I'm excited to share my latest digital illustration! It's based on a sketch I did a million years ago, of two of my favorite things-fish and flowers.

When I was young and just starting out as an artist, I was quite typical of anyone young and just starting out in any career, where you cross paths with someone who you insist has their shit together and you want to be just like them so you can have your shit together too. At the time, I met this woman, who I though was so cool. She was tall and thin, adorable and had a great artsy vibe. She was newly married to an adorable guy (my co-worker) and together they were so cool and trendy.

She was a greeting card illustrator.

Surely, if I became a greeting card illustrator I would be so trendy and cool with a fabulous studio filled with plants (I was never actually in her studio, but I was quite sure it was filled with plants) by the time I was 30 also. Right?

Queue my greeting card illustrator phase.

That phase was short lived. I gave it a go, but pre the instant gratification era of the internet, one had to create promotional packages consisting of printed cover letters, color copies of portfolio pieces, large envelopes addressed to hopefully-still-with-the-company art buyers (that you had to search for by looking in previously printed art guides) and a SASE (Google it Gen Z), so I could get my expensive color copies back). It was a lot of work for little reward.

However, this is a sketch of a drawing I had originally created for a greeting card. It never made it, but I still love it. I decided to breathe new life into it and created this cut-paper illustration entirely on my iPad.

Not a single piece of paper was harmed.

I'm not sure where it will live eternally, but I am pleased with the finished the piece.

Jessica