HAPPY EASTER WEEKEND!

Hope you all have a lovely Easter weekend! 

XOXO 

HELLO MARCH : MONTHLY DESKTOP DOWNLOAD

Happy March (a few days late as usual) and ALMOST Spring! 

I hope you enjoy this download for the month. I used some favorite flowers from my wall calendar that sold out in my shop last month...

Click to download: 

DESKTOP // PHONE 

XOXO 

The not so fun stuff: These designs are copyright of Shannon Kirsten Studio and are for personal use ONLY.  Not for re-sale. Please be respectful when downloading and sharing.

WEEKEND NOTES : BEACH DAYS

Spring has turned out to be quite lovely so far here in Florida.  We enjoyed a beautiful weekend mostly outside with good friends, cocktails, and our local seafood festival.  

XO 

HAPPY FRIDAY : STUDIO SNAPS + SOME LINKS

Happy first day of Spring! 

I've been painting like crazy around here all week, I'm looking forward to Saturday having nothing on my schedule! The weather has been lovely so hopefully we will indulge in a seaside dinner later tonight.  Below are a few studio snaps from the week of work in progress and also some links I loved this week... 

*My pinterest wishlist has a growing number of flowy, floraly, dresses for spring

*I've been looking for a fun floral kimono and when this one popped up on H&M I didn't even hesitate

*This chocolate bark with edible flowers looks irresistible 

*This 70's inspired bridal shoot

*This girls trip to Iceland. Insanity!

Happy Weekend

XO

SKETCHBOOK 04 : BLACK & WHITE FLORALS

I really love doing these full floral prints and experimenting with only black paint.  The lines make it look so different than painting more whimsical with full color.  All of this was done with gouache paint and tiny paint brush (none in particular, I just look for tiny with sturdy bristles).  

I will definitely be adding these to the shop this month and maybe experimenting with some additional color ways! 

xx

SKETCHBOOK 01 : FLORAL PRINT PROCESS

I've always liked to see start to finish projects from artists I admire.  It's neat to see a simple sketch come to life and I've been meaning to do this but often times I'm just caught up in painting and forget to snap a few photos.  I hope to share a little more insight into my process this year (#goals).  

There is somewhat a method to my madness, but not always.   When I'm going to do a design that fills an entire page, this is how I like to start.  I measure off my paper to make it a standard size in case it ends up being a worthy print for my shop.  Then I'm able to scan as is without cutting off any florals, clean it up, and it's ready to go (although I'm not this lucky!).  Also, when making a print where I want the elements to overlap, I start with a very light pencil sketch so I have a guideline.  Since I was going for a layered look I started with my greenery.  In most of my designs you see that my greens float around the page from underneath florals, so they typically do get painted first.  Next I went for my focal point, in this case the dusty blue large florals.  If I feel something is harder to shade, I like to do this in the beginning because if the shape and shadowing isn't right to me I won't end up finishing the piece (there's only so many changes you can make with watercolor).  Once that is out of the way and I like it, I will begin to fill in the smaller florals.  Once all that dries I go back and add centers to the florals that need some.  Once it's fully dry I have to erase all my pencil marks, sometimes if they are still visible I will clean them up in photoshop. And Wala!  This photo seemed to be well liked on instagram this past week so I do believe I will have some prints made for the shop! 

xx

LATELY

A few snaps from the past week or so via my iphone / instagram (follow along @shannonkirsten)

Lots of coffees, spring-y things, and trying to get some cooking in when I have the time.  We started an herb garden recently and I just love going outside to clip them before I start cooking dinner.  I've also been trying to make the perfect iced coffee at home (i.e. rather than starbucks every day).  I haven't quite got it right but I will surely share the recipe when I'm pleased with it! Be back with some fun new projects soon. xo

PAINTED PHOTOS // A FLORAL FEAST

If you follow my photography work as well, you'll know that I have been experimenting with studio settings lately.  I've been wanting to try some just-for-fun things that would allow me to combine my paintings with my photography.  I wanted to shoot these white and bright to make a simple palette for drawing over.  I just tried a few to start and also painted a backdrop for this shoot as well (middle photo).  I love doing things like this that allow me to combine my favorite things, hoping to make a full series in the future.  You can see more on my photography blog - shannonkirstenphoto.com/blog

xo

TEN & CO LOOKBOOK

I'm so inspired by these creepy cool images from the Ten & Co SS '13 lookbook.  The styling is simply amazing and there is just something so striking and clearly so unique about them.  The shoes are pretty awesome too.  

BOTANICAL

A few snaps from location scouting early this week, how cool are the giant cactus? 

Off for another great shoot today! 

xx

CAMILYN BETH TURNS ONE!

A huge, happy FIRST birthday to Camilyn Beth! 

I'm so proud of my best friend and SO excited for the future of Camilyn Beth.  It has been crazy awesome to be a part of Cami's journey as a designer.  It goes way back to even before we went to fashion school yearrrrs ago!  To watch someone's dreams unfold, especially someone you love and a company you believe in, it's just so inspiring to say the least.  

I have always been excited to see what Cami was going to come up with next.  Even before Camilyn Beth, she has always been bursting with creativity, determination, passion, and excitement for art and fashion.  One thing I have always admired about Cami is her ability to remain positive no matter what.  We all know how hard your first year of business can be, this has been my first too...there were times I complained to her, complained a lot actually, on the verge of tears...she always has something encouraging and uplifting to say.  That optimism and ability to see the best in each situation just adds that much more to the success of her business. 

I always knew she was going to make this dream happen one day.  And well, she has definitely made in happen in a big way.  And in just her first official year!  I am excited to see Camilyn Beth grow and especially to keep dreaming up shoots and ideas alongside my sweet friend.  

The most exciting news of all is the launch of her NEW site today! Hop on over to camilynbeth.com to see!

Congratulations and... 

HAPPY EASTER!

Dress / Bunny / Eggs / Feathers / Macarons / Cat / Wedges / Peonies / Hair 

As usual, a nice little unconventional holiday mood board...whatever floats your boat, right? 

Hope everyone has a superb Easter weekend!

WISHLISTED : BLACK & WHITE OBSESSED

Swimsuit // Clutch // Pumps // Bag // Iphone Case // Dress // Watch // Sandals // Hudson Jeans

I've totally lost my marbles, I just want everything to be black and white.  Everything.  It's so nice to look at. 

STYLED: CAMILYN BETH X SHANNON KIRSTEN VOLUME 03

This week's post was such a fun remix of the style shoots Cami and I have been doing together.  This is actually a little sneak peek of what is to come in her fall line...I mean a very tiny preview, she's got a lot of great stuff cookin' up folks!  These shoots have been so much fun for us...it's inspiring to work with one of my best friends (especially since she is someone who just oozes creativity and great ideas), we've been exploring new places, and have time in between to just chat, catch up, and throw ideas back and forth.  It's always nice to step away from the computer and out of the office to do something extra that inspires you. I hope you guys are liking these as much as we are! Keep an eye out for next weeks, it's awesome.  xx

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The Flat Faced Cat

First two style collabs here

Dress in Look 1: Forever 21 // Hat in look 3: Gap // Blouse in look 5: TJMaxx // Boots: Urban Outfitters // All other items Camilyn Beth Fall '13