My Favorite PENS: Tombow Dual Brush Pens

I remember when I ordered my first Tombow markers, over two years ago now. I was hearing a lot of great things about these dual brush pens, and I just had to get my hands on a few. So I ordered my three favorite colors, (Aqua, Green & Grey) and of course a basic black. When the package arrived, I ripped open the box, grabbed the pen and started writing. Realizing that my handlettering skills were really not that great, I immediately felt intimidated by these wonderful pens! At the time, brush lettering was not my forte and I knew I needed A LOT of practice. So I wrote that I was exhausted, and then promised myself that I would get better at using these beautiful pens. 

I don't claim to be the best at using them, and I feel like I'm learning new things every day, but I sure do love experimenting with them, their blending abilities, and just all around their versatility! 

I really enjoy creating with them and I would encourage everyone who is interested in getting into brush lettering to give them a shot! If you've never used brush pens, they definitely take some getting used to, but I LOVE THEM!  

You can get yours HERE! 

Collaboration with Amy Tangerine + Pro World

I had the absolute HONOR of getting asked by Amy Tangerine to work on a fun little project with her and Pro World. I have been a follower of Amy Tangerine's work for quite a while, and I'm pretty sure she was one of the first artists I started following on Instagram back in 2011. Her bright colors and beautiful photos immediately sucked me in, and she inspired me daily! 

When Amy contacted me out of the blue, to work on a project with her, I'm not going to lie, I completely geeked out and had a fan-girl moment! She asked if I would submit a design to be printed on tee-shirts in order to promote the launch of Pro World's new custom website! They've made it incredibly easy to upload your own custom designs!! She asked for something, fun and inspirational, and so I began searching for words of encouragement! 

I had this quote penciled at the top of a page in my sketch book to work on later, and when I came across it I knew it was exactly what I should do. "Every Artist was once an Amateur" This speaks to me so much because I'm one of those people who hates not being good at something right off the bat, and when it takes work and practice, I'm usually the one to throw in the towel and give up. But for some reason, handlettering was not something I was quick to give up on.

It started out, like many of my endeavors do, as a hobby, I had it on my bucket list to get better handwriting and it seemed like a good enough time as any to start! It's now become my form of meditation, as I take a quote from idea, to sketch, to ink and then finally as I photograph the final image, it feels like a rhythmic melody I get to play every day. Most of my work lives only on Instagram, meant to encourage others on the daily and be a source of inspiration, but every now and then I get a wonderful opportunity to share my art with the world. I'm so grateful to Amy & Pro World, for giving me this opportunity to see my designs on something other than paper! Getting the chance to actually wear your designs is a pretty incredible feeling, made even more incredible when people actually recognize your style as your own!

All my designs usually start out as a pencil drawing, and I sketch out a few different ideas before I pick the final to ink. I just use cheap lined notebooks from TJ Maxx or Marshalls to keep my spacing. Then when I'm ready to finalize, I use a slightly translucent layout paper and finalize the design using my favorite TomBow Fudenosuke brush pens! Not all my designs are done this way, sometimes I simply freehand with the markers, but when I know I want something to be perfect I start with pencil. 

Thank you again Amy Tangerine + Pro World, for having me be a part of this amazing launch!! If you haven't checked out Amy Tangerine, or Pro World, YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD! They're amazing and Amy is such a sweetheart!! Here are some fun photos of Jonathan & his friends Travis + Theo and their mama, Autumn, wearing the shirts! <3