Recently, I’ve been thinking about the two sides of an illustrator’s passion for art.
On one side, there’s the pure and simple personal enjoyment we derive from art — the joy of putting our pens to the page, swirling our paintbrushes and conjuring up new colors and shades, and creating for the mere magical sake of creation. For most of this year, this is the side of the coin that I have focused on in our Moment Sketchers community; my dream has been to encourage as many people as possible to pick up a pen or paintbrush and to discover the extraordinary gifts that art for art’s sake can give us.
But there’s a second side of the coin and another stage that artists often reach in their creative journeys — and that’s the moment when we begin to feel the desire to share what we have created. To take the art we’ve made and make it available for others to appreciate. This feeling that our creations are meant to be shared and savored is almost a deeply innate part of art, isn’t it?
Throughout this year, I have loved watching a number of artists and illustrators in the Moment Sketchers community reach this stage in their journey; two in particular stand out in my memory — Genevieve in Canada and Angela in England. This year, they both opened Etsy shops, began creating postcards and prints from their sketches, and made their illustrations available to the world. Other Moment Sketchers have also begun taking on personal commissions this year, while others have already had Etsy shops for years but have continued to evolve their array of products and projects.
And so, with the holiday season somehow upon us already (I can only ask how??), I recently had the idea to put together a very special gift guide, featuring the work of our Moment Sketchers community. While on the surface, I hope it will give you a few fun ideas for Christmas presents, on a deeper level, it’s also my way of celebrating the journeys we’ve been on this year.
The guide is divided into three categories of art — postcards and prints, custom paintings, and art-inspired products — and I’ve also included the links to everyone’s Etsy shop or website where you can place your orders or communicate with each artist directly.
My hope is that this special Moment Sketchers gift guide will help you bring joy and color to your friends and family this year, while also supporting the incredibly talented artists in our community!
1. Postcards & prints
Angela Hennessy — England
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Raspberrythief
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Genevieve Lacombe — Canada
https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/AtelierArtPostal
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Pandora Jones — Australia
http://www.pandorajones.com/shop-galapagos/
* * *
Sarah Lambert Cook — United States
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SarahLambertCook
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Sarah Mirglis — France
https://www.etsy.com/shop/mirglis
2. Custom paintings & original illustrations
Custom Christmas cards — Cara Kozik Brown
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CaraKozik
* * *
Custom house paintings — Cassie Carpenito
https://cassiecarpenito.com/custom
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Custom house paintings — Tracey
https://www.instagram.com/tracelyart/
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Custom oil and acrylic floral paintings — Gabriela Espasandin
http://www.gabrielaespasandin.com/arte.html
* * *
Custom travel postcards — Genevieve Lacombe
https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/AtelierArtPostal
3. Art-inspired products
2018 Illustrated calendar — Pandora Jones
http://www.pandorajones.com/shop-galapagos/
* * *
Hand-bound watercolor sketchbooks — Mary Ann Miller
https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlueVaseBooks
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Notebooks & bags — Cara Kozik Brown
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CaraKozik
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Pocket travel journals — Betsy Beier
https://www.etsy.com/shop/wanderlustdesigner
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Scarves & bags — LaCount Anderson
https://shopvida.com/collections/lacountanderson
* * *
Travel bingo cards — Sarah Lambert Cook
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SarahLambertCook
* * *
Thanks so much for putting this guide together, Candace—I loved seeing what community members are creating/selling!
Absolutely, Rebecca! I had a blast putting it together, and am endlessly amazed by the talent and creativity in the Moment Sketchers tribe 🙂 Hope you’re continuing to thrive out west! <3
wow, just a quick glance down this page is amazing! will come back and read and look further when I have a bit more time. but how very cool of you Candace to do this for our fellow sketchers!
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the gift guide so far, Sunny! I loved putting it together and getting to see so much of the amazing talent in the Moment Sketchers community in one place 🙂
The enjoyment fellow moment sketchers express throughout our weekends is heart warming to witness. You continue to encourage a growing number of artists to put pen/pencil/brush to paper and have also created a welcoming environment to share our creativity. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm, encouragement, and generosity.
You are so very welcome, Genevieve–and thank *you* for being such an inspiring and positive part of the Moment Sketchers family, too! I am so grateful that the universe conspired for our virtual paths to cross just about this time last year, and I can’t wait to continue following along your beautiful journey as an artist and wanderer in the world. Sending big hugs from Montevideo to Montreal today! <3
The most joyful part of being in the Moment Sketchers community this year has being watching everyone’s progression and development over the year. Increased confidence, bravery, and ability. Without the trigger of joining in February, I don’t think I would have been on the same path. It’s incredible that we are near the end of the year already, but I am so excited to see how we all progress next year. And thank you as always Candance.
That is so wonderful to hear, Angela–and it really is amazing for me to think about getting to know you back in February, when you first asked me about becoming more comfortable with sketching outdoors, and now look at you 🙂 You could write an entire guidebook to #runsketching and adventuring with a sketchbook! But even beyond your own growth and evolution, it’s been incredible to watch you launch your Etsy shop and put together so many beautiful prints and postcards in such a short amount of time–I couldn’t be more excited for where this year has brought you, and I’m equally excited to follow along your journey in 2018! <3
LOVE those travel bingo cards! Great choices, Candace.
Yes! I love those cards as well, Valerie 🙂 So glad you enjoyed the gift guide!
Candace- thanks for the list- really beautiful stuff and am very happy to “buy local” from this community. I am on my way to the Etsy Holiday Fair in SF but was happy to do some pre-shopping here first!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the gift guide, Karen! And I love your idea of “buying local” from our Moment Sketchers tribe–especially as it’s a “global local” 🙂 How fun to hear you were able to visit the SF Etsy Fair as well! I can only imagine how much creativity and inspiration it was full of. <3
Thanks for putting this together Candace, and for your continued encouragement of our creative endeavors. I really enjoyed looking at the creations and gaining more insight into the Moment Sketcher’s community. Wonderful! 🙂
You are so very welcome, Judy! It was just as wonderful for me to put the guide together, so I’m thrilled you enjoyed looking through it all 🙂 Can’t wait to see what you sketch in our final challenge of 2017 this weekend! <3
What a fabulous celebration of creative journeys, Candace! You have a generous heart and always spread joy and encouragement around the world. Wonderful!
“A fabulous celebration of creative journeys” — I love the way you put this, Colleen! And even more than being a gift guide for the holiday season, that’s really what I envisioned this post being, so I’m thrilled it resonated with you in that way, too 🙂 Can’t wait to sketch with you again this weekend for our final challenge of 2017! <3