Each other’s

We are each other’s harvest: 
we are each other’s business:
we are each other’s magnitude and bond.
-Gwendolyn Brooks (Paul Robeson)

Fostering education, creating opportunities, and sharing stories are big reasons why Outspoken Images exists. My illustrator community led me to The Bookmark Project, which supports education at Katiyo Primary School in Zimbabwe. I donated a bookmark, Through the Woods (above, left). Find it in this year’s auction 9-23 May: Support the Mutasa District community and score artwork from talented illustrators.

I often use line drawings as inspiration for future illustrations. I stare out my office window at Snøhetta, an iconic mountain in Dovre National Park (or toward the place where I know it sits, hidden behind clouds), thinking about past treks through Norway. When I find a memory that strikes my imagination, I sketch an illustration based on it. The outdoor world here is beautiful. I share it, hoping it will inspire you to learn more about the life and small details in your corner of the world.

One of the small details from life here in Folldal is Pulsatilla vernalis: Pasque-flower, Arctic Violet, Lady of the Snows, Mogop. The flowers appear in early spring, which is slowly arriving in the valleys and mountains here. You can find the flowers amidst snow or the region’s iconic lime-green lichen (Cladonia rangiferina). The lichen is emerging in sunny places as the snow slowly disappears, even as fresh snow falls in Folldal. I can enjoy the snow even as I look forward to summer treks through the mountains.

This starry summer landscape began as a line drawing for a greeting card. I thought it would translate well for the colour combination of Seashell & French Sky Blue. It was also great excuse to try out my new silver paint and riff off my current theme of forest and mountain adventures. (Purchase this painting in my Threadless shop). What’s inspiring you this season?