. A summery portrait of my niece with sunglasses on and her hands in front of her face. Created with acrylic markers and ink on a sticky note. An illustration of a green frog in a bigger plastic frog looking kind of stoned and contemplating existence. There are doodles of pink leaves around the frogs. The illustration was created with acrylic markers on a sticky note. A 30 minute imperfect pet portrait. Drew this one for my mum, of her friend's one-eyed dog, Barnaby. Created with acrylic paint, gouache, and ink on a post-it. A card I made for father's day with the Welsh football team's logo on it. He sadly passed away 3 days later. I created the card with ink, colored paper, and stickers. A card I made for my dad's final birthday with a painting of a racehorse that he had a share in, I created the card with watercolors, ink, and acrylic paint. Chicken from outer space for li-lith for Artistle's Secret Santa 2020! I created the piece with gouache, acrylic paint, and ink. I based the drawing off Space Chicken from Courage the Cowardly Dog. A pet portrait of Aria for my father-in-law with gouache, acrylic markers, ink, and watercolor pencils. A birthday sign I made for a colleague with an illustration of baby Yoda/Grogu/the Child stealing birthday cake; the sign was created with gouache, ink, and acrylic markers. A birthday sign I made for a colleague with an illustration of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy; the sign was created with gouache, ink, and acrylic markers. A painting of a bee on a rose on honeycomb, created with pyrography and acrylic paint on a wood panel. The painting was originally for a DeviantArt challenge but I gifted it to my mum in 2021. A birthday sign I made for a friend with a drawing of David Rose from the TV show Schitt's Creek saying have a bless-ed day!; the sign was created with a floral scrapbook insert, ink, and acrylic markers. A post-it note mini art illustration of a cat in a red hat, drawn for a friend to cheer her up during lockdown; the piece was created with ink and acrylic markers. A birthday card I made for a colleague with a drawing of her Dachshund wearing a LA Dodgers baseball hat, I created the card with acrylic markers and ink. A birthday card I made for a co-worker with a drawing of the wrestler Orange Cassidy giving a lazy thumbs up with the words Happy Birthday... or whatever; I created the card with acrylic markers and ink. An index card illustration of my friend's cute dog, Peaches, wearing green sunglasses and a garland; the card was created with ink and acrylic markers. A birthday card I made for a friend with a drawing of her cat wearing a party hat behind a Scottish flag, I created the card with acrylic markers and ink. A pet portrait on a coaster of a co-workers bloodhound as a farewell gift; the art piece was created with ink, acrylic paint, and acrylic markers. Days 354 and 363/365 of Year of Creative Habits. A canvas painting of my parents, created with acrylic paint. Days 322 and 323/365 of Year of Creative Habits. An experimental mixed media pet/dog portrait gift created with acrylic paint, ink, and watercolor. Day 154/365 of Year of Creative Habits. My first attempt at an acrylic pour (with all the wrong materials haha) on a small square canvas. A family member really liked it because it reminded him of the ocean which he missed while living in New York – I gifted it to him. Days 161 and 162/365 of Year of Creative Habits. A painted family portrait as a gift for friends in Australia, I created the piece with acrylic paint and ink. For Year of Creative Habits (I forget which day). An illustration of a crab gettings its revenge at a crab boil my friend invited us to, I gave him the piece to keep. Created with acrylic markers. Day 66/365 of Year of Creative Habits. A mixed media post-it note illustration of an anatomical heart with roots; the page was created with ink and acrylic paint for Year of Creative Habits (framed it for my husband instead of sticking it in my art journal). Art Every Day Month Days 25-27. A pet portrait of Peaches, a friend's cute dog; created with acrylic paint on canvas. A painted portrait of a couple on a wood block as a wedding gift; created with ink and acrylic paint. A painted self portrait on a small canvas depicting half of my past self and half of my present self with doodles about myself around the outside, the canvas was made for the Sketchbook Project’s Pen Pal Painting Exchange (the prompt was to paint ourselves). A portrait of a Tumblr follower I created for a portrait swap; I created the portrait with ink and acrylic paint. A painted canvas with a mash-up of album artwork from Mastodon's Once More Round the Sun by Skinner and Queens of the Stone Age's ...Like Clockwork by Boneface, created with acrylic paint. The front cover of a custom art journal I made for a friend with a collage of a cat doing martial arts in front of colorful flowers with the words fight the patriarchy written on washi tape; the cover was created with ink, washi tape, and collage material. A mixed media canvas illustration and collage of an antlered woman in a cape sitting on a mossy rock holding a real leaf in a floral forest inspired by the band Alunah; the canvas was created with collage material, ink, and acrylic paint. I gifted this to my sister-in-law. A selection of cards I made for the 52 Things I Love About You project I made for my then-boyfriend (now husband) on playing cards; I made the cards with ink, ephemera, collage material, and acrylic paint. A canvas copied from a Queens of the Stone Age t-shirt I made as a gift for my crush (now husband). Acrylic paint on canvas. The sides have lyrics from his favorite QOTSA song, In the Fade. A mixed media mix CD cover with a Mark Ryden style self portrait and elements from some of my favorite albums; the cover was created with collage material, acrylic paint, ink, and tissue.

Themes: acrylic markers, acrylic paint, aew, all elite wrestling, alunah, anatomical heart, antlers, baby yoda, bee, birthday, canvas, cards, cat art, cat portrait, chicken, collage, crab, david rose, dog art, dog portrait, dragon, drawing, family, father's day, feminism, floral, flowers, friends, frog, gift, grogu, horse, husband, illustration, journal, leaf, love, mark ryden, mastodon, mix tape, mixed media, mr. darcy, music, nature, orange cassidy, paint pour, painting, parents, pet portrait, playing cards, portrait, post-it note, queens of the stone age, rose, schitt's creek, self portrait, silly, space, sticky note, sunglasses, toddler, trade, wales, washi tape, watercolor, wedding, wrestler.