Happy Valentine's Day Illustration by Cheryl Kugler

Valentine's Day story illustration in Sparkle magazine by Cheryl Kugler
Gouache and pencil on paper, 12" x 6 1/2"

In celebration of Valentine's Day, here is an illustration painted for a story in Sparkle magazine this month. Learn more about the creative process behind this painting by reading my blog post.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Christmas Tree Farm -- Illustrations for a Children's Magazine

Here are illustrations completed this week for the December issue of Sparkle magazine - a children's magazine for young girls ages 6-10.  The illustrations are created with a gouache under-painting and pastel Prismacolor pencils and Artstix.

Sketches of these illustrations can be seen by visiting the post on my art blog here.

Creating a Turkey Illustration for Sparkle Magazine

As an artist/illustrator it is enjoyable to paint art for a children's magazine called Sparkle. Here is an illustration completed for a full-page spread in the November issue, under-painting in gouache with pastel pencils/Prismacolor pencils/sticks.

For a more in-depth view showing the process from thumbnail to finish, please visit my blog post here.

A Flower-Loving Golden Retriever by Cheryl Kugler

A client asked me to paint an illustration of her adorable golden retriever. As a story illustrator, my approach to pet portraits is to develop a fun scene that expresses the personality of the pet and reflects interests of the owner.

It just so happens the owner enjoys colorful flowers and this beautiful golden has a quirky habit of pulling summer blooms out of their planters! So began the idea of the illustration. 

"Abigail and the Flowers", gouache and colored pencil, 5" x 7", by Cheryl Kugler

Read my extended post over on my artist blog to learn more about the creative process behind this illustration -- from reference photos to rough sketches to color selection to finished painting.

Shop for super cute products adorned with this illustration on my online artist shop.