new painting: alice and the white rabbit

I made this last week, but finally got a chance to post it! I've been so busy preparing for Patchwork Show! Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite stories (and I love children's literature oh-so-much). I recently made a custom Lost Boys painting for my friend Courtney, and I loved the style used for it, so I decided to expand that idea for other literature-inspired pieces. (that means more to come!)

I made up this scene that doesn't exist in the book, but the quote is from the book. I love this quote so so much, it almost makes me cry. I imagine Alice and the White Rabbit having tea together and discussing life :)

It's watercolor and ink, 8x10, and the writing is done in stamps and calligraphy. I loved blending all these different elements that I love to work with, and I'm really happy with how it came out! It's funny how I notice my style ever-evolving; I sometimes worry about my portfolio not being cohesive, but because I love each piece and all of them have similar wistfulness, I don't focus on the worry so much!

I'll add prints of this to my Etsy shop next month, but first I'll be selling prints of it at Patchwork show in just over 2 weeks! Come see me there if you live in the Southern California area :)

xo, Michelle

Follow me @maryandluna on your favorite social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. See my art in my Etsy shop or on maryandluna.com. 

The Lost Boys (a custom art piece)

Here is the final version of my custom Lost Boys themed watercolor painting!

My wonderful, longtime internet friend Courtney is expecting a baby boy this fall, and she asked me to make a custom piece for his nursery! She wanted it to be Peter Pan's Lost Boys themed, and the room will have a woodland theme. So that pretty much gave me the creative freedom to design whatever I dreamed up! (and I LOOOOVE Peter Pan.)

This is 11x14, and I used an amazing new smooth watercolor paper for it. Plus new water color paints= such a difference in the quality! I incorporated a quote I love from the book version of Peter Pan, in my newly-learned calligraphy (plus I know my friend Courtney loves modern calligraphy). For styling, I love it paired with this wood frame. It really completes the feeling of the piece!

Overall I love the storybook page feeling of it. I'm so thankful she asked me to do this! It was so fun. 

xo, Michelle

Follow me @maryandluna on your favorite social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. See my art in my Etsy shop or on maryandluna.com. 

if you're interested in a custom art piece like this one, please email me and we can brainstorm ideas! I absolutely love making things for a specific person in mind :)

New piece: literary tree signs!

Imagine stumbling across these wooden directional signs to classic fictional literary places, nailed to a tree… where would you go? 

I've just added this print to my Etsy shop! This watercolor & gouache painting depicts some of my most favorite places in classic literature. Neverland from "Peter Pan," Narnia from "The Chronicles of Narnia," Hogwarts from "Harry Potter," Wonderland from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," Oz from "The Wizard of Oz," the secret garden from "The Secret Garden," and a sign to mark that you are home. A little pocket watch dangles from the tree branch to symbolize the fleeting feeling of time & childhood passing.

This art print would be perfect in a child's room, any book lover's home, a library, a classroom, or any place you may want a touch of imagination and daydreams of adventure.

Details:

      -Print will not include the watermark (© Mary & Luna).       -To display: Prints can be placed in any 8x10 frame (as shown), or any larger frame with a matted 8x10 opening.       -Frame not included. 

Buy it here and visit the rest of my Etsy shop and my website to see all the art I have for sale!

xo, Michelle 

Follow me @maryandluna on your favorite social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. 

Off to Neverland!

 

I celebrated my 24th birthday this weekend. I can't quite wrap my head around 24 years of life & don't have words yet (I just seem to cry a lot because I have such a hard time with time passing and growing up and everyone getting older). So I decided to make a happy list.

Peter Pan is one of my favorite stories ever written. J.M. Barrie is brilliant. And I absolutely love children's literature. The book, the Disney movie, all the stories inspired by Peter Pan, illustrations; I love it all.

24 reasons I love Peter Pan: 

1. The "never grow up" concept. Childhood in general.

2. London. The Bloomsbury neighborhood is a DREAM.

3. A whole world in a star, in the sky?! LOVE.

4. The Darling children's, Peter's, & the lost boys' love of stories

5. The beginning of the story takes place during nighttime, my favorite time.

6. FLYING. I want to fly (not in a plane) so badly!

7. Living in a tree/ a whole tree house underground.

8. The sense of adventure and exploration and play.

9. All the sections of Neverland (mermaids, Indians, pirates). They're so timeless and classic in storytelling.

10. Fairies!

11. Michael Darling in the Disney movie is the cutest child. Ever.

12. Tiger Lily is so great. And her name is even better.

13. The Lost Boys. The concept of lost/abandoned children finding a home.

14. The map of Neverland. I love maps. And I love Neverland.

15. Peter Pan & Tinkerbell's partnership. And Peter & Wendy's friendship.

16. The need for a mother's love.

17.  “So come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned."

18. “To live will be an awfully big adventure.”

19.  "I'm youth, I'm joy," Peter answered at a venture, "I'm a little bird that has broken out of the egg.”

20. “I suppose it's like the ticking crocodile, isn't it? Time is chasing after all of us.”

21. “You just think lovely wonderful thoughts," Peter explained, "and they lift you up in the air.”

22. “Would you like an adventure now," he said casually to John, "or would you like to have your tea first?”

23. “On these magic shores children at play are for ever beaching their coracles. We too have been there; we can still hear the sound of the surf, though we shall land no more.”

24. The overall scenery and aesthetic and imagination and fantasy. It's all my dream world. Neverland is the place my mind drifts to escape from real life.

xo, Michelle

P.S. A reminder that I have a rather new print for sale in my Etsy shop: Wanderlust :)