Fuji X100F Doodles

The year was 2005. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was dominating the box office. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had just come out and the world was on the verge of being introduced to Brangelina. Carrie Underwood was on her way to becoming an American Idol.

And I was about to fall in love with photography.

My first “real” Camera was a Canon Rebel XTi. with a 50MM lens. I wasn’t terrible. Before long, I upgraded to a Canon 5D MKII and invested in good glass. I did portraits, I shot some weddings, I did that thang. I loved it until I didn’t.

I could probably write a longer post about all of this but I eventually, about a decade in, lost my passion for photography. It was a combination of things. The bulk of the equipment, the hassle of carrying 15+ pounds of gear with me, endlessly charging batteries. That and mobile photography made huge strides; my iPhone started producing really visually pleasing shots and it was always with me.

After realizing my Canon 5D was spending months in the bag at a time, I sold it. It was a bittersweet moment.

And then this guy walked into my life.


The Fuji X100F. A friend recommended it because it was small, portable, extremely capable and had that Fuji magic.

What is that Fuji Magic you ask?

I have no idea.

I can’t really explained what happened when I started using the X100F. Something about the form factor, the analog controls, the build quality of the camera, the coloring of my images, the sharpness and the contrast…the whole combined experience is just….magical.

I get it - totally cheesy. I feel like a goober even writing this, but it’s the truth. I still get excited, several years later, the second the X100F is in my hands. I want to go shoot; I want to be creative.

At some point, I’m sure I’ll dive deeper into my love of the X100F for you guys. But, for today, I just wanted to share this doodle I made of my trusty little buddy for my Fuji page.

As normal, this illo was created in Procreate on the 12” iPad Pro using the Apple Pencil 2. I hopped into Photoshop CC to make the little animated version you see above (because it’s kind of my thing).

I have another illustration I’m finishing up that I’ll share with you guys this week. It’s fun! I also have a couple client pieces that are almost done; hopefully I’ll be able to share those with you before too long. Happy Friday Eve, y’all!

Sparking Joy: March 2019

I told you a bit earlier that I’d be back! I posted the version of this that I doodled in my sketchbook, but wanted to also share the digital version of this idea with you. Here she is, folks!

I made some tweaks but the general concept and content are the same. More on the things sparking joy this month:

  1. Tacos - because tacos.

  2. Peach tea - I’m saying goodbye to soda and coffee and renewing my love with tea is helping with that. Some peach tea with a little honey and splash of milk? Fuhgedaboudit. Delish.

  3. Off Planet by Aileen Erin - Okay, okay…maybe I’m a tiny bit biased. But this book is good, guys. No - scratch that - it’s great. I’m on my second read. And, hey, Joss Whedon’s taking time out to read it. Be like Joss.

  4. Cricut Explore Air 2 - I’m having fun working on test products for the soon-to-be shop. I’m also enjoying not cutting my fingers off! Win-win.

Those are a few things I’m loving currently. In the interest of transparency: I have only seen one episode of Tidying Up and I was kind of meh about it. Marie Kondo is a boss though. And I have fully embraced the tag line.

TWO MORE DAYS, GUYS! We can do this. TTYS.

Windy Wednesday

Hi Friends! It’s been another super busy week around here, so I’m sorry I haven’t checked in sooner. The weather in Oklahoma is legit cray too; it’s been two days of rain. Now that it’s cleared off, we are basically living in a wind tunnel now. We’re getting consistent gusts of 40-50 MPH and it’s just nutty!

I had some time to doodle in my sketchbook last night. Here’s what I made while watching The Order on Netflix (the show is pretty bad - I can’t recommend it).

I’m in the process of taking this into Procreate on my iPad Pro for a final/animated version, so I’m sure I’ll be back to share more about it soon! Hope your week is going swimmingly!

Pssst…me again…you can see the digital version here.

I Did a Thing!

On my march towards opening my Etsy store (coming soon - hopefully), I’ve been in total prep mode. My main focus has been on making sure I have quality content and products for the store. But, to do that, I also needed some tools to aid in making inventory.

I know that part of what I want to do it offer prints, stickers and maybe even vinyl decals. I could order them from a manufacturer directly, but after researching that option, it seemed to be cost prohibitive. I’m just starting out - I can’t (and don’t want to) charge people $10 for a sheet of stickers.

Enter this guy:

Through the beauty of the Facebook Market, I was able to snag a Martha Stewart edition Cricut Express Air 2 for dirt cheap. Someone was given it as a gift, tried it a couple times and realized it wasn’t something they’d use on a regular basis, so they decided to part with it and make a little money back.

I’m still in the very early stages of learning how to use this baby but I’m excited. Thankful for videos like this one from Catherine Kay (aka Katnipp) that soften the learning curve.

How gorg are those golden Martha Stewart edition Cricut tools? Way gorg.

So, I did a thing - that thing specifically. And hopefully it’ll help me bring quality items to customers while keeping prices reasonable.

Travel Oklahoma Series - The Blue Whale

I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It’s not a perfect city, but there’s more good than bad. The people are kind, the history is rich and the sky goes on for miles and miles so, even when you’re in the middle of the city, you feel free.

There are so many beautiful, weird and quirky things about this state. I’m working hard behind the scenes to open up an Etsy store soon. Lots of planning, brainstorming and preparing. I’m narrowing down my first few prints I’m going to offer when I launch. It would feel wrong not to include a tribute to the land that grew me.

This is the first illustration from a series I’m working on that will showcase the great state of OK.

The Blue Whale has been greeting locals and travelers on the side of route 66 in Catoosa, Oklahoma since the late 60s. It has a charming history: the whale was purchased as a gift from a husband to his whale-loving wife. (I think that whales are the traditional anniversary gift for year 35.) It soon became a popular local attraction and then a regional landmark.

I’ll give you guys a little sneak peek on what I’ve been working on: turning these illustrations into fine art prints. Let me tell you: it’s way harder (at least at first) than you think. Here’s my first test print of this illustration (taken at night, with minimal lighting in my studio so don’t judge):

On screen, the colors looks sharp and balanced. In print, the pink is too flamingo and the whale is too navy blue; it should be lighter and richer. Granted, this is the second fine art print I’ve ever made myself, so I’m not beating myself up about it. We’ll get there - with some experimentation.

I can’t wait to share the rest of this series with you guys. Soon! I’m off to bed now though. Happy Monday, friends!

Off Planet by Aileen Erin

Guys! I’m pretty excited to share this one with you! I’ve had a couple projects in the works recently that I’ve been DYING to talk about. Here’s one them!

I had the honor of collaborating with the mega-talented USA Today Bestselling author Aileen Erin on creating some promo illustrations in support of her new release, OFF PLANET, coming March 19th.

I’m almost done reading it YOU GUYS...you need to read this book. It’s sooooo good! If you love an immersive world and a strong, relatable heroine...this is your jam.

Also, OFF PLANET was picked for Apple Books’ Best Books of March! How rad is that? 

This is one illustration; I’ll share a few others I made for OFF PLANET as we approach the release date. Thank you for letting me a small part in the launch of your book, Aileen! Can’t wait to see this one top the charts soon!

Working on this was such a treat! I can’t wait to share the other illustrations with you guys soon!