New: The 100 days of EHappy Journal!
Picasso says "inspiration exists but it has to find you working," something I've constantly found to be true in my own work. Since I started painting, life has struck me in a different way-- as if I see the world through a more magical lens. The more I paint, the more fascinated I am by my surroundings. Most of my work is thus inspired by the people, places, and things I encounter on a daily basis. The map series started because I wanted to celebrate the places I loved (like my hometown Columbus, GA) and the personalized pet series grew from my everyday obsession with my dogs. Last year, I decided to hone in on everyday things more by starting the day with a painting of one happy thing. I called the series "EH-happy moments" and you can follow along some of the days in my instagram story highlights here. The challenge started with laundry (specifically the smell of laundry) and grew to include everything from clean sheets and extra sauce. The more I painted the small things, the more excited I was to see them in my everyday. The project became so fun that I would paint 2-3 things per day. As I worked on it, the inspiration (as Picasso says) truly did start to find me.
Though this challenge was partly to grow my creativity and skill, I also knew I would be turning the art into some sort of book. After my inbox began flooding with messages about how the art was inspiring "EH-happy moments for others, I decided to turn the series into a journal. I designed the format so that each page features a different "EH happy" illustration and is juxtaposed with space where you can write in your own. As you flip through the 100 days, I hope the journal fills you with gratitude and appreciation for the little, everyday things. We used to all be SO excited about things like pressing the elevator button, popping bubble wrap, and finding a penny on the sidewalk. Time seems to chip away at the magic of those things and I hope this journal brings you back to it!
If you enjoy the journal, be sure to check out the corresponding coloring book here too!
Enjoy! XX
Evelyn