The online portfolio of Page Redford
Happiest of New Years to you and yours. 2020 was a long year and a tough year for many. I hope this new year finds you well and is off to a good start. I had the day off from work and was able to spend it with family.
Part of the day I visited with my nieces and nephews and doodled. I drew this fun little lettering “doodle” with their Crayola markers and printer paper. Proof that you don’t need the finest tools to make art. ;-)
Have a happy new year and I hope you had a blessed holiday season.
Alas it comes but once a year, Happiest of Halloween’s to all you boos and ghouls! Here is a selection of small (about 1x2foot each) chalkboards featuring some of our favorite scariest treats.
These small boards generally take between 30 and 60 minutes from start to finish. They are a fun way to try new color markers and paints as well as new styles of lettering.
I am always on the look out for “new” techniques for art making. When I was in college (many years ago) we used a lot of masking fluid for ink drawings in my illustration classes. I decided to try using masking fluid again with some of my lettering.
Watercolor lends itself to masking fluid well. Both are not incredibly easy mediums to control, but they are useful to use together. Watercolor is of course very fluid and the masking fluid can stop the paints from bleeding too much.
I lettered this quote on paper first using masking fluid and made the perimeter out of masking fluid. I let the fluid dry while I decided on the landscape drawing. I then painted over the lettering with watercolor. Once the watercolors dried, I was able to peel the masking fluid off. It turned out pretty well for a small sample. I will probably go over the lettering with a layer of white gouache paint or paint marker.
I was asked to create signage for our cheese department. There are many ways to “build a cheese board” and sometimes those choices can be overwhelming. I tried to make a fun sign that could guide customers and work with any budget.
As you can see, I am working directly on this farmhouse-style wooden paddle (purchased at Michael’s craft store) using Posca brand paint markers. These markers are the best markers for what I do, in my opinion. They come in a range of sizes and colors and they have replaceable nibs.
For every painted sign of any size, I always do a preliminary sketch on paper and sketch out the design using white chalk. As the paint drys and I get further through the design, I wipe away the chalk while the paint stays in place.
I wanted to share a new personal favorite display sign. We recently got these new crunchy snacks a lot like flaming hot corn snacks of another brand. I love the look of the packaging and really wanted to try making a display that had a true 3-D look.
We did not have a lot of time to make a wild and crazy display with papier-mâché or other materials, but I was able to pull off a 3-D style that really popped using paper, foam core, and sharpie and paint markers.
My biggest illustrative skill is using bold lines for a classic illustration look that blends well with the TJ’s style. I’m very pleased with how this display turned out. As a bonus, customers really seem to enjoy the look which really is the most important part. I have heard people say that the sign was the big reason that they decided to try these chips out!
I am so excited to share these new custom pieces for a wedding with you!
I was recently asked to make chalkboards for a wedding. Each chalkboard was hand-drawn by Yours Truly. I am quite pleased with how these have turned out! These were a joy to make and are something that I look forward to making for other happy couples in the future.
Some people have asked “How did you do it?” Well, loads of practice, a T-Square, Chalk, and chalk markers. Here are some progress shots showing the beginning sketches and the final pieces.
Bar menu work in progress
In-progress shot of the Julia Child piece. Here you can see my super-cool crafting gloves that help keep my hands warm and keeps them from leaving marks on the chalkboard. And my favorite markers. :-)
Julia Child Quote: work in progress
The chalk works, well, a lot like the layers function in photoshop…unfortunately there’s not “undo” button here. A steady hand and reliable preliminary sketches are quite important.
Nearly done…but still a ways to go! :-)
Here you can see the sketches made in chalk on the left and the final drawing on the right. Throughout the lettering process, I made some slight changes to the size and shapes of the letters. Before I got to this phase, I did several measured layouts on graph paper. Once I got the design just the way I wanted it, I drew it on the actual chalkboard.
Julia Child Quote: work in progress
I am so excited to share a series of new artworks with you all!
I was recently asked to make chalkboards for a wedding. Each chalkboard was hand-drawn by Yours Truly. I am quite pleased with how these have turned out!
These were a joy to make and are something that I look forward to making for other happy couples in the future.
Welcome friends and family!
This was the largest piece that I made. This measured nearly 3 feet by 2 feet. It features the bride and groom’s names and their wedding date. This is a standard inclusion in the package and can be customized to fit the couples’ needs! I really like how this one turned out with the gold detailing.
Please stay tuned for some of the other CUSTOM PIECES that I made for the wedding!
This weekend we will be hosting a Vegan Foods Demonstration and Tour!
I was asked to make an A-Frame for the event:
No animals were harmed in the making of this A-Frame :-)
The A-Frames we use measure 2 x 3 feet. They are sturdy, durable, and reusable. I generally use mostly white chalk and white chalk pens to do the lettering.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
I was so fortunate to be able to surprise my family by driving to see them! Work let me swap a few of my days off this week and take an extra day to travel through to surprise them!
My parents were none-too-happy that I was ignoring their Christmas calls (while I was simultaneously driving through Canada to see them!). My little brother and I had a good laugh, though. He knew I was coming,but kept it a secret.
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I hope that you are able to spend time with your family, friends, and loved ones. Today quick lettering sketch, then back to spending time with family. Happy holidays!
This Christmas I decided to make most of the gifts I gave to my family and friends. I have tried this a few years ago, but I ended up getting too caught up with work and traveling to make that possible. This year, however, I was successful in making a number of gifts for people. For my brother I made a T-Shirt Quilt of many of his old shirts from when he was young.
My sister’s gifts were a little more complicated. She will soon be living on her own after college, and I thought it would be nice to give her an apron and recipe box to take with her to her new apartment. I love cooking (and making art!) and I thought this could be a fun addition to her kitchen, especially since she isn’t the most seasoned chef. I have a very good friend who is a wonderful chef, and I decided to make her a recipe box as well. The first recipe box fit cards that measured 6.25 x 4 inches, and the second box’s cards were 7 x 3 inches.
The box is a wooden box from an antique store in my hometown. The word “Recipe” was hand painted on each box by yours truly! The cards were designed digitally and printed on cardstock. When I print more cards, I will likely make the cards double sided and print them on a heavy-weight cardstock. These are nice, but double sided would be better and easier for writing long recipes.
This second box was for my good friend. The boxes were not the same shape or size (this one was wider, but not as tall as the other one) so I had to design two sets of cards and two sets of dividers. The overall designs are similar, but the layout of the cards are different.
The dividers are for general types of foods: appetizers, salads and soups, main course, desserts, etc. I also included some blank dividers to leave room for other interests. The recipe cards themselves have assorted designs, but they can be separated in to the different food types, ie: all the chevron-patterned cards could be for salads, whereas the design with fruits and jam jars could be for desserts.
Each box came with 20 recipe cards and 8 dividers. Keep your eyes open for these for sale in my Etsy Shop! I am still sourcing antique/vintage boxes to make in to new recipe boxes.
Page Redford 